# Help!! Highly aggressive kitten



## Skyclad (Jun 14, 2012)

Hi,

I'm hoping some of you can help.

My fiancee and I have recently acquired a new kitten. This kitten was "rescued" from a litter at 6 weeks old, after her mother was knocked down and killed by a car. When we took her, she was weaned and litter trained.

Whilst our bundle of fluff was a cute, uncoordinated, mewling bundle of joy, she has since turned into a kitten that I can only describe as psychotic.

She is 9 weeks old now and bites, claws, hisses, spits and growls at anyone who comes near her. My fiancee and I have shown her nothing but affection but she has turned into a monster. We have tried numerous methods to discourage her behaviour - ie "time out", a loud "no", sitting on our hands, disassociating ourselves from play and not playing with her directly but with toys (no hands involved).

She is highly stimulated, with many toys, a climbing tree, scratching post, laser pointer etc etc. She just never seems to tire!

The vet has checked her over and she is in good health, not in any pain and has no obvious injuries. She is eating / sleeping well - just HIGHLY aggressive.

For example:


When we are sitting down, she will launch herself (all teeth and claws) onto our legs, climb up, bite our hands / fingers, then run back down.

When we approach her or her toys (even at her level), she will spit and hiss.

When we put food down, she is VERY aggressive and will growl, spit, hiss.

When we try and stroke her, she will whip around and bite, claw or spit.

This goes beyond any kind of play behaviour, and in actual fact is becoming quite distressing. My fiancee and I are sadly coming close to looking at rehoming her somewhere, as her vicious nature is only getting worse. We are not thinking of doing this on a whim, but if you could experience being terrorised by a foot long ball of black fluff the way we are, you would understand our plight.

Before we take such drastic action, could anyone suggest anything in a last-ditch effort to correct her behaviour


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## Lel (Mar 21, 2012)

She is still very young and has probably missed out on vital socialisation due to the loss of her mum.

If it were me I would play only with fishing rod type toys so hands completely away. I would not attempt play with toys that she connects with you (if you understand what I mean) so none where your hands are in sight at all. Other than this I would not make any attempt to fuss or stroke her because it clearly isn't something she is comfortable with at the moment but in time I'm sure this will change.

When you sit down grab a fishing rod toy straight away and just have it dangling for her so she goes for that, not your legs.

When putting food down I would not draw attention to it, put it straight down For her and then and walk away.

Basically try to avoid all the triggers you have described that lead to her "aggression".

I wonder if you and your Oh are just trying a bit too hard to win her round; the behaviour you describe just sounds like a response to fear.

Did you see her in her previous home before you took her? How was she then?


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Firstly, buy some plug in Feliway diffusers and plug them in around the area where she sleeps and plays. These diffuse cat pheromones which calm the cat and help her feel more at home. Keep the Feliway on 24/7. It can take a few weeks to take effect.

The problem is your kitten lost her mother when she was still too young to be without her. She needed those vital lost weeks for her to socialise her and teach her how to behave nicely to humans. (Can hardly believe the mother cat was foolishly allowed to go outdoors when she was still nursing/training her babies!!).

So you are going to have to try and train her yourselves. I know you have done loads, but please I beg you, persevere, as it would be very sad indeed for this poor little kitten to have more upsetting upheaval in her life after such a bad start losing his mum. Anyway who is going to want her if you are truthful and say she is "too aggressive for you to handle"?

Speak to your vet and ask for a referral to an animal behaviourist. It needs to be the kind that comes to your home, and observes the cat in its own environment. It will probably be a one-off visit, and maybe a follow up over the phone, so not hugely expensive, and worth it if you get a well behaved friendly cat from your wild little kitten.

Meanwhile, a few things. How often are you feeding your kitten? If she is hungry this could be making her a bit wild and aggressive. Certainly the way she is climbing up you often indicates a hungry kitten. So I would feed a good quality wet food, no dry food, and give 5 meals a day at this age. Give her as much as she wants to eat. She will leave food on the plate when she has had enough. 

