# 5 month old kitten driving us to insanity.



## tiffany.anne89

We got him when he was about 2 months old, I believe he is tabby and siamese (lynx point) and his name is Jax. 
Anyway, when we first got him he was pretty friendly and very very playful. Soon after he started getting really aggressive and has gradually been more and more so. 
We think it's playful aggression but sometimes it seems otherwise... his pupils get huge, his ears go back a little bit, then he makes his signature squeek meow (the one that means he's about to f*** you up) then lunges at our arms, ankles, or feet. Sometimes he even bites us in the face. We cant even pet him. 
Ever since we got him we've tried holding him constantly to get him used to human touch and interaction, we can hold him for a very short time before he wiggles, scratches, bites, and meows to be let down. He CONSTANTLY jumps up on the counter and has been pulling our curtains off the walls, and never gives up on trying to eat our food. He'll eat ANYTHING from bananas to onions and broccoli. He's so weird :3 
We thought maybe getting him neutered would solve the problem but nope, not at all. 
One of the weirdest things about him is that in the morning when my boyfriend and I are sleeping he'll be the SWEETEST thing, he'll rub all over our faces and cuddle with us while patiently waiting for us to awaken. 
I don't know what to do! 
I love cats and want to get more of them eventually but I'm afraid he'll beat up any other cat we bring into the house. Whenever a friend brings over a dog he hunts it. HAHA He is sooo wild, I want to tame the lil' guy (well he wont be little for so long, I can tell) I'll do whatever it takes. Any advice from you guys will be greatly appreciated.


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## gloworm*mushroom

As he was taken from his mother about a month early, he has socialisation issues. He doesnt know how to be a cat, he doesnt know what hurts, and what hurts others, as he did not have enough experiences with mum and siblings in order to learn this. This is why it is better for kittens to stay with mum until 12 weeks.

Neutering is a good start so it is good you have had that done.

The holding doesnt sound like a good idea to me at all, to be honest. Thats hardly getting him used to the human touch, its teaching him that the human touch is a bit scary. I dont think you would like to be held against your will to 'get you used to it' no?

You need to let him get used to you at his own pace, not your pace. From the sounds of your post it seems that he has reacted negatively to a lot of your interaction so probably associates you with negative interactions like the excessive holding etc. A lot of cats do not like to be held in that manner.

Onions are toxic to cats, so knock that on the head!!

The jumping and climbing etc is just normal kitten behaviour.
When he attacks, ignore him. Stop the positive interactions and ignore him. When he realises this is not getting him the play and attention he wants, he will start to stop the scratching and biting. Don't play with your hands but use dangling toys.


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## tiffany.anne89

I definitely dont think he was taken too early from his mom. He had PLENTY of interaction with his siblings seeing as the previous owner told us that he was the one who beat up all his brothers and sisters. I think he definitely knows how to be a cat. And I didnt say I held him against his will, I said we tried holding him a lot to get him used to it. We put him down when he started getting upset, we held him more when he was young because at first he seemed ok being touched. I've grown up with a lot of cats and none has ever been this badly behaved. I've also raised a lot of kittens and there was never a problem with them being separated from their mothers at 8 weeks, if anything that made them more attached to me. I dont know maybe I'm a horrible owner or something but Jax is really the only cat I've experienced this with. But anyway, thank you for your advice, I definitely wont try to hold him anymore at all (even though that really sucks) but its just lame because he barely even lets us pet him... 

And dont worry, we dont feed him onions, he just ate a tiny piece once. 

I think another reason I'm upset is because a part of me is still recovering from the death of my best friend cat a couple years ago. I havent had a cat since her and I guess I just keep hoping this kitten will be like her.  I miss her.


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## gloworm*mushroom

Well as I said all the issues are ones related to socialisation. You may think 8 weeks is old enough but I and most others on theforum will have to disagree on that point. 



As an aside tabby is a colour pattern, not a breed, and lynx is just another word for tabby.


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## Aurelia

tiffany.anne89 said:


> I definitely dont think he was taken too early from his mom. He had PLENTY of interaction with his siblings seeing as the previous owner told us that he was the one who beat up all his brothers and sisters. I think he definitely knows how to be a cat. And I didnt say I held him against his will, I said we tried holding him a lot to get him used to it. We put him down when he started getting upset, we held him more when he was young because at first he seemed ok being touched. I've grown up with a lot of cats and none has ever been this badly behaved. I've also raised a lot of kittens and there was never a problem with them being separated from their mothers at 8 weeks, if anything that made them more attached to me. I dont know maybe I'm a horrible owner or something but Jax is really the only cat I've experienced this with. But anyway, thank you for your advice, I definitely wont try to hold him anymore at all (even though that really sucks) but its just lame because he barely even lets us pet him...
> 
> And dont worry, we dont feed him onions, he just ate a tiny piece once.
> 
> I think another reason I'm upset is because a part of me is still recovering from the death of my best friend cat a couple years ago. I havent had a cat since her and I guess I just keep hoping this kitten will be like her.  I miss her.


