Will my kitten every grow out of attacking me?

Question

Hes already full grown and hes almost a year. but he attacks me and guests at my house all the time. is he still playful or is he just mean!? ... i had him since he was a baby he was never abused or anything .

Answer 1

Cats usually pounce to see the reaction of their "prey". If your cat pounces your legs and bites your ankles/feet do your best not to flinch, jump, or kick. If you're still, you're cat will get bored. If you find yourself flinching, try wearing socks or boots so you don't feel any pain. Eventually your cat should learn your feet are not toys.

If it's your hands, same thing: keep them still, and slowly try and pry them out when your cat is no longer biting and kicking.

Water bottles are good. Calmly squirt him when he's acting poorly and tell him "no". Use a jet stream versus a spray. It's usually more effective.

Sometimes cats don't like being pet too long. This may be why he bites you. When you're petting him, if you notice him moving his head back, his tail rapidly twitching, or his ears flattening back against his head, stop. That usually means he's tired of being pet and will begin to bite.

He will stop biting when he's taught not to. It may take some time, but the younger, the better.

Answer 2

My cat is 5 and she still hasn't completely grown out of the "playful, sneak attack" stage. I have noticed that she is now much nicer when she does attack. Until she was about a year old, I'd constantly have scratches on my arms and hands. Also, beware if your cat is interested in your eye lashes. My cat tried to play with those fluttery things and accidentally scratched my eye. I wouldn't have my cat any other way, she has her sweet moments and her feisty moments, and there are few things cuter than her attacking a toy mouse.

The best things that I've found for my cat are a spray bottle to keep her off the counter, toy mice that are covered with rabbit hair (usually in 4 packs or 12 packs), and this toy that has a ball that goes around (she doesn't play with the ball) and the inside is corrugated cardboard to scratch (I get mine and refills at Kmart). Enjoy your kitty!

Answer 3

Enjoy it while you can! You will definitely miss it when he stops and he will grow out of it although not totally. This is only personal experience but every cat i have raised has been the same and they were all very play full and constantly ripping my arms to pieces up until about 2years old. I have noticed that this will vary slightly depending on the seasons. If a cat hits the 2 year mark and it is summer he may not settle untill he needs your warmth in winter. Trust me when he settles in winter he will be the only thing you are alloud (by him) to have on your lap or up against you in bed and yes pertners do count. This is why i love cats. They are playfull little devils for a few years and thats all good and fun but then they settle into adulthood and that is when you gain your own personal warmer. The cat will always have the playfull side in him. He will just stop being playfull all the time.
Don't worry he will grow up but i say enjoy it while you can!!!!!
I hope this helps

Answer 4

My cat did this for a long time. We had him "fixed" and de clawed and that did not slow him down. The attack behavior is a form of playing for him. Remember that cats have a wild side. One thing that helped is that we got a second cat/kitten for him to play with. My cat is now about 12 years old and all he wants to do is lay around and be petted. I miss the playful little kitten that he was. I still rile him up and play rough with him but he is gentle with my daughter and wife.

Answer 5

Chances are he is just playing. If he was being mean, he would be hissing and not backing down. It's common for cats, especially males, to hang on to the playfulness of a kitten for awhile into adulthood and some keep it forever. My male cat is a year and half old and still loves to play!

Answer 6

I don't know what it is with boy cats but my cat did the same thing. He would attack me and peoples legs that would come over. Yea your cat will grow out of it because i thought my cat would never grow out of it but after he was a little over a year old he started to stop attacking everyone and now he is a year and 7 months and he just lays around. Don't worry he will grow out of it.

Answer 7

Yes he'll grow out of it. I got a kitten about 5 months ago, and she is still attacking me. I used to get so mad, but then I realized my adult cat had done the same when she was younger. She didn't fully grow out of it until she was about 2 years old....yeah, I know, it sucks. Love him anyway, and remember he'll get over it. Then when all he does is sleeps all day, you'll be wishing he were a kitten with all that energy.

Answer 8

We have a feisty, lovable 4 month old Maine Coon kitten who loves nothing better than to sink his little shark teeth into some bare feet and ankles or bare wrists and arms. We started "hissing" at him when he got too rowdy. That took him aback----at least long enough to escape his grip. LOL. Try that, maybe it'll work for you,too!

Answer 9

some kitties are just more feisty than others....have a boy kitty and he was doing this..used a really firm voice and said "be nice!" directly at him when he was going to get out of hand...and he usually backed off..then praised him for not scratching me...oh that and food rewards...he rarely does it now...just a little love bug

Answer 10

fill a spray bottle with water and adjust it to the sharpest stream. everytime he attacks, spray him on the nose/face, and shout "no," he'll stop doing it. it's a good way to stop other naughty behaviors too, but you have to catch them right at the time they're doing it or it won't be effective. good luck with this.