Kitten - Playful Aggression [problem?]

[remus07]

Hello again everyone,

[word ahead] I say Hello again because in the past I've had a few messages on the forum about a FIP related incident. Now I have disinfected the entire house, changed every kitty related item and I am back for a bit of advice.

3 weeks ago I have found/rescue a ~1,5 month male kitten in the garden outside my flat, fell in a sewer-like entrance and couldn't get out. Helped him out ... and then no cat-mama around for an entire day, him crying near that spot etc. At the end of the day I've decided to take him for a vet visit and adopt him. Everything going well so far in terms of food and healthiness. In a few weeks he will start his first vaccines.
[/word ahead]

The "possible problem" is his VERY playful behavior. As he is little he sits in an enclosure (with water, food, litter, bed) and a few times a day we let him out.

When he is out he sits for a 1 minute petting/loving session and then EVERYTHING is a toy - hand, feet, toys, furniture, cabinets, rugs etc. and runs like crazy around the flat. I play with him with wand toys, soft balls and kickaroo-like toys. We play and he runs for 1h but he can handle even more.
I redirect any play towards toys but the moment I stop he starts gunning for my legs.
If I extend hand for smell / petting he pounces.
If I do not retract hand or feed - he continues play-bites and scratches - not very damaging now but worrying for the future.
"Auch" doesn't stop him, yelling stops him temporarily. Only a piggy-bank full of coins deters him, but he seems more scared than knowledge-able of what is happening.

Could you help me with an advice? Is this just normal kitten craziness? I understand he has no litter-mates and no mama to teach him ... but how can I be a good cat mother?

*Attached a photo of Loki. A rare time he stood still

 

[danteshuman]

Awwwwww He is so cute I almost want to adopt Loki myself! A few things. Can you keep him enclosed in a bathroom you kitten proofed (trash can with lid and better yet toss all floss in the kitchen trash to make sure no accidents happen.) so he has more room to stretch out? Or a kitten proofed bedroom (though at his age a bathroom might be ideal.) Kittens that age sleep, eat and then run about all crazy with their siblings. You have no siblings to tire out the poor dear. So I would be trying a few things:

Keep him in the bathroom and put in a small box or three (stacked to a two foot height maximum ..... or those triangle card board scratchers work great) for him to climb/hide in.

If you have a shower stall you can leave open (and he can’t close himself in) you can put balls/jingle balls in there for him to bat around. Those ball track toys are a hit for a few months at this age.

Interactive toys or other kitten toys.

Those kickeroo’s are perfect for kittens to pounce/bite/attack. Or a stuffed old gym sock.

Maybe a shirt you wore or slept in for him to cuddle for the day, to help comfort him.

Hopefully that way he won’t be so wound up when he gets out.

*** I just wanted to add that it was wise to give his mom a chance to come find him!

 

[danteshuman]

A hiss is the best way to tell naughty kittens no. I do a psssssstttt sound because I’m not good at hissing but it still works. I would do it for the leg attacks. Then ignore him for a few minutes.

A strict toys not hands policy helps. Over time you can train her to not bite you by doing a high pitched oooowwwwww sound (I do it in wail) that usually shocks them out of the behavior and communicates that they are hurting you. It just takes time. I suggest pretending the slightest tooth or claw hurts. It is how I raised 3 kittens to be gentle and it worked! (I didn’t hiss at them until they 4 months old and trying to dart out the door.)

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I'm a huge proponent of the hiss. There isn't a cat born who doesn't instinctively know that a HISSSSSS means, "STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!" And you'll get some street cred for speaking his language! It isn't a "problem" so much as an "issue" that could become a problem if not corrected.

 

[remus07]

Left him more outside and transitioning him to the room the enclosure is at this point(while kitten-proofing it). We are making progress as he is less interested in the legs.

He seems immune to hissing. Probably I need to practice more. )

 

[She's a witch]

Would you consider getting another kitten or a young adult cat so that yours has someone from his own species to learn from how to be a cat? It could be the easiest solution kittens do best in pairs, especially the little ones that grew up without their mother.

 

[remus07]

To be honest I am afraid of having two little tazmanian devils.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

They do tend to keep each other company, which gives you a bit of a break, though. And NO ONE can teach a kitten how to cat better than another cat.

 

[fionasmom]

I was in this situation with a kitten who lost his family way too early and wanted to play rough because no one had ever "taught" him how to play. It was bad...he was a sweetie and I still own him as an indoor only pet, but I was ripped up all over my hands and arms to where people asked what had happened. Nothing worked. Finally we trained him to learn that he could "fight" but only with me wearing rose pruning gloves. He would jump in the "ring" which was a towel on the kitchen table and box with me. My husband would even ask if Jamie had been to the fight club yet. He did mature, lost interest in fighting, found crinkle chutes and cat nip mice. Oddly, my TNRed feral girls outside who I am trying to domesticate are way more mannered because they spent months with each other and their mom and dad. With the one who is slightly aggressive, a hiss and then walking away and into the house stops her right away and she seems to make the connection with scratching and being left alone.

 

[danteshuman]

Fight club is what I call it when the two 8 month old teen brothers get in the carrier or laundry basket to play fight together.

If you are worried about having 2 kitties attacking you, adopt a 4-6 month old kitten (with good manners about not attacking humans!) My kitties had learned not to attack by 3 months and stopped testing the boundaries by 6 months (even the hyper one did it rarely and didn’t actually hurt me; he just nipped my arm through my sweater.) There are many fantastic kittens out there who will not be adopted because they hit 5 or 6 months old! (Past the cute baby kitten stage.) I adopted one kitten at 4.5 months old and he was the best, well behaved kitten ever! (He was found and fostered by a lady with about 10 cats .... to teach him manners!) Perhaps get a teen kitten from a foster mom so you know for sure what their personalities are like and that they have been taught toys not hands.