Kitten from animal shelter question- why is the kitten turning evil?

Factual Questions
1

My wife and I adopted an 8 week old kitten from the shelter yesterday. When we first got it she was very gentle, it was very cuddly and of course my wife fell in love with it because of it’s personality. Now, a day later . . . my wife says it’s constantly hiding, biting and scratching her. Despite her loudly telling the cat “NO” and not playing with her, this cat has turned into SATAN.

My theory is she was sitting in a cage for god knows how long, and now she is going from a cage to a small room, and it’s really freaking her out. Or that the kitten thinks now that it doesn’t have to put on a show, it can now act like the asshole it was truly meant to be.

Either way, the behavior stops of Fluffy goes back to Kitty Kat Oz, as far as I’m concerned.

Any thoughts Dopers?

2

Well…it’s a cat! What did you expect - that she would be bringing you the paper every morning?

3

Do you know where the kitten originaly came from? If it was a stray, it could be feral, which would explain it’s behavior. I took in a kitten a while back that was feral, and it’s taken well over a year and a half for it to be even a little social. My advice is to have some patience. Your theory that it might be a bit “freaked out” is probably at least partially correct. It sometimes takes a cat quite a while to adjust to it’s new surroundings. Also, not playing with it really isn’t a good idea. Cats need stimulation, or else they grow bored. Play with it often (I found dragging a piece of string to be effective) and it will not become bored and resort to shredding your things and your personages. Just give it some time, and hopefully it will change it’s attitude toward you. Positive reinforcement with cat treats is pretty good, too.

4

For a cat to be social and loving towards people, it needs human contact from a very early age. The longer it goes without it the longer it takes to adjust.

5

The kitten’s behavior sounds like it may be playing. Kittens play to learn to hunt - if the cat is cuddly and nice at first and feels comfortable, it may be taking that comfort to the next step, which is to want to play. If the kitty is waiting until your wife walks by, then pouncing and biting - that is pretty classic play…

6

Make sure you use toys that keep the cat away from your hands so that you don’t hardwire those three neurons in her empty little skull into hands=toy mode.

We were bad kitty parents, and played with our cat with our hands–still do, since it’s probably too late to turn back the clock. However, we are always embarassed when she bites houseguests. Nothing that would break the skin, just playful little nips, because she’s just trying to be friendly, see, but they tend to find it off-putting.

No need to break the bank–a length of string, a crumpled-up paper ball, whatever.

I also recommend clipping claws. Prevents snagged sweaters, ruined couches, and gaping wounds. You can get a clipper from a pet store. Start now to get her used to it right away. All you have to do is snip off that razor-sharp tip.

7

And only the razor sharp tip! Stay well away from the pink-tinged portion of the claw, as that’s living tissue. Cut too deeply, even once, and you’ll never again be able to clip the claws without a M.A.S.H. unit to put you back together again afterwards.

Crumpled newspapers, plastic grocery bags, and fishing poles with bits of cloth dangling from the end are good kitty toys. I used to excercise my cats with a laser pointer until they got wise to me. Still, for a couple of years, that little red spot would make them go nuts, and I could enjoy a good belly laugh without losing a pint of blood.

8

Splendid idea, Vinnie, you have a cat who is not doing exactly what you think it should and the plan of action you (and your equally clueless wife) choose to implement is to yell at the cat and refuse to play with it? You are just stupid. Oh, sorry, what I meant to say was “I believe you have misjudged the propensity of young felines to engage in activity unsuitable to gentle folk.”

Have you ever had a cat before, Vinnie? Your stupid wife? Did you or she take any time to learn what it takes to successfully cohabitate with a cat? Did you think this was some remote control toy that does exactly what you tell it to? Tell us, Vinnie, are you beating the cat yet because it doesn’t “listen” to you?

As I see it you have two options: (1) the responsible one and; (2) the dumb-ass, ignorant, thick-skulled, trailer park trash, “what’s wrong with society” one.

(1)(a) Take the cat to a local vet (yes, dumbass, this will cost you money). Ask questions, ask why the cat is behaving as it is, ask for strategies to get the cat to behave the way you want it to. Have the cat spayed or neutered. (1)(b) Go back to the shelter where you got the cat and ask the same questions. (1)© Ask other people who have (successfully) cohabitated with cats the same questions. Try to modify your behavior based on their recommendations.

(2) Send Fluffy back to Kitty Kat Oz, you piece of manure.

Perhaps you would do better with some plastic plants. They’ll do exactly as you ask them to.

You got kids? God I hope not.

9

He did this. He came to the SDMB and he asked people. At any rate, flames belong in the Pit, not MPSIMS.

–John

10

ok there Jimbrowski inhale pink…exhale blue…

Vinnie:
I used to be a vet tech so here is my semi-professional opinion. The kitten is FREAKED. Cats are very different that dogs, so not only is the loud not going to work, but you’re going to freak her even more.

As someone said before, she’s a kitten. That’s what kittens do. I love cats, but the last time I had a kitten, my ex-husband and I almost killed him. He’d race around the house all night, knock stuff over on the bookshelves,
climb the X-mas tree…

Kittens can be hyper little boogers. You’ve got to play with them, but without them chewing on your hands.

