caedmyn Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 We have a 7 month old kitten. He's pretty gentle overall (a little crazy, but not mean) and almost never bites or scratches my boys even when they well deserve it. I never let him bite or scratch me when he was little and now he know he isn't supposed to and will play attack me but not actually bite or scratch. He acts entirely different with DD13. He's spend most of his time in her room since we got him. Apparently he consider her something like a littermate, and he regularly attacks, bites, scratches, etc, her. Is there any way to convince him to stop doing this at this point? We've had him for about 5 months. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 Squirt bottle, or spraying a can of compressed air to startle him. And she needs to NOT play with him with her hands, body, etc - ever. Use toys - the kind with a string on a stick, etc. otherwise they learn to think of the hands and legs as toys. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 As I said on your other thread, you need to start trimming his nails. You honestly should have started teaching him to handle nail trimming as soon as you brought him home. Whenever I've had kittens I've started by six weeks, practically before they have nails to trim and long before they had any idea they could assert themselves in the contest of Human vs. Cat, and consequently I've saved us all the hassle of going to the vet for this service. With that said, your daughter should not let him play with her hands or legs - only with toys. If he starts to try playfighting while she's petting him or playing with him she should put him down and walk away. I don't think you'll need to use more of an aversive than that so long as you are all CONSISTENT on this rule - if kitty starts to bite or scratch, he gets put down and the human walks away. (This only needs to last for a few minutes - there is no use punishing kitty for hours, no more than you'd punish your own toddler that long.) I have used this technique with great success to teach kittens not to playfight, not to groom my hair (that cat liked to sit on my shoulder, which I was okay with so long as he left my hair alone), not to be generally irritating in my company. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 (edited) Our cat used to pounce and scratch dd out of nowhere. We read that indoor cats can build up frustration if they are watching birds or prey out of the window, and release agression hours later by attacking their humans. IKR? It seems a little unbelievable to us, but we read it in a reputable source. So we used a spray bottle and a loud grunting sound (lol I can't figure out how to spell it) to discourage it. Dear kitty (DK lol) spent a year away from us with a friend--now she lives w dd in her apartment. Doesn't seem to be attacking much. Edited September 23, 2019 by Chris in VA 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 Also if he doesn’t have positive acceptable play outlets he needs them toys like stick with a string with stuffed mouse on end that person can make move enticingly—so he can chase and pounce on stuffed mouse. Catnip filled toy to play with. Paper balls to chase. A climbing tower, or other ways to exercise 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
City Mouse Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 My cat used to be jealous of my DS. When he and I were sitting at the table doing school work, the cat would get up on the table and watch us. Then every so often the cat would reach out at hit my DS in the head. I don’t really know why it stopped except for both of them getting older. We did change our work location for an unrelated reason, and the problem seemed to stop then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 Is he neutered yet? If not, get that done ASAP. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 Also, some cats are just jerks. I insisted on having our cat neutered at four months in the hopes that it would mellow him out from his random revenge attacks. He loves my husband. He pretty much mostly respects my younger daughter. But he viciously attacks both my older daughter and myself routinely. He is a jerk. But a jerk that we feel responsible for. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 We have one cat, the oldest cat in the house (8 years old) who isn't very nice. She got on top of the bed a week or so ago when I was trying to make the bed. I put her down on the floor a couple of times. She scratched my hand and there was blood. When I showed my wife my wound and the blood, she explained to me that particular cat doesn't like to be petted or anything. I won't be petting her or picking her up in the future... Why the cat in the OP would go after the DD of the OP is unknown. I don't know if toys or other things would solve this issue. Possibly he will need to spend more time outside of her room? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 47 minutes ago, Lanny said: Possibly he will need to spend more time outside of her room? That sounds like a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caedmyn Posted September 24, 2019 Author Share Posted September 24, 2019 14 hours ago, Lanny said: Why the cat in the OP would go after the DD of the OP is unknown. I don't know if toys or other things would solve this issue. Possibly he will need to spend more time outside of her room? DD just kind of tolerated him biting and scratching her when he was little, so now he thinks it's ok. I do think it will help if he's in her room less. DH is putting a cat door in her door so the cat can go out when he wants but still have a safe place to come back to. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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