I'm pretty sure the kitteh is trying to kill me...

[bicentennial_baby]

He's 6 mos. and so aggressive... He just leaped up and latched into my thigh and hung there, all 6+ lbs of him, and drew much blood. I was just cooking, and he attacked from the side. I washed it out and applied tea tree oil and a bandaid, but it hurts like a mofo...

If I can't get him out of this aggressive thing, he's outta here. I am scratched everywhere...every leg and arm, hands, stomach, back. I can't keep this up...

He's perfectly sweet 95% of the time, and the rest, I am his scratching post... x(

[NC_Nurse]

1. Get a cat dancer. They are $3 at Petco and wear him out

playing with it. It's just a piece of wire with cardboard pieces on the end, but they'll play with it forever!

[poiuytsister]

26. The really good thing about the cat dancers

is that they learn to NOT associate your body with a toy. They learn to play with things other than flesh.

[graywarrior]

2. Mine did the same thing at that age.

Squirt him with water. He'll learn.

[havocmom]

25. Yep

Gotta lay down the law via some form of aversion therapy and be ABSOLUTELY consistent about it.

[SPKrazy]

3. cast the demons out now

perform a kitty exorcism

read the cross and the switchblade and get really stoned

:P

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. It isn't really agression; he's playing, and he doesn't understand

about teeth and claws vs. skin. Other cats can tolerate a lot more of that kind of playing than humans because they're protected by their fur, and they are also a lot better at swatting back and/or running away. Whenever he scratches or bites, yell really loud; this will startle him, and cats don't like sudden loud noises. If he scratches or bites while you are playing with him, immediately stop playing so he is not rewarded by his behavior. Squirting with a plant mister might help, too. He will get over this in any event as he gets older, but you can train him to stop it now.

[DS1]

5. a good swat or three will learn im

mine used to play very rough. let him know it hurts by going 'ow' once or twice, getting louder, than smack him upside the head if he doesn't back off


my dude now takes it out on any other poor cat who happens to walk into his turf. chased one of them two blocks away the other night.

[bicentennial_baby]

6. I've tried that!

loud noises, swats, newspaper threats, etc...he in undeterred. I doubt water sprays would have an effect, he loves water. I'm at my wits end.. :crazy:

[DS1]

7. hmmm

I've known one other cat who would cuddle up with you, be really sweet, and then it was like a remote control was triggered and he was in full kill mode. Luckily we were only watching him for a few days.

[SeattleGirl]

8. Have you ever tried squirting water at him?

If not, try it and see if it works.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

9. Never, never, never hit a cat!!

It only makes them more aggressive and mistrustful. Try the water; it's worked for every cat I've ever had.

[DS1]

12. we have a wonderful bond

:shrug:
he just didn't understand his true Jedi power

[YellowRubberDuckie]

28. Mix the water with vinegar.

Apparently it stinks and they hate it. It's harmless, but they hate it. If he does love water it won't have an effect, but the vinegar should help. We've trained a couple of puppies that way.
Duckie

[Shine]

10. Get a spray bottle and fill it with water and vinegar

and then spray him with it whenever he misbehaves. It's basically harmless and they HATE the smell/taste of vinegar. Our vet turned us onto that trick when our kittens were little. It worked like a charm. It got to the point they smelled like PICKLED KITTIES, though. :rofl: They were pretty rambunctious, but they mellowed out eventually.

Good luck! :hi:

[YellowRubberDuckie]

29. I swear I did not read this post before I posted what I did just above.

Great minds think alike. :hi:
Duckie

[cathandler]

11. Sounds like you need another practice baby!

[bicentennial_baby]

13. Nope, I'm all set...

I'm about ready to ship him off to the Gulag at this point. x(

[JVS]

14. why not just de-claw? then he won't be able to hurt you

:hide:

[Gormy Cuss]

15. I'm really surprised by that.

He hasn't been cashing my checks so I've been shopping around for a new murderous animal to send to your place.:+


I'd try Shine's vinegar and water mist trick. Cats do hate the smell of vinegar. I think they register it as urine from something bigger and meaner than them. Vinegar on rags is an organic approach to dissuading raccoons, skunks, squirrels, and other four legged folks from gardens.

