10 month old cat, amongst 5 others, biting and chasing another and IS HE JUST BEING A TEENAGER?

Question

We got our cat when at 6 months old, he is now 10 months. There are a few issues i need help
1) Recently, and I mean in the last few weeks he has been biting me when he is on the floor and i stoke him or play with him. Is this because he is making a transiition from kitten to cat and I need to give him space and affection on his terms? He was a very cuddly kitten but i always let him come to me. Today he drew blood and he bites so hard.
2) He is also into chewing everything and goes out of his way to find things to chew (like pawing behind the fishtank to get the cables to chew) and he will eat anything he isnt meant to and wont eat wet food. He purrs like a goodun when he is cuddly .
3) being cheeky and scratching all but the scratch posts and NOTHING stops him, hissing at him, saying no, showing him the scratch post and also water is a toy
4) He is chasing one of my other cats all the time and she is scared of him and obviously feels like a victim HELLLLLP

By the way i will NOT have him euthanized and I am a herbal practitioner so they do work! Of course there are ways to help other than having him put down, he bit me today when i was playing with him, it got out of control he does not just walk up to me and bite and scracth me. I love all my animals and make sure they are all cared for as best i can hence why I am seeking advice here but the suggestion to have him put to sleep is stupid and cruel and no sane vet would do that anyway if i told them the issues!

and he is neutered, was 3 months ago, I am trying to persuade him to go outside and play more as well which seems to be helping this afternoon when he is back in the house.

and...I have no kids and there is no damage done to any of the other cats, nothing physical, and they are all still purry bundles of love. (most of the time)

and..the title should say about biting me, he hasnt bitten any of the other cats or anyone else.

Answer 1

You are not on your own, Thought my kitten was a 'nutter' she also acts like yours! She most likely is a nutter but then they all are, mine was like yours, still is in most respects.
You seem overly concerned though, no need to even think about yours being any different to others, lets just run through you points, it bites you when you play with it, my wife 'play fights' with our kitten , the kitten starts it by taking a swipe at her my wife retaliates by flapping her hand at the kitten, the kitten dosent really go a bundle on that and takes a chunk out of my wifes hand, it has its ears pinned back and changes to the gremlin from hell! It later returns for a cuddle, all is forgiven on both sides.
Chewing all the wires? mine has found a way to unplug the scart cable from my tv but only while I am watching an interesting programme, dont know how to stop that, I shout and bawl at her but she sits there and just stares at me like I am a moon man!
Now your scratch post thing is a bit more serious,we bought one of those, it doesnt interest the kitten, the leather furniture was much more attractive, after a lot of loud PSSSSST noises from me it left it alone for a short while and graduated onto wall paper stripping I think I have more scratch boards scattered aroun the house than the pet shop has in stock. But I did raise this question on this very forum, the best answer I got was to give it a very fine sprasy of water, use one of those plastic bottles with the lever on, they only give out a very fine misty spray, it certainly worked, it took about 3 days of squirtting before she reverted to the scratch pads.
Water is a toy was another point, yes yours is the same as all the others in the world, I havent worked that out yet, mine likes milk but wants water, I thought the kitten hated water but if she hears me running a tap she is up the kitchen sink to investigate, if the water is running slowly she will try to drink from the running tap, she will also dunk her face under for a bit of a swill, she will probably get over that?
The food? Mine wants no tit bits just her vitamin biscuits, maybe thats something to do with the milk teeth, but I'm not worried about that, neither should you be. Oh yes one final trait I ought to mention she hardly ever gives out a meiow, but grumbles a lot and I have noticed recently that when she is watching the birds out of the window her tale wags and she actually 'chunters' her jaws move up and down and its for sure some sort of alien tongue she is speaking, so really you have no real problems that I can see dont fret so much.

Answer 2

Hi my cat behaves exactly the same and i have the scars to prove it! However here are a few ways i have stopped him from doing it most of the time and why i think he does it in the first place.

It can be to do with play and just getting very boystrous. Often they dont mean to scratch you if this is the case just be careful when playing.
Asserting authority over you although cats are to a certain extent laws into themselves I found that if you give a short sharp NO to them when they bite works or if that doesnt work turn away from them as if to say i dont want to play until you stop this behaviour.
I found one of the best ways to stop biting is to just tire them out often my cat goes out during the day whilst i am at work and then when i return home has his dinner and a play with his bit of string then sleeps as the fresh air and attention tire him out. This method works i cant imagine what it must be like for a cat who stays in day in day out i know i would be bored too.
The scratching post issue like anything you have to teach them what to do what i would say is get some catnip and spray that on it. If you catch him not using his post bring it to him and move him by it show him what to do. That worked for my cat.
Finally the chasing and hurting other cats. We had my cat when he was about 7 weeks old and at that stage we already had a cat about 10 years old and yes there were fights. A safe way of stopping them is to use a small water pistal dont let them see what you are doing but they will associate the splash of water with fighting nd it should stop after a while. I hope this information helps im sure despite his behaviour you love him to bits so good luck.

Answer 3

Firstly please don't get him put to sleep as someone has suggested - he is a growing, healthy, active cat!
I have a Maine Coon cat and he was very much like this when growing up (although now he weighs in at about 6.5 kilos so it HURTS when he plays/bites!) He was a very playful, cuddly kitten but as he started to grow up he did have these kind of 'outbursts' When he turns to bite or scratch if I'm fussing him I just turn my hand away and ignore the behaviour.
I must admit he is quite good with scratching only his post but try putting some cat nip around your cat's - this will encourage him to use this area to play/scratch.
Citronella oil (can be bought from most good hardware shops or as an essential oil) is a good deterrent for cats - just a few drops in places where there are cables for him to chew etc should be enough to put him off.
He will probably find a level with your other cats; when I lived at home my mum had 9 cats at one stage (I know!) and when ever there was a new arrival they would all begin scrapping trying to assert their authority. It should calm down in time.
Also if you haven't already get him neutered - he has reached sexual maturity and this will effect his behaviour (possibly making him unnecessarily aggressive).
Good luck with him and I hope peace is soon restored to your house!

Answer 4

From what you say, it sounds like you have an aggressive cat. Do you know whether someone is teasing him? I have had "bad" cats before, and the cause was someone teasing them, and they got even every which way they could.
I do suggest some aggressive parenting, be firm in your actions. I will sometimes deliberately hurt my cat and yell "ow" so they get the hint. If course, I don't break anything, just a good squeeze on the paw. I also, use a squirt bottle to get the cats to stop bad behaviour. Putting a small amount of vinegar in the bottle with water helps, too.
I hope that this helps, Good Luck.

Answer 5

I have 5 females and one male. He is more aggressive and bites, but not hard enough to draw blood. I know this sounds bad, but I watch my cats behavior allot, and if he bites you again I would give him a good smack. That is how they communicate with each other.
I also have cats that bully each other and there really is not much you can do about it. I feel bad for your bullied one, I just try to give extra comfort to my kitties that are low in the pecking order.

Also I read the previous answer, male cats will bite to show affection believe it or not. When they mate they will bite the back of the females neck. My male bites when he is happy to be petted.

Also the water bottle is good for unwanted behaviors, I don't think the vinegar is necessary though.

Answer 6

He's just being an vigorous, forceful tomcat. Having him neutered will probably calm him down and help save the furniture (and not just from claws).

Add: Yes, going outside will give him more outlets for his energy, especially if other cats are around and they have to come to arrangements over territory... He might also present you with a small, furry, grey something, alive or dead, as a reward for being good!

If you or he are a bit nervous about him going outside, just be there, sit in the garden or something so he knows where you are.

Answer 7

He is not just being a typical tomcat; he has issues. Animals too can experience extreme behavioral problems, but unlike humans, cannot be helped by psychiatry or psychotropic medicines. Do not be so gullible as to spend money on herbal "cures" because there aren't any herbs that will cure him.

It will be hard and very sad, but you must have him euthanized. Your other cats and the rest of your family do not deserve to be terrorized by an animal which cannot control itsself. Cats that attack humans can spread disease through their scratches and bites, and you do not want a child so attacked to develop any of those diseases, such as cat scratch fever. It isn't a mild little bug the kid will get over! Be brave and do the right thing: take him to the vet, explain what's been happening and let the vet put him down humanely. And yes, you will and you have permission to cry over this lousy turn of events.

Answer 8

that can be hard. my kitten was went through a stage like that. cats are wild animals at heart and they say that when they bite like that when you are petting them hat means that they dont want to be pet...just let him lay on your lap. when he starts to bite you just let him lay there on your lap and dont pet him anymore. when he starts to bite others give a tap in the nose or hind end, if that doesnt work....is he neutered?? someitmes that can calm them down. he may just be going through a fase or he could feel like he isnt getting the attention that he wants. try other toys...like cat nip toys or try geting cat nop. they have cat grass at grocery stores and also pet stores get a bunch of that or grow it yourself and he might be more attracted to that so he can bite at that and eat it with out damaging anything. he coulod feel threatened by the other cat as well it could be anything, see if any of that helps and let me know.. good luck

Answer 9

Kittys give love nips to each other and to humans when playing. the best thing to do is hold still:do not pull away, this causes them to clamp down harder, ie; get rougher, get out of hand.
If she nibbles or chomps a little, get still. she will hold on for a second and release... it is just playing. My cat chomps me, I hold still, she looks at me out of the corner of her eye, then releases me and licks me in the same spot, as if to say, see, i was only kidding! try it...