Cat Behavior change..big time

by Stevena
(Collegeville, PA USA)

I rescued a 4 month old Kitten about 4 weeks ago from a shelter and when we brought her home she was fine. She ran around the house crazy the first night so we started locking her in the basement at nights the first week and then she started to attack our feet and hands. She would pounce on our feet. She would not let my husband or 6 yr. old son pet her without hitting at them or trying to bite them. She bit my son twice!! She followed me wherever I walked and would then turn my feet into a target! About a week ago we purchased a few toys and we played with her each day for a few minutes and she would play like crazy. That calmed her down a little and now all she does is sleep and lay around. She does let my son and husband pet her sometimes she hits back at them but not much at all and when we try to play with her ( throwing balls with bells for her to chase after) she only just starts to go after them and then just stops and looks at them.

Could somthing be wrong with her? To go from such drastic aggressive behavior to a sweet cat is weird. Could she be sick? She looked like she was walking funny today almost like she was limping on the right side.She does not look like she is in pain. She is spayed and is up to date on her shots. We don't let her outside.

Please let me know your thoughts,

Thanks,


Answer by Kate
Hi well kitten behavior does change over time. i myself have two kittens and they have changed week by week as they have got older.

Having said that, it sounds like you have a suspicion that she may be limping, in which case then this would definitely change her behavior if she is in pain. My advice is to always er on the side of cation when cat behavior changes dramatically quickly and lasts for more than a few days and take them to see a vet.

As i say their behavior will change but not suddenly and not dramatically, so i wonder if there is some discomfort.

As for her habit of biting etc during play, this is a learned behavior and should be discouraged as it can cause some nasty injuries when they get older. please see my page about how to stop this behavior here
https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-discipline.html

best wishes and i hope they are back to their old selves again soon

Kate

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