- Joined
- Jun 5, 2020
- Messages
- 72
- Purraise
- 66
Hi everyone, hope you're all well! I was wondering how to handle an apparent behavior change in my kitten. He is 14 weeks old, I got him when he was 8 weeks old. He was taken from a kill shelter down south and brought up to the shelter I adopted him from. When I first brought him home he was sweet, he loved to sit on my lap, would sleep on my chest while we watched TV at night, and loved pets.
In the past couple weeks his behavior has changed a bit, he hasn't wanted to cuddle as much. He'll sit nearby me, but he's not as interested in coming in my lap. He started biting me occasionally (gently, but there will be no biting at all in this house) when I pet him, which at first I responded to by yelping or saying "OW!" loudly. That would stop him in the moment, but he would do it again some hours later. Finally, yesterday morning, he bit me and I hissed at him. He was freaked out and seemed to have gotten the message, he hasn't done it since then. He does, however, seem to shy away from pets now. He'll sometimes swerve out of the way of my hand, other times he'll bat it away, other times he'll try to grab it. Usually I make a high pitched whine noise and walk away, but I wonder, is this what he wants? Does he want to be left alone and I'm giving him exactly what he wants? The last time he swatted at me I forced him to look at me and stared him down. I don't want him swatting at me, if he wants to be left alone he needs to let me know in a nicer way.
Last night was the first night he didn't sleep with us. I'm just wondering what's going on, what happened to the sweet little guy I brought home last month. Is he just more comfortable and this is his true personality, is he going through his teenager phase and just leave me alone mom? And how should I be handling this? I'd like my sweet little boy back lol.
My last cat was a stray that we took in from our neighborhood's woods. For the longest time I was the only one in my family she respected, I was the one who picked her up and carried her all the way back home when she slipped out after the first day, despite all of her (very painful) protests (I still have the scars from that, 12 years later!). I didn't let her get away with anything, and she would let me do just about anything to her. I was the only one that could pick her up, give her medicine, do her nails, etc, etc. She ended up becoming the sweetest, most friendly cat in her later years, although she was almost always that way with me. So that's how it worked with her, by laying down strict rules and not allowing her to deviate at all, and honestly just kind of forcing it on her. I've been struggling to find where the line is with this kitten, I want to be sweet and understanding with him, I'm nervous about being too harsh and him not being comfortable with me. I'd just appreciate some advice on how to handle this! Thanks so much,a nd sorry for the long post!
In the past couple weeks his behavior has changed a bit, he hasn't wanted to cuddle as much. He'll sit nearby me, but he's not as interested in coming in my lap. He started biting me occasionally (gently, but there will be no biting at all in this house) when I pet him, which at first I responded to by yelping or saying "OW!" loudly. That would stop him in the moment, but he would do it again some hours later. Finally, yesterday morning, he bit me and I hissed at him. He was freaked out and seemed to have gotten the message, he hasn't done it since then. He does, however, seem to shy away from pets now. He'll sometimes swerve out of the way of my hand, other times he'll bat it away, other times he'll try to grab it. Usually I make a high pitched whine noise and walk away, but I wonder, is this what he wants? Does he want to be left alone and I'm giving him exactly what he wants? The last time he swatted at me I forced him to look at me and stared him down. I don't want him swatting at me, if he wants to be left alone he needs to let me know in a nicer way.
Last night was the first night he didn't sleep with us. I'm just wondering what's going on, what happened to the sweet little guy I brought home last month. Is he just more comfortable and this is his true personality, is he going through his teenager phase and just leave me alone mom? And how should I be handling this? I'd like my sweet little boy back lol.
My last cat was a stray that we took in from our neighborhood's woods. For the longest time I was the only one in my family she respected, I was the one who picked her up and carried her all the way back home when she slipped out after the first day, despite all of her (very painful) protests (I still have the scars from that, 12 years later!). I didn't let her get away with anything, and she would let me do just about anything to her. I was the only one that could pick her up, give her medicine, do her nails, etc, etc. She ended up becoming the sweetest, most friendly cat in her later years, although she was almost always that way with me. So that's how it worked with her, by laying down strict rules and not allowing her to deviate at all, and honestly just kind of forcing it on her. I've been struggling to find where the line is with this kitten, I want to be sweet and understanding with him, I'm nervous about being too harsh and him not being comfortable with me. I'd just appreciate some advice on how to handle this! Thanks so much,a nd sorry for the long post!