Expert: Jessica - 7/12/2009

Question
My kitten is 8-10 weeks old. I got her about 5 weeks ago. She was born on a farm, and handled from birth. The first car ride was really hard for her, but over successive weekends, I took her everywhere I could think of to take her. I would carry her on walks around the neighborhood, take her in the car to the pet store or the laundromat, or even to parks where she can run around. I slowly stepped up the amount of time she would spend outside of the apartment on the weekends. I did this because I know that, as I am a college student, she will have to travel. I took her home for the fourth of July on a whistlestop tour of my family and friends' homes. She did great on the plane rides and in the airport, cuddling and purring for anyone who wanted to pet and hold her. No matter where I took her, how many of my young cousins handled her, she behaved really well. At my grandmother's, she started out with an aggression problem toward the dogs. However, I took some time to hold her and pet her when she was close to the dogs (and discipline her for growling and hissing at them) and she eventually quieted down to where she was happy to be 5-6 feet away from them without doing much more than bristling a bit. All my family members agree that she is the kindest, gentlest cat they know.

When I returned from vacation, my boyfriend came with me to stay for the week. I asked him to take the cat to the vet for me for her second booster shot. My boyfriend, admittedly, is not a cat person-- however, he is generally a kind and gentle person, and I didn't think there should be any problems. The first (and only) time I took my cat to the vet in question, the vet was having a really bad day. His mother was in the hospital and he just didn't seem put together, so I didn't really hold it against him that he seemed a bit hurried with my cat.
I had clipped her claws about a week before going to see him, and the first thing he did was proceed to clip her claws even though I'd told him this. He did not pet her much, and just grabbed her feet out from underneath her and proceeded to clip her nails. Well, she struggled, and I had to hold her down. When he gave her the shot, I distracted her a little bit and he just went right through with it. She didn't have time, I don't think, to jump or fuss like she had with the nail clipping. Having raised cats all during my childhood (we had 9 at once) and taken many animals travelling and to the vet's office (including abused strays), I decided that was a pretty good vet visit, and probably about as good as it was going to get.

I'm not sure what happened at the vet's office with my boyfriend and this vet handling her, but the vet recommends that I take her to a behavioral specialist for aggression problems, and my boyfriend agrees. In fact, according to my boyfriend, the vet may refuse to see her again if I do not take her to a behavioral specialist.

Now, all things considered, I've seen this cat interact with dozens of people since getting her, and I've never seen her be aggressive with anyone except the vet. However, she does have a tendency to bring her claws out during play sometimes, even though she has been reprimanded for it before. Most of the time, though, she's very conscious of her claws and doesn't use them. I let her use her claws and teeth during play as long as she is gentle-- i.e. does not break the skin or cause me pain.

Do I need to seriously consider this aggression thing, or get a new vet? Do I need to use different methods of play?

Answer
Hi Sydney.  I've never heard of such bologna in my life!  There was one other case on here where a vet told a user the basically same thing, only he advised euthanasia for an aggressive kitten, and I'm going to give you the same advice - find another vet!

First, I think you can discount this entire experience, since you weren't there to witness how roughly the kitten may have been handled, or what may have triggered her aggression.  I once had a technician take my cat's rectal temperature from her vagina by mistake.  Of course she's going to be upset!

Secondly, cats can be fearing for their lives at these visits, and reacting aggressively is perfectly acceptable.  It's called the fight or flight reaction, and I believe they teach this in 8th grade biology.  Vets should know this.  They're trained for this.  They have to be vaccinated against rabies because of this, and they (should) carry special restraint equipment because of this.  

How a cat reacts in a vet's office is no reflection of the cat's personality in general.  In fact, the most aggressive cats often freeze.  Unless the owner complains of out-of-control aggression to the vet while at the visit, there is no reason for a vet to believe that there is an aggression problem present.

You should certainly find a new vet.  Let that vet know that your kitty may be difficult to handle at the visit.  In any responsible vet's office, her file will be labeled with a caution flag.  All this means is that there will be extra help in restraining her if she decides to go berserk.

I would discourage ever using your hands for play.  As she gets bigger, it's likely going to become more difficult for her to make it so she doesn't hurt you, and she'll be confused as to why she's not allowed to do it anymore.  It's a better idea to use toys at all times.  But I have even seen a behaviorist who recommended that if you MUST use your hands to play, always use a thick dirt-biking glove so the kitten at least has an idea that it's okay to play with hands WHEN the glove is on only.  Essentially the glove becomes a toy;

Good luck!