Try to be patient with her…she may need more time to be socialized. Does she let you pick her up, or does she scream and run away? I don’t know if the will work for you but I had good results. Take a big SOFT towel, and wrap the little booger in it so only her head sticks out. Not too tight, but so she’s like a little bundle. Both you and your wife should hold her SITTING down. Let her get used to you, know your voice. Let the kitten get used to being held and cuddled.

BTW, how old is she and have you fixed up a bed for her? And by bed, I mean a tiny, dark space she can crawl into?

you can also try a stuffed animal that’s about her size. we gave Bruno a little gorilla that he wrestled with instead of our hands.

11

Er, that was really uncalled for, Jimbrowski. If you feel Vinnie’s lack of cat knowledge really deserves such a response, do it in the pit.

Just an idea, I’m no cat expert: I had a rambunctious cat, and the choice was either to never play with the poor creature because it got too wound up, or find a way for it to engage in such play without the need for skin grafts. What I did was make a thick oven mitt into a cat toy. Any rough-housing was done with the mitt on, and she was free to attack, scratch, bite and claw. She soon learned to enjoy it and play only with the mitt in this way; instances of sneak ankle attacks went way down. IMHO, excepting dangerous behavior, accepting a pet into your home is an agreement to care for it indefinitely and returning it is not a humane option.

12

OK, sorry, in with the pink, out with the blue (whatever that means). Didn’t mean to flame. Animal lover over here.

Vinnie, pet ownership can be tricky and complicated. Don’t enter it lightly, you and the animal will both be stressed and unhappy. Why do that to either of you? Animals have minds of their own (however small), and frequently do things you “do not want them to do”.

No, the cat will not behave exactly as you want it to behave. As I stated before (perhaps a bit to onerously) you can (1) learn how to successfully live with a pet, or (2) don’t keep pets. I do not believe there is option number (3): “Force pet to behave exactly as I want it to.”

If you can not handle having another mammal sharing your home and “doing things you don’t want them to do”, then NEVER, NEVER have a roommate. Not to mention a cat.

13

Maybe I am mis-reading this, but the key here is that the kitten is hiding. As in, trying to get away from your wife (I don’t mean this in a bad way). If she is simultaneously hiding and biting/scratching, it’s because she’s hiding and wants to be left alone, and is demonstrating this desire the only way she knows how. If your kitten is hiding and your wife is attempting to coax her out, it’s time for your wife to simply let the kitten be and come out when she’s ready (the kitten, not your wife).

Cats take a loooong time to adjust to new surroundings. They are creatures of routine and security-- take either away, and they freak out for a while. The kitten is utterly surrounded with new smells, new creatures (humans), and doesn’t have established territory to retreat to. She feels vulnerable and terrified. By hiding, she’s creating a safe place for herself, to get used to her new surroundings and venture forth from to widen her territory. To do this, she needs quiet, solitude, and access to needs like water, food, and litter.

When I moved with my two cats from my own apartment into my husband’s 4 hours away, my cats were utterly discombobulated. I let them out of their carriers, they streaked underneath the bed and wouldn’t come out until much, much later. They treated my like I was an alien, and my husband wasn’t to be tolerated. After three days, it was back to business as usual.

Let your kitten adjust at her own pace, alone. She’ll be fine, just don’t push her.

14

Play with kitty. At least 3 times a day for 15 min with some sort of ‘thing on the end of a string on a stick’.

How hard is the kitty biting? My cat bites me but they are playful ones. So it may be a sign of affection.

When my cats were kittens one of their favorite games was ‘Can I fit here?’. The cat sees some small space and then tries to walk in there. Nevermind that the space is between a vase the wall on top of a bookshelf.

15

This is so funny. Thank you, Miss Creant, for giving the mental image of a kitten going “Ahhhhh!” :wink: hee hee I needed that.

That said, I agree that your kitty is probably just a little nervous in her new surroundings. Play with her, but in a nice way, not a mean, teasing manner. Also, biting and scratching are usually part of playing. But if she hisses at you, I’d be a little more concerned.

16

hey, I wasn’t kidding. Have you ever tried to flea bath a cat? It sounds like you’re disembowling them!

The best was when I was the animal care manager for a pet store (I’m not proud, but at least I knew the puppies and kittens were well cared for) and we got a whole litter of kittens that needed to be de-flea’d. Since flea dip is too harsh for little ones, we used a flea shampoo, but even so, the shampoo had to stay on them for a few minutes to kill or daze the fleas. So I took about 2 at a time and put them in the huge sink in back and soaped them up. The screaming was beyond belief. And they kept trying to climb up the side of the cast iron tub. Occasionally one would actually make it to the top. I got tired of chasing one around the back room while two more were just reaching the top, I said the hell with it. I soaped up the whole gang and just let them escape until I was ready to rise them.
There were probably 8 or 9 kittens running around covered in flea shampoo, while I was trying to rinse shampoo off one, and probably a couple climbing up my leg. It was the cutest thing. It also seemed like an I Love Lucy episode.

