Unprovoked Attacks

[ferneden]

Hi everyone!

My darling kitten is 1 on Monday and she's gotten back into the habit of unprovoked attacks! When we first got her she would randomly latch on and bunny kick us but she didn't have any litter mates to play with so we think she just didn't learn how far was too far with play.
We managed to train her out of the habit and shes been 10x better than she used to be but recently she's gotten worse again.

I'll be folding washing and she'll just launch and latch her entire body onto my arm and start biting and bunny kicking or she'll be asleep on my knee and all of a sudden roll onto her back and grab me. I'm not sure what to do because playing with her doesn't seem to help it (we literally play with her in all our spare time and we even throw treats down to mimic her getting something from the prey). I'm trying hard not to pick I'll toys as soon as she attacks so she doesn't think attacking is the way to get our attention to play.

Does anyone have any ideas on how I could stop this? It's getting pretty painful and it seems to only be me she's going for whether I'm sat still or moving. Getting another cat isn't on the cards at the moment as I'm moving back in with my mum, I have wondered if getting another cat might help though.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated because my arms and hands are being torn to bits

EDIT: She's also a very clever cat so maybe some interactive toys for when I'm not here could help? Any suggestions on non motorised toys would be great as the motorised ones really scare her!

 

[rubysmama]

Since she'd gotten better, and is just now reverting to her more bite-y self, I wonder if she's possibly not feeling well. Or stressed. Has anything changed in the household recently? Course she might just be one of those cats that likes to bite.

Have you tried the high-pitched "owwwwww" when she bites you? That's how another cat would let her know she's hurting them.

You've probably read these, but in case you haven't, here's some TCS articles that might have some tips for you.

How To Stop Playtime Aggression In Cats | TheCatSite
Cat Aggression Toward People | TheCatSite
Why Do Cats Attack? | TheCatSite

Is Your Cat Stressed Out? | TheCatSite
You, Your Cat And Stress | TheCatSite
Potential Stressors In Cats - The Ultimate Checklist | TheCatSite
Six Surefire Strategies To Reduce Stress In Cats | TheCatSite

 

[ferneden]

Since she'd gotten better, and is just now reverting to her more bite-y self, I wonder if she's possibly not feeling well. Or stressed. Has anything changed in the household recently? Course she might just be one of those cats that likes to bite.

Have you tried the high-pitched "owwwwww" when she bites you? That's how another cat would let her know she's hurting them.

You've probably read these, but in case you haven't, here's some TCS articles that might have some tips for you.

How To Stop Playtime Aggression In Cats | TheCatSite
Cat Aggression Toward People | TheCatSite
Why Do Cats Attack? | TheCatSite

Is Your Cat Stressed Out? | TheCatSite
You, Your Cat And Stress | TheCatSite
Potential Stressors In Cats - The Ultimate Checklist | TheCatSite
Six Surefire Strategies To Reduce Stress In Cats | TheCatSite

We've recently found out she has quite sever food sensitivities so I've had to do a lot of diet changes and she's been back and forth to the vets for her bowels so maybe that? She's covered in scabs too at the moment We're moving at the moment but it's been a problem since before we were packing.

I've tried everything and she just latches on harder! Its gotten to the point where I have to flatten her against my body to try and stop the kicking and then try and nibble on her ears to see if that will get her off. I'm worried that when I move home that she'll hurt my little sister

 

[rubysmama]

Oh, your poor baby girl. Have you talked to the vet about her biting. Maybe he could suggest something to help. I'm sure, though, it has something to do with her health issues. Hopefully when that gets cleared up, and you get settled back home, things will be better.

 

[di and bob]

She does not know limits because she has not played with another cat who would teach her. The next time she latches on, take her by the loose skin on the back of the neck and hold her still to the ground for a minute, or until she stops struggling. This has to be done EVERY time. Tell her NO loudly or hiss at her. This is what a mama cat does to discipline her little ones. It is in a language your cat will understand. I get two kickeroos on amazon and keep one fresh in a bag of catnip. They are long cat toys that encourage bunny kicking and are irresistable to cats. Throw it towards her when she is coming for you. They work to distract.

 

[danteshuman]

They also sell a kickeroo refresher/catnip spray that cats love!

I was amazed how clearly all three naughty kittens understood and behaved when I ‘hissed’ at them. (I can’t hiss so I settled for a psssst pssssst psssssst sound.) Also I trained all my cats to not bite/claw humans by doing a loud high pitched oooowwwww and then ignoring them for 15 minutes. If it doesn’t hurt you but you still felt teeth or claw do a high pitched owww and ignore for 5 minutes.

