Training 20 month old not to play bite/scratch?

[Flypaper2000]

Hi all,

We've just adopted a cat from the shelter. He's about 20 months old and came to them as a stray so we don't know his previous history. He's very cute and can be extremely sweet, however he has a lot of energy and definitely hasn't been taught that human hands and feet are not toys - he will play bite and swipe at hands, and obsessively hunts feet (especially naked feet!); he also nips (gently, but still startlingly) for attention. I've read up online on all the usual things to do, eg. firm no, gentle push, stop play immediately, try and redirect with an acceptable toy, and we do do those things. It's very early days as yet so I'm not expecting miracles, I'm mainly wondering if anyone has had success in training an adult cat not to do this? I know 20 months is not old but it's also not a kitten, I am unsure of what we can reasonably expect to achieve?

I guess it's just been a shock to the system; our previous very much loved cat died about eighteen months ago and he was exemplary in terms of biting/scratching - I can count on one hand the number of times he nipped me, even in anger. The way our current guy is, I am concerned about having guests in the house, especially small children - he is not malicious but even playful claws are sharp!

He will be an outside cat when the 4 weeks post adoption are up, which I'm hopeful will absorb some of the energy, but I'm wondering am I being unrealistic to think we can teach him that humans are absolutely not to be scratched or nipped? Looking for some reassurance/harsh realism!

Thanks

It's very hard when you have been used to a docile pussycat! I think their temperament is usually a case of nature over nurture.

We had a very chilled tabby when I was growing up and then got this adorable cow-print kitten that was born on a farm.. however as the kitten grew, her wild side really came through and she would lash out constantly - hissing, swiping, doing funny angry little somersaults! As she got older she definitely mellowed. We got to know her trigger points too and all adapted to each other.. e.g. stroking head-only and leave her alone straight after dinner. We really missed her when she passed away aged 16. Her quirks added to her character.

Yes, I'm surprised by how difficult I'm finding it to be honest - I think I was naïve in some ways because I've always really loved cats and the ones we've had have been pretty chilled out; I didn't really think through what it would be like to have one that wasn't! And I definitely find myself comparing him to our last cat, who was just incredibly calm and loving; having a new cat has brought back a lot of feelings of sadness for how much I miss him. Which I know isn't fair on the new guy! I am going to try and moderate my expectations but it is tricky ☹️

Forgot cat tax! This is him in a more chill mode

Unfortunately I think you have to wait for him to mature to calm down.

You can scare him away when he starts attacking, or give him a spray with water if he’s being really nasty, but I don’t think there is much you can do.

My cat was the same until she turned about 2/3. She’s very chilled out and lovely cat now though even then, she can have a moments and will get a swat on the head if she clamps on to my leg

We got our rescue cat when she was approximately 2 and she did exactly the same things as you’re describing. She’s now 9 and has calmed down but still does go for our ankles particularly if she wants feeding and she will bite our hands sometimes without warning after having a stroke even if she’s been sitting there happily purring.

She’s lovely though and we’ve not had cats before so we weren’t sure if it was usual. She’s not a cuddly cat like some of my friends’ cats as she hates being picked up, but she always comes and sits on our laps on an evening and comes to the door to greet us if we’ve been out for the day!

You mentioned about guests and small children-our cat sleeps so much that it’s never been an issue for us and she doesn’t do the biting all the time anyway.

Your cat looks lovely 😻