He’s chirping and pouncing on random stuff on the floor, i.e. a sock and a blanket.
What a handful. I knew a kitten would be a ton of work, but this cat is like 5 or 6 months old and he’s still way kittenish. He’s all about getting his inner kitten out.
We’re happy together.
I just need to figure out how to tame his behavioral issues! Ever since he got better at the vets from his worms, upper respiratory infection, and ear mites, he’s been playful and then BOOM violent.
If I don’t throw the mouse he bites my ankles. I tried to remove the toys as punishments, I tried to say no no bad kitty but that didn’t work either. He’s too active. I play with him for ten minutes and then I’m all puttered out so I sit down to get on the computer and a second later his teeth are in my leg. That’s the downside to teaching him how to fetch his toys. If I don’t throw after he fetches, he takes it out on my ankles. eeek!
Okay, now he just dragged his ball-on-a-ribbon to my feet and I am expected to throw it. throws it cat fetches it and brings it back to my feet throws it again
I’ve had him since mid December. Other than that, he’s very loving and gives cuddles and kisses all the time. Any ideas?
Thanks to all you guys for being supportive about my cat! I think deep down he knows he’s an internet star lol
You can’t really punish a cat. He just has a lot of energy. The more you play with him, the more he’ll get tired out. I’m so glad he has you, and you have him! It sounds like it’s good for both of you
Cats are kittens until about a year and a half - this is all super normal. My three year old cats are still pretty playful.
The thing that worked the best for me when my cats would bite was to just say “Ow!” in a loud, high-pitched voice. Be very loud and do this consistently! He’s trying to play, not hurt you, and he needs to understand that he is causing you pain.
As far as punishment goes, @Hedgehog is right. It’s ineffective as a teaching tool for cats. It just teaches them that you are weird and cruel and frightening - it doesn’t modify bad behavior.
One thing that can work is hissing at your cat, but use this sparingly. My kitten had bathroom issues when she was little and tried to pee near my head while I slept. I was too free with hissing at her - it would stop her in her tracks - and now she’s a casual conversational hisser. She will hiss any time she’s the slightest bit annoyed. I think it’s hilarious and adorable, but it’s definitely antisocial behavior.
She’s hysterical. She’ll be snuggling with her head on my shoulder and I’ll stop petting her for a moment, and she’ll pause her purring to hiss mildly at me and then go back to purring. She just sees it as a way to express her thoughts, not as a warning or sign of aggression.
That is super cute! My boy and I will yell at each other and then I’ll say “hey!” really fast and he’ll lift his upper lip and say “eh, eh eh!” Like an angry chirp… so adorable! Personality plus! Cracks me up
Thank you! I love him.
I guess I will give up taking his toy away, since you’re right about cats not going along with punishment. He is good for me and my mental health and whenever he comes running towards me with the ribbon dragging from his mouth it makes me laugh out loud and I feel better about my life and the world!
I will try this! (like right now, he’s pouncing and chirping again)
…oh wait, he got distracted by a pen in a gift box hahaha he’s entertaining himself now yay!
@Wave
He finished his courses of medications, so no, he’s not currently on medication. He had to take a dewormer and a course of ear drops but no psych meds or anything. He had just gotten over the respiratory illness and had only minor signs of anything so the vet let him go without antibiotics.
Maybe he was just kind of too sick to be aggressive and hyper when I first got him? I don’t know what his first home was like…or if they encouraged biting behavior before he got all sick and listless (at that point, they put him on craigslist and i got him for free of there).
Do you have play time together. Helps to set a time to play with your cat better if start training them as a kitten.
My last one would play fetch. He’d bring his favorite toy in for me to play with him. Mostly late afternoon when I’ve rested and before dinner after coming home from work or whatever I’ve been doing throughout the day.
My cat is 9 now! but he has always been aggressively affectionate. If he wants me to pet him, he just gets right in my face and starts bumping and rubbing. he rarely ever bites but has on occasion just trying to play. I don’t have any great advice but I am happy for you that you have such a wonderful furry little friend. I hope you have many years of happiness together.
Thank you so much for posting this! I could read stories about Meow Meows all day. This one made me laugh, a fetching cat, half the dogs I’ve had could never grasp the concept of fetching.
Yes cats are tough to discipline beyond the repetitive litter box training method. But your cat is proud to own you. Just don’t let them crawl under the covers at bedtime, I know, I paid for that one dearly.
@Dreamscape2 we have play time basically whenever he starts looking at me whacky, which is like hourly. I’ll play for five or ten minutes and then go back to my computer until he brings me his toy at me feet again. Sometimes, if I have a guest a few hours go by with no play. Should I be playing with him at regular times like every morning at 9 am and then again at 1 pm? Aww, they are so cute when they come running with their toy in their mouth to you! I’m glad your cat did the fetch thing, too!
@47average Thank you very much! I love him and it seems like I am slowly growing on him lol
@ThePickinSkunk You are very welcome! I actually was surprised that he does this as his routine now, because I quit trying to train him to do it half way through…he did it like 3/10 times to my feet, so I quit like who am I kidding…and then he just started doing it all the time on his own after I quit trying to coax hiim to bring it to me! Now he’s got ME trained to throw it–if I don’t, say hello to my little claws! lol
i had a cat like that when i was younger, she would turn violent in a heart beat for no reason. we all suspected she had brain damage from my brother throwing her against a wall because she pooped on his bed.
anyway most cats out grow this behavior. angel never did. she also had to be cleaned after she used the litter box.
i now live with my in laws and their animals. their cat lives next door with me and my partner. he likes to jump in the bearded dragon tank and attack him so he have to constantly keep an eye on him.
I do wonder what happened at the other house he was at, he came weak, sick, looked like death. He was limp all the time, no purring, no kneading, little playing. He was freaked out by the litter box his first day, wouldn’t even sit in it; i had to hold him there for seconds while feeding him treats (that worked). I also had to clean his feet after litter box for about a week. I started watching him and using the scooper to properly hide his dung for him while he watched and after that i think he got the idea cuz his feet don’t stink anymore (I smell them all the time just to make sure, is that weird?)
My worry is that it was an abusive house that gave him up before he was too sick to live…he also had an upper respirator infection, but that cleared up really fast so maybe it was from being kept in a cold area for prolonged periods of time (he’s indoor now).
Honestly, that house gave me a bad vibe. I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out he’s got like cat ptsd or something.
@HQuinn it’s good your kitten got distracted by a pen. I used to buy cheap paint brushes from the $2 store little thin ones, and I used to throw him one of those when he was doing something he shouldn’t and he would be distracted playing with the paint brush for hours.
He would carry them around in his mouth, stand up on his back legs and chew them by holding them with his front paws, all very cute. He also used to roll them under the skirting board in the kitchen below the pantry. And they would get stuck there. If anyone ever buys this house and remodels the kitchen, they’re going to wonder why there are so many paint brushes in the kitchen!
We’re currently encouraging Tiggy to do ‘hands in the air.’ He started doing this thing, only ever in the kitchen, where he stands up on his back legs and puts both front paws up in the air and waves them around. He has started doing it back to us when we stand near him and wave our hands in the air. He gets treats when he does it back to us. It’s the cutest thing.
@johnny5 we call our bearded dragon king turd. he gets whatever he wants food wise and attention
@HQuinn . angel was a sweet heart when her mood didn’t change suddenly. i was the only person she would tolerate petting her.
actually i watched my cat from hell and cats can get ptsd. i’m sure the host of the show would have recommended meds for angel or to have her put down or something, she wasn’t trusted around kids or other animals
