Aggressive play kitten behaviour - rescue kitten

IMPORTANT: If your cat is in any distress or discomfort, please consult your own vet as your first priority.
Post Reply
Kwol57_
New Cat Chatter
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2022 12:14 pm

Aggressive play kitten behaviour - rescue kitten

Post by Kwol57_ »

Hi there,
Hoping some cat experts might have some advice for us.

We found a 2-3 week old feral kitten on a family members’ farm and raised him from that age until now (about 5 months). He was adorable but tiny, he would have fit in a teacup and his eyes had just opened. This wasn’t ideal for the little guy of course in terms of his own development, but he thrived and is now a wonderfully healthy handsome male kitten.

Personality wise, he was always feisty, confident, play biting us from 4 weeks old. we’ve never used our hands as play things as aware this would be bad down the track. I don’t know if it’s because he’s just too frustrated / energetic or due to his being an only kitten who wasn’t able to be socialised but he is now today, at a level of hyper aggression that when he wants to play (which is always nearly, unless he’s asleep) that he draws blood from his scratches and bites on me on a regular basis. I have micro scars all over my arms from him. He can be affectionate, but if he naps on us, he will jump into overdrive instantly if we try to pet him and lunge at our fingers/arms/faces - whatever is closest. I love him to pieces but in the last month it has been worse than ever. When I walk past him in the room, he’ll launch at my legs. He’ll launch at my face, arms, ears. You name it. We have watched Jackson Galaxy videos and can tell when he’s amped up & avoid him. He still initiates this kind of thing when he’s relaxed. We’ve tried the various techniques (walk away, spray bottle - never worked). We tried to socialise him with friend’s cats but it just didn’t work, they didn’t have enough time together and with covid / lockdowns we just haven’t been able to figure it out for him. Of course maybe 20% of the time, he’s adorable, mainly when he’s tired or very relaxed.

As a last ditch attempt, I have become a foster carer and now have a beautiful 5 month old kitten in our house. She is wonderful, gentle and lively but never aggressive like our one. She has been slowly introduced to him in the last 48 hours under supervision after a week in a seperate room. For the most part they have been ok and seem curious or hesitant more than anything, but they can’t be left alone together. He just follows her around and tries to bat at her / bite her, and she hisses back. If he would just be more relaxed like her, I think they’d get on well. I think because he’s never been with another cat his age, he just doesn’t know what to do.

Has anyone ever had these issues (not so much re: foster cat, I know it takes time and not expecting lots to come out of it). Im slightly heartbroken because I’ve read so much about what we should do and yet it feels like nothing works. The next step is getting a behaviouralist in. But my fear is that he is just too aggressive and that we won’t be able to trust him. I can probably live with being bitten to death daily, but we can’t let him near any children or other pets, and I don’t know how sustainable that is for either him nor us.

Would appreciate any guidance you have.
Post Reply