Why is my 3 month old kitten aggressive?

[kat262]

So I only just got my kitten for exactly a week now. I got her from a woman whose cats had an accidental litter (she immediately sterilised them after) but she socialised them very well. My cat was so sweet and cuddly, and would sit in my lap all day. Then I took her to the vet for her first shots, she was extremely scared, especially in the car in her carrier. She was meowing the whole way and started hissing and biting her carrier. At the vet’s, she kept trying to run way, until his assistant had to come and hold her still.

After we got back she started acting completely different. The first day all she did was sleep, literally almost 12 hours straight. After this, I thought she was doing better, but she started getting very aggressive. If i pet her or sometimes even when i put my hand near her, she gets aggressive and will try to scratch or bite me. She doesn’t do this to my boyfriend, only to me.
She also gets “zoomies” really often now. About 5 times a day and it can last up to half an hour. Her zoomies are weird because she starts running really fast but it’s as if she’s afraid of me. She hides behind pillows or runs under the table and watches me, then when i move or look at her she stares at me and will try to attack me, by running towards me and showing her teeth and claws. I try to remain calm, but i’m starting to fear her sometimes.

Does anyone know what I can do and what the reason could be? I don’t think she’s sick, because she had a vet check just a couple days ago when she also got the shot.

 

[maggie101]

One of my cats hides after getting home from the vets. It just takes time. Next time she goes, make the carrier comfy. Put in a blanket. There are different carriers. I bought a long rectangular mesh one so it's not plastic. She might like that bette cats do not like being trapped. Some take it harder than othersr

 

[ArtNJ]

A week is not very long. Some kittens hide and hiss for a week.

A lot of times one can only pet a new kitten when its sleepy at first. You don't want to force it. You can often play with toys long before you can pet a kitten regularly. And certainly don't put the kitten on your lap or pick it up before its ready. That is scary to them and can set them back. Let the kitten be the boss. Just try to spend time by the kitten when you can.

If it pounces you, you can use a loud "no!" if really necessary, but since the kitten doesn't trust you yet you have to be especially careful. So if at all possible, simply remove the kitten and ignore it for a bit.

 

[IsaAndNena]

It’s only been a week so she may need more time to adjust to living with you and I imagine the vet visit scared her quite a bit which didn’t help. Another thing to keep in mind is sometimes cats are aggressive as part of their personality.

Mine is defensive aggressive so whenever she’s scared she’ll do a similar run with the claws and teeth but 99% of the time doesn’t go through with attacks and tbh even when she does attack she doesn’t really do anything, just a few swats and a bite or two to get her point across. She’s since grown out of this and only does it to the family dog or someone who is really bothering her (like at the vet, she has a reputation for trying to fight her vet techs).

Give her some time, it’s a new home with a new person, and the vet spooked her, she’ll come around Wishing you guys the best

 

[Willowy]

She's playing. The first few days she was too shy to play much, but now she's used to you and she has some playing to do! Hiding, then popping out and attacking/wrestling, is exactly how kittens play with each other. She doesn't have any other kittens to play with so you're her only playmate. But, of course, you don't want her to think it's ok to bite humans. So, 2 choices: you can get her a kitty playmate so she doesn't have to rely on you to be her playmate, or you need to get a lot of toys to play with her.

For play ambushes, try to have a stuffed animal around so when she jumps out, you can hold that out and have her bite it instead of you. Also get a fishing pole toy and use it at least twice a day until she's tired out.

It really is best to have 2 kittens, saves you a lot of playing and trouble. So if that's at all an option, maybe pop back and get one of her siblings .