Where is she sleeping at night? I would put her in a room on her own at night, with litter tray, water bowl and her supper, with some cosy bedding. Settle her down, turn off the light and close the door until morning.
She will soon learn this is the time to relax completely and *switch off*, with no expectations of having to interact with humans for a few hrs.

Have some set periods of play before meals using *distance* interactive toys such as wands, or throwing little balls for her
to chase. If you want closer interactive play use a giant catnip mouse (called the Macey Mouse) sold at [email protected] She can 
kick and scratch that all she likes then. 

Then when the play session ends (say after 45 mins or so) feed her, and ignore her for the time being. She should then quieten down, have a wash and sleep.

If you are out most of the day, I would buy an automatic feeder with 2 compartments, put wet food in and set the timers to come on every 4 hours or so whilst you are out. She will no doubt be in a calmer mood if she is being fed regularly throughout the day. 

Please keep us posted as to how you get on.  Good luck


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## Skyclad (Jun 14, 2012)

Thanks for the advice. She is being fed Whiskas "Kitten" right now - 4 times a day. 8am, 1pm, 5pm, 10pm. We'll increase it to 5 feeds. We're putting out more than she eats (not too much) - there's always some left over. At the last "weigh in" just coming up to 9 weeks she was 830g

As for night-time sleeping, she's "in bed" by 11pm on her own with water, a few biscuits (Purina One) and has the door shut until 7.30am

As for playtime, she has a morning (30 mins) and afternoon (30 mins) set play - as I work from home. There are lots of ad-hoc "play sessions" with a dangly wand or laser pointer too when she's particularly bouncy.

Now here's the one thing I forgot to mention. In the morning before I give her the first feed (ie when she sees me for the first time) she is VERY purr-y and cheep-y with her mews.... (happy?) So why does she get so grumpy after her first meal...?


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## RabbitMonster (Mar 20, 2012)

Skyclad said:


> Thanks for the advice. *She is being fed Whiskas "Kitten" right now* - 4 times a day. 8am, 1pm, 5pm, 10pm. We'll increase it to 5 feeds. We're putting out more than she eats (not too much) - there's always some left over. At the last "weigh in" just coming up to 9 weeks she was 830g
> 
> As for night-time sleeping, she's "in bed" by 11pm on her own with water, a few biscuits (Purina One) and has the door shut until 7.30am
> 
> ...


Whiskas Kitten, though better than dry food, is by no means a good wet food for cats or kittens, and this could be another reason for her behaviour. The low meat content means she's not getting the right nutrition, even with the increase in meals.

Her purring for her first meal is good, it means she's happy and she's associating you with good things.

I have to say, to have a kitten this young, 3 weeks is by no means a good amount of time to judge if she has settled in well. Her lack of socialisation and just general kittenishness means she will take longer to settle in your home. Don't let this put you off, just keep in mind it'll take more patience to get her 100% happy, but I guarantee you'll a lovely little bundle of joy out of her


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## Treaclesmum (Sep 26, 2011)

Even though she's being fed 4 times a day, she may still need more food - how much food do you give her each time? Is it the Whiskas kitten in jelly? Because the peices of meat are very tiny, and she may not feel satisfied. Remember she will be teething too - so sometimes she may be hungry but have a sore, uncomfortable mouth. You should try to feed smooth pate foods at these times. They will fill her up much better too!


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

chillminx has put it in a nutshell.2 years ago I was in exactly the same situation.My Ragdoll was a nightmare,I sympathise with you,nobody can appreciate the horrors unless they have actually experienced it.I was ripped to bits by my kitten for months but I brought in the help of a behaviourist who gave me the "tools" to change him,and I have.He is now 2 years old and basically a very loving.soft lump of a cat ,but he will always have that little bit of "prickle" that I can now cope with.
It is so worth the effort,I think I love Meeko even more because I had to work at getting him to be happy.


