Expert: Norman Auspitz - 5/30/2009

Question
I have a kitten that I bottle-fed from two weeks old, whose mother was feral and was hit by a car. Now she is six weeks and up til now she was in a crate. Since she's older, I've been letting her out of her crate to play. When I first open the crate, she meows and is happy to see me. She purrs and rubs her head on me. After about a half-hour of exploring or playing though, she gets defensive and tries to bite or scratch me when I attempt to touch or pet her. She even sometimes hisses or spits. She gets in a defensive position with a fixed gaze and acts like she doesn't know me. Is there anything I can do to help her become less fearful, or is she doomed to grow up feral like her mother?

Answer
Lily,

This is normal kitten behavior.  Kittens tend to play with each other an mama very roughly with lots of biting and scratching.  Cats (and kittens) have very tough skin, and so this does not hurt them at all.  I would tend to let the kitten out of the crate most of the time and hold her, stroke her, and talk softly to her.  If she starts the biting/scratching behavior, put her down and walk away.  Kittens love the holding, stroking, talking "game" and usually get the idea that they must be more gentle with us softer skinned humans.  If she behaves herself, reinforce the behavior with a special treat.

Also, make sure no one in the household rough houses with her.  Stress that all p[lay must be gentle and, at the first sign of kitten aggression, it all stops.  It is critical that the behavior of everybody towards the kitten is consistent and persistent.  Negative discipline is wasted on cats in general and kittens in particular!!!!!  Yelling no, rubbing noses in errors, time outs tend to be ineffective for behavior modification in kittens.  On the other hand, kittens respond better to special treats for good behavior and being totally ignored when they have bad behaviors.

If I may ask, why is she being crated so much?  At six weeks she should have good litter pan habits and be able to roam freely without causing problems.

Please let me know if you have any follow ups.

Best regards... Norm.