Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We have been having a problem with Mocha, our siamese kitten (petshop bought). He will pounce and use his paws (with claws!) to grab your hand or arm and pull it toward him and then proceed to chew OBSESSIVELY on your hand, thumb, etc. If you try to ignore it and allow him, then he will continue to chew, almost also in a suckling manner, and purr, until you force him away. Then, he forcefully jumps back on you, again grabbing you with his paws, and repeats the behavior. A few times I got agitated and knocked him off of me rather forcefully but he just comes back for more, like he is physically craving my skin. It almost makes me think of a male holding down a female with his teeth to mate her, but he is only around 3 months old or so. If I thought it would help to go ahead and get him fixed, I would, but he seems young to be showing that kind or behavior yet. I will keep pushing/knocking him down until I'm so irritated I just lock him in the bathroom, but as soon as we let him out it's just more of the same and we are on the verge of getting rid of him. He is a full-blooded siamese that we paid $200 in for and I would like to make this work but he is making me hate him with his extreme behavior. Should we take him to the vet? Get him fixed? Please advise. Thank you!!

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

That would probably explain some of the agressiveness I've experienced with my Casey. His mom died when he was a week and a half, and he and his sisters were hand raised. Often when I go to pet him, he starts wanting to spin around and grab my hands like he's wanting to rough house.
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Chessie and Casey Jones relaxing together.

Hi,

I also have a "problem child", named Jonny Cat. One of our clients found him and brought him to us when he was about 4 weeks old. I was looking for a kitten at the time so I adopted Jonny. He has always been odd, doesn't know how to be social with other cats and has had a hard time bonding to me. He also becomes suddenly aggressive with no warning and tends to be very nervous. Evem the rain freaks him out and I didn't see him for hours after we had an earthquake last week.

He doesn't seem to know what to do if another cat looks at him. I think he often sees this as a threat. Interestingly enough Jonny gets along best with my 2 blind cats who cannot look at him.

I let Jonny Cat come to me on his own when he wants attention and let him try to interact with the other cats. Occasionally I have to break up a fight between him and another cat, or stop him from chasing one of the senior kitties. For the most part, he keeps to himself. He seems to like evenings best, when all is quiet, and I often wake up to him licking my face or butting my head with his. His very favorite toy is one of those laser mice, which us a safe toy to use with aggressive cats.

PHKitkat