Kitty mommies, HELP!!!

[Gemsnob]

@anniebelle

You've watched kittens play with each other, they get aggressive and play fight, its thier nature. If you need to wear long sleeves for a bit, do that.
Milo is playing !!! The paper and plastic bags are good, and Gem Snob is right...dont wiggle fingers or hands to get his attention.

One other reason for the aggression...Milo is a MALE he needs to be neutered. The sooner the better !! Sorry Milo - Gypsy

You are SO right about being a male and needing to be neutered! I didn't even think about that. I'm not sure how old he is but as soon as he is the appropriate age, get him neutered. Waiting can cause spraying and once they start that, it's very hard to get them to stop. No matter how much you clean, they can still smell it and they keep going back.

[Harlequin]

All of you ladies are correct on everything you have said about kitties. I think it was gypsy at says he needs neutered most definitely, the sooner the better I believe gypsy said that. The vets here in Tennessee Wait till there about six months old, but I know other vets in Indiana neutered cats at five months. You have a good day Annabelle, and all of the other ladies. By the way do you have any idea how old Milo is? If he does start spraying I don’t know of anything that gets that smell out.

[anniebelle]

THANK YOU to all who responded with your thoughts and suggestions!! Yes, he is getting fixed as soon as I can line it up. I spoke to my vet once when I was looking for a kitty, he said the youngest he could offer a kitten for adoption was 3 months. Would come with shots and fixed. But what I found on The web was a male should be neutered at 6 months. Don't know when his second set of shots are due. I wasn't the one to do his first visit, so I feel a bit in the dark. If the info I have is correct, he is 3 1/2 months old. Being a rescued orphan, going by word of mouth, the first vet was told, or educated guessed, who knows? I think he looks older, he is growing so fast. We'll see what my vet says and officially assign him a birthday!!! Thanks again and have a great day !

[JewelryQueen]

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@anniebelle

I go along with neutering ASAP but also in line with the spray bottle technique--it doesn't have to be a huge spray bottle. I can be a small 2-4 oz one like lens cleaner comes in for your glasses. You can usually get them at a Dollar Store. If you tie a cord around the top part, leave some slack and tie it to your wrist, you will have it at the ready at all times. An odd fashion statement indeed, I know. At least you should only have to wear it for a few days. When he is coming at you bring your free hand up to hold the bottle bottle and give him a squirt of water direct in the face. The water won't hurt him even in his eyes. It should not take long at all for him to get the idea. And when he is not attacking remember to give him some positive reinforcement like a scratch behind the ears or a small treat. Milo is teething and probably will be for another 7-8 weeks. Have you tried the chilled washcloth in the freezer trick? If you can get him to play tug of war with it- it will not only entertain him, but give some relief from the discomfort of teething gums. If you can hang in there until teething is over this should be a much lesser issue. Good luck!!

[OtherSideOfTheTracks]

Most of the kittens I've had have grown out of this behavior, and it could be because he was used to roughhousing with other kitties. I would gently but firmly tap him on his nose or forehead with finger and tell him STOP and put him off your lap till hes ready to be in cuddle mode. -Gypsy

Been trying that. He can't be put off when he doesn't want to. He literally flies at me, lunging his whole body and then latching on, legs and mouth flayling! I'm trying not to get too rough with him. In self defense I toss him away from me, he just comes right back! Those teeth! There's a bad cut on my hand that's been reopened twice!

I strongly believe that Milo is in a new teenage kitten phase and he will grow out of it in time and once neutered. The key to get through it and have a good relationship is never create "fear" for him (although I know you are experiencing fear) because kittens/cats react to fear by fighting. So when he is being too aggressive, turn off, put him in a bathroom with the door shut for a 15 minutes. Say NO when he does it. Be gentle always as he will not learn under fear of your aggression. with cats, aggression on your part begets aggression on his part.

Haha, I remember a kitten I had that if I put my hand up like a claw, he saw that as a threat (never had a cat do that before - and at first I thought it was funny when I put my hand in a "claw" position to watch his reaction - WRONG on ME. He would get fearful and then attack. He grew out of it after I stopped doing it. duh.

I had a maine coon kitty that if I bumped her on the nose for "NO" she felt inclined to react back to ME. I learned that thumping her was not her cup of tea so "I" changed my way of correcting her by spraying water with "NO." It didn't take long to correct that behavior.

All cats are different. When I adopted 7 kittens from newborns and they grew into young teenagers - there was a day where I thought, "I'm in over my head." - They have so much energy and they have needs to play and hunt and be a predator. I made extra time to play with them with their toys, "da bird" was their favorite. I also bought toys they can play when I'm not around like a wooden box with holes in it and you drop a rolling ball or mouse and they have to put their paws in it to try to get it. I had a rolling "track" that you could add hills and curves so when the ball in the track was touched it would move around the track and that kept them amused. I also kept bird videos on with birds in the background singing, flying, fluttering and the would watch it too. Even light acoustic music helps keep them calm. Do you have a window to put a bird feeder outside for Milo to watch?

All I'm saying is it's so important to be firm with him but in a GENTLE way because this is a kitten phase he will grow out of it and you want your bond to be trusting when the phase is over. Praise him when he is bad even. Say no, then when he stops, say good boy. Stuffs like that.

Good luck Milo is a good boy but he is full of life and excitement. he will mellow.