Kitten being a jerk

Diceicle

Looking for a bit of advice, I have a kitten who is 5 and a half months. For the last couple of days he's been a little jerk (anytime I go to hear him he latches onto the hand to bite and claw or if I'm standing near he'll still make a leap for the hand to attack). Will this type of thing cease once he is neutered or am I destined for many years of screaming at the cat?
My own instinct is that he's itching to get outside so once he's 6 months he can roam around out there and expell some energy hopefully.

BlueSpiral

First off, I love the title to this thread.


Secondly, maybe he thinks that's playing?

blinding

Diceicle wrote: »

Looking for a bit of advice, I have a kitten who is 5 and a half weeks. For the last couple of days he's been a little jerk (anytime I go to hear him he latches onto the hand to bite and claw or if I'm standing near he'll still make a leap for the hand to attack). Will this type of thing cease once he is neutered or am I destined for many years of screaming at the cat?
My own instinct is that he's itching to get outside so once he's 6 months he can roam around out there and expell some energy hopefully.

Probably wants someone to play with.

00112984

OP, is he like that with his mother and littermates or just you?

FAYESY

At 5 & a 1/2 weeks he should be with his mother & litter mates!

He is playing! He needs to learn what is acceptable - all kittens & cats go through this stage!

To make him realise what is acceptable make a loud noise say no loudly & gently push the kitten away - make a big fuss when he behaves. You have to get used to it tho! All he is doing is playing the way he would play with his mother & litter mates.

forestfruits

Hes just looking to play!

Diceicle

That should have been 5 and a half months. He's a bit too big for that type of play. My hands are in bits. :rolleyes:

forestfruits

make some loud short sharp noises and dont move your hand he will get the message and let go- whenever my cat attacks my arm it works a treat that and some meanacing eye contact!!!

either that or invest in sh1t loads of plasters

ziggy23

In my experience they calm down after a year or so. When I got my cat tigger he was like that all the time my hands were in bits. He calmed down once he got to go outside and play with the other cats. He's 4 now and still a small bit of a bully . I think he has the cat equivalent of small man's syndrome :pac:

The Sweeper

You need to be patient and consistent to teach him that this isn't allowed.

First, work on a sharp noise - "NAH HAH!" or "NO!" or "GEROFFMEYERBUGGER" or whatever suits you. It needs to be the same noise all the time, delivered sharply and firmly.

When the kitten goes for you, first thing is not to jerk away - if you jerk away that's the difference between a puncture and a scratch. Make your sharp, disapproving noise. When he's unlatched from you, you can take one of two steps.

If he went for you while you were playing with him, immediately withdraw. End the game. Turn your back and ignore him. You can reengage after a few minutes. You can tell if this is working - cat body language is more subtle than dogs, but if he turns his back on you, and has his ears tilted backwards, that's a sign of uncertainty. He'll look a bit sheepish, really, and not quite sure what he's supposed to do next. That posture means he's got the message that you were playing and then he did something and now things aren't rosey.

If he went for you while you were just passing, after making your sharp noise and disengaging his claws you need to give him a time out. Pick him up and hold him with one hand supporting his weight and the other hand gently holding his scruff. (Do not pick him up by just the scruff, it will hurt him, as it would hurt you if someone picked you clear of the ground by the hand even, and your entire body weight was hanging free. You should always support a cat's weight with the other hand if you have to scruff them.) Pick a time out spot - the bathroom, a laundry room if you have it - and shut him in there for 5-10 minutes. Make sure it's boring - no toys in there. There's no point giving a kitten a time out for any longer than that, because their wee brain ceases to make the connection between their behaviour and the punishment after a time. They go from "I am in here and got put in here immediatley after I pounced on my owner with my claws out" to "I am in here, I want to be out".

It's important that these reactions follow absolutely immediately after you've been attacked or savaged.

Also set aside some time for play - if you spend 20-30 minutes playing with him, you'll help wear him out so his energy is expended on sometihng other than attacking you. You need to make it clear that your hands are not a toy mouse or a ping pong ball or a piece of food or anything else that it's acceptable to throw around the place and tear around after.

New Home

I have a kitten who's about 3 and 1/2 months old, and he's the wildest cat I've ever rescued (I should know, we had cats of all sorts since I was six). I had to invest in a pair of strong rubber garden gloves to handle him as my arms were in shreds up to my elbow (unfortunately that does not help my legs a bit), and although he's managed to chew a hole through one of the glove's fingers at least now my hands don't look like I put them in the food processor any more! I think that, aside from playing/ hunting he's trying to show me who's the boss (ME, of course!). So, to get him to calm down a fair bit, I put on my gloves and "wrestle" like mad with him a few times a day, and it seems to be doing the trick. He's due a V-E-T visit soon, so I'm hoping he'll settle down a bit more once "the twins" have gone...

biko

I think it may come from when kittens are small people play with them using their hands, rubbing their belly, pushing them over and waving the hands in front of the kitten - thus teaching the kitten that your hand is a toy.

m2c

useful_contacts

Diceicle wrote: »

Looking for a bit of advice, I have a kitten who is 5 and a half months. For the last couple of days he's been a little jerk (anytime I go to hear him he latches onto the hand to bite and claw or if I'm standing near he'll still make a leap for the hand to attack). Will this type of thing cease once he is neutered or am I destined for many years of screaming at the cat?
My own instinct is that he's itching to get outside so once he's 6 months he can roam around out there and expell some energy hopefully.

i feel your pain- my kitten was v vicious about 3 weeks ago all of a sudden- so i got him fixed a week and a half ago and now hes fine- no biting- no attacking.

Ps - thread title = F U N N Y

useful_contacts

FAYESY wrote: »

At 5 & a 1/2 weeks he should be with his mother & litter mates!

He is playing! He needs to learn what is acceptable - all kittens & cats go through this stage!

To make him realise what is acceptable make a loud noise say no loudly & gently push the kitten away - make a big fuss when he behaves. You have to get used to it tho! All he is doing is playing the way he would play with his mother & litter mates.

hes 5 and a half months the op said

FAYESY

useful_contacts wrote: »

hes 5 and a half months the op said

He made a mistake that he has now corrected in his very first post.