Will my kitten ever calm down?

Question

My new kitten is 4 months old and I've had her for 4 days. She is very wild at times and insists on biting my leg. I've noticed that she tries it with other people, but quickly loses interest. She'd happily play with my poor legs and feet for hours!

I got her from my boyfriend, who had her for two months. He told me that the kitten was given to them by his mum's friends, who were druggies. Consequently, kittie had to fend for herself and search for food all by herself. According to my boyfriend, kittie was too playful and aggressive to stay at his, but I happily took on the challenge.

I've already fallen in love with my kitten, but taking into consideration her rough start to life, will she ever calm down? My boyfriend, who has 3 cats, says that she'll grow out of her playfulness... I'm not too sure. Is it normal for her to be so rough, and will she ACTUALLY grow out of it? And why is she only like this with me?

If the case is that this is just her personality, then could someone please give me tips on how to tame her SLIGHTLY at the least?

Answer 1

When I got my kitten I thought I'd never cope with her.She scratched the furniture, tore the wallpaper, charged around the house, jumped out on me when I walked past. Having never had a cat before I too thought this was my lot for life, but she did calm down. At present your kitten is like a toddler exploring the world and getting into everything.

Get her neutered and vaccinated and when that is done allow her to go out. She'll calm down, particularly if you are kind and caring to her and she begins to feel secure in your home and know that it is a safe place where she will be fed regularly and cherished.

Answer 2

Cats can calm down with age and usually do. try asserting your authority that's what i did. if she hisses and bites pick her up and stroke her roughly but not for to long you don't want to scare her. my cat and i now have a deep respect for each other and will never attack me.

Answer 3

First of all- congrats on the new kitten! You & your boyfriend saved her from a really hard life!  I commend you for that!

Okay so we have a new kitten also, and she does the same!  (its so annoying i know! i hate having scratches all over my arms and legs! haha) but you have to remember that she's just trying to play, I know it sucks, but thats how she acted when she was a kitten with her litter mates and with her momma!  

I had two kittens when I was in high school, and they grew out of this stage at about a year :( its a long time, but its sweet that they want to be around us so much!

So what I do to mine, is when she attacks me, I point my finger at her and firmly say "no!" then i turn her around so that she's facing the other way and she'll go away for a minute. after that, i always go to find a toy of hers around the house so that she can take her playfulness out on the toy instead of my leg!  I do that for as long as I can so that she gets a little tuckered out.  

Also, when she is calm and sweet, give her a little treat and let her know how much you love her, so that she starts realizing that she gets a treat when she's being lovey.  

Another thing: I've been doing this:

http://cats.about.com/library/howto/htge...

and its been helping her out alot!!! She trusts my husband and I alot more, and is not AS crazy.  

Good luck with the little one and congrats again!!! :)  

Answer 4

I think it's because she is with you and she needs time to get used to living with you.

Or  she wants lots of attention

Answer 5

i have a kitten that is 4 months old too. She acts soo crazy soo i think the kitten was taken from its mom to early so it think it needs to defend itself

Answer 6

Its definitly not her personality. Cats at such a young age are just starting to learn how to  bite, and basically defend themselves. So this is most likely why she is like this... Anyway the kitten most likely sees you as the person who loves, cares, and keeps it safe. This is maybe why it shows you more attention then others. She will grow out of it. All kittens are this way, but cats as adults are usually laid back... If she doesnt outgrow most of it she will atleast calm down on the agressiveness.. Hope this helps

Answer 7

When she starts to bite at legs and feet, squirt her lightly with a squirt bottle to kind of stun her. Give her more appropriate toys to play with like a feather teaser or laser lights sometimes work wonders. She may have some behavioural problems from being around the drugs, depending on what type they were.. if she was around it and inhaling the fumes and whatnot that cuold have caused neuro damage. But she's most likely just learning boundaries and being a regular spunky kitten. Just be firm with her and tell her whats appropriate nad whats not nad be consistent. Hopefully it will help, it should. :)

Answer 8

No. Cats are independent creatures who are here to mess with you and eat your food.

Seriously she should mellow out with age

Answer 9

She should calm down, my cat is a little over a year and he was super hyper at first. He would hide under things and then ATTACK! Now he isn't as bad, he bites me when he wants attention from me. I think it's his way of saying, play with me! She probably mainly bites you because she knows your the main one that spends time with her and just wants the attention. as she grows she wont be as demanding : )

Answer 10

Your p***y will be fine, just give it time to get used to it's new lifestyle, it's easy to go to far with your p***y just pet it and don't force it to do things that it won't like.......give it a nice stroke for me.

Answer 11

Don't worry, she'll calm down eventually.

Whenever she bites you hold her head down and say no, or squirt her.

Answer 12

Your boyfriend has given you all the wrong info.It is part of a cats growing up to play like this as in the wild,pus has to strengthen his body and bones.ie survival of the fittest.The kitten practises that with his brothers and sisters through aggressive play.The kitten loves that,but because we humans are ***** at times we remove the cat too soon from the family and they have no-one to play aggressively with.Enter you.and suddenly pus has found a sister and so the play starts again.Do not try to stop it as the kitten will not be strong enough when grown.Pus has adopted you.eventually it gets less and they grow up and become calm and laid back dudes.Remember you have been adopted as sister and so the rough stuff is with you only.Do not try to tame for another 3/4 months as pus will not understand and he will get upset and depressed,but will defiantly grow out of it.Rough stuff is essential playing to get good strength and inner health for him/her ,

Answer 13

I think they calm down when they get older. Our cat had two kittens and they never stop running about they are over 12 weeks old. We have a 4 yr old cat and a 1 yr old they both calmed down when they got older. Its better when they are young our older cat is grumpy and doesn't want to play or anything.

If she is ripping furniture to bits then you can buy scratching pads/posts and toys as well.