17

I will second Tranquilis’s endorsement of laser pointers for cat toys. In fact, I will go further and say that they are just about the best cat toys ever invented! Our cats would chase that red spot all day! (Or at least, we would get sick of it a lot sooner than they would.) Plus, you can give your cat a first class workout while sitting on the couch drinking a beer!
Tip: After they have been tearing around the house chasing the spot for a while, have it go up a wall and across the ceiling. Your cat will track it, waiting for it’s opportunity…
Be careful to never let them catch it, though. They will wise up fast, and take all the fun out of it.

Also…I do NOT endore the following evil idea:
If some houseguest pisses you off…Laser-guided Claw Attack!

18

If you try to drag a scared kitty from under the couch in order to play with it you will be scratched. Give it a few days to decide that you are not going to devour it or step on it or otherwise harm it. Once it is satisfied that your intentions are honorable it will begin to use more sophisticated techniques to get you to do its bidding.

19

My cat, Boojum, was an “evil” kitten. I have several friends who call him “devil cat” even though now that he’s 10 he’s mostly just aloof… as long as you don’t try to make him do anything he doesn’t want to do.

Of course, I had to pick the kitten that was sleeping at the apex of the pile of kittens inside the cage, and the first one to come and see who was disturbing their group nap. If I had known I was going to get an aggro 20-lb alpha male, I would have selected one of his sisters.

When I brought him home he was about 8 weeks old, and apparently had been in the shelter for a while, because he’s all black, and it was two weeks after Halloween… I’m certain he’d been there at least a month, and his only contact with humans was with hands reaching into the cage to do whatever - feed, clean… grab!

It took me many months to figure out that connection. He was traumatized at some point by somebody’s hands. When I got him from the shelter, there was tape around his neck instead of a collar. That alone could have done it… but I’m pretty sure the formative weeks spent in the shelter cage were the clincher. (I sometimes have to board him at the vet, and it breaks my heart to take him back to a cage.)

As a kitten he was extremely aggressive, and particularly prone to fear-based aggression. The first few weeks, he was constantly biting and scratching my hands. As he got older, he’d run from across the room to pounce on my hands. I couldn’t play with him with most toys, because he’d just attack my hands. I’d be getting ready for work in the morning, walking back and forth between the bathroom and bedroom, and instead of attacking my ankles like most normal 6-month old kittens, he was leaping for my hands.

When he shredded a pair of khaki pants (!!) doing that, I got him fixed the next day. And it still took two years for him to calm down enough so that I didn’t regularly have to soak him under a cold shower to assert my dominance upon him. (Spray bottles? Heh! They didn’t phase him one bit. They just pissed him off… and the vet’s advice was to find something that got the “bad kitty” message across, something other than striking him. It turned out to be showers.)

But by the age of three or four, Boojum, is a stable, intelligent, healthy, indoor-outdoor cat that is sometimes affectionate. His biggest behavioral problem is where he leaves his furballs (in my bed).

It sounds to me, Vinnie, that your new kitten had a comparable experience in the shelter, and is reacting similarly. She is going to be particularly afraid of hands for a while. Explain this to your wife and make her leave the cat alone for a few days while it gets used to its new surroundings.

It’s important to let the cat get used to your household on its own terms. Try to keep the house calm, quiet and uneventful, but don’t avoid any regular noises, like TVs, radios, dishwashers, etc. All of that is good advice in general when it comes to any new cat. Just go about your life and let her get used to the place by herself. Cats hate change, it really stresses them. Especially total changes in their environment. Your wife’s behavior is just adding more trauma to the most psychologically stressful thing you can do to a cat.

If your wife wants to imprint on the cat, I have two suggestions: first, let her become the source of food. All cats respect the food person. Well, at least when they’re hungry they do. In short order your new kitty will be best freinds with Mrs. Virginslayer.

Second, once the cat gets used to the new home, have her socialize with the cat when kitty is not on the floor, experienceing this towering giant leaining over or crawling across the floor to her. Place the cat on a countertop, or on some stairs, or take kitty to bed with you and crawl under the covers.

And the last thing to do is to drag her from hiding spaces. Let her be and she’ll come out when she’s ready. And when she does come out, don’t react by approaching her. Don’t even look at her. If you do look at her, blink frequently and don’t show your teeth. Speak in soft, high pitched, reassuring tones. A direct gaze is a threat in cat body language.

Overall, cats are naturally aloof and independant. Work with it - don’t fight it.

20

Some good advice here. I had a kitten I got from an animal shelter that reacted the exact same way. She got used to me, but attacked anyone who came into my home. And taking her to the vet was downright embarrassing. She’d scream like a little baby and try to take their arms off with her claws. After apologizing (again) to the vet, the vet told me she’d seen a lot of this type of behavior in kittens that had been separated too soon from their mothers. She said that the mother shows her kittens social skills, and if separated too early they are never learned. Can’t say for sure if she knew what she was talking about, but it’s something to think about.

My cat never did get to liking other people, though. I was grateful when she’d put up with me. :wink: