Kitty Agression :C

[Spirati Archivist]

Hi.

So A while ago I rescued a kitten. I rescued the whole litter and momma cat unfortunately momma never made it through. sad kitties two siblings also passed on.

So. The mother cat passed away at roughly 5-6 weeks with the kittens. The other two days later. The little guy I have now barely made it.

He's about a year old now and seems to be having aggression issues.

I took him everywhere with me when he was little to make sure he had lots of contact and always petted him and what not. However when he was about six months I went back to school and it turns out a family member of mine would play with him aggressively. Pin him down, yell at him, probally dig her nails into him don't get me started on this woman.

So now he will not tolerate being picked up at all sad He will growl and hiss at me, claw and bite. My arms are a mess of scars that I am really having trouble clearing up. I've taking him to the vet and he pitched such a fit i came out bleeding to avoid the vet getting mangled.

Now I can handle not picking him up as he tends to follow me around anyway and I wanted companionship which he provides just fine.

The problem is I am now trying to curb his aggression. He will not tolerate being examined or brushed. The vet get's quite irritated when she is checking him and he will growl or hiss at her and he needs regular brushing now as he's shedding more due to warmer weather. I can barely give him a quick once over to make sure he has no issues.

Now recently he started getting these bumps on his backside and we're trying to narrow down the cause but he absolutely freaks out when I or the Vet tries to check them, or even gently part the fur to look at them. My arms are a mangled mess even more lately.

I need some ideas on how to start curbing this aggression. I've started by picking him up several times a day and putting him down as soon as a growl starts and it has worked to some extent but If anyone had any tips on how to improve him more that would be great.  

[Ailinea]

Not that my first option to "fix" behavior lies in medication, but have you heard of Feliway? I saw a ridiculously cute ad in my vet's office and it seems interesting.  

[pompoennetje]

Usuaully when a cat growls, hisses, is being aggressive, he feels uncomfortable, not save, in his own house. And how you treat a kitten makes the kitten. So what that woman did to his is probably the cause.

Wait till you cat has calmed down, completely. begin with scratching and rubbing its head. Make no sudden moves. Continue stroking its back and the base of the tail. Talk to the cat while you are doing this and watch for any signs that the cat is becoming agitated > Body language!. Finish this short lesson with a treat. Eventually the cat will enjoy being touched and handled.

Relaxed cats carry their tails and head high. They stand high on their paws with small eye pupils and a portion of the third eyelid showing. Punishment only makes the problem worse.

also, make sure you hold your cat right way. If you hold her tightly and in a way he can't escape, he might scratch. Most cats don't like that.

Brushing and touching you can try the same way. Start shortly, and give him a treat afterwards.

Good luck!  

[Vanilla eXee]

By putting him down when he growls, you're showing him that growling is an effective method to get what he wants. I think the proper way to desensitize him is to put him down before he starts growling, and also keep some treats handy and only give a treat for positive behavior. Kitty lets you hold him? Give him a treat. He growls? no treat. Same goes for teaching him to enjoy brushing/exams.  

[Celestial Fireflies]

Vanilla eXee

By putting him down when he growls, you're showing him that growling is an effective method to get what he wants. I think the proper way to desensitize him is to put him down before he starts growling, and also keep some treats handy and only give a treat for positive behavior. Kitty lets you hold him? Give him a treat. He growls? no treat. Same goes for teaching him to enjoy brushing/exams.

Precisely what I was going to say. When I was doing the same thing with Felix, I always paid close attention to his body language so that I let go before he got upset at me. That way, he realized that he didn't have to get angry for me to let him go, I would let go on my own. I didn't think of giving him treats for positive behavior (it still worked to build his trust), but that sounds like a good idea.