Little Casper - he's dangerous

[Phil]

His jabs are all done now so he could go out and about with Paddy and Murphy but with all the snow we've delayed his freedom. Perhaps that's the reason for his 'enthusiasm' but it's getting silly now. Climbing the curtains and being 'into' everything is one thing but he's bloody aggressive. He will attack anything and everything that moves and that includes the kids. Not just 'play slaps' but full on leaps to the head with claws and teeth.

He's going into a cattery whilst we're away in Warrington as he wouldn't have the experience to be left to come and go with Paddy and Murphy even though a neighbour will be feeding them. We just feel he might 'go' if nobody is about to keep him connected to home.

I'm hoping that it's excessive energy and 'cabin fever' - something which may well calm down when he's free to come and go. We'll see how he shapes up over and after Christmas and take it from there I think.

[Velvet]

Im chuckling as he sounds just like Tim! Well at 7 months Tim us a bit calmer but quick often bending down he will leap onto my back!! My legs are still covered in scrapes & scratches from he used to climb up my body like a tree - lol. Once neutered they seem to start calming down though it takes couple months for the hormones to settledown.

Amber was older when we got her, she had been straying & i dont think before we got her life had been too kind. We only had her a few weeks & she came into season. Poor little thing. Everything happened at once & we would often see this sad little expression as if waiting for us to get tired of her & chuck her out or move her on - theres a reason for telling you this - lol. Well it has sunk in that she isnt going away & is here to stay & suddenly she has realised, she can be a kitten & do kitten things. Her latest is to leap the height of imdoor washing, get inside clothes & pull them down. She appears to have a particular liking for pyjama tops - lol!

I think you are wise to keep the wee man safe in a cattery & being young no doubt will be spoilt rotten! Dont despair some of them are just so full of beans & fun

Oh have you got a laser pen/mouse? Probably best if you have young children to keep it out of reach, but they are sych a great distraction for kittens & cats. No matter what theyre doing ours will stop to chase the red light!

[wilbar]

For your family's sake, could I suggest that you try to use toys to play with your kitten? I know this sounds obvious, but the longer you allow human body parts to be used for predatory practice, the worse it will get & a full grown cat launching itself at your legs, hands, head etc is really not funny Even just the high-pitched shrieking of children can be enough to wind the kitten up! And it's not easy to ignore the needle sharp teeth & claws of a kitten, but any attention that you give for this behaviour, including "bad" attention may encourage the kitten to do it again

If you buy/make fishing rod style toys & get everyone to use them, then you'll have a better chance of teaching your kitten to play with the toys rather than your family's body parts. Just a piece of cane/stick, with string tied to it & a feather or some crumpled paper tied to the string, can be a great toy for a kitten, especially when dragged around erratically to simulate the jerky running movements of a mouse

As for laser lights, personally I'm not a big fan. Cats (& dogs) can become obsessive about chasing the light & can develop OCD type behaviours & transfer the relentless chasing to other light-reflecting things. With cats predatory type behaviours are part of the sequence of food acquisition behaviours, i.e.

• locate prey,
• watch/stare intently,
• stalk,
• pounce,
• catch, grab/bat around/kick/claw etc (we usually call it "playing"),
• deliver the killing bite to the back of the prey's neck,
• take prey somewhere safe,
• then eat it.

This behaviour sequence is made up of different stages, driven by different internal physiology, with gaps between the stages, culminating in a meal.

If you think about what happens when you use a laser light, the behaviour sequence is interrupted at the "catch" stage ~ because there's nothing to catch! So the cat will end up repeating only the first part of a sequence of behaviours that have evolved as a way of getting food. The physiology that accompanies these stages is also continually interrupted & the cat doesn't get to practice the whole sequence very often. I think this is why, for some cats, the result can be OCD-type behaviours, & can sometimes result in eating disorders.

