Our Cat is Aggresive

by Angie Owen
(Merseyside, England)

We took in a kitten that the vet estimated at being 5 weeks old, she is now approx 5 months, she was found in some woods near a caravan park, friends of ours rescued her and searched all through the holiday to find her owners or mother, they brought her home and we took over, she was timid and very tiny, but with lots of love and care she has grown, the problem we have is that she can be VERY agressive, not just at playing time, but for no reason at all, the vet said it could be that as she was away from her mother and siblings at such a young age she hasnt developed the hunting skills and is using us to practise on, can this still be right after all this time, she seems to love us dearly as she is more like a dog following me around wherever i go and just needs to be with us all the time, she can be loving at times and likes nothing better to fall asleep on our laps. Do you have any advice? Thanx

Answer by Kate
yes i totally agree with your vet. if a kitten is taken away from its mother and siblings too early they will not have developed the skills such as hunting, playing etc and it can turn to aggression as they are unsure of how far they need to go.

What you need to do is to help her understand the difference between play and hunting.

When she is aggressive with you, you need to send her a negative message and the best way to do this is to quickly and quietly move away from the kitten, perhaps out of the room. this is a negative experience.

then when you do play with her and she plays without aggression give her lots of praise etc. A positive reaction.

it may also be a good idea to get her some more specific toys which she can hone her natural hunting, jumping and chasing skills.

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

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

best wishes Kate

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