uh oh

Question
I did the unthinkable.. I decided to give my young siamese kitten a tin of wet chicken dinner. He was a runt and has puncture scars all over his ears and I felt sorry for him so I thought I would give him a treat but now every time I walk into the kitchen I get screams (literally) of protest. I tried not giving him any but I think I almost killed him! Since he is the wedge face variety, it is quite obvious when his belly is full. How do I ween this kitten off the wet since he obviousely wont do it himself? I watch him eat and he spits out the solid I put into his food and I NEVER see him taking interest in it. I even saw him pee into the dish! He is 18 weeks? Not a small, shaking kitten for sure. Half full grown! Also, when I give him a certain toy - he will hold it in his mouth and turn from a sweet shy kitten to a snarling dog. Is that normal? He won't scratch me but will scratch my other cats (which are fully on solid) when he was submissive just two seconds earlier. These scars on his ears are thick balls of tissue - should I be worried? They are no longer open so they can't become infected.
Thankyou


Answer
Hi,

I'm going to give you a relatively short answer due to my busy schedule...sorry.  I would wait until Monday to answer, but am sure that you are waiting for a response and I hate to keep you waiting.  So, if you have any further questions at all, don't hesitate to reply and I will get back to you with a very detailed answer as soon as possible.

Regarding your kitten being picky, please read my last answer about a very picky cat.  It will contain a lot of useful information regarding diet, feeding schedule, and food brands...in particular I included detailed information on dealing with finicky and picky eaters.  He is most definitely at a good age to change diets too!  When they get older, it only gets worse because they get so set in their ways!  The first couple of weeks are always the worst, but if you are consistent then he should easily make the switch and will eventually be satisfied with a new food.  

Please read the article here:
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Cat-Food-3490/Fussy-Cat-Picky-eater.htm

Regarding his behavior with his toy and with the other cats...  Grabbing a toy (in particular those fake and/or real fur mice), a lot of cats will growl and try to hiss with it in their mouth.  They also want to run off with it and hide it from other cats.  It's a perfectly normal behavior...as in the wild they are trying to protect their prey and don't want another cat to steal it!  When he does that, just consider him very proud of his kill!  As far as his behavior with your other cats...a lot of that has to do with age.  He is an adolescent male...a cat teenager.  The hormones are just starting to kick in now and he's trying to establish his dominance...peeing in the cat bowl (among other places) and/or defecating places other than the litter box is a sign of this.  If/when you have him neutered, that behavior should subside within just a couple of weeks up to a few months.  He'll probably also try to test out his dominance with you.  If so, make sure you have the upper hand and tell him "NO", if he tries to bite, scratch, etc.  It's a typical adolescent male cat behavior.  Same goes with him wanting to attack and fight with your other cats.  He's trying to test out his place in the family, establish his dominance, etc.  This too, will get better after he is neutered and also with age.  If he is really hurting the other cats then you can trim his claws (get your vet to show you how if you are unsure) and you can also get a water bottle to spray him if he is chasing or fighting with another cat.  He will grow out of this, just make sure that none of them are getting hurt.  

Finally, regarding his ears...are they from him scratching them?  Possibly ear mites, etc?  Or are you certain that they are from fighting with the other cats?  If you trim his claws, you'll want to trim the other cat's claws too.  ...and be sure you trim the back claws when you trim the front ones, as they kick each other with the hind feet when fighting.  Try just trimming his first...then the other cats might find it easier to put him into his place.  If this doesn't help and he is getting scratched up badly, then trim all of their claws.  Make sure that none of his ear injuries have caused tears in the ear...as these can cause permanent scarring for life, especially around the edges of the ears.  If so, or you notice new ones that have torn/split the ear edge, take him to a vet as soon as you notice it so that it might possibly be closed to reduce scarring.  To clean the wounds and remove the dried blood and debris you can put hydrogen peroxide on a cotton ball or tissue and gently clean the ears, then dab a very tiny amount of an antibiotic ointment on them, such as Neosporin.

Hopefully this info will help you out.  If you have further questions, just reply and I will get back to you just as soon as I can.  Good luck with your little boy cat...I have one who is just under a year (the baby) and totally understand what you are going through.  It will definitely get better!