I'm afraid you're wrong. He was taken too early and he did miss out on the vital last few weeks. The weeks after the age of 8 weeks are VITAL for a kitten learning how to behave. These are the golden weeks where mum can and his siblings would teach him when he's gone too far. Often people see it as him being bullied, or him bullying others, but also a lot of people mistakenly think mum cat has 'had enough' of the kittens too. But honestly that behaviour is exactly what is needed. A swipe and lunge by mum is her saying 'you've gone too far, stop' and squeal from his siblings when they fight is his sibling saying 'please stop that hurts'.

If you have had kittens before that have been good as gold it was luck more than anything. Every cat has a different personality, some need tougher lessons from their families to learn how to behave.

Don't give up on touching him and holding him all together. But if you do pick him up for a quick fuss make it very short periods of time, so pop him back down before he gets aggressive with you doing so. Then those holding session are only something nice. This might mean only holding him for 10 seconds at a time initially.

How much and how often do you feed him? Some kittens can get very frustrated and antsy when they are hungry. That's because they are trying to tell you, but you're perhaps not listening.

Kittens should be fed as much as they can eat. You only really know you have fed them enough if they start to leave a little bit. To give you an idea, feeding up to 8 meals a day to a kitten is normal, feeding in excess of 400g of food a day would also be normal. If you can feed a high meat content food (above 50%) and refrain from feeding dry food, you will be on a path leading to a happier mum and dad+ kitten  But if you do change his food please do it very gradually so as not to upset his tummy. Taking 2 weeks to do a food swap is cautious, but a better bet. Have a look at Hobbs2004's A-Z of wet food for some ideas on good foods available these days


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## Pheebs

My kitten is nearly six months now and we've had her since 7 weeks. She'll occasionally do the lunging thing with ears back, pupils dilated etc., but I've learned that for her it just means she wasnt to play. If we don't play with her enough, she lets us know!

She liked being picked up and cuddled when she was little, but doesn't so much now, she has to be in a certain mood. I think kittens get to the stage where they want to assert their independence more?

She also charges around like a lunatic and is on/off on/off on/off the kitchen counters. All that is part of a kitten's job, I think!


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## tinamary

Sounds pretty normal to me. I think you need to find things for him to chase such as clockwork mice or those little plastic balls rather than trying to tame him to sit on your knee. He sounds full of energy and needs an outlet for it.

Ive watched mine go round the room on obsticles without touching the floor. eg curtains. tv and even shimmy up the walpaper before now.

I would stand in the kitchen cooking the kids tea and mine would come running from the other room and climb right up my legs and onto my shoulder before i could count to three. It did n't half hurt. 

Maybe you could invest in an activity centre and when he starts behaving badly you can redirect him to it.


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## nats120

Amber gets the same normally when my OH gets home from work. She is lovely and purry and sat cuddled up on my lap and when he walks in she goes a bit mad around him!

But she is only a kitten and she is only playing.

I recently bought a 'laser mouse' for her which is just a laser pen in the shape of a mouse for kittens. She loves it and i put it either sides of the room so it really tires her out


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## emmar

Aurelia said:


> I'm afraid you're wrong. He was taken too early and he did miss out on the vital last few weeks. The weeks after the age of 8 weeks are VITAL for a kitten learning how to behave. These are the golden weeks where mum can and his siblings would teach him when he's gone too far. Often people see it as him being bullied, or him bullying others, but also a lot of people mistakenly think mum cat has 'had enough' of the kittens too. But honestly that behaviour is exactly what is needed. A swipe and lunge by mum is her saying 'you've gone too far, stop' and squeal from his siblings when they fight is his sibling saying 'please stop that hurts'.
> 
> If you have had kittens before that have been good as gold it was luck more than anything. Every cat has a different personality, some need tougher lessons from their families to learn how to behave.
> 
> Don't give up on touching him and holding him all together. But if you do pick him up for a quick fuss make it very short periods of time, so pop him back down before he gets aggressive with you doing so. Then those holding session are only something nice. This might mean only holding him for 10 seconds at a time initially.
> 
> How much and how often do you feed him? Some kittens can get very frustrated and antsy when they are hungry. That's because they are trying to tell you, but you're perhaps not listening.
> 
> Kittens should be fed as much as they can eat. You only really know you have fed them enough if they start to leave a little bit. To give you an idea, feeding up to 8 meals a day to a kitten is normal, feeding in excess of 400g of food a day would also be normal. If you can feed a high meat content food (above 50%) and refrain from feeding dry food, you will be on a path leading to a happier mum and dad+ kitten  But if you do change his food please do it very gradually so as not to upset his tummy. Taking 2 weeks to do a food swap is cautious, but a better bet. Have a look at Hobbs2004's A-Z of wet food for some ideas on good foods available these days


totally agree with you ...


