Sup /an/. Why is my cat such a fucking little bastard and how do I fix him?
We got an orange tabby (pic is not him but similar) about three months ago from a rescue. The guy was about five months old when we got him, neutered, all shots up to that time. We wanted a kitten but we figured getting him a little older was good since we'd already know what his personality was like. He a was a big sweetie when we first saw him at the rescue. He came right up to us, let us pet him, let us hold him, very affectionate. TWO DAYS after we brought him home he flipped a complete 180, like he said to himself "okay I have a home now, I can stop pretending," and turned into a COMPLETE asshole. He tears up the entire apartment despite getting plenty of attention and playtime from us. He follows us around meowing loudly like something is wrong despite being well-fed, getting plenty of play time, and always having a clean shitbox. He seems to barely tolerate letting my girlfriend pet him and pick him up, whereas if I try to pet him he ducks his head like he's avoiding a punch and if I pick him up for more than 10 seconds, he starts trying to claw at my eyes.
At the rescue, they had him and some of the other younger cats in a large insulated shed. What I'm thinking is that he wasn't properly socialized when he was younger. He acts like a stray that's used to people. What I want to know is how do I fix this behavior and get him to calm the hell down? I've never been one to give up a cat because of a personality issue but I'm getting sick and tired of waking up in the morning with claw and bite marks all over my body or getting sliced across the face any time I try to show this little bastard any affection.
>>2023844
You should have gotten another cat.
Your cat is bored and needs exercise.
learn some cat body language/minor training techniques and you can solve literally all your problems.
>mfw no one I know knows how to understand cat body language
>mfw I'm autistic as hell
>>2023844
Changing eviornment for cats after 5 months or so might be stressing. Does he have toys? buy him some to tire the hell out of him. When he is meowing too loud or doing something you don't like ignore him, shit's hard I know but just try it. When it comes to petting , mine is similar to yours, he's okay with it for some seconds then kicks me, I found out that he's more willing to be petted in the head with my fingers instead of the whole hand and when he's relax and about to sleep, he's also fine with being petted while eating.
I'vee seen the gay bald guy from cat from hell selling some magic cat esscence that calms the fuck out of them. Might just try that too.
Firstly, well done for getting a cat from a shelter - some other person couldn't look after him (don't know the back story so will refrain from bitching about them) but you have chosen to, and that's awesome.
However, as the poster above suggests, this is gonna take time for him to adjust.
When I moved out of a house and into a flat, my cat was really upset and kept meowing and trying to go into wardrobes to see if an y of the doors would take her back to her old home, but she did adjust soon enough. She also had a pretty rough time before she came to us and it took a while for her to feel completely at ease around us, so try not to overdo it and let him find his own level of comfort with you socially, and then let it develop.
Instead of petting, perhaps try sitting near him and hold out your hand (palm down probably works best) and then let him come to you. Hopefully he'll come and sniff your hand and then feel content enough to rub his cheek against the tips of your fingers (marking with his scent). You/your gf can probably give him a brief stroke then.
Cats, if you've not had them since they were a kitten, will require a lot of effort, but it's always worth it when you start to recognise and understand their personalities. Even if they're not the adoring and affectionate beings you hoped they would be - and mine certainly wasn't - they're still worth all the effort. Mine hated being picked up, would never sit on your lap, and would hiss at you if you stroked her for too long, but she would always come and sleep on my bed at night and would always want to be near you during the day.
>>2023949
>I'vee seen the gay bald guy from cat from hell selling some magic cat esscence that calms the fuck out of them. Might just try that too.
Feliway would probably be more beneficial. Jackson Galaxy ain't gay, though - he's married to a woman.
>>2024021
Still a goddamn faggot with piss poor fashion sense if you ask me. I'm shocked he even managed to get married to anything other than a cat. An ugly cat, too.
>>2023844
He sounds bored or stressed. He'll probably be chill once he's used to everything. Even if you think he's getting a lot of attention, kittens have a LOT of energy and he doesn't have a playmate.
Plus, Kittens will change; sometimes pretty drastically. I have one shelter cat who was the most affectionate feline there as a kitten. As soon as we got him home, he was totally apathetic for a week. Then he was super affectionate again and it slowly wore off as he entered adulthood. Now, he's apathetic and only pays attention to me when he's stressed or hungry. He won't even play anymore unless I really try to get him going. However, the angry and indifferent cat I took from behind a broken refrigerator out of a shed that smelled like piss at 6 weeks ended up being the most affectionate adult. Seriously, all the fucker wants is love and toys all the time. Mutt cats are unpredictable.
The only thing you can do to avoid this is adopt an adult or young adult cat. They're also more likely to get killed in a shelter, so you're probably saving them.
>>2023966
>>2024032
He's got about a dozen toys strewn about the apartment to play with. And how long is a reasonable adjustment time? He's lived with us now for three months and is still an asshole.
I can try to ignore some of his more naughty behavior but unfortunately his favorite things to do seem to involve knocking trash cans over and running trash all over the apartment, or climbing into cupboards and opening drawers and tearing up papers. He's been doing this shit for months, when will he stop?
>>2024052
>climbing into cupboards and opening drawers and tearing up papers. He's been doing this shit for months, when will he stop?
Never probably. A couple years if you're lucky. Get those child-proofing locks and put a brick in the bottom of your trash can.
>>2024052
You need to actually play with your cat. You need to get him moving. I suggest a fishing lure type toy. Two 15 min play sessions a day will help calm him down. You want to really get your cat moving. You know you have done a good job when he is laying on his side breathing hard.
>>2024079
we have two of those and play with him with them every day. The little fuck doesn't slow down.
He's a kitten, anon. They have INSANE amounts of energy. I had one who acted the same way for a while until I moved into a house with other cats.
You're going to have to tire him out until he pants. A LOT. There are automated toys you can get to keep him busy like the automated laser toys, automatic wand toys. They're worth it for keeping them super busy.
There's a bitter grape/Apple spray you can find in the small animal supply. That'll help for him chewing on wires and stuff.
For the trash, put a brick on the bottom of the can to keep it from getting knocked over. Then a lid on it so he can't jump inside of it.
Set boundaries early. NEVER play with him on your bed. NEVER. Otherwise he'll think bed is the play area. It'll keep him from waking you up chewing on your toes because you were wiggling them.
Also an automatic feeder will keep him from nagging you for food in the morning. It's saved my sanity when my cat would always start an hour before feeding time waking me up.
Having a kitten is hard work. Good luck. Get some shelves while you're at it too. He can tear up and down them. Walmart has a cheap floor to ceiling 3 tier post he can ravage.
I will probably never get a single kitten ever again. Definitely getting a pair next time. They'll learn how to control their biting better learn how to not hurt when biting.
