Help! Vicious kitten.

[samsmum2]

Our 12 week old female kitten is so vicious, she is terrorising the household! Looking at her markings, although she's a moggy, she looks like a bengal-cross. We're not new to cats, I've had 4 over the years but I can't remember any of the others being this full on. She was with her mother and siblings until 10 weeks so I was hoping she would have been taught some manners. We've bought her lots of toys etc, and encourage her to play with them, so she's got plenty to tire her out, but where my last kitten used to scratch & bite during play, this one seems to actively attack you, jumping on your back or legs with claws out and draws blood daily. Poor dog is terrified, as is my daughter. Any advice please...

I have a male and female cat which I adopted as kittens last year.
The female never scratched and hardly bit but the boy totally different story.
My poor legs were covered in bites and scratch marks.
They were both neutered and are now a year old.
They are both so affectionate and loving and never bite or scratch now

She looks more Savannah than Bengal, and they can pretty specialist in terms of care - it might be worth having a read-up on the breed.

This is a male Savannah kitten - similar colouring/pattern although yours has smaller ears, so I suspect the Savannah in her is several generations ago.

Beautiful kitten 😍
We did the glove play with our dog as a puppy and she knew when the glove was on she could bite and grab it but as soon as the glove was off, rough play stopped. I don't know if cats are the same though.
My friend has a ginger tom who likes to climb up the backs of their legs and occasionally attack them. It's all in play, but still hurts. Hesitate an older cat now but still does it.

This isn’t a vicious kitten. Just a kitten.
It’s how they play. You need to get toys that distract them from attacking you. Mine loved rolled up balls of newspaper and the laser pointer. A fishing rod and feather to murder were good. And the cat toy (kong) that has a long tail and a body to murder.
They’re torties. Killing is what they do. Clearly yours is similar.

@icedcoffees

She looks more Savannah than Bengal, and they can pretty specialist in terms of care - it might be worth having a read-up on the breed.

This is a male Savannah kitten - similar colouring/pattern although yours has smaller ears, so I suspect the Savannah in her is several generations ago.

Can cats carry a recessive gene - one that misses a generation and then pops up in the future? (Sorry to hijack the thread, genuinely curious and google not helping!).

@Bargebill19 I don't know for sure, but I would assume it's possible just as it is for humans!

cfa.org/basic-feline-genetics/

This kind of implies it's possible (in terms of coat colour, anyway) but that it's dependent on a whole host of factors!

She's gorgeous. Kittens should stay with their mum and litter til at least 13 weeks though for optimum socialisation.

Oh she's gorgeous OP

@icedcoffees

Thank you!!

She's gorgeous, thanks for sharing the pics!

She doesn’t look full moggy to me either, ears are way too big.

My Siamese was a vicious kitten, and unfortunately it has carried on into her adult life .

She's mellowed a bit since we moved to a house and she has access to going out unsupervised- previously lived in a maisonette so wouldn't have heard her meowing to come in so she was a house cat.

She is still fairly a grumpy cat , but I love her all the same - she's 6 now

She is very patient with my children , DS aged 3 and DD 6 weeks

She doesn't like strangers in her house and she really hates my mum - hisses and swipes at her whenever she visits - which isn't that often

Those paws ! She's going to be a big cat. She's gorgeous

My cat is 10 now. She can still be vicious. I've learnt the signs. She did learn fairly early on that attacking my ankles wasn't a good idea, she was between my feet as I was walking and she ended up doing a twist.
She has never attacked anyone else but me.
She sometimes has large pupils, sometimes the tip of her tail flicks, sometimes you can hear her tail thwaking from a room away.
I let her come to me, she's mostly OK if she sits next to me and will let me rest my hand on her. If I stroke anything other than her head or chin, she will grab me.
She has loads of toys, loads of room for the mad half hour. I avoid her like the plague during those times.

Thanks for all your advice. I made her a fishing rod with a toy on the end and she's now purring next to me on the sofa, worn out! She's very cuddly at moments like this. I shall dedicate more time to playing with her and keep everything crossed she grows out of it. She jumped on my head earlier!!