very aggressive 5 week old kitten

Question
Hi! I got this little girl last week (when she was 4 weeks) from a friend's friend that hadn't spayed her cat for some reason. Up until I got her, she was with mom and 2 brothers. I've had little kittens before and I know she's just playing, but when she's not sleeping or eating she's in attack mode! I'd give her a little flick on the nose when she bit down too hard, but it doesn't slow her down much. Yesterday I got a call that someone backed out on taking her brother, so I thought perfect! I'll give the little guy a home AND my hands and arms will get a break from bites and scratches. Unfortunately their playing is pretty much her chasing him, pinning him down and biting him VERY aggressively. He's scared to death of her and meows like she's REALLY hurting him. I'm scared to leave them alone together, that she'll hurt him. There's a lot of kitten growling, hissing and meows of pain during this play and it worries me. I feel like I'm throwing him to the wolves here.  

Answer
Lauren,

Unfortunately kittens are nowhere near ready to leave their mother at 4 and 5 weeks of age - it's better for the kittens in the long term if they're allowed to stay with their mother until they're at least 12 weeks of age, although some kittens do require a week or two more with their mom before they're ready to go into their forever home. Unfortunately kittens who are taken from their mom before 12 weeks of age have a much higher likelihood of developing serious behavioural issues later in life so in order to minimize those risks you are going to have to take over and teach these babies some basic manners and boundaries so that they're more likely to stay with your family for life. That having been said, what's done is done and now it becomes your responsibility to help these babies learn the lessons their mother would have taught them over the course of the next 8-10 weeks, unfortunately this will be somewhat more trying for you than it would have been for mom.

First and foremost, regardless of a kitten's age they must learn immediately that it is NEVER okay to scratch or bite a human, even in play because while these babies only weigh in at a pound or so right now the nips and scratches they can dish out as adults won't be so superficial and may in fact ultimately cost them their home or their lives if circumstances in your life change (ie you have a baby, you become sick with an illness or require medical treatment that suppresses your immune system, you take elderly relatives into your home to care for them, etc.). Far too many perfectly healthy otherwise wonderful cats are turned into shelters or euthanized by private veterinarians every single day because they:

a) Did not get to stay with mom long enough to have her teach appropriate manners with other cats and humans

                     And/Or

b) Their humans failed to teach them at the earliest possible opportunity that biting/scratching people is not an acceptable activity.

If at all possible I'd like to save you the heartbreak and your new kittens the ultimate punishment of having to bear the consequences of inappropriate ways of interacting with people. Luckily these guys are very young and they haven't had much opportunity to become habitual biters so they should be relatively easy to train out of using their claws and teeth on you or any other person. If you live alone enlisting the help of friends and family members over the next 8-10 weeks would be a good idea to help make this training stick permanently.

Good training must be done with a number of important ingredients - a calm, gentle, but firm pet parent who is patient, loving and works towards understanding normal feline behaviour and instincts is going to be much more successful at training their pet than someone who is negative, gets angry, frustrated and generally loses patience with their pet quickly. While it's very important to remember that these kittens are babies it's absolutely crucial that you begin setting a foundation for good behaviour in place immediately. Good training that teaches these kittens to behave properly within the human world will ensure that you can enjoy a lifelong, happy, fulfilling relationship with your kittens and ultimately proper training done from early on in your relationship with both of these babies is without question a priceless investment that will grant better returns than the best stock on Wall Street over the course of your kittens' lifetimes.

That having been said there are some common sense limits to training your kittens. Obviously if these kittens are ever accidentally injured you should handle them as little as possible and be very cautious because injured pets may bite/scratch as a result of overwhelming pain and fear which is not a reflection on how well you've trained them. Another important issue to address before I get into specifics about how to train these two babies and provide the best possible care for them over the course of their kittenhood and throughout their lives is the issue of corporeal punishment. Fortunately most pet parents today understand that the old practices of swatting the cat with a rolled up newspaper/magazine really aren't in anyone's best interests and some folks are very aware of gentle, humane, loving training techniques...Unfortunately I have had some questioners who fail to understand that there's a significant difference between discipline and punishment and more to the point that corporeal punishment generally causes more problems than it solves which is why I feel that it's important for me to educate as many pet parents as possible about humane training techniques. The use of physical punishment over discipline virtually guarantees that a cat will strike back with claws and teeth at some point in their lives so my training techniques are based on gentle, humane methods that work incredibly well. Proper training builds a bond of trust that will last for the lifetime of your kittens, so now we're ready to get started.

