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Nutmeg8112

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Hello all!
First time poster, year long watcher here! I have been on sphynxlair since I got my first sphynx kitty, Ollivander (Olli for short) about a year ago. I haven't felt the need to post a question in the past because I have been able to find answers in previous threads BUT now I need a little advice on Olli's behavior.

He is a pink/white neutered male who will be a year old the end of this month. Recently he has become a little more aggressive with his play. He has become very bitey and it is mostly towards me. He will be sitting on my lap or in my bed purring and then in an instant he completely turns on me and bites whatever body part of mine is closest to him and latches on with his claws. I am the one who cares mostly for him in my household but I do live with my mom and younger brother. However, I am not sure he reacts this way towards them. Although I spend more time with him than the rest of my family ( as he sleeps with me almost every night) I notice he is becoming less cuddly and more bitey. Sometimes he really gets me a hurts me. When this initially stared to happen I tried the "yell ouch and no" technique but that only seems to make him more anxious. Sometimes I just get so annoyed with it that I have to lock him out of the room, but that breaks my heart becuase he claws at my door until I let him back in.
On a side note, my family has joked about him having a bit of a neurotic personality as he sometimes goes into weird trance like states, sprints around the house chasing our dog (who is larger but terrified of him), and gets very bug eyed and twitchy.
I don't know if this personality and behavior coincides with the biting and playful aggression but I would just like any and all information or viewpoints or opinions you can provide. Olli is my spoiled little baby and I want to make sure he is happy and mentally and physically healthy.

I am new at owning sphynxs and want to make sure I am going the very best I can!
Thank you all and I apologize for the long thread! :)
 

MollysMom

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Is it possible to video any of this behaviour? First I would make sure his claws are kept trimmed so he doesn't physically hurt you as much. Then I would schedule a wellness checkup at the vet. It might be a good idea to bring any documentation of the behaviour - video, how often, how long it lasts, etc. There are definitely mental health issues that cats can have. Hopefully the vet can offer suggestions on what to do or run blood work. If he is having pain, he might be misplacing the aggression onto you when he starts biting, etc.
 

admin

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Hello all!
First time poster, year long watcher here! I have been on sphynxlair since I got my first sphynx kitty, Ollivander (Olli for short) about a year ago. I haven't felt the need to post a question in the past because I have been able to find answers in previous threads BUT now I need a little advice on Olli's behavior.

He is a pink/white neutered male who will be a year old the end of this month. Recently he has become a little more aggressive with his play. He has become very bitey and it is mostly towards me. He will be sitting on my lap or in my bed purring and then in an instant he completely turns on me and bites whatever body part of mine is closest to him and latches on with his claws. I am the one who cares mostly for him in my household but I do live with my mom and younger brother. However, I am not sure he reacts this way towards them. Although I spend more time with him than the rest of my family ( as he sleeps with me almost every night) I notice he is becoming less cuddly and more bitey. Sometimes he really gets me a hurts me. When this initially stared to happen I tried the "yell ouch and no" technique but that only seems to make him more anxious. Sometimes I just get so annoyed with it that I have to lock him out of the room, but that breaks my heart becuase he claws at my door until I let him back in.
On a side note, my family has joked about him having a bit of a neurotic personality as he sometimes goes into weird trance like states, sprints around the house chasing our dog (who is larger but terrified of him), and gets very bug eyed and twitchy.
I don't know if this personality and behavior coincides with the biting and playful aggression but I would just like any and all information or viewpoints or opinions you can provide. Olli is my spoiled little baby and I want to make sure he is happy and mentally and physically healthy.

I am new at owning sphynxs and want to make sure I am going the very best I can!
Thank you all and I apologize for the long thread! :)
Some good tips here on biting- How to stop my Sphynx kitten from biting! Also, have you tried any diffusers like Feliway yet? I did a search on biting, some threads here also that may help, browse thru them - Search Results for Query: sphynx biting | Sphynxlair :)
 

Sheldon13

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I'm kind of curious too if he has an unknown source of pain. It would explain why his behavior is changing so suddenly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Nutmeg8112

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Thank you for your responses! I think I'm going to see what a diffuser can do and keep an eye on his behavior. Any time he gets twitchy or in a trance like state I'll make note of it! Hopefully this will get things cleared up or make me awareness of any unknown pain he might be experiencing!
 

Toa and Ross

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Sorry to hear your dealing with this situation. Has there been a chance lately? In the house? In your personal situation? Sphynx are very sensitive and when there's something wrong they'll be the first to know.
As others said it can also be Olli's in pain.

When he tries to bite can you destract him with a toy like Da Bird? Or does he keep his focus on you?

Hope you find out what is causing this issue
 

Nutmeg8112

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Sorry to hear your dealing with this situation. Has there been a chance lately? In the house? In your personal situation? Sphynx are very sensitive and when there's something wrong they'll be the first to know.
As others said it can also be Olli's in pain.

When he tries to bite can you destract him with a toy like Da Bird? Or does he keep his focus on you?

Hope you find out what is causing this issue
He can usually be distracted with a toy but after the distraction is gone he sometimes goes back to biting. Other times it seems like he forgets what he was doing.
 

