Help with new kitty aggression!

[candylilacs]

OK, I looked at all the websites and no one can help me out.

Punky, the pound purry, whose 1 year old, was a darling when we got him, but now that he and Killcrazy, 8 mos., chase each other day and at night he's become aggressive.

Punky likes to sleep on our bed. I usually take him off the bed since all he wants to do is bite and scratch. But he comes back later when we're asleep. I'll wake up with him biting or scratching me! Sometimes it's my husband and it's a horrible way to wake up in the morning.

I play with him and he gets plenty of play time, hours of it.

I'm thinking he can't be allowed in the room anymore, but the other kitties, including Killcrazy, don't do this.

Any ideas?

c.

[jason]

there are a few posts in this forum dealing this this sort of thing, try searching for a bit here.

for starters...what have you tried? i would suggest immediate time-outs and keeping him locked in a room at night with his food/water/litter or perhaps just closing your door (whichever is best for your situation).

[candylilacs]

Everytime he bites and claws when I'm conscious, he gets put out into the other room. Everytime when he wakes me up by biting or clawing me, I push him off the bed. But I have to admit, I'm pretty groggy at 3 a.m. (he's the only cat I've owned who's ever done this.) And he always gets a scratch or bite in when I pick him up or push him off the bed.

I play with him about 30 minutes a day, but he plays with Killcrazy all day, too. I don't swat him, I say, "No!" and he doesn't get to stay in the same room. I gave him a time-out today in the den and he seems slightly less crazy.

I was waiting on squirting him with water. But that's an option. Next week he gets SoftPaws for his furniture clawing.

I know cats, esp. young ones can be rambunctious. (My 7-year-old kitty opens cupboards and pulls cans out when he's hungry but that doesn't bother me like biting and scratching does.) And for the most part, they usually tire themselves out.

I'm just frustrated. And I've looked in all the links and there isn't anything that says how to keep your cat from attacking you in your sleep. But maybe he'll grow out of it. Maybe?

c.

[jason]

I gave him a time-out today in the den and he seems slightly less crazy.

how long was the time-out and how many times did he go there in one day?

I'm just frustrated. And I've looked in all the links and there isn't anything that says how to keep your cat from attacking you in your sleep. But maybe he'll grow out of it. Maybe?

similar topic

• for more topics, search "behavior time-out" for the keywords and "jason" for author (without double quotes). that should bring up most of my comments on this subject. while you may not find the exact same situation, the tactics you should be trying are the same.

others here have had issues with cats acting up a storm. yes, of course being a young cat can contrinute to this but there are certainly methods you can try and with alot of persistance and patience, most cats have a positive response.

you mentioned today's time-out having an effect, that's an excellent sign. they wont snap out of this, so it will probably take some time. one of mine took a few months of time-outs and other things before the behavior was curved enough to live with.

[Yzma]

does he bite one particular part of you? like your fingers? if it's your hands you could try dipping them in lemon or lime and then letting him have a go... if he gets used to you tasting disgusting maybe he won't want to bite you anymore... you could also try leaving his scratching post next to your bed and if you wake up with him scratching you you can just transfer him to the post... it could also be that he's bored... not all cats like to sleep through the night... he could just be waking you up to let him out... another thing to try would be to just not react... i know it's hard to do when you're being bitten and clawed... but cats are like that... if they stop getting a reaction they generally stop doing whatever it is they're doing...

[candylilacs]

He was very sweet and a little scared of my cats (I have three, two are almost 7 and one is 8 mos.) but as time went by he and the young one are friends and chase each other constantly.

I think he was actually overstimulated for the first time in his life and so he acts crazy beyond his play time. I gave him a time-out yesterday and while he still tries to get away with trying to claw/bite me at night, he actually seems to stop and go away when I say "No!"

We'll see. He's a smart kitty. And yes, he is the world's cutest cat.

c.