Will kitten calm down - please say yes

[rbmilliner]

Getting a bit to my wits end with 5 month old kitten - please help with any advice.
Have him from 8 weeks and is fit a healthy. I'm ashamed to say that i don't really like him. I can't pick him up or even stroke him without him trying to bite my face or hands and the bigger he get the more he hurts.
He's constantly attacking the whole families feet and my DD legs are ripped to ribbons.
He not going outside yet although he's fully up to date with vacinations, vet advised 6 months once he's castrated and micro chipped.
I really want to love this little guy but he's the polar opposite to my much loved old guy who passed away earlier this year and i can't remember him being like this. I'm just hoping he'll grow out of this please tell me he will and any suggestions on how we can calm him,

Where did you get him from?

Kitten and teenhood. It's play if his ears don't go back and if he's not growling, you just have to divert his attention to toys or soft things to bite. Also, they teeth at 5-7 months so it could be that

What’s with all the ‘I hate my cat’ posts at the moment. I’ve read 3 or 4 in the last 48 hours

Animals, especially cats are unpredictable but he should calm down when neutered and when he can go out. Make sure he has plenty of toys to stalk and ‘kill’ and a decent scratching pole, play with him with a fishing rod toy.

Don’t allow the biting, tell him no and remove your hand, or walk away completely

We got him from a litter, private sale. Saw him with his mum and brother and sister and he seemed quiet quite, smallest one.
MadCatEnthusiast do you think calm down when he's able to go outside - he seems very keen too.

Mine used to be like that but he calmed down as he got older.

When it comes to stroking, I found that mine was more likely to attack if I just reached out towards him. If I made sure that I was right next to him, he didn't perceive the hand as a threat.

He's still not fond of being picked up so we avoid doing it too much. He prefers contact to be on his own terms and will happily jump up and lie on my lap of his own free will.

@rbmilliner

We got him from a litter, private sale. Saw him with his mum and brother and sister and he seemed quiet quite, smallest one. MadCatEnthusiast do you think calm down when he's able to go outside - he seems very keen too.

When he's outside, sure. He'll be eager to explore the new world outside so his attention will be on that rather than playing with you roughly and he'll come inside all tired. Like Costa says, teach him biting isn't good. He doesn't know that it's bad because he can't talk. Kittens would yelp and move away if they got bitten when they were playing. Then he'll realise.

My cat used to bite ankles, feet, and hands whenever she saw them. I used to yelp when she bit me (even if it wasn't painful) to teach her that it hurt. Now she doesn't do it too hard and only when she wants me to stop petting her.

He hasn’t been castrated so he can’t go out till he’s done but he sounds ready to be done.

Mine was the same, total snuggle monster once he was done.

Mine was like a crazy shark at that age

He’s 14 months now and lovely, peaceful and calm

He hasn’t even attacked the Christmas tree so far this year

(Last year I’d come home to it toppled over each day with the decorations pulled off and thrown across the house each day)

My kittens five months and absolutely wild. You have my sympathy. She doesnt attack us though except when playing but shes ripping carpets, rugs, leather chairs, should of called her wreck it Ralph. Hoping shel calm down once spayed. She was microchipped at 12 week jags.

Is he booked into be neutered? He sounds like he needs to go out and burn off some energy.

They do calm down around 3yo

Get him neutered and outside!
He will calm down but needs more direction for his energy now. Get more variety of toys and rotate them.
This is why we got a pair of kittens. I still got shredded.

How old was he when you got him?

But yes, neutered and chipped asap. Absolutely no need to wait until 6 months.

My boy is 1 and a half and still likes to ambush me multiple times a day!

They should have insisted you got two. But yes, kittens do get less insane, but need a lot of stimulation with cat toys, climbing furniture etc till they are tired out. Put up stuff so he can climb high and then jump from cat shelf to cat shelf. Look for cat furniture companies that make this sort of thing. Let him be neutered and carefully let him out when he is bigger. But in the meantime you have to play lots, since he has no companion for tumble-fighting. That is what kittens do all day long, it is part of their development and why they shouldn’t be kept as sole animals.

Thanks all it's good to know there's hope.
Am booking him in at the vets today and hopefully they'll be able to the castrate him before Christmas.
He was 8 week s when we got him although the vet did reckon he could have been a bit younger but he was eating well.
I didn't get two because it was a private sale and he cost enough. We could find any rescue centers that were rehoming even young cats and he'd been raised with young children so seemed like a good fit.
I'm so glad to hear they do calm down, he is a lovely little fella when he wants to be - it just doesn't seem that often at the moment.
And yes we've got a virtually naked Xmas tree that's been toppled 3 times so far🤣

Many people get kittens and are then overwhelmed by them, especially if they only got one. Many end up in shelters when they are no longer cute. It is very common unfortunately 😏

I understand why you have only one kitten OP but this means that you'll need to be his playmate as well as 'mum' to him.
Kittens do calm down but all cats have their own characters and I'm afraid some are just more bitey and scratchy than others.
How long have you had him? And could you provide a photo please - the mad cat people of MN telling you how cute he is may make you feel better about him 😼

Mine was still batshit when I got her at a year old from a rescue. She's calmed down now, age four.

They are partners in crime when he's not in attack mode

My kitten is six months old and neutering hasn’t calmed him down at all! He just wants to play a lot and pounces on us to try and start a game, many many times a day. But he is also extremely cuddly and likes being picked up and stroked, which makes it very easy to forgive him.