Since these two kiddos have been prematurely separated from their mom the first order of business is for you to become their surrogate mom which means that you must take over the responsibility of teaching them what is and is not acceptable behaviour. Generally feline moms don't hesitate to swat, growl at or hiss at their kittens when they're behaving badly - the human equivalent to this would be to purchase a few cans of compressed air (the kind you'd use to clean your computer keyboard) and place them throughout the house in easily accessible areas. In order to mimic mom's growl you'll need to try to get your voice as low pitched and gruff as possible - I generally keep my growls with cats and kittens to one simple word - NO! You don't generally have to mimic mom's swat, but it can be done by tapping the kitten on the tip of his/her nose with your fingertip paired with the growling NO! or a short hiss from the can of compressed air. One thing to keep in mind about the cans of compressed air is that you should NEVER aim the nozzle at your cats (or anyone else for that matter) because the propellents inside of the can will cause frostbite if they come into contact with flesh so when you're using compressed air as a disciplinary tool I recommend aiming the nozzle towards the ceiling for everyone's safety. At this stage your kittens are still very young and while spray bottles filled with water and set to stream are an effective tool to ues with older cats I don't recommend them because wet 5 week old kittens tend not to be able to maintain their body temperature quite as well which will put them at risk of hypothermia since one or two short squirts can soak a good percentage of such a tiny kitten's body. If you'd like to use squirt bottles when your kittens are a bit older I'd say that you can probably start using them in addition to the other tools I've recommended when these babies are roughly 10-12 weeks old.

I don't recommend that you allow the kittens to bite or scratch any human at all for any reason - this is not cutesy kitten behaviour. Cats are predators at any age and they have sharp claws and teeth designed to capture and kill prey, while biting and scratching prey is natural behaviour humans should never be seen as prey from a cat or kitten's perspective. The earlier that kittens learn to keep their claws and teeth to themselves when they're interacting with people the better off they will be over the course of their lifetimes.

In order to fulfill natural hunting instincts I would highly suggest that you pick up a variety of kitten safe toys (avoid toys that have strings for independent play and any toy with small parts that can come off during rough play should also be avoided because they pose a serious choking hazard.) String, ribbon, thread, yarn and other similar items are extremely dangerous for cats because of the fact that cats of all ages find them irresistable, but there's a catch - once the cat/kitten begins to lick these types of materials the barbs on their tongue will often force them to swallow the entire length of string, ribbon, etc. If a cat or kitten swallows enough string (or similar items) they won't be able to pass it through their digestive system on their own - in fact it can cause a blockage and as the intestines contract repeatedly around strings or ribbons the string can begin to saw through the wall of the intestine which can prove fatal. String, elastics, dental floss, thread and other similar things are often seen by people as being ideal cat toys, but the results of unsupervised play with these items can mean that your kitty will have to undergo major abdominal surgery which isn't without serious risks/complications so ultimately keeping these items well out of reach of inquiring felines is really importantcan cause serious medical issues if they're accidentally swallowed by an inquisitive cat/kitten. If you enjoy watching your babies play with lengths of ribbon or old shoelaces I recommend putting them away somewhere inaccessible to your babies (such as a desk drawer) after interactive playtime is over. As far as toys for independent play go I recommend toys that are soft and preferably those that don't make noise (when considering a toy that makes noise think carefully about whether you'd like to hear it repeatedly at 3 am). There are countless amazing toys available today that are perfectly safe for cats of all ages so have fun with your search - your babies will thank you.

Providing kittens with an appropriate place to exercise their claws is another important part of humane training. The kittens should have at least a few different scratch posts - you'll probably have to try out several different types and posts made of a variety of different materials to see what style of post and what material the kittens prefer. When choosing a scratch post I recommend that pet parents be prepared to invest in sturdy, well constructed posts because these little training tools are going to be what saves your furniture and carpeting. If you're okay with having natural wood posts that's ideal, but they are messy and it can be difficult to find appropriate types of wood. I don't recommend carpeted posts because if you happen to have carpet in your home it's a bit more difficult to tell the kitten that they can scratch on this carpet, but not on that carpet. Sisal covered posts are popular but I know that 2/3 of my resident cats also absolutely love the cardboard scratch pads that you can purchase at any pet supply store and the best part about the cardboard pads is that they're relatively inexpensive and when your babies have thoroughly destroyed them you can simply toss them out with the weekly recycling.

I don't know if you're planning to declaw these babies when they get older, but my recommendation would be that you don't have this surgery done unless the kittens have serious defects in their paws/nails that would cause them ongoing pain throughout their lives or if they are diagnosed with a condition called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome sometimes referred to as Rubber Kitten Syndrome which is a genetic defect that causes the kitten's skin to be very rubbery and fragile. Kittens with rubber kitten syndrome will often end up with gaping wounds if they scratch an itch because their skin isn't strong enough to withstand the normal force of a kitty scratching a pesky itch.

