Face Attacking

[LadyZephyr]

Hiya peeps! Erm I have a bit of a problem at the minute, Bluebelle seems to have settled in brilliantly which I'm very pleased about but her behaviour is getting somewhat out of control I think.

I know Kittens do have a tendency to bite/scratch/playfight which we have been discouraging in the normal way (saying No and ignoring, timeouts, blowing in her face and various other things minus water spraying which I dont want to do) but as she is approaching 5.5 months oldish it seems to be getting worse and it's not that we encourage it either, she ALWAYS gets disciplined when she starts biting and scratching but it doesnt seem to deter her at all and we have NEVER roughoused with her since we got her, but I know that the Breeder does it a lot to the baby kittens cos I've witnessed her do it to our new arrival due in a couple of weeks which didn't please me.

Anyway, the most disturbing thing shes started doing is attacking us. She will stare us in the eyes, lay her ears flat, and launch at our faces and bite/scratch us. She hasn't damaged me at all as my reflexes are quite quick and I catch her but she took a chunk out of my partners face the other night. What are we doing wrong? And is her behaviour something to worry about?. Normal methods of deterring her aren't working do you guys have any ideas?. I'm hoping she will chill out on the attacking front once we get her buddy home but is it just cos she's bored/lonely during the day while we are at work so at night she goes mental? The funny thing is, she will even attack our face when we arent even looking at her or focusing on her, we could be watching TV and she will launch at us.

 

[MissMySphynxBoys]

My gut says she wants to play and is trying to get your attention by going for your face. Try your best not to give her any attention during the face attacks other than protecting yourself then ignore her for a few minutes before redirecting her to rough house with a toy.

Good luck.

 

[ilovemysphynx]

Seems so cute coming from a kitten but if not stopped can became a problem. I would not play when she goes for the face after a short pause try a toy to show her what is good to play with, doing this for a while should help.

 

[susi794]

She needs to release some of her pent up energy--do you have any electrical toys? Laser light, Fling-a-ma-string. Undercover Mouse, Manic Mouse, etc,? If so turn her loose on one of them...let her pounce on them. She might also like those bird toys that tweet--my Othie Marie "kills" it over and over and over again. Da Bird is also a great toy--it sounds as though Bluebelle likes to pounce and attack--go to the toy store and find things that appeal to a pouncer. And when the new baby comes home, this new one will get all the attacks--and will attack back if she gets too rough. You can also try doing the loud pain noise that other kits make when they have played too rough. I have used that technique quite successfully before. I'd play with her til she got some of that energy gone before letting her very close to your face.
Good luck,
Susi and the gang

 

[LadyZephyr]

Thanks guys your responses are very helpful.

Thanks for your toy suggestions Susie, I'll see if i can find something similar in our pet shop, I actually saw a pretty nifty automated laser toy that shoots them all over the place, that might do the trick. and as for 'letting' her get close to our face, I'm afraid we don't normally get the option lol. She likes to lay in wait until we're watching tv and then strike when we're unaware lol. We got her a little mouse in a ball that makes a brilliant mouse noise when its moved/swatted but she has no interest in that whatsover. I tried even putting catnip on her toys to no avail really. She does enjoy the dangling toys on sticks though but while she is the way she is now it's still a little too close to us for comfort, she generally just turns round and bites our heads once she gets hyper lol

 

[Candys]

Susie has hit the nail on the head. It's all about being a pouncer. For my 4 mo. old boy, I let him attack a little blanket that I throw out then pull back to me. He can bite and rabbit kick all he wants on the blanket and it allows him to be a CAT.

 

[LLevenson]

i feel your pain!! We had (actually, still have from time to time, but a lot less these days) the same thing with Arias...down to the attacking the face when we are watching TV! (hey, at least we aren't alone ) It even got worse after 5 months just like you! I swear, I felt like I was reading my own story when I read your post!

The cat behaviorist told us that he just wants attention, so we started to do a 10-20 minute DESIGNATED play time with him every evening. By designated, I mean that I didn't try and watch TV while flicking his feather toy. I sat down and played whatever game he was interested in--fetch, feather toy, turbo scratcher, etc (Bergan Star Chaser Turbo Scratcher - Interactive - Toys - PetSmart ). then once he got out some of his pent up energy, he usually was cool chilling with us. At first I was like, "really, I have to take 20 minutes and play with him and do nothing else?" but then I realized, "if I had a dog, I would have to walk him at least twice a day for that long, so why am I complaining?". Something about him having our undivided attention really helped.

When he was REALLY bad (even after play time) we also had to resort to either locking him OUT of the room we are in or locking him in a room (like we when we were in the den watching TV, he got locked in the office). Usually for about 5 minutes at a time, but sometimes it was more like 30 if it was his 3rd "offense". He usually got it, but I swear sometimes it took him getting locked out 3-5 times before he calmed down. There have been times at night, that he is locked out for hours b/c we fall asleep and until one of us gets up, he's going solo in the rest of the house. He has like 4 cat beds all w/ multiple blankets, so I don't feel so bad. When he does get let back in (b/c one of us got up to use the bathroom or something) he is always VERY lovey dovey...like he had been starved of affection and wanted to make amends. THAT part I like VERY much!

Since he turned 2, there has been a noticeable change in the biting/attacking...he is much more content playing for shorter time periods and it only takes being locked out once for him to get it. In fact, last week, I can only remember 2 attacks and he stopped after being locked out only for a few minutes so I think Bluebelle will calm down! Hang in there!

Another thing too, I noticed that when his attacking/biting was the worst, it always seemed to coincide with him also being very hungry. I don't free feed (can't w/ a raw diet) and usually at bed time when he was relentlessly attacking us in bed, if I got up and fed him, he would devour his food and then get right under the covers with his full belly to sleep. Seems he learned to use mouth to let us know he either needed play or food. Have you tried seeing if a meal would help? Just sharing my experiences! Hope Bluebelle calms down for you...if she's anything like Arias, she will w/ some time and effort on your part. Until then, your reflexes will be a very toned!

 

[ckutkuhn7]

You have received great advice here as usual. Also I'll second the opinion of "designated playtime",,that is very much needed. These kitties thrive on attention and they reek havoc when they don't get it! lol

My sphynx doesnt respond well to store bought toys,,,so toys you may have around your home that you may or may not be aware of that work well are:
rings from milk jug tops (once they start breaking be sure to take it away so your kitty doesnt eat it)
Ponytail holders (without the metal on them)
empty TP rolls
Snuffie also enjoys bread ties but be sure to put these up when your not supervising as these can be dangerous.

Goodluck, I hope your kitty loves the new play times you set for him.