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12-05-2012 at 9:35 PM
awolkenhau...
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awolkenhauer is not online. Last active: 05-11-2013, 11:36 AMNewbie

My cat is driving me CRAZY... kind of long

I have an approximately 6 month old kitten that loves to scratch and bite me. No matter what I do, it doesn't stop. Usually, she's worse when my FI is home, as if she doesn't receive enough attention. When he leaves for work, she stays wild and attacks for about 30-45 minutes and then decides to be my best friend.

I have tried nearly everything. I reward her for good behavior and ignore her during bad behavior. I move her away from me when she's being a jerk and she thinks it's a game and comes running back. I've grabbed her by the scuff of her neck and looked in her eyes and told her no. When she gets told no, she runs off and hides but comes back with a vengeance. We've tried spray bottles, to no avail. I work in a place where wounds must be covered because there's too much risk in catching something and I've never had a cat tear me apart as much as she does. Nor do I have enough band-aids. And, work aside, I'm just plain tired of constantly being attacked. I'm at a complete loss for how to stop her from biting or scratching.

If it's helpful, here's some back ground: She was abandoned as a baby and we adopted her when she was about 4 weeks old. She learned everything perfectly; eating, using the litter box, etc. She also has a heart murmur, which we were told would slow her down, but she is the most active cat I've ever met. She was spayed last week. Oh, and she's only like this to me. My FI never has a problem with her and when other people come around, she's a nice, happy kitty. The vet loves her, but she's also out of her element when she's visiting there. We have TONS of toys for her; mice, stuffed animals, balls, and the like and she doesn't care to play with them often. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
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12-05-2012 at 10:06 PM
erollis
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erollis is not online. Last active: 05-22-2013, 5:21 PMBronze
I'm sorry I don't have any advice. But to me it sounds like she is trying to become the Alfa Female or is keeping you as the already established Beta Female.
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12-06-2012 at 12:03 PM
bridget131...
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bridget1312 is not online. Last active: 05-22-2013, 11:44 AMNewbie
OMG when I first got my kitty she did the same thing, but just to me. What did I do? I think I just got here some of those toys she can wrap around and kick, called a KONG KICKAROO. When she would come to me, goin crazy I would grab that and instead of her going crazy with my hands and arms she'd use this. You may need to keep pushing her to make sure she uses this. ANd NEVER rough play with her with your hands. For some reason, maybe it was when I just got her, I would let her, so she got used to it, not sure. It may never stop completely, but my kitty kind of out grew it and we made sure to give her plenty of things to play with. Cats need to have toys to occupy their time. Good luck, those darn claws kill!!!! :)
 
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12-06-2012 at 9:10 PM
awolkenhau...
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awolkenhauer is not online. Last active: 05-11-2013, 11:36 AMNewbie

Thank you. She has a stuffed animal that she throws around quite frequently, but maybe that's not enough. I can't even count the number of mice and balls I have strewn about. It just seems that she gets bored with those and decides I am a better target. I never rough played with her, but my fiance did for a couple weeks until I managed to convince him not to. I know that didn't help, but at the same time, if he tells her no she leaves and finds something else to do.

I will definitely look up the Kong Kickaroo; thank you for the suggestion 

 
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12-07-2012 at 8:36 AM
Dork_Fish
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Dork_Fish is not online. Last active: 05-10-2013, 8:56 AMGold
Kong Kickaroos are great! My kitten loved one when he was younger. Do you have plenty of things for her to scratch on? I'd also try and keep her nails trimmed as much as possible. Also, you could look into cat claw covers. I'm forgetting the name of them right now but they're little caps that you glue to their nails to make them less sharp.
 
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12-08-2012 at 11:05 PM
Kaiene
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One of our cats was a huge PITA as a baby.  What really worked for us was to literally leave the room when she played too rough.  We would turn our back on her and ignore her for a few minutes.  It is important to be consistent, and she eventually got the message.

In addition to the kong toy, make sure you have things for her to climb.  You may also want to look into puzzle toys. 
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12-19-2012 at 12:17 PM
bridget131...
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bridget1312 is not online. Last active: 05-22-2013, 11:44 AMNewbie
O and if you can, buy her a tree!  Those tall things she can climb up, scratch her paws, and lay on and feel tall.  I got mine one, she was about a year old, and she LOVES IT!!!  :0  I;m getting her a new one for christmas.  :)
 
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12-21-2012 at 11:24 AM
Josie22
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My kitten was a BRAT. We would either ignore her, walk away, or put her in the other room when she acted up. She either caught on, or grew out of it eventually. But there were days I told her I was going to sell her. (not that I would have.)
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