# Very Aggressive Kitten



## Leah2 (May 28, 2011)

I have a 15 week old kitten called Simba and 90% of the time he attacks, bites and is very aggressive.

I admit I got him a little too young but at the time I was unaware he was too young to be separated from him mother however I tried my best to teach him right from wrong. 

Lately his behavior has become so aggressive that he attacks me over the littlest things and its got to the point where I am scared of him. This morning he attacked me because I picked him up off the bed, when he attacks he usually goes for my arms, or if he decides to attack when I am standing up he jumps on to my legs and bites. He also hisses at me for no reason.

I have tried being firm with him and saying 'No' or giving him a little tap when he is naughty, all the usual things but none of this works. Even locking him out the room to calm down doesn't work because as soon as I let him out he thinks it time to start biting and attacking again 

The other 10% of the time he is very loving and loves a cuddles and purrs away while you stroke him, but this only ever happens on his terms and is on a very odd occasion.

If anyone has any advice on his behavior I would very much appreciate it.

Thanks, Leah x


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## maryrose1977 (Aug 7, 2011)

Ok tapping a kitten on the nose isnt going to do anything other than let it know fighting is a good thing to do. 

Have you consulted the vet to see if they have any suggestions.

People on here say try a feliway difuser, i have no experience with those myself tho but are suppose to calm a cat. 

If you want to hold your kitten use your voice to calm it, try not to go straight for the grab because that may scare him, when he does bite u or hurt u place him on the floor and walk away.

i must admit i havent had this sort of issue and hopefully someone else will help more than i can.


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## honeysmummy (Oct 17, 2010)

Sorry i have not had any experience with cat aggression, but there is a great sticky at the top of this menu page on how to deal with aggression in cats

Good luck

Kelly x


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## MummyCat (Jul 25, 2011)

Have you tried a water spray bottle or hissing back at him? My OH found hissing back at our kitties showed them who was boss


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## broccoli (Jul 1, 2011)

make sure he has interactive toys - dangly stuff is good - he can chase and jump that rather than you - mine loves one that dangles from doorway


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## lizward (Feb 29, 2008)

It sounds like misplaced play behaviour to me. I tried to send you a private message but you seem to have that facility disabled?

Liz


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## gloworm*mushroom (Mar 4, 2011)

MummyCat said:


> Have you tried a water spray bottle or hissing back at him? My OH found hissing back at our kitties showed them who was boss


Wouldnt really recommend either of those, aggressive behaviour back at aggressive behaviour is just going to increase the kittens animosity to you. Ignoring is much better, water bottles are pretty cruel.


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## Lumboo (Mar 31, 2011)

Does he have lots of toys to play with? What sort of play do you have with him? Fishing rods toys would probably be a great way of working off his excess energy whilst keeping your hands/feet away from the play.

I really wouldn't continue with the nose tapping, hissing or water treatment. It sounds as if the kitten needs to know who is boss without added aggression and certainly without him being scared of you. If anything, I think your method of a firm voice and walking away if he is too aggressive would work better.

When you do interact with him, ensure it is when you are either feeding, giving him treats, or playing with him, so all attention he gets from you is positive. Some cats don't like being handled if they have not initiated it, so maybe you should hold off handling him until he is ready. When you want to pet him, hold your hand out to be sniffed first and if he responds then stroke him.

I would also call your local rescue and ask how they tend to deal with the slightly agressive kittens/cats that they get. I have found some of the staff at my local CP have great techniques and they may be able to suggest something you haven't tried yet.


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## jenny armour (Feb 28, 2010)

being as he can be cuddly at times, i think i would get him check out at the vets just in case its anything sinister. otherwise it could be that he wasnt handled when he was young


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## AnimatedApe (Oct 18, 2010)

gloworm*mushroom said:


> Wouldnt really recommend either of those, aggressive behaviour back at aggressive behaviour is just going to increase the kittens animosity to you. Ignoring is much better, water bottles are pretty cruel.


Ignoring and isolation are the best methods for tackling aggressive behaviour in my opinion.

First of all make sure that you schedule regular play times, identify when he is most active and make sure that he gets a good 30 minutes or so a few times a day at those times. Leave lots of toys around, dangly things to grab and pull on (old socks left hanging out of closed drawers are great). Climbing trees, even a small one.

Do not play with him with your hands, in fact do not offer him your hands at all whilst he is learning his boundaries. Hands are for love and strokes not for biting and scratching. Only pick him up when you need to remove him from a room. If he sits on your lap and starts pushing against your hands then stroke him, if it turns even slightly aggressive then stop, it he attacks then do as below.

You need to be firm, but not physically. Consistent but not mean.
Whenever he is aggressive you need to say 'NO!' loudly, pick him up in one hand and put him outside of the room and close the door. You leave him there for a set period of time (I think 30 minutes is acceptable, but I'm a big meanie. 10 - 15 minutes is probably ok). Do this everytime without exception.

Do not spray your cat with anything! He will become nervous and jumpy, only do this in absolutely extreme circumstances when you don't have time to get to him - IE Kitty approaching an open flame or chewing through an electrical cable, even then just a flick of water with your finger will suffice until you can grab him.


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