Behavior advice needed ...biting/scratching

When we adopted Booger, she was just 10 weeks old and 'fixed' just three days prior to the adoption. I know the shelter had her for at least 3 weeks prior to taking her home so I know that she was taken from her mommy waaaay too early. I also understand that early removal from mom can lead to behavorial problems because the mommy cat needs time to socialize them. Booger was never socialized.

Well, the problem is this...Booger likes to play very rough and doesn't realise to keep her claws retracted when playing nor to bite softly. She scratches me badly when we play and her biting is to the point where occasionally, she punctures my skin. I want to play with her but I can't let her abuse me. She's between 9 and 10 months old now and my biggest fear is that it's too late to teach her how to 'play properly'.

Any suggestions?

 

Hello Cassie :lol:
I suggest if your cat becomes overly excited, tone down the play session. Do not resume until he has calmed down. If he begins to bite or scratch you, immediately scream "OUCH," stop the play session, walk away and ignore him. Curtailing a play session is an extremely potent punishment. Your cat will soon learn that it is his own rough behavior that causes the abrupt end of an enjoyable play session. It takes time and patient.

 

Here is a good article Cassie:
http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/herdmed/applie ... aggre.html

 

Thanks for the awsome link nern. You're both right on with what i was thinking. I've read other articles in the past and they all stress avoiding the cat associating the punishment with the owner, but rather with the behavior. I think I'll do the yell, and not play thing for a few weeks and see how that works.

And I strongly suspected her behavior was lack of socalization training. I used to have a pet Giant Green Iguana and learned early on that socializing them as early as possible was extremely important to their adult behavior. BTW, my iggy's name was Smaug He was such a sweety. We raised him from a hatchling and he was about 5-6 feet long when we lost him in a house fire :cry:

I personally crack up when Booger ambushes me, and that's partially my fault because I do it to her as well. It's one of our favorite games. But she just gets a little too liberal with her claws and teeth. I've been clipping her claws, but not too short because she just enjoys scratching on her post so much and climbing her tree.

 

hi cassie. max did that...for months i had bite marks and scratches on my hands and arm. i just thought it was normal with kittens...but he started to settle down about seven to eight months....

i put him in time out...sometimes five and six times a day or more. whenever he would get rough and bite me...not let go...off to time out and i shut the door firmly and said "NO!" then, ten minutes...i would let him back out. sometimes he would do it almost immediately again, so off to time out again. i started to make sure i had water, and the tv changer handy. he loved to bite on the tv changer. could wrap his arms around it like he wanted to do with my arm. eventually, he calmed down. booger is still a kitten too. sometimes they keep it up until about a year or more. but i found water, time out, and walking away helped alot.

 

Kyrre bites sometimes too, but it's never so hard that he punctures my skin. It mostly happen during cuddle time. I think it's hs way of saying "enough", but I'm not sure because his mood changes with the blink of an eye. Sometimes he acts very loving, and all of a sudden he grabs my arm and bites. It doesn't happen too often anymore, I just ignored him completly when he did it in the beginning, and that seemed to have worked.

Good luck and keep us updated! :y_the_best: Don't want our cat swap friend to be a biter :mrgreen:

 

I exhaust them with a laser pointer..

Cassie,

my cats were very active at night and worries us that the neighbors might complaint. We violated the building's no-pet regulation and are secretly keeping Frankie and her litters.. The last thing we want is having to send them away so we thought of a good way; we exhaust them with a laser pointer. It can improve the appetite and keep them asleep at night. I think it's good strategy!!

 

Bonxie, the laser pointer is one of Boogers favorite toys! The second I pick it up off my desk, she comes running from any room in the house with her eyes wide, ears back and tail twitching! Sometimes she even does this weird mouth thing...kinda looks like a cross between several quick short snorts and twitching LOL She just gets so excited :mrgreen: It amazes me that she can hear me pick that thing up from anywhere in the house!