The latching onto you? If the loud and long wailing high pitched ow does not startle your cat into retracting their claws, I would scruff them and pry each claw out of me gently ..... then place them in a bathroom for a 15-30 minute time out.

I had one semi-feral that did that to me once. He latched onto my arm, all 4 paws dig into my arm while he nipped at me.(well bit without drawing blood but it hurt!) I scruffed and pried him off me, then tossed him softly 3 feet from me (I had no idea how to put him down without him attacking!) He gave me a look like “Holy s***, you can do that?!?!?!?!?!” I had to rebuild my trust with him and learn to mind his body cues better. I’m not recommending the kitty bowling method but it might be needed in an emergency situation.

I hope your cat’s tummy feels better. She may be wanting to play and maybe being extra cranky about it because she is hurting?

 

[She's a witch]

Personally I wouldn’t recommend scruffing, while fine with kittens, it can be really dangerous when done to adult cat. Adults cats don’t do this to another adult cats after all.
But I do second hissing, exaggerated Oww sound and big kickaroos toys. I learned that the safest way to free myself from latched cat is to not move and relax the muscles and wait till the cat calms down (he should naturally do this when your muscles are relaxed), then give him a message that you don’t approve this by ignoring (but to be fair, my personal cats don’t latch, but this method works with shelter cats).
Maybe she needs a physical kind of play (my cat is a wrestler so maybe she is too). If another cat is not an option, try to get soft toy of her size and try playing it by moving in your hand (just make sure your hand is safe- and I’m not sure it can be done, you can try experimenting if you’re willing to risk it).

 

[Talien]

It sounds like she is very high-energy and does not have enough outlets for it all, interactive toys may help but often the more active Cats will get bored with them after a while and go back to undesired behavior.

And yes, quite often the best way to deal with Cats that act out like yours is to get another playful young Cat to keep them occupied. They will help burn off excess energy and you'll often see them play with eachother until they're tired out then take a nap together. The best time to do that is when they're still young, before they start to become territorial. After that it is much harder to introduce new Cats.

You mentioned it wasn't an option because you're moving back home. Is it because your mom doesn't want more than one Cat in the house or is it because you don't want to bring a new Cat home until you're settled in there? If it's the former then it hopefully won't be too hard to convince her that 2 young Cats is easier to deal with than one.

 

[ferneden]

It sounds like she is very high-energy and does not have enough outlets for it all, interactive toys may help but often the more active Cats will get bored with them after a while and go back to undesired behavior.

And yes, quite often the best way to deal with Cats that act out like yours is to get another playful young Cat to keep them occupied. They will help burn off excess energy and you'll often see them play with eachother until they're tired out then take a nap together. The best time to do that is when they're still young, before they start to become territorial. After that it is much harder to introduce new Cats.

You mentioned it wasn't an option because you're moving back home. Is it because your mom doesn't want more than one Cat in the house or is it because you don't want to bring a new Cat home until you're settled in there? If it's the former then it hopefully won't be too hard to convince her that 2 young Cats is easier to deal with than one.

My mum doesn't mind me taking her but she's said no more cats. I'm a bit worried too that Evie might try to bunny kick a new cat whilst playing and hurt them, especially because the next cat I wanted to look at getting would be a Devon Rex.

I have a harness for her so we can play in the garden and go to the pet store and some days she likes that and others she's really scared so we can't even do that every day

 

[ferneden]

Personally I wouldn’t recommend scruffing, while fine with kittens, it can be really dangerous when done to adult cat. Adults cats don’t do this to another adult cats after all.
But I do second hissing, exaggerated Oww sound and big kickaroos toys. I learned that the safest way to free myself from latched cat is to not move and relax the muscles and wait till the cat calms down (he should naturally do this when your muscles are relaxed), then give him a message that you don’t approve this by ignoring (but to be fair, my personal cats don’t latch, but this method works with shelter cats).
Maybe she needs a physical kind of play (my cat is a wrestler so maybe she is too). If another cat is not an option, try to get soft toy of her size and try playing it by moving in your hand (just make sure your hand is safe- and I’m not sure it can be done, you can try experimenting if you’re willing to risk it).

Thank you for the advice! We have a kickeroo but she's scared of it, no matter how much catnip it's covered in I'll maybe try using it a bit more though!
Her worst thing is the bunny kicking because it's so painful on bare skin that it's hard to not jerk away. Hopefully we'll get there, I'm not giving up on her!

 

[ferneden]

They also sell a kickeroo refresher/catnip spray that cats love!