Cats are prone to eating disorders, e.g. obesity, anorexia, fear of non-familiar food, general fussiness etc. It maybe that these conditions are because the full food acquisition behaviour sequence is not carried out to the end often enough. One of the behavioural modification techniques for eating disorders like pica (ingesting non-food items like wool) is to teach the cat how to complete the whole food acquisition sequence of behaviours. So we would use toys to replicate prey, allow the cat to catch the toy & bat it around, grab it, throw it about, then bite it ~ and at that stage, a piece of food would be thrown towards the cat (usually a small piece of raw meat at body temperature), to tempt it to eat, at the right time in the behaviour sequence.

I hope this makes sense ~ but I just wanted to point out that there can be pitfalls to the use of laser lights with cats.

[Velvet]

Wilbar: i appreciate what youre saying however any toy can cause obsession & the trailing toys had no effect whatsoever on Tim, he played with them yes but they were a few minute (usually less) distraction. Repitition of being kind but firm as in any baby animal is the key to success. The laser toys are a good distraction & who is going to sit for hours playing with it anyway, who would have the time. I personally have never met any laser obsessed pets. I meant it as a quick distraction - therefore perhaps i should have emphasised the expression "quick" distraction

[wilbar]

Originally Posted by Velvet

Wilbar: i appreciate what youre saying however any toy can cause obsession & the trailing toys had no effect whatsoever on Tim, he played with them yes but they were a few minute (usually less) distraction. Repitition of being kind but firm as in any baby animal is the key to success. The laser toys are a good distraction & who is going to sit for hours playing with it anyway, who would have the time. I personally have never met any laser obsessed pets. I meant it as a quick distraction - therefore perhaps i should have emphasised the expression "quick" distraction

I'm not trying to criticise your use of laser toys & probably, with many cats, if used in moderation, & with the use of lots of other types of toys, & with cats that have the chance to go outdoors & hunt/catch real prey, the occasional use of a laser light, will do no harm.

All I was saying was to be careful & be aware of the potential pitfalls.

I work as a feline behaviourist & I have seen cats that have become obsessed with laser lights & then transferred this to other reflective objects (e,g, jewellery glinting in the sun, tinsel & sparkly Xmas decorations, sunbeams etc etc). I've also known dogs (often the herding breeds) that become obsessed chasing light beams. I think all of us would agree that obsessive behaviour of any kind is not healthy, be it in cats or any other species.

But in cats, it is as well to be aware of the food acquisition behaviour sequence, because interruptions in this sequence on too many occasions, can cause problems. Many cats that I've known happily play & chase toys for a while, then stop for a bite to eat, then wash themselves & then rest. That replicates the correct sequence of behaviours & it is something that probably many cat owners see for themselves but possibly they don't realise the relevance.

When you've seen a case of life-threatening pica where a cat has been rushed to the vets with a wool-clogged gut, then you start to realise that eating disorders can be very serious.

[Phil]

Thanks guys - an interesting read.

Casper will be six months old at Christmas so he's not far off a full sized cat just now albeit lighter in build.

Castration is something we'll be looking at after Christmas and if my previous male cats are anything to by - it might make some difference to his attitude.

As suggested I'll try and encourage distraction in the form of toy play and see if that helps but I do feel the biggest change will come once he can get out into the big wide world.

[angieh]

Good luck with Casper Phil. I hope neutering will calm him, but as you say it will probably be freedom that will help him be less aggressive with your young 'uns, which sounds really worrying.

Very interesting advice and opinions from wilbar and velvet. I put up my hand to "........ the correct sequence of behaviours & it is something that probably many cat owners see for themselves but possibly they don't realise the relevance."

I did use the laser light for Pip when he was younger but actually gave up using it for a different reason .... he used to get himself so worked up chasing the beam that he started panting. After that happened twice I thought it best not to use it again. I started collecting scrunched up balls of paper in my pockets to throw for distraction instead.

[Phil]

Guess who's sleeping on my lap !!!