Toa and Ross

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@Nutmeg8112 it could also be he has a lot of energy and is bored and then start biting. Him running around in the house like a maniac could be the "sphynx zoomies". Do you play a lot with him? Maybe try to play with him several times a day and make him run and play. Do you see it in his eyes when he wants to bite? Try to have a toy close to you and start playing until he's exhausted.
 

Xandria

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That's what I was thinking, @Toa and Ross. Aggression is sometimes linked to a kitty needing to vent more energy -- and boy, nakeds have tonnes of energy. I find interacting directly with my two is the only way to wear them out! Lots of wand toys, chasing around, play play etc.
 

Nutmeg8112

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@Nutmeg8112 it could also be he has a lot of energy and is bored and then start biting. Him running around in the house like a maniac could be the "sphynx zoomies". Do you play a lot with him? Maybe try to play with him several times a day and make him run and play. Do you see it in his eyes when he wants to bite? Try to have a toy close to you and start playing until he's exhausted.
I do play with him during the day when I am home but I think I'm going to have bedtime play for both of us! When he goes to bite I usually can tell because his eyes get big and he kinda glazes over...if that's makes sense?
 

Toa and Ross

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@Nutmeg8112 that makes a lot of sense. I can see at the eyes of my sphynxes too when they're about to crazy. I know I have to get the toys immediatly when they get THE look in their eyes. Otherwise they'll mess uo me and the house:).
 

celsei

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Is this a drastic change from his usual behavior or a gradual change? I'd be worried something is physicially or mentally off with him and he's lashing out because of anxiety if it's a sudden change but if it's more gradual and he's an only boy I think it might just be energy leftovers, my boys will sometimes be napping together or cleaning each other and then randomly decide to bite each other's faces off or roll around wrestling, who knows what triggers them they're all just nuts. Because they have each other to do it with they never take out any aggression on me, even if I piss them off by cleaning their ears or something they go attack their bro instead cause clearly it's their fault :D I guess a single boy would have all that pent up energy that's hard to take out with a human. Maybe try play wrestling with them using a stuffed animal, just sort of wiggle it around against their tummy/pretend to attack them with it. I'd say use those play gloves but that might confuse him about attacking your hands. Also going on walks outside helps to take out a lot of energy and antsiness
 

Nutmeg8112

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Is this a drastic change from his usual behavior or a gradual change? I'd be worried something is physicially or mentally off with him and he's lashing out because of anxiety if it's a sudden change but if it's more gradual and he's an only boy I think it might just be energy leftovers, my boys will sometimes be napping together or cleaning each other and then randomly decide to bite each other's faces off or roll around wrestling, who knows what triggers them they're all just nuts. Because they have each other to do it with they never take out any aggression on me, even if I piss them off by cleaning their ears or something they go attack their bro instead cause clearly it's their fault :D I guess a single boy would have all that pent up energy that's hard to take out with a human. Maybe try play wrestling with them using a stuffed animal, just sort of wiggle it around against their tummy/pretend to attack them with it. I'd say use those play gloves but that might confuse him about attacking your hands. Also going on walks outside helps to take out a lot of energy and antsiness
I'm looking to get a good lease and harness to take him outside. He is craving it but it has been a little too cold out still by me and I want to make sure I have something he can't pull out of! He does get energy out with my dog though so I think that helps a bit!
 

Nutmeg8112

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For anyone who is wondering, Olli has been quite well behaved recently. I started blowing in his direction when he tries to bite which stops him right away. He throws a little sassy face and then moves on haha. I also have started taking him outside more now that the weather has warmed up in my area! He really enjoys it! He is still a bit twitchy so I am keeping tabs on that by he seems to be behaving in an all around better way! Thank you for all of your responses!(y)
 

Xandria

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Thanks for the update! That's great to hear. I blow in the faces of my crew when they're naughty too. It works reasonably well.
 

Cinderstar95

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@Kathie

After reading the thread, this soundsalot like what my boy did. When he was about six months old, he started having episodes that we would night fury mode. He would get a strange look in his eye, get super crazy and sprint around. one time he jumped on the bed, took an entire peice of chicken off a plate and sprinted away with it. he dragged it around the house for twenty minutes before eating it. It went away as he got older, he's four now, and I usually just let him run himself out. I have two, so I would only have to watch when he got super aggressive with my girl, and I'd have to separate and there was alot of screaming No means No shazam. (My girl would be hissing and he coudln't care less lol. when they get into those moods, I usually just let them run it out, but if its becoming aggressive or painful either to you or another cat, you need to redirect that behavior. Cats don't learn from negative reinforcement, that is to say if they are peeing in a corner of the house, rubbing their noses in it an telling them no wont work. You have to reward positive behavior, so when they are in their box praise and give treats.
in the case of the crazies, redirect that aggression to a toy. they get this sort of instinct to latch on and claw whatever they can to shreds with their back legs, whether it be your hand or foot or something else. if he's getting this way, the blowing in his direction is a good idea. it snaps him out of it, but I would still recommend a redirection of some sort. Get them a stuffed sock or stuffed animal or something and keep it nearby so when he goes a bit crazy, instead of your hand, you drop the toy in front of him and he'll hopefully latch onto that.
Hope that helps!
 
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