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## Skyclad (Jun 14, 2012)

We also have some Hi-life (80% meat) which she likes.

Can you recommend a very good quality food? We want the best for her and "assumed" Whiskas was good. My fiancee wonders if bad food is making her grouchy due to poor nutrition.

She is a gorgeous kitten and clearly has some love in her, so we want to try everything.


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

I think your fiancée has possibly hit it on the head - reading this - I was thinking this is a kitten who feels uncomfortable - I think (and it's only an inkling) that on top of everything else she has tummy ache - most probably because she is sensitive to the grains, sugars and fillers in foods like Whiskas and dry.

Here's my normal response to food concerns. (sorry for the cut and paste)

Firstly if you can try to get her off the dry - they do love it - but we like cake but don't eat it all the time! It's full of completely unnecessary carbs that are there to bulk the food out and make it cheaper for the manufacturers to produce. Add to that that cats find it incredibly hard to metabolise you end up paying for them to poop it out. The additives and sugars that are in dry are a contributory factor to feline obesity. 
Also dry is incredibly dehydrating for cats as cats have evolved to get 99% of their fluids from their prey and so have no natural thirst drive. For each 50g of dry they eat they need about 1/2 pint of water to counteract the dehydrating effects. Even with a water fountain most cats find this a hard amount of water to drink. 
Dehydration can lead to kidney problems, UTIs and crystals forming in the bladder. This is especially bad for neutered boys (no idea why neutered) but boys because they have a longer urethral tract and often the crystals get stuck in their willy when they try to pass them and it is incredibly painful. Obviously not all cats will get this - but you have to weigh up the risks and decide to do what is best for you.

The worst wet is better than the best dry. Yes even Whiskas and Felix!

For wet the higher the meat percentage the better. I like to feed anything above 60% but tend to go for 97% or more, watch out for the offal content though.

I personally feed a mixture of raw, Bozita, Aminonda Carny (was feeding Smilla but it's just changed and I won't be buying it again), and Grau, I have fed Natures Menu and Hi-life in the past, and probably will again to replace the Smilla. Other good ones are Petnatur, Tiger etc. These foods are found either at Pet Supplies, Pet Food, Dog Food, Cat Food and Pet Accessories at Zooplus or other german suppliers. Other have ordered from the other suppliers but I haven't had the courage yet. Nature's Menu can be found at [email protected] as can Hi-life.

If you really need to feed dry - look at Orijen, Applaws, and Acana - these are grain free.

As with all good food they may seem more expensive (wet and dry) to begin with, but you feed less and they poop less, AND it's a lot less smelly.

Hope that helps.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Skyclad said:


> > We also have some Hi-life (80% meat) which she likes.
> 
> 
> Hilife will be better for her than Whiskas or dry food. But be aware that Hilife does contain tapioca (a cereal), and although it may be better tolerated by some cats than wheat, there are cats who just cannot tolerate any cereals in their food (I have such a cat myself).
> ...


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## Skyclad (Jun 14, 2012)

Thanks for the advice about food. You may be right about the tummy-ache. She's had 2 feeds of Hi-Life today and she seems less prickly. There's been a little bit of spitting and hissing, but my fiancee reckons it's better than when she's had 2 feeds of Whiskas by now.

Anyway, I've been "told" I have to post a picture of the little monster. I think this is CONCLUSIVE proof of how evil she is! :tongue_smilie:


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

What a little gorgeous devil - how old? She looks very young - I know they were taken from mum early - looks about 8 weeks there.


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## Skyclad (Jun 14, 2012)

That pic was taken about 15 mins ago :tongue_smilie:

She's 8-9 weeks old. We're "aging her" week by week on a Saturday, so tomorrow she's 9 weeks old (as she was 6 weeks old, 3 weeks ago on the Saturday we got her).

