Expert: Kate Tilmouth - 11/23/2009

Question
I have a 10 week old maine coon tabby mix. Purchased him at 7 weeks and seemed very calm, loving. At 9 weeks he became aggessive only at night and seems to be looking for a fight. He bites, scratches and or run at us.  He also is up all night long which makes our lives difficult and I do not want to give him up and would never think of doing such a thing. But do need advice on how to handle this situation.

Thanks
Inez

Answer
He is a young energetic full of energy and mischief kitten and all that you have said sounds perfectly normal to me.

Night time is the normal time for cats to be most active as this would be the time they hunt etc  so it is no surprise that he is alert at night. Also his aggressive behaviour is him carrying out his natural hunting instincts. Now this should be in play and not really aggressive, he should have learnt this from his litter mates and mother and this is why kittens should not be rehomed from their litter until at least 12 weeks.

You will have to do two things firstly make sure he does not get bored, he needs lots of different sorts of toys to play with to keep him stimulated. he also needs specific play times with you where you play with him using toys (never fingers, hands or toes). Also he may need some lessons in the difference between play and aggression. So when he starts to bite or attack you you need to move away from him straight away, in a quiet but instant way. this is a negative response and this is not what he is looking for, he is looking for a reaction from you.

i think the best thing i can suggest is that you read through my pages about all of these issues so that you have more information about them. here are the pages

http://www.our-happy-cat.com/indoor-cats.html

http://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-toys-play.html

http://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-discipline.html

Hope my pages will be able to give you the information you need at this time. i currently have two kittens myself and i know all about the nigh time fun and games. I have to keep them out of my room otherwise i am woken up at least 4 times a night. ;)

best wishes kate
http://www.our-happy-cat.com