[Mrs.Matcom]

16. Take an empty soda or beer can

add three pennies and put duct tape over the opening. Whenever PB acts up shake the can and yell NO! It worked for my dog and my two cats. Whenever any of them act up the can comes out...one shake and they all run! How long until he is neutered?? Two more months?? That should mellow him out right quick!!

[bicentennial_baby]

17. ASAP!

I just haven't made the appt. yet, he's ready!! I'll be calling them first thing Tuesday morning! :bounce:

[Mrs.Matcom]

18. just make sure to keep

your injuries clean. I don't want you to get an infection on top of your sore throat! :hug:

[hippywife]

19. We used the spray bottle trick, too.

It turns out I can actually imitate that sound to a T by pressing my tongue against the back of my top front teeth and forcing air through at the same time. It got so I didn't need to get up and get the bottle anymore. They heard it and freaked! Then got confused when they didn't feel water. :rofl:

[Mz Pip]

20. Neutering might help

As soon as he's old enough have him neutered. I think a kitty can be safely neutered when they reach 4 pounds. It might take the edge off of his agression - that and spraying him with vinegar.

He's still a kitten and probably has a lot of kitten energy to burn off. He thinks he's playing. You think he's trying to kill you. Got to be some kind of compromise you can work out!

Mz Pip
:dem:

[Midlodemocrat]

21. Oh, no! PB is wearing out his welcome.

I don't have any advice. It's been a long time since I had a kitten.

:hug:

[bicentennial_baby]

22. No. I'm just feeling gnawed upon...

I adore my baby kitteh...I've just been overly mauled this weekend. He's adorable, and armed, that's all. :D

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

23. Another thing you might try:

Take a human fingernail or toenail clipper and carefully snip off the pointy tips of his claws. He will object and try to squirm away, but keep doing it and he'll get used to it. My guys get their claws clipped every few weeks and they hardly wiggle at all.

[bicentennial_baby]

24. We've clipped them once, I'm going to do it again tomorrow

We have cat clippers...he didn't seem to mind last time. :)

[Alenne]

27. Try nail caps

The vet I work with uses them for her cats.

[bullwinkle428]

30. This may be an obvious question, but does he HAVE a good post to scratch?

Mine just loves the sisal wrapped posts that make up the structure of her cat condo, and I recently bought another post wrapped with the sisal fabric that I can take with me when I travel with her:

http://www.topcatproducts.com/sisal.htm

It's really cute - she'll sometimes dig both sets of claws into it and climb to the top to see what toys I put up there. If she's not feeling all that ambitious, she'll just scratch the post with her front claws or occasionally just use the sisal base. It's a very nice product for any cat that still has his/her claws...

[huskerlaw]

31. A few things...

I agree with people regarding the squirt bottle.

Also: http://www.softpaws.com/. They're wonderful. He might be a bit too small still, but I used them on my 2 older cats, and they're fabulous. Only used them for about 6 months, and the cats broke their bad habits. In my case, it was scratching furniture.

Also this: http://www.petco.com/product/101947/Petlinks-System-iScratch-Refillable-Scratching-System.aspx

And, perhaps an oven mitt. Teach him that it's ok to attack your hand when you're protected, but NOT otherwise.

Thankfully, Kyra's pretty calm...and I have a great "daddy cat" who is teaching her how to behave. Solo kittens are a handful!

[prole_for_peace]

32. i had softpaws put on my evil abbie when he was a baby

and acting like this. he chewed the damn things off in a few days. that is when i knew i was going to have my hands full.

canned air seems to work on him. just have to be careful not to spray into the face or ears. i usually try to get his rear area. he hates it so much i can just make a pssst with my mouth and he get that slitty-eyed waiting-for-it look.

[Critters2]

33. A neighbor of mine just adopted two kittens--cutes as buttons!

But they hooked her but good the other evening. She's on coumadin (sp?), and it landed her in the ER!! I fear "the boys" are headed for de-clawing.

[prole_for_peace]

34. posted twice somehow...