I was amazed how clearly all three naughty kittens understood and behaved when I ‘hissed’ at them. (I can’t hiss so I settled for a psssst pssssst psssssst sound.) Also I trained all my cats to not bite/claw humans by doing a loud high pitched oooowwwww and then ignoring them for 15 minutes. If it doesn’t hurt you but you still felt teeth or claw do a high pitched owww and ignore for 5 minutes.

The latching onto you? If the loud and long wailing high pitched ow does not startle your cat into retracting their claws, I would scruff them and pry each claw out of me gently ..... then place them in a bathroom for a 15-30 minute time out.

I had one semi-feral that did that to me once. He latched onto my arm, all 4 paws dig into my arm while he nipped at me.(well bit without drawing blood but it hurt!) I scruffed and pried him off me, then tossed him softly 3 feet from me (I had no idea how to put him down without him attacking!) He gave me a look like “Holy s***, you can do that?!?!?!?!?!” I had to rebuild my trust with him and learn to mind his body cues better. I’m not recommending the kitty bowling method but it might be needed in an emergency situation.

I hope your cat’s tummy feels better. She may be wanting to play and maybe being extra cranky about it because she is hurting?

She's so adorable so it's horrid when she turns! Bunny kicking on bare skin is not fun!! I might have to try something a bit more hands on when she gets really bad, no matter how much I stay still she carries on when she's in a satanic mood!

She might have to have an operation on her bowels so the vets can have a look and to have biopsies taken as they saw lumps when we did an ultrasound and her toileting still is covered in mucus and blood! All her brothers and sisters died before 10 weeks old so they want to check everything just in case

 

[danteshuman]

My teen kitten misses rough housing with his brother. So I ‘wrestle’ with him by placing my hand under a thick blanket and wrestling with him. It works but I have to let him win That said for a short while he started jumping on and softly nipping my arm. I had to hiss at him and then ignore him a few times. He learned real quick to knock it off. I’m not sure if he would have done it with the blanking wrestling helped or hurt but he is the only kitten I have ever had who did that to me. (He was the only kitten bottle baby I have dealt with who has gone through their teen phase as an only kitten so he lacks a kitten buddy to beat him up...... personally I think he is quite clever. He attacked my arm while I was wearing a sweater and used his claws and teeth so nicely it didn’t hurt at all. I had to pretend it hurt so he didn’t develop a bad habit.)

It might be worth a try.

 

[NochasMom]

In my experience, you can teach a young cat how to play without hurting you. You gotta show her when it hurts: scream aya! and act a bit exaggerated. In other words, show her that she caused you pain and withdraw. She does not want to hurt you and so pretty quickly she learns to play without using her claws.

 

[cheeseburger]

We had this same issue when our cat was 1. In some respects, I think many cats who are separated young from their litters go through a 'rough play' phase around this time of adolescence, when they still have kitten energy but adult strength.

Our cat is now two and we no longer have this problem. We experimented with a lot of different things, but these are the techniques that worked for us:

1. When he attacks our skin, immediately recoil and say "OUCH" or some noise consistently, then walk away from play entirely (leave the room). If it's really bad, shut the cat in the room for a little while. Removing your presence is a pretty good disincentive to modify behavior.
2. Give cat other hunting outlets. We bought a $20 suction cup bird feeder on Amazon that we stuck to our window and filled with seed. Cat spends all day hunting birds so doesn't feel the need to hunt our arms.
3. Allow rough play through towels/blankets. We have a few places where we have a towel draped over the tub or over a bench that our cat can hide under. We use our fingers to simulate prey on the other side and let kitty go crazy biting and with nails on the other side. It gives him an acceptable outlet for the behavior he wants to do. Over time, our cat has come to understand that doing this through towels is okay, but without the towel it's not.

 

[Faikey]

So a lot of great advice here but I'll add one more thing because we have cats that do this if left unchecked.

Im very good at mimicking real cat sounds and people often can't tell if it's me or the cat that's meowed but when a cat is doing something bad I don't hit I just approach them and quickly hiss which literally stops them in their tracks.

I do this to immediately break up cat fights very successfully as well. Or for a kitten I just totally ignore it and continue on my way because I've had so many cats as a rescue person that I just ignore bites and scratches and I don't even feel them hahaha.

 

[ferneden]

I've been trying everything out with her but at the moment we're still struggling. She attacked my arm today so I hissed at her and did the high pitch ouch and she wouldn't let go, when she finally let go I went to walk away and she attacked my leg and then I went to pick her up to put her in time out and she just ran away to where I couldn't get her.
Then when I sat on the sofa she launched from the ground and latched onto my skull with her claws and teeth

5 minutes after and she's snuggled right up on me so I really don't know what to do, it's like she has two personalities!