Kitten- 6 Mos Old Bites and Scratches

We have an 11 month old kitten and, yes, he used to launch himself at us once in awhile. His favorite game was to reach through the stair railing and get us as we walked on the stairs. He doesn't do it very often anymore. I think he's growing out of it. I also heard from somewhere (I wish I could remember) about using a short hissing noise when kittens are being too rough or exhibiting unwanted behavior. If I remember right, it's supposed to mimic the sound the mama cat makes. Whatever, it's worked well for me. Kitty can be in the next room and start scratching on a chair (which he rarely does anymore), I make the "SSST!" noise, and he stops immediately.

I think every kitten I've ever had (we've had cats throughout my life) has been like this at this age. It's normal. Looks like there are a lot of good ideas already posted. I will add that I recommend that you get her spayed. Also, check out Jackson Galaxy's page for advice and ideas on how to properly socialize your kitten and deal with behavior problems. He's a genius when it comes to cats. :)

oh, i'm so sorry to hear this. you did a good thing, and now you're in a pickle. i've found spray bottles to be the most effective with naughty kitties (although in our case it's been more about scratching the furniture than us). it does mean you have to keep the spray bottle with you (or have one in every room of the house) and as soon as aggressive behavior happens, bellow NO! and spray her. one bellow, one hard spray and then boom- you're over it. animals don't understand grudges, or being angry with them 5 minutes later (which is why the awful 'discipline' of rubbing animals' noses in their poo is so mean-spirited as well as disgusting). it's got to be immediate so they connect it with the behavior, and scary enough to back them off.
with some cats (and i guess all animals) you also have to be careful not to overdo it- you don't want them to perceive you as a constant threat or enemy or they'll turn over into mean. but a mama cat will discipline an unruly baby pretty harshly- but get over it immediately too.
be a mama cat.
it also wouldn't hurt to have the vet do a work-up just to make sure there are no pain or other issues.
good luck!! i sure hope this works itself out.
i have one cat who bites if you pet him along his whole body more than once. i guess he's got some sort of sensory processing disorder- it's almost as if it over-stimulates him. so we've learned to avoid provoking him by stroking him gently, and focusing more on head and chin skritches which he accepts with pleasure. could your kitty have something like that going on?
khairete
S.

You need to speak cat. When she bites or is too rough, hiss, like another cat would do. Put her off your lap, stop playing, and ignore her. Also, watch to see if she might be giving you signs, like a twitchy tail. Our cat will seem fine and then the tip of her tail will start to go and I know to back off.

You may also consider asking the vet about feliway or prozac. Also, make sure there are no skin conditions like mites. We are actually considering prozac for our cat that we've always thought was just skittish, but were told recently that she may actually be very anxious.

Make sure the kitty gets plenty to do, scratching posts, things to play with, a perch by the window, etc. A lot of what you say makes me think she's just being a kitten. Kittens are basically furry insanity with points.

Before giving her away, talk to the vet and also consider an animal behaviorist.

You have two choices: make it an outdoor cat (probably not an option, but if you do this, you have to have her spade first) or get another kitten. We have always adopted 2 kittens together, or brought cats into our home that already has cats, they will then play rough with each other and leave you alone until they want affection.
Marie C.'s advice might work, since this is not an older cat, so I also suggest trying her suggestions first. Some cats can be disciplined, and some become resentful or ignore your attempts. Just don't be too harsh, as cats WILL turn on you if they view you as a threat. I have retrained cats by simply ignoring them, loud noises and a stern voice (all of my cats will skitter away from the front door if I say "No, you are NOT going outside" in a deep loud voice, for instance). Every time I have tried a water gun, they play with the water and love it.

Luckily, she will probably grow out of it...in a couple of years. If you can tolerate it for that long. Good luck.

Sounds like typical kitten phase. I did train my cat when he was a kitten on appropriate play, though. I used an oven mitt to play with him, and he knew when it came out, it was play time. My regular hand or other body parts- no. Sometimes he would get carried away and try to play with my bare hand or foot, and all I had to was stop and say (in a stern voice) "No claw-claw" and he would retract. This is also a cat I trained to fetch, speak, and roll over. I always said he was a cat trapped in a dog's body. lol
So cats can be trained. It just takes some effort.
Also, get a laser pointer. That really got the energy out of my cat and wore him out during this phase.

This was probably a feral cat that someone caught or the momma died and they fed it and raised it until it was about 6 weeks old.

You need to learn how to socialize it. Cats raised by house cats are different. Feral cats keep all their instincts and they don't know it hurts when they bite or scratch you.

When they were little a momma cat would have spatted them with her paw when they were too aggressive. Your kitty hasn't ever learned manners.

It's up to you to teach it. We used a great big furry fox puppet when socializing our feral cat. He couldn't scratch us through it.

You need to check some books out of the library, talk to the vet, google it, etc...

You need to become very strict and consistent about absolutely no "rough" human contact play... As much fun as it can be. If you want to play with kitten, do so with a ball or other cat toys. If she tries to play aggressively while being petted or snuggling (I fostered a cat once who was horrible about randomly attacking body parts... One minute he's purring away in your lap, the next he is drawing blood from your hand. Yikes.), pull away, clap your hands, and say, "NO," sternly. Depending on the kitten, you could also scruff her neck, pin her down, and tell her no. (Some kittens respond to this behavior, which is close to what Momma or litter mates would do... But others take it as playing back and will take it as a cue to attack more. You can try it and see how your kitten responds.) Then return the attention as you were. If the cat gets aggressive again, completely remove yourself (or move the cat) from the situation and re-direct the behavior onto a human-free toy. I did this with the cat I mentioned before, and after about 6 weeks (he was an older, intact cat when I got him; we did neuter him, but the tom-attitude had already formed, so the behavior and aggressiveness was pretty ingrained.) he had completely stopped. He wound up finding his forever home in a household with 3 children, and they have never had problems with him. :)

As recommended below, both hissing and an IMMEDIATE spritz of water to the head are generally effective. Either has worked for me in the past (I'm currently without felines). But you do need to keep that spray bottle within quick reach every time you interact with her for the first few days.

Yowling like a cat in pain, immediately turning away and ignoring her for an hour also worked for me with my last cat, a feral that I tamed. She allowed touch pretty quickly, loved it, and didn't know how to control the excitement it seemed to cause her. She'd quickly become overstimulated and do a sudden swipe with claws, occasionally even grab and bite hard enough to graze skin.

I was worried about her becoming afraid of me again if I sprayed her, and hissing didn't seem to affect her. Yowling and walking away turned her around after only 4-5 consistent tries. The last time she ever 'almost' scratched, I saw her shoulder muscles bunch and that paw start to rise with claws extending, but she caught herself and stopped. I'd never seen a cat seem to 'think it through' so obviously and quickly, and it was never an issue again.

Good luck!

I had a kitten like this once. I named him Chuckie because of it. LOL He grew out of it but I don't have any suggestions. I think it's just the personality of the cat. My mom has had many cats her whole life, some do this some don't. I hope you get some good advice. Good luck.

My sister has a kitty who started out like this. Her youngest son was the cat's favorite target and he was becoming pretty traumatized because he never knew when Kitty would strike. She was considering re-homing the cat but they wanted to try one thing first: making her an outdoor cat. It was great! Kitty was happy to hunt outside and really mellowed out.

So, it might be worth a try. If you can't make her an outdoor pet, it might be prudent to find a new situation.