Don't be deceived by the "just love me" expression. We fell for that and are now covered in scratches and teeth marks! :tongue_smilie:

I'm just about to look on the Zooplus website for some new food for her... 

...if this aggression IS due to tummy-ache, we really want to get her feeling happy asap!


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

What an adorable pretty little kitty!:001_wub: Butter wouldn't melt....eh?

With looks like that I think I could almost forgive her anything!:001_smile:


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## RabbitMonster (Mar 20, 2012)

Oh she's just adorable! :001_wub: Silly slave, with that face how could she possibly do anything wrong?! :001_tt2:


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## Skyclad (Jun 14, 2012)

Hmm ok, I've just had a very strange experience with her...

I just went to have a cup of tea and she jumped straight on my lap purring like she was going to explode.

She then started the whole "kneading thing" on my chest (which I know about), but then climbed up a little more and proceeded to repeatedly bump her head/nose against my mouth and continuously try and rub the side of her mouth against my nose, lips and cheek.

She's gone into her basket now and is "pretending" to sleep.

So what was that all about then?!?


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Skyclad said:


> > She then started the whole "kneading thing" on my chest (which I know about), but then climbed up a little more and proceeded to repeatedly bump her head/nose against my mouth and continuously try and rub the side of her mouth against my nose, lips
> 
> 
> Aww bless her! That's just her expressing her affection for you, and her gratitude for looking after her.
> ...


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## RabbitMonster (Mar 20, 2012)

That experience is probably the most loving experience you could ever have with a cat! :001_wub:

She clearly does love you, so now it's just a case of socialising her, getting her onto food that doesn't upset her poor tum and you're well on your way to adorable loving kitty heaven!


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## Skyclad (Jun 14, 2012)

I definitely think the reason for the grumpyness has been caused by tummy-ache / bad food. She seems much happier already from a whole day on the Hi-Life. For the 3rd time today, she's done the kneading / face rubbing thing on me. 

She seems much more purr-y too.

Now I have to deal with my disgruntled fiancee, who is now feeling ignored by kitty who is giving ME all the attention


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Very pleased to hear kitty's moods are continuing to be so much better! 
Sounds like you may have cracked it! Well done! 

She is sounding like she is one happy little kitty now, with all the nose and face rubbing she is doing to you. Kittens often exhibit this behaviour to their mother, and sometimes their siblings, as a greeting and sign of closeness! So feel flattered -- she sees you as one of her family!

Sorry to hear your OH is feeling left out of the party! If he feeds her and plays with her when he is at home she will no doubt start face rubbing him as well.


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

Oh, what super news! I've only just noticed the thread, so sorry I didn't jump in to help earlier. Sounds like she's well on the way to being a deceptively cute little ball of fluff! Please keep us posted on her progress. She sounds like such a gorgeous little monster!


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## Skyclad (Jun 14, 2012)

chillminx said:


> Sorry to hear your OH is feeling left out of the party! If he feeds her and plays with her when he is at home she will no doubt start face rubbing him as well.


I am laughing so much right now... I love the internet. My fiancee is the "she" and I am the "he" who has been writing all the posts. It's more funny considering the fact my fiancee constantly teases me about being the kitty's "mummy" now, which is more than a little amusing as I am 6ft 3 and built like a brick outhouse.

Kitty has come on in leaps and bounds (excuse the pun) and has been so well behaved I swear she's a different cat. She still uses me like a giant walking "climbing toy", but she's much more careful with her teeth and claws!

We went to the supermarket today and bought more Hi-Life and some Feline Fayre (60% meat / no grains or bulking agents). Kitty loves the latter and purred all the way through her last meal. To be honest, I can't blame her - the big pieces of fish look good enough to go with any salad! All mushed up, she loves it.

Fingers crossed, I think we solved the problem - thank you ALL for your help!

