Kitten Snarling…

Do you think there is a chance that one of the younger children perhaps hurt him? Not meaning to, of course, but in some way may have scared him or pulled his tail or hurt him in some manner?

Has anything changed in your household? Did you have company?

It may be normal, it may be he is started to feel his hormones (when is his neuter scheduled for?).

Others with more experience will be along. It is rather slow here on the weekends. Glad you came to us. We’ll help you find a solution!

They will forgive (takes a cat longer than a dog, though!). I put a tag up in pink at the top called socializing. You may find some threads that are helpful there. I haven’t had a kitten for so long I really can’t be a lot of help. Hopefully the more experienced folks will be along soon. Sadly the weekends are sparse here. Hopefully the pink tag will help a bit.

OH! And Welcome to TDK!

Did one of the kids accidently drop him? Or step on him? What is his body language when this happens? Is his tail wagging? Ears back or front?

bumping for more ideas for our new member

Pre-neuter hormones might be a factor – they’re raging for him at this age! Make sure you mention this to the vet when you take him, which can be any time now. Many vets do some bloodwork a week or so prior to neutering to make sure nothing else is going on. There’s a good chance he will be upset with everyone, even his mum. My 3 1/2 year old girl kitty gets mad at my 1 year old boy kitty and if I’m right there she will hiss and swipe at me too!

Good luck – remember, kittens = patience, patience, patience!

Yes, I really would take him to the vet. A sudden change in temperament can and usually does indicate something physical is wrong. A kitten gets over a fright pretty quickly usually, you need to rule out physical ailments or problems first. I realise he is eating and pooping normally but he is not behaving normally and he is sounds like he is fairly lethargic in comparison to his usual self. I hope he’s fine but you need to rule out anything physical.

It could be a random trauma. One of my cat, when he was a kitten, he was very friendly but one day he was playing around and got his paw caught in a groove of the kitchen table legs that tapered down and started twisting around and crying. I remembered trying to get to him to pull him out because I was afraid that he was going to break his arm, but he got himself out. Then he ran off, but after that he became really scared of everything and would jump and every little noises. He associated my friend (whenever he sees him with that event and would always runaway from him). It took a really long time, but eventually he became normal again and very friendly towards people and other animals. He’d always have that slightly scardy cat personality though but not as extreme. Like I remembered when they were fixing the roof of my house, that cat would be hiding under the blanket even though it was a very hot day. He was afraid of the banging sound on the roof. My other cat didn’t care at all and was just fine.

Since your cat did scratch you pretty deeply, you might want to make sure that his nails are trimmed and maybe put the kitty nail caps on just as a precaution, so he wouldn’t be able to hurt your children

OhmiGod, how appalling, what a ****** of a neighbour, I would be reporting him to the cops and the complex manager at the very least. Violence towards animals is so often an indication of other violence — towards kids and partners, for instance. If he does that to animals, what is he doing to his kids?

Are you SURE no damage has been done to the kitten? I am going to say this again, once only, I would want to take him to the vet to get him checked out and x-rayed.

This thread on how to help an abused cat may help you: http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/12527

And for the peeing outside the litterbox (beanbag seem to be preferred places for many kittens to pee, unfortunately, including one of mine):

http://www.petplace.com/cats/inappropriate-elimination/page1.aspx

His reluctance could be related to his trauma. I would suggest getting a feliway diffuser to help him settle. You can also spray feliway onto the beanbag after cleaning it with an enzymatic cleaner (eg Nature’s Miracle) to tell him that this is not somewhere we pee. There is also an additive called ‘Cat Attract’ or ‘Kitten Attract’ that you sprinkle on the litter which many TDKers swear by. Also, is the litter highly scented or could it be that he doesn’t like the smell or feel of it? Have you changed the type you use recently? Are you cleaning and scooping the litter box enough? Check the pink tag ‘litter box’ for previous threads on this subject. If all else fails, talk to your vet about it.