Inexperienced trying to take care of kitten. Having difficulties with aggression.

[raquelmaria15]

About a week and a half ago I was given a kitten. She was basically thrown away, and I brought her home.
I've had cats before, and I know how to take care of them, but I've never had a kitten.
She's about a month old, quite young.

She's been fine up until now. She's showing extreme aggression and doesn't understand being pet (petted?).

She's always after my hands. When we're playing, she'll choose my hands over her toys. She bites and scratches and pounces on me. She does this to my feet when I'm walking around, too. It's not just during play either, it's all the time. And she also attacks every other part of my body. I'm lucky that she hasn't found my face yet. That's what I'm scared of. If it gets to the point where she scratches my face.. I may have to give her up. It has gotten to be very problematic and I don't know how to correct it.

Also, she seems to be confused. She does like me, I'm sure she doesn't hate me. She wasn't abused before either. She just didn't have any human interaction. Sometimes I'll pet her, and she'll purr, but then she'll attack me again. And she likes to sleep cuddled into me at night and during the day. She really loves getting my attention, and her aggression might be her trying to get my attention, but it's definitely not a good way. I need to fix that now that she's young.

Basically, she's very aggressive about everything. She doesn't know when to stop, when to soften her bite, or when to play without her claws.

Oh and don't suggest getting her a playmate, because I can't afford one right now.
But I do have an old cat (Tiger) here. He's neutered and has his vaccines. On Saturday Cookie (kitten that I've been talking about) is going to be getting her vaccines as well. After that I plan on introducing Cookie to Tiger and maybe he'll be able to teach her to control herself.

Any suggestions?

[Winston]

First off welcome!

Just wanted to say that what your describing is typical kitten behaviour. She is very very young to be off her mom and without her siblings. They get such value from this in the later weeks after birth because they get experience from being with their littermates and nutrition from mom. Most kittens dont come off the mom ideally until 7 -8 weeks but I know many go sooner than that.

The other concern is I dont think she should be vaccinated so young? I could be wrong but it seems to me you shouldnt. I am positive some of our experienced kitten folks will give you some more advice on that.

Have you tried redirecting her biting to a toy? I think you may have some trouble when your older cat gets to know the younger one? some dont mind it but others have more trouble with it. Kittens are so full of energy too! you may find yourself giving the kitty a time out somewhere so the other one can have some freedom...

Most importantly thank you for taking her in. It is so sad how disposable animals have come. Your her little kitty angel now! I think as she ages you will see a signifigant change as she matures.

Good Luck
Cindy

[raquelmaria15]

Thank you! This is such a lovely community c:

Yeah, I realized that she was really young to be separated from her mom, it's a shame. But I didn't want to see her being thrown away, so I quickly took her in.
I've been trying to raise her like a good mommy, but it's a lot harder than I thought it would be.

I was actually reading some other threads about this kind of behavior, and it does seem to be normal. But she's not doing this as just play, she'll attack my hands/feet/body when they're not moving

I'm also worried about her aversion to petting. All of my cats have always loved the attention, but she seems confused about it. Is there a way to introduce it to her. I've been petting her a little bit a time. Once she shows signs of discomfort, I back away. I want her to grow up to be an affectionate cat.

Also, she didn't have and littermates. Her mom only had her. So she hasn't had the experience of playing with another cat besides her mom, which she was only with for a month.

Speaking of age, I had no idea that there was an age to get her vaccinated. She's a little more than a month old, maybe 5 - 6 weeks at most, is that too young? (I'm gonna have to research that.)

Oh dear I didn't even think of having a problem with her and my other cat. I have her upstairs, and he's in the rest of the house. I have her scent on me and he doesn't seem to mind. He still cuddles with me. He's a very mellow cat. Of course I'm gonna introduce them slowly. I plan on having her in her crate the first time. I'm a bit nervous about letting her out though. I'm not sure how to introduction at that point works.

Anyways, thank you for your reply and kind words c:

[sugarcatmom]

Does indeed sound like a typical rambunctious kitten. As cute as they are, they can also be persistently obnoxious !! She should eventually grow out of it, but in the meantime do you have any wand or fishing rod style toys you can encourage her to play with? That will distract from your hands a bit, plus hopefully give her enough exercise to get some of her ya-yas out. The petting thing will come. It's probably still new to her, plus the fact that she sees your hands as toys confuses her.

As for introducing her to your older kitty, here are some links that might help the process:
http://www.wvcats.com/integrating_kittens_with_cats.htm
http://www.squidoo.com/multi-cat-man...module10663073
http://parmashelter.org/home/index.php/old-vs-new

Good luck! And we also demand kitten pics here if you have any.

[raquelmaria15]

Haha yeah she's pretty crazy, but she likes to cuddle sometimes too. It's nice.


Thank you for the links and information!

Here are some pictures!

[BenMax]

Absolutely adorable.
I foster kittens quite a bit. What you are describing is typical kitten behaviour. I even have kittens aged 5-6 months at times that do exactly what you are describing.
Follow sugarcatmom as she is one of the most savvy cat person here along with 14+K and Love4Himmies.
I am just a foster mom but I got alot of useful information from these 3 people on how to work with fiesty kittens and even got support for a feral kitten who is now safely in a home and loved to bits.

[catlover2]

Thanks for taking in this sweet little girl. You've received some good info. already. One of the things you can do to get her to enjoy being stroked is to place her in your lap---if she's a bit sleepy even better! Place her in your lap facing away from your body and stroke the back of her neck and head with short upward strokes with your forefinger. This mimics a momacat's licking and most kitties respond well with this type of stroking. If she starts to bite aggressively, stop the stroking and offer her a toy to bite at, or use a piece of cord for her to follow. Ignore any aggressive biting, say "No" if she makes contact with your skin, give a toy and walk away. You want her to get the idea that nice things happen when she shows good behavior. Good luck!

[chico2]

What a little sweet-heart,I too thank you for taking her in,what could have happened to her if you didn't I don't even want to think of.
Introducing a kitten to a laid back male cat,should not be a problem,a little hissing at first,but I am sure they'll both be ok,a slow intro is important.
When I got my youngest(now 9yrs old)he took to my older tabbie right off and they were pals from that day on.