Unfortunately all too many veterinarians tout declawing as a routine procedure that's virtually painless - based on my experience this just isn't the case. All too many of the cats and older kittens that pet parents contact me about who have developed serious behavioural issues ranging from litter box avoidance to unexplained aggression to biting have been declawed (in my experience about 75% of kitties that pet parents contact me about for help with these issues have been declawed). I know that you haven't asked me about declawing but I do think it's important from an animal welfare standpoint to provide humane education about declawing so that you are aware of exactly what declawing is and what the potential short and long term effects of this elective surgery are so that you're able to make 100% informed decisions about any procedures that you consent to for your kittens - I wouldn't want you to find out the truth later after making the decision to declaw your babies, witnessing the painful recovery from this surgery and wish with all your heart that you could take the decision to have your kittens declawed back.

The first time that I saw the results of this callous attitude towards a pet was when I went with my sister to pick her newly declawed and spayed kitten up from the vet. When we arrived we were taken to the back to put the kitten into her carrier because none of the vet staff were able to calm her down enough to put her into her carrier. When we got to the back I was horrified at what I saw, this kitten was in absolute agony, she was repeatedly hitting her face and head on the steel bars of the cage and she had been doing this for long enough that her face was cut and bleeding in some places. I immediately asked whether any pain medication had been given to alleviate the kitten's pain and the veterinarian informed me that the cost of pain medication wasn't included in the price of the spay and declaw. I went from horrified to furious and I immediately told the vet in no uncertain terms that he was going to sedate the kitten immediately and give her the pain medication that she should have gotten before the surgery even started and afterwards.

I have to say that this vet wasn't too impressed with my demands, but he did as I asked, quite possibly because he was afraid that I'd report him to the CVMA and have his license revoked. In my opinion there is simply no excuse for a veterinarian to run a practice this way and cut costs by neglecting to provide pain relief to pets before, during and/or after any kind of surgery as appropriate ~ the way that I see it is that pain relief should be provided for pets anytime they have any type of medical procedure or surgery that human beings would normally receive pain medications to alleviate their discomfort before, during and/or after surgery. I feel very strongly that it's inhumane to not provide effective pain control, especially with a surgery like declawing which is well known to be extremely painful. I don't believe that pain medicine should be discontinued after surgery simply because a kitty is being discharged to go home with his/her human caregiver, particularly in the case of a declaw surgery which involves at least 10 separate amputations (more if you have all 4 paws done or your kitty is a polydactyl).

I think it's very important that pet parents understand how important claws are to a cat's physical and psychological well-being. Cats are highly intelligent and very trainable once you discover what motivates your cat or kitten - two of my three resident cats are motivated by food rewards, they've learned that exercising claws must be confined to scratch posts and pads and I've managed to teach them several basic dog obedience commands (with silent hand signals in case they go deaf as they age). My oldest resident cat will do just about anything for praise and pets and she's also got a decent variety of basic obedience commands and hand signals while the other two will do anything for treats. Our cats also have a full understanding of where they are and aren't permitted to go (nobody wants cats on counters, in cupboards, etc) and with the exception of a slip now and then they all know where they are allowed to exercise their claws and which areas are simply not okay for them to "sharpen" their claws.

I really wish that all veterinarians will be ethical enough to put the wellbeing of cats above their ability to make a quick profit and take the time to educate caregivers about declawing and the risks associated with this surgery. Typically declawing a cat is a relatively quick process - it's over in just a few minutes, but it tends to be expensive which means that lots of money gets made for minimal work. I also hope that pet parents will have an opportunity to learn basic training techniques so that this elective surgery isn't performed nearly as often as it is today.

While many people believe that cats "sharpen" their claws this isn't actually the case when they sink their claws into carpeting or furniture. Cats are actually stretching and strengthening muscles in their shoulders, back and front paws when they're clawing their scratch post or piece of furniture. Cats are very territorial animals by nature and they communicate with each other by marking objects throughout their territory with their unique scent. When a cat 'sharpens' they're actually using scent glands located in their paws to leave a scented business card of sorts for the next cat that comes along. Cats also have scent glands in their face and the anal glands are also used for scent marking, they're located inside the cat's body on either side of the anus. Each cat's scent provides other cats with a substantial amount of information about them for other cats to take in including age, sex, reproductive status, diet and health problems.