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## BelleDeJour

Hi im no expert on cats and these guys on here really know their stuff from what i have read so really good advice about diverting Jax attention to something constructive.
I only pick mine up when they have eaten finished playing and are calm and relaxed that way theres no wriggling or attempts to get away they are just happy to doze and be petted therefore being held means positive cosyness 
i also bought a laser toy from [email protected] i think it was under a fiver and money well spent id say! 
my guys are in the kitchen by day (i have 2 children under 5 plus 2 older ones) this keeps them out of harms way (they are still really dinky supposdly around 10wks now but thats another story! their more like 6-7wks in size) in the evening when the kids have gone off to bed i bring them into the front room so they are slowly learning about the home without the stress of loud children around! i find the laser a god send as the min they are getting ideas about shimmying up the curtains i distract with that for a game of chase works wonders wears them out a treat 
mine are also too young to be away from mum i was unaware of this before i got them so im hoping the fact that they are siblings and still together means all is not lost and they will still learn some of those important socail skills? id be interested to hear if there is anything else i could do to help them with this? (we never use hands or feet to play with them always the toys on a string designed for cats) thanks in advance


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## buffie

Agree totally.8weeks is way to young to leave mum and littermates.12/13 weeks is much better, these extra 4/5 weeks are vey important for learning "manners" .This is something only mum can teach them.No matter how we try we humans just cant do it like mum does.


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## TatiLie

Your cat sounds very normal to me. I've been in the same place you are now.
You just need patience and love. 

 If you cat wants cuddle at 3, 5 and 7 in the morning, you wake up for cuddles. That may be the only time he will ever ask you for that and you will miss when he stops doing that.
 you cat doesn't want to be lifted. Don't do it. You must conquer his trust first.
 he wants to hunt your feet? Play with him. Hide, stalk and jump on him.


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## walkingcarpets

'I definitely dont think he was taken too early from his mom'


Have to agree with the others, is way too young and as pointed out, leads to socialisation issues.

Whether a bit of onion or more, your kitten is not a human and some foods are not suitable for their tummies.


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## tiffany.anne89

Wow everyone, thanks for all the advice. I feel like I've learned a lot. I dont know if its a miracle or maybe his testosterone just kind of needed to drain out after getting him fixed but suddenly he's like super nice and not nearly as rowdy. He's been patient and cuddly and has been letting us hold him. I LOVE HIM. He's been "making biscuits" on me a lot and it makes me giggle. I will definitely from now on wait till 12 weeks to adopt a kitten. And yes, he eats often enough. Sadly, if I had tried waiting 12 weeks to adopt Jax he would have been given to another family anyway since she "needed to get rid of them asap" as she said
-__- but I'm glad we got him, we spoil him and now hes starting to deserve being spoiled. Hahaha. Thanks again all.


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## sharon_gurney

My 9 week old kittens are running riot around the house, they bounce off walls and furniture. When they get excited they will pounce and bite just like some of the things you describe... the difference is these kitttens are still with their mum and bothers and sisters and when things get out of hand they are soon told to "Calm Down"


You would be suprised how much they still want the reasurance and the grounding of their mum and siblings even when they reach the age of the recommended age for homing 12-13 weeks


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## catarony23

Just come across this - years after original post. How is that kitten now? Did he calm in adulthood? I have a 4 - 5 month old and we make sure he gets outside several times a day, that he has new and different toys to stimulate him including a ceiling high cat tree and a catit senses circuit. He play fight s alot especially with my partner and tends to be gentler with me, especially when I say his name if he is in mid bite. He does bite and scratch a lot but we enjoy playing with him and watching him go crazy. In the morning he wakes us up with cuddles and toe tickling to get attention. I usually have to close the door. I do notice he seems out of sorts if we are busy working. But when we get time off he becomes a lot more cuddly with us.


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## LJC675

Welcome @catarony23 as you have said, this thread is years old. The OP has not been on the forum for over 7 years, so unlikely to give any info.

Why not start a thread of your own, you're likely to get more response that way.


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## LinznMilly

:Locktopic


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