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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / January 2004How to control aggressive play?
Fred is 9 months old, I believe, and neutered. I got him for Christmas. He seems to be a Manx, pure-bred or close to it. Very pretty. He was a stray and had been seen by a vet. Has had some of his shots; I'll follow up with a visit on 1/14 to a vet near me. I'd never had a cat, so I'm trying to be a quick study in cat health and behavior. But books only take me so far, and some of the advice is mutually contradictory. He's a delightful little guy. Did a fine job with the litter box right from 12/25 on, and seems to be in very good health and dispostion. He uses the scratcher I bought for him. HOWEVER, his play with me (when I'm not playing) is quite aggressive and startling, and I'd like to get advice on how to tone him down. Example 1: He'll beg me to pick him up and hold him; I'll do so and scratch his head and he'll be purring away with eyes half closed. Then suddenly he'll jump up toward my neck and start biting on the top button of my shirt or grabbing the zipper thingy on the jacket I'm wearing. Example 2: When I put him back on the floor or the seat of a chair he'll play-bite and scratch my hands if they are touching his belly or chest when he reaches the floor or chair. Example 3: I need to stretch my neck for 10 minutes each night with a simple traction gismo. This entails my lying flat on my back, motionless, with my head strapped in the gismo. I'll put a small down comforter over my legs and lower body to keep warm. Fred will see the humps of those legs and will conduct a sneak attack on them, circling around chairs, TV and such, and then the sudden run-pounce. Because I must do the traction, I end up putting Fred in another room and closing the door, something I don't want to do. (Or is this OK?) In a couple of books it is suggested that a squirt of water from a plant spray bottle on his hind quarters, along with a firm "No!" will stop unwanted behavior. I bought one yesterday. But I find that it takes about 8 squeezes to get the bottle primed. By that time a squirt would be meaningless to Fred, right? I've been looking for the kind of squirt gun I had as a kid--no priming needed, as I recall. Are these still out there in toy stores in the U.S.? The ones I've called said they don't have any, but they may just be sold out from the holiday shopping. I'd appreciate some advice. Thanks, Jack Crane > Fred is 9 months old, I believe, and neutered. I got him for Christmas. He > seems to be a Manx, pure-bred or close to it. Very pretty. He was a stray [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] > > Jack Crane Your cat is just being a 9 month old kitten. Putting him in another room while you do your traction for 10 min. is not a bad thing. He'll learn that is "you" time. The minute he plays too rough stop playing. Don't play with your hands. If he does scratch or bite your hands yelp loudly as though you are really hurt and stop any contact. He will learn. There is nothing with more energy than a cat this age. You might think of a companion for him. Two cats are no more work than one and often less as they take each others energy out in play and are enormous fun to watch. Karen > more energy than a cat this age. You might think of a companion for him. Two > cats are no more work than one and often less as they take each others > energy out in play and are enormous fun to watch. Karen is absolutely right. When my first cat was 9 months old, I had had her for about three months. She was an absolute terror. We then got a second cat, a few months younger. They hated each other at first, but within a few weeks they were buddies and now they mostly play with each other instead of relying on me. The two are much easier to take care of than just one. Jon > There is nothing with > more energy than a cat this age. Except maybe a puppy of that age. *LOL*  Signature-- ~kaeli~ No one is listening until you make a mistake. http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace >From: Karen Chuplis kchuplis@earthlink.net >There is nothing with >more energy than a cat this age. You might think of a companion for him. Two >cats are no more work than one and often less as they take each others >energy out in play and are enormous fun to watch. I agree. I think getting a kitty playmate for your cat is an excellent suggestion. I know my two really have a good time playing with each other. Lauren Lauren _________ =^..^= See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe To Error is Human, To be Purrfect is Feline > Example 1: He'll beg me to pick him up and hold him; I'll do so and scratch > his head and he'll be purring away with eyes half closed. Then suddenly > he'll jump up toward my neck and start biting on the top button of my shirt > or grabbing the zipper thingy on the jacket I'm wearing. This is very normal. Stop him by putting him down, then play with him with an appropriate toy. Or, if he's not overly playful or large, keep holding him, but play with an appropriate toy. I can hold my girl and play with her rope thingy at the same time. But she's little. :) Teach behavior you want. > Example 2: When I put him back on the floor or the seat of a chair he'll > play-bite and scratch my hands if they are touching his belly or chest when > he reaches the floor or chair. Say no and stop playing. If he doesn't stop, he gets a time out. Either you leave the room or you place him in another room for 5-10 minutes. This game will cease being fun. > Example 3: I need to stretch my neck for 10 minutes each night with a > simple traction gismo. This entails my lying flat on my back, motionless, [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > putting Fred in another room and closing the door, something I don't want > to do. (Or is this OK?) As soon as he starts being evil, see above. He will soon learn that being evil gets a time out and is not fun. Time outs in another room are fine. But put him there AFTER he does evil or he won't know why he's being locked away. > In a couple of books it is suggested that a squirt of water from a plant > spray bottle on his hind quarters, along with a firm "No!" will stop [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > toy stores in the U.S.? The ones I've called said they don't have any, but > they may just be sold out from the holiday shopping. I have found that some cats respond great to this - and some do not. Some don't care if they get wet. Some realize YOU are squirting them, so they do evil when you aren't there. Better to get up, tell him no, then take him somewhere more appropriate and praise and play with him. Then he learns what he is supposed to do and won't be evil when the nasty bottle-squirter isn't around. *g* Signature-- ~kaeli~ No one is listening until you make a mistake. http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace This seems like great advice -- but what if a seven-month-old neutered male has graduated from "wanting to play" to out and out aggression toward an older female cat? He doesn't do it all the time, but a few times a day and the female is getting tired of it. We have three cats now, so getting him a same-age mate isn't an option. is time-out still indicated? Signature---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- CCPetersen "I'd rather be stargazing." (remove the ET from my username to send email.) > > Example 1: He'll beg me to pick him up and hold him; I'll do so and scratch > > his head and he'll be purring away with eyes half closed. Then suddenly [quoted text clipped - 48 lines] > and praise and play with him. Then he learns what he is supposed to do > and won't be evil when the nasty bottle-squirter isn't around. *g* > This seems like great advice -- but what if a seven-month-old neutered male > has graduated from "wanting to play" to out and out aggression toward an > older female cat? He doesn't do it all the time, but a few times a day and > the female is getting tired of it. We have three cats now, so getting him a > same-age mate isn't an option. is time-out still indicated? No, non-play aggression is not taken care of by a time out. The solution to non-play aggression depends on the cause. There are several types of aggression: play fear dominance / territorial sexual predatory maternal instrumental (source: http://www.petplace.com/Articles/artShow.asp?artID=1819) Play aggression is easily trained out if the cat has other outlets for his/her energy. The others are not. They require a bit of behaviorism, a lot of patience, and in some cases, medication. You'd need to elaborate on what "out-and-out" aggression is. See the page above to look at body language to determine what type of aggression is being displayed. What seems "mean" to us can be a cat playing hard. Signature-- ~kaeli~ Condoms should be used on every conceivable occasion. http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace Fair enough. He's 7 months old, she's 7 years old. She's been the alpha cat most of her life. He's attempting to become the alpha cat. They WILL snuggle together and bathe each other at times. But, then he'll overload and start to tussle with her. Sometimes he gets on her back and licks her head and then will try to bite her neck and throat. At that point, she growls, shakes him off, and runs away. He chases. That's when we separate them. He goes into time out. We let him out about 15 minutes later. Sometimes this works to calm him down. Other times it doesn't. They will chase each other, and as long as he doesn't turn it into rough play, she's okay with it. But when he starts to nip at her, she growls and the fight begins again. I should reiterate that much of the time they co-exist without much problem -- he sleeps in one room, she in another. The third cat is pretty much out of the tussle -- in fact, she won't tolerate his shenanigans and swats him away. He seems to have a predilection for hassling the 7-year-old, probably because she's been the dominant cat. We think that he really just wants to play, so we spend 15-20 minutes at a time doing cat toys with him, having him chase a ball, laser pointer, etc. This works to some extent. He was neutered 2 weeks ago. > No, non-play aggression is not taken care of by a time out. > The solution to non-play aggression depends on the cause. There are [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > aggression is being displayed. What seems "mean" to us can be a cat > playing hard. > Fair enough. He's 7 months old, she's 7 years old. She's been the alpha cat > most of her life. He's attempting to become the alpha cat. They WILL > snuggle together and bathe each other at times. But, then he'll overload and > start to tussle with her. Sometimes he gets on her back and licks her head > and then will try to bite her neck and throat. At that point, she growls, > shakes him off, and runs away. He chases. Ever watch those nature specials on lions? Sounds just like that. He's just being a brat. He may not even want dominance. Kittens do this with their parents. She's just not disciplining him as mama would. Honestly, how I would handle this is that when he does this, at the point where mama would normally swat him (just as he gives chase), I'd tell him no and give him a mild scruff shake (like mama) and plop his butt in the other room for 5 minutes. Growl a bit at him, too, when you tell him no. Pet him and make up with him after that 5 minutes so he knows all is forgiven. Note: A MILD scruff shake - that is, just grasp the loose skin at the neck and shake *gently* and growl. Do NOT pick him up by his scruff. He is far too big for that and can be hurt. Keep his body on the ground. He should not be hurt at all; just put in his place. His ears should go back slightly and his pupils should dilate slightly. You want him to respect the correction, but you do not want him to fear you and you certainly don't want to hurt him. After once or twice, the mere "no" should suffice and make him break the chase. Do not yell. Just a firm voice. Reward him if he does respect the no - either with pets or a treat or playtime. Signature-- ~kaeli~ Why did kamikaze pilots wear helmets? http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace Kaeli, The things we do for our pets. I have tried the scruff and growling (and boy did he look at me funny the first time I tried that!) and it seems to be helping. Also, when we catch him on her, we gently move him off. She bathes him quite a bit, and he bathes her, so when he starts to get rough, we pull them apart. When he bathes her without biting, we praise him. Incidentally, he caught his first mouse the other night. We praised him fulsomely for doing so, lured him away with a special treat, and then disposed of the mouse. Signature---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- CCPetersen "I'd rather be stargazing." (remove the ET from my username to send email.) > > Fair enough. He's 7 months old, she's 7 years old. She's been the alpha cat > > most of her life. He's attempting to become the alpha cat. They WILL [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > chase. Do not yell. Just a firm voice. Reward him if he does respect the > no - either with pets or a treat or playtime. > Kaeli, > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > him quite a bit, and he bathes her, so when he starts to get rough, we pull > them apart. When he bathes her without biting, we praise him. He just needs to know who the boss is. ;) Of course, it will usually be him, but hey. *g* > Incidentally, he caught his first mouse the other night. We praised him > fulsomely for doing so, lured him away with a special treat, and then > disposed of the mouse. My cats are so used to living with my pet rats (used to have) that if I had mice, they'd leave them alone! *LOL* Signature-- ~kaeli~ In democracy your vote counts. In feudalism your count votes. http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace |
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