Kitten has unusual hissing and aggressive behavior

by Teesha
(Nevada)

rag doll kitten

rag doll kitten

My boyfriend and I found a stray Ragdoll kitten. She is the cutest! Her name is Baby Kitty a.k.a. Libby. Anyway, we have had her for about 3 weeks and haven't had a chance to take her to a vet. But in the last week and a half, she has become aggressive to my boyfriend. If he looks at her, or walks past her, she will hiss at him, and back away in a crouching position. She wasn't like this at first with him. She was very sweet and cuddly at first. But now she doesn't like to be around him, meows in a mad way, and will be extremely aggressive towards him. But she does not act like this to me in any way. She isn't aggressive and doesn't really hiss at me. What could be the reason for this?


She is still eating and drinking normally, going to the bathroom normally, and is lovable to me, but is showing signs of aggression to my boyfriend, and only him. She plays with me, and her toys, and trash on the floor (nothing she shouldn't play with). Can you help me please!!! It is starting to drive my boyfriend crazy, and it really affects him, cause he really loves her, but is talking of getting rid of her because of this aggressive behavior.


Reply
Hi
Has your boyfriend changed his after shave or using any new scented products? i ask this as I have seen a cat react very badly to strong scents before.

My advice to him would be to start to practice some bonding techniques with the kitten. this basically involves allowing the kitten to come to him and then to try and engage her in a game to distract her from her fear. it can take some time but it helps to rebuild trust and confidence in the person.

i have a web page about how to carry out this bonding technique here

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/new-cat.html

Don't worry too much I'm sure this is just a phase.

It is very unusual to find a rag doll kitten as a stray so it probably is a good idea to see a vet as soon as possible in case some one is looking for her and also to have her checked over for any health issues.

best wishes Kate

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Did you deworm her
by: Anonymous

My little kitten acted that same way. She also showed no signs in worms but after deworming her and a little time with him one on one it stopped. Hope this helpa

Your boyfriend has been cheating on you...
by: Anonymous

Maybe your kitten had a change in attitude because she spied on your boyfriend doing something in your absence, and she is trying to let you know. Or perhaps your boyfriend has been torturing the kitten while you were away.

How I found her....
by: Teesha

Thank you! I have been working with them both over the last few days, and she is slowly coming around to him. She won't sleep on him yet, but will cuddle and snuggle next to him on the couch.

And I read up on Ragdoll's as I have never had a Ragdoll before...so I know that Ragdoll's are expensive cats, and that to find one as a stray is probably pure luck. But I have seen her "parents" (the cats who could be hers), around after we found her. The mom is a Ragdoll stray, and then there were 2 other cats hanging with her that are strays, and that could be the dad. I don't believe anyone is looking for her, because we live in a very small town, and if a person loses an pet, they will immediately put up signs. Plus, the area in which we found her is our apartment complex, and we aren't allowed to have pets here, but I couldn't just get rid of her. She was too cute to pass up. But as soon as I get money to take her to a vet, I will taking her. I want to get her shots and get her looked at. When we first found her, she didn't want to walk around much, then when we would pet her on her back, she was trying to bite at us. I have had cats before, so I figured, this was because she was in pain. Now she has a knot next to her spine, and its diminishing more and more as the days go on. But I am sure she had some kind of injury.

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