As you can see, she's asleep (or as I like to call it, "playing dead"), half out of her basket.... as usual! :tongue_smilie:


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Skyclad said:


> I am laughing so much right now... I love the internet. My fiancee is the "she" and I am the "he" who has been writing all the posts. It's more funny considering the fact my fiancee constantly teases me about being the kitty's "mummy" now, which is more than a little amusing as I am 6ft 3 and built like a brick outhouse.
> 
> Kitty has come on in leaps and bounds (excuse the pun) and has been so well behaved I swear she's a different cat. *She still uses me like a giant walking "climbing toy", but she's much more careful with her teeth and claws!*
> 
> ...


Oh, I've SO been there - they do eventually get too heavy to do it - but it's quite a long phase!

So glad she is getting better - have you checked out any of the foods on zooplus yet? Or thought about feeding raw? I feed three of the four of mine raw and it's brilliant.


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## Skyclad (Jun 14, 2012)

I've ordered a small selection from Zooplus - Bozita, Animoda and Applaws. That way we can see what she likes best.

As for raw food - we haven't even considered that to be honest.


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Do you want to consider it? I can post links etc if you do- but it's late and I don't want to if you're really not interested


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Sorry Skyclad, for mistakenly assuming you were a female If I'd stopped to think about your name maybe I would've thought it was perhaps more the kind of name a man would choose! 

Very pleased indeed to hear of the continuing progress of your lovely kitty! It sounds as if you are definitely 'out of the woods'. 

Glad to hear you are giving Zooplus a go, and I hope you find some more foods she can tolerate, so you have choice of about 3 or 4 foods to rotate for her.


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

Be careful with the Feline Fair as the majority of them aren't complete from memory. Asda also do a very good food called Toplife. It's meaty chunks in jelly, but if you add a little water to it, the jelly turns into a nice gravy. The meat chunks contain 92% meat, so it's about comparable to Bozita's chunks in jelly.


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## broccoli (Jul 1, 2011)

feline fayre in black tins is complete - blue isnt

natures menu is also a good uk available one - 70%

pleased shes improving


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## Skyclad (Jun 14, 2012)

broccoli said:


> feline fayre in black tins is complete - blue isnt
> 
> natures menu is also a good uk available one - 70%
> 
> pleased shes improving


Hang on - I'm confused now....

Feline Fayre (BLUE) - Tuna

Ingredients
Tuna Red Meat (60%), Water, Gelling Agent, Soy Bean Oil, Glucose, Sucrose, Minerals.

Typical Analysis
Protein	14.0%
Oils and Fats	2.0%
Fibre	0.1%
Ash	3.0%
Moisture	84.0%
Vitamin A	2200 lu/kg
Vitamin D3	250 lu/kg
Vitamin E	50 lu/kg

Feline Fayre (Black) Tuna / Prawn

Ingredients
Tuna (42%), Prawn (4.6%), Water, Gelling Agent, Glucose, Minerals, Vitamins.

Typical Analysis
Protein	13.0%
Oils and Fats	1.5%
Fibre	0.5%
Ash	2.0%
Moisture	82.0%
Vitamin E	50 lu/kg

The (Blue) has more Vitamins, but the (Black) has added Taurine and Omega 3.

So isn't the (Blue) a good thing to feed her then?


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Cats NEED taurine - without it they can die - so the one with taurine os better than the one without.


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## Skyclad (Jun 14, 2012)

But surely a food company is not going to sell a cat food product with no Taurine in it if a lack of it kills cats?

Looking at the ingredients of the Hi Life, there's no Taurine in that either.


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

You don't always need to add taurine - sometimes it is already in the food - but check the side of the tin - it should say complimentary if it isn't complete. COmpanies can sell food that isn't complete as long as they state it. Applaws adult isn't complete either.


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## Lel (Mar 21, 2012)

There is a difference between complete foods (those which have taurine and other essential nutrients) and complementary food (those which do not, and you just feed as a treat). I agree it would far easier if all cat food was complete!


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