Was this mean of me?

[jillie]

Since he hit 6 weeks, Freddie has been a brat! Always biting and attacking. I know he is just treating us like he would treat his litter mates, but I was too afraid that this behavior would roll over into his adult hood. Today, after he was particularly mischievous, I rubbed Tabasco sauce on my hands, and then wiped it off with a towel. When I re-entered the room, Freddie prepped himself to attack, came over to my hand, and then I saw his nose twitching. Without even biting my hand, he could smell the heat! He's been attacking one of his stuffed animals since.
But, was this too mean of me? I don't want him to be afraid of my hands completely. I spent time petting him but just not playing with my hands. Do you think this will leave a lasting impression, or will the conditioning wear off as soon as the Tabasco does?

 

[stephanietx]

I'm not sure if it's mean or not, but it's probably not the best way to handle the situation. It's better to redirect and if attacked, sternly say "NO!" and hiss as a mom cat would. They will outgrow it, but you must be consistent and redirect them to a more appropriate toy.

 

[jillie]

Originally Posted by stephanietx

I'm not sure if it's mean or not, but it's probably not the best way to handle the situation. It's better to redirect and if attacked, sternly say "NO!" and hiss as a mom cat would. They will outgrow it, but you must be consistent and redirect them to a more appropriate toy.

Thanks Stephanie. The "No!" means nothing to him. I've even given him time outs in his crate, and then as soon as he's let back out, he goes in for the attack! I haven't tried the hissing, but I will do that if the effect of the sauce wears off!

 

[alicatjoy]

I don't think I would go so far as to say that your action was mean. In my opinion, to be mean requires you to be ill-intentioned. And, I don't think you wanted to cause Freddie harm. But, I would say that your action was not the best course to take and would suggest reading up on better ways to handle behavioral issues with kittens and cats. And, from this point on, I would not use the Tabasco sauce again. If you continued on with it, I would consider that to be mean or ill-intentioned. We do the best we can, but when we learn better, we do better. And, the simple fact that you came here asking for advice is proof that you do want to do what's best for Freddie. Kudos to you for that.

I agree with what Stephanie said. The best way to handle such behavior in a kitten is to redirect. When my older kitten goes into that old, aggressive (not mean, but play aggressive) behavior, I remove myself from the situation, tell him a stern no, and redirect him to one of his toys. And, 9 times out of 10, the redirection is enough to curb the behavior. It's something that I need to do continuously with even my adult cats, but it's a responsible and effective way to teach them what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior. It can be frustrating at times and it's certainly time consuming, but it is a way to go about teaching boundaries that positively reinforces your relationship with your kitty as opposed to having your cat fear or turn aggressive to you. Consistency is key, though. And, Freddie will test you. But, if you stay firm, he will learn the appropriate way to play with you.

Another option, and one that certainly requires more thought, is that, perhaps, you could adopt a second kitten to keep Freddie company and teach him appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. Of course, this would not mean that you would no longer have problems or need to work with your kitten (and, in this case, it would be two kittens), but it is something to consider since cats do learn from one another. I'm not advocating that you get a second cat, but I do want to point out that having more than one kitten often is beneficial -- especially when your kitten was abandoned and then adopted at such a young age (if I'm remembering correctly, Freddie was quite young when he came to the shelter and then to you).

Regardless, good luck. I know it's difficult to know how to go about handling certain situations. And, while I don't agree with using Tabasco sauce as a training aid, I can appreciate that you realized that your action was not necessarily best for Freddie and that you came here to ask for help so that you don't stray from teaching your kitten life skills in a healthy manner -- for both you and him. Please let us know how things progress and, always remember that we're here to help.

 

[jillie]

Thank you so much for your input. Because I was weary of using the sauce, I wiped it all off, so that it was only a smell, which was all it took to repel Freddie from attacking my hands like he has been. He has many toys, one of which, the Kong Kickeroo, I thought would be perfect for preventing this behavior (he is not my first cat, so I anticipated it), but as long as a human is around, he wants nothing to do with the toys and everything to do with attacking hands!
My saving grace, is that I do have another cat. Raymond. You might remember him from my other threads. He's a Siamese who is about to turn 3, but is definitely still very much a kitten in many ways. Freddie was adopted partially to curb Raymond's play aggression. Right now Ray is living with my parents while I settle into my new place. Luckily, he'll be joining us shortly, and I know that he will know better than me how to put Freddie in his place when he is out of line.
Thank you for the helpful words! As of now, the taste of my hands is just bitter, like vinegar, but smell like black pepper! I'm going to wash it off and see what will come next!

 

[stephanietx]

Do you have any wand toys such as daBird, the Cat Dancer or a fleece string on a wand? Also, an old soda can that's been cleaned and filled with a layer of dried beans and taped closed can be used as a rattle to get the kitty's attention to redirect.

 

[cococat]

Originally Posted by Jillie

Because I was weary of using the sauce, I wiped it all off, so that it was only a smell, which was all it took to repel Freddie from attacking my hands like he has been.
My saving grace, is that I do have another cat. Raymond. Luckily, he'll be joining us shortly

Be sure to introduce them properly with the wait period, etc.
I don't think what you did was cruel. They make a spray to keep pets from chewing inappropriate places, I never thought about applying that spray to a human though.
Does this kitten like a laser light? I think he would love the toy Da Bird.

 

[sharky]

You have gotten great advice... I would only say if you need a taste deterent try something like bitter apple( safer for all than something that can literally de gunk a car battery)

 

[jillie]

I have heard so many good things about Da Bird that I will have to pick one up!
Freddie is a typical kitten and prefers a lot of "non-toys" to actual cat toys. Currently his favorite thing is the plastic stick that keeps a shoe's shape while it's still in the shoe box. I have literally ran him in circle with that thing, but it does take a lot to wear him out.
I will get another laser. I had one, but Raymond didn't have any interest in it (though at the time, I DID have gerbils, which were far more interesting to him).
As for the bitter apple, I can get a bottle, but I've heard cases where cats actually like the taste. Plus, with some more research, I've read that cats sense of smell is far keener than their taste, so that would explain why Freddie didn't even try to bite my hand after he smelled the pepper on it.
I don't know if it makes a difference, but the sauce I used wasn't actually Tabasco, but it was a hot pepper sauce that was bottle similarly to Tabasco.