We have a 9 week old purebred manx kitten (with a tail) that we got when she was 6 weeks old. When we got her, she would hiss at anybody new, including us. She was in a home with a handicapped person and no kids or other adults. I was thinking that we would be able to get her to warm-up to us and that she was just a little shy. Unfortunately, she is slow to warm-up to us and will only sit with us when she is tired out and wants to go to sleep. Otherwise, she only wants to play, play, play. Her play is sometimes aggressive. She will not let you pet her as she will bite your hand and want to play instead. You also can't really hold her as she wants down and will cry and squirm until you let her down. She bit a neighbors daughter, who is 4, in the hand as she tried to pet her. She also lunged and hissed at my face after seeing another neighbor's face that she didn't know. She rarely purrs and when she does it is only when she is tired out and wants to go to sleep. She has never done the "kneeding dough" thing with her paws and will never just sit on our lap and let us pet her. Do you think that she will ever warm up to us? Any suggestions would be welcome as my family is attached to her and we are going to try to make this work. We already have been doing the "No" when she wants to use our hands to play, and give her toys to play with instead. She does respond to that most of the time, but it hasn't really helped in the affection part of things. Thanks for your suggestions.
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kitten aggression
Replies (4)
It sounds like a you a independant kitty. She probably will never be a lap cat. But will come to snuggle on her own terms. I have a cat like that. She doesn't bit or hiss at us but screams really loudly if we pick her up. She will sneak into our room in the middle of the night to cuddle. But she never cuddles during the day time. It just depends on the cat. Have you talked to the breeder?
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Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker
Most of the time aggression problems in kitten disappear in a few months. You are doing the right thing. Be sure to walk away when she gets too aggressive.
Sometimes you can make friends with a stand-offish cat by sitting in a room with it, but not paying any attention to it. Read or watch tv or use the computer, but don't look at the cat. Occasionally toss a treat in the cat's general direction. Do this for about fifteen minutes a day.
Be sure to play with her a lot using different sorts of cat toys. This will help her run off some excess energy too!
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Thanks for your suggestions. I do think that she will not be the cuddly lap cat but a more independent one. She does like it when we play with her and we have been walking away when she gets aggressive. The breeder was a person in a wheelchair therefore, did not interact with the kittens because of his situation. There were also no other adults or children in the home, just cats. I think if she were handled more as a little kitten, she might have been more sociable and less aggressive. I think she had to compete with the other cats for attention and food, etc. I will keep on trying with her, though, as she is a cutie, just feisty. Thanks again for the comments.
In addition to the other suggestions, make sure you play with her with toys and never with your hands. Toys on a stick or pole toys are excellent. That way she won't associate hands as something to attack and bite.
