Hi There,

I'm afraid that this aggressive behavior is a result of Mocha coming from a pet store, and therefore a kitten mill. These kittens are taken away from their moms and littermates much too soon and they also grow up without much human contact, if they get any at all. Mocha didn't have the time to learn from his mom and the other kittens how to be a well-adjusted cat. This is probably somewhat fixable, but it will take a great deal of time and patience and from your post you are already angry at this kitten. This does not help at all and will only make things worse. Perhaps the best thing would be to re-home Mocha.

If you want to give it a try, start by not using your hands to play with Mocha, ever. This teaches a kitten that your hands are toys and he thinks it's ok to bite them. If he still had his littermates he would learn from playing with them and they would bear the brunt of the aggression. Kittens playing among themselves will almost always be very aggressive. When one hurts another, they let out a high pitched noise which lets the attacker know that it is time to take a break.

It would be good to use interactive toys with Mocha so that he doesn't even get a chance to attack your hands. Playing with him will also be a good diversion when he is acting too aggressive. But as I said, it is going to take a long time to change the only behavior he knows. He is the product of whoever bred him and his only purpose was to bring in money. Very sad, but true.

You can get a purebred cat through a responsible breeder (one who does not overbreed and socializes the kittens well), plus gives a health guarantee, and be much better off. A good breeder will also take back any cat or kitten that doesn't work out and will be available if you need information or advice. You would pay more, but it would be worth it.

After saying all this, I personally would keep Mocha and work with him, but I have more time than most people and I work for a vet, who I know would be willing to help and advise.

I'm sorry for all you are going through....

PHKitkat

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Subscribe to this Thread ] [ Show Entire Thread ]