TO rehome?

[helpviciouscat]

I have a very lively young boy, he's 5 months now. He has always been a biter, draws blood and will attack you if you are sitting quietly etc. He has hurt the children a few times now, again does this without being provoked such as will jump on feet under the table and bite!

He has access to the garden and is out all day, comes in at night happily yet whizzes about non stop and gets overly aggressive, seems like he can't calm down.

He has sweet moments but they are few sadly. He is neutered and very healthy. Vet said that he is a wired personality and he will probably prefer being outside.

Because of children, am thinking seriously of finding him a home on a friend's farm where he might be much happier than suburbia. He is part feral, mum got out. Any advice very welcome. Please don't judge, we are very fond of him but he is making everyone flinch when he comes near now.

You could try the new feliway collar on him or zylkene tablets which helps them to calm down. Also is he neutered?

We've had feliway for months with no change. I will look out for the collar. He is neutered.

I don't know about the tablets. Thank you, will look into that.

5 months is still very young. He's still very much a kitten. Does he get much play time. We had/have a bitey kitten, now cat, it took her until she was at least a year to calm down and not bite everyone.

A lot of playing and watching her body language helped. We found that if she was going to pounce on us, throwing a ball or crumpled paper helped to distract her. She is now my DD's best pet but it does take time.

I found pet remedy to be more effective than deli way and cheaper!

There is no such thing as "part feral" - feral is a behaviour, not something inherited in blood. However "mum got out" tells me he came from an irresponsible owner who hadn't neutered their cat, and probably didn't socialise kittens properly either so he is confused about how to behave and doesn't have proper boundaries.

A 5 month old kitten is unlikely to be aggressive, he is just being a kitten. Does he get plenty of play time and stimulation, for example with toys that have feathers on a long string/pole?

I have a cat who gets bitey when she wants to play and I think that might be what you are seeing in your cat. It's annoying mostly because of bad timing on her part, as her playtime is our bedtime, for example. I tell her a firm "no" and she rolls over and shows her belly, very cute, of course. Now that she's older she has calmed down a lot. Your little guy is still in full kitten mode at 5 months old.

My lad was crazy at this age but to be honest, although he calmed down a lot, he's still not an affectionate cat in any way. I'm not sure I'd have kept him if I had children when he was that age. If you have a good home lined up, where you know he will be looked after and happy, maybe you should consider it.

He’s still a baby, mine was a nightmare at that age too.

I'd keep at it for a bit longer, try distracting him with toys etc when you think he's about to pounce. But at the end of the day you have to do whats right for you, your family and the cat.
He's still a baby and so not calming down just yet, but over time you might find that he will. My cat Leyla was extremely highly strung at that age, very aggressive to the point where I wanted to give her back! But as she became an adult she calmed down and is now very affectionate.

Imo you need another kitten!!

Um - they can get so hyper at that age. He really will get easier in due course.

Depends if you can bear with it! It genuinely passes, they're hyper little nightmares at that age. You move a finger...kitten pounces. You turn over, kitten attacks. I used to weep in frustration in primary school.

You have to give it time if you want to keep him.

Our lad is 1 and when we adopted him in January he kept nipping and attacking us but we realised he needed more playing with (we were used to an old cat). They have a lot of energy and that hunting instinct to wear off. He is calmer now but toes are still too tempting for him!

Thank you for all advice. I am still torn. He has lots of play time and three feather toys, ribbons tied up etc. DC who used to be willing to play with him but now scared. He is still young I agree.

The vet was the one who said he was part feral and it was in his genes.

This is one of the reasons most rescues insist on rehoming kittens in pairs. They play really rough with each other and have far too much energy.

How much time does he have with interactive play?

Whilst the vet is wrong, a feral cat is the same as a house cat, just not conditioned to people, it could be that he is a more active cat through genetic disposition. Many feral cats can be rehabituated to be calm friendly loving cats, many indoor bred cats can be nightmare kittens. It's his personality and he's not much different from any other kitten.

We have another cat (5 years old) who does play with him but even she hides!
The vet said he's a very happy and sociable kitten, just got a horrid biting habit, more than most. We've decided to sit it out and see if he calms down in time.
Thank you for all comments.

It’s a tricky one. Normally I’d say well he’s still a baby and should improve with age. I had a part feral rescue cat and he was similar at first. It took time but through play and being removed from a room if over boisterous, things are fine. My cat turned out to be brilliant at fetch using balls of paper and instigates the game by dropping paper at your feet. But if he is causing distress to your children and other cat, and you have a friend happy to have him, then perhaps it would be best to rehome.

Is your friend happy to take on kitty?