Some cats undergo significant changes in temperament and personality when they come home after being declawed. Not too long ago I was asked to help a woman whose kittens were littermates that had been the best of friends prior to their surgery and when they came home they couldn't be in the same room without a fight ensuing. I suspected that the fights were related to the post operative pain which meant that the vet didn't provide appropriate pain relief after the declaw surgery. I recommended that the kittens' caregiver head to the vet clinic and request pain medications for the girls that she could administer to the girls at home. I also recommended a homeopathic remedy that I routinely use in cats of all ages for a variety of situations. It wasn't long after that when I received an email letting me know that the cats were back to being best friends.

Declawing is a cosmetic surgery for cats that's often compared to amputating human fingers at the first joint, but the surgery is somewhat more complex than that. Humans don't retract their finger tips, cats do, this means that declawing involves amputating tendons, ligaments, bone, soft tissue and the cat's nails. This is a very painful surgery - the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) recommends that cats who are to be declawed be given a long acting pain reliever after they're sedated for surgery. Before the surgery begins the AVMA recommends administering nerve blocks at multiple sites in the cat's paws to numb them completely in an attempt to minimize pain levels immediately following surgery. It's also recommended that cats that have been declawed be sent home on a strong narcotic like Fentanyl administered in patch form to ensure that the cats don't experience unneccessary suffering.

Declawing a cat at any age is a very painful elective surgery that's quite complex. People often compare declawing a cat to amputating our fingers at the first joint, but it's just not that simple. Human beings don't use their fingertips and nails in the same way that cats do and we don't retract our fingertips. The actual surgery involves amputating the cat's digits, tendons, ligaments and soft tissues at the first joint. If any tissue or bone beyond the first joint is still present it can cause a painful abscess and require the veterinarian to anesthetize the cat again and perform a second surgery in an attempt to correct the first improperly performed operation.

With any procedure that requires the use of general anesthesia there is always an element of risk, some of the more common risks associated with anesthesia range from serious allergic reactions to heart, lung and other organ failure. While routine surgeries like spays and neuters have the same anesthetic risks as any other surgery declawing also comes with additional risks to your cat's physical, emotional and psychological wellbeing. Due to the nature of declaw surgery serious infection is a major concern (bear in mind that cats naturally dig in the litter box to create a suitable place to relieve themselves and bury their waste afterwards which exposes their paws to some nasty bacteria like those present in stool). Cats can also lose significant amounts of blood during the declaw surgery, in the immediate post operative recovery period while they're still in hospital and many cats will bleed even when they come home from the hospital after the bandages have been removed. While the amounts of blood a pet parent might find on the floor or in a cat's bed after they come home from being declawed may seem trivial it's important to bear in mind that cats are much smaller than us and blood loss that we could handle with ease could easily prove fatal for a cat because they just don't have anywhere near the blood volume that we do.

Surgery to declaw a cat or kitten can be improperly performed by a veterinarian causing small pieces of bone to be left behind after the declaw. This can result in partial regrowth of nails which is excruciatingly painful and will lead to an abscess - in this situation a veterinarian is forced to anesthetize the cat again and remove any bone that's been left behind which exposes the cat to the trauma and pain of being declawed for a second time. In my experience it's not uncommon for cats that have been declawed to act as though they're in pain many years after their surgery and I suspect that this is related to phantom limb pain which is a well documented phenomenon in people and I suspect if cats could explain their experience in human terms it would be comparable to a person that's lost a limb.

Cats that have been declawed are more likely to have certain behavioral issues including litter box avoidance, biting or temperament changes. I suspect that the litter box avoidance is a result of phantom limb pain, this disorder is well documented and known to occur in human beings that have lost a limb. Since cats are quite smart my guess is that the litter box issues are a direct result of the cat trying to find a less painful place to use the toilet. Many declawed cats suddenly become biters, personally I believe that this is the direct result of the fact that they feel vulnerable and somewhat aggitated by the fact that their early warning system (aka their claws) has been taken from them in the name of human convenience. Cats who haven't been declawed don't normally defend themselves by biting, this is strictly a last resort. In my experience cats are actually quite polite when they're attempting to communicate their desire to be left alone. Normally cats will start off by swatting the offending cat or person with carefully sheathed claws, then they gradually intensify their defense by scratching the cat or person that's bothering them.

I am truly disturbed to find out how many veterinarians quickly agree to (or even worse RECOMMEND declawing) declaw a cat/kitten without taking the time to help kitty caregivers understand exactly what the surgery involves or what the risks associated with the surgery actually are in practical terms. Perhaps even more disheartening is the fact that there are many veterinarians in practice today who believe that declawing a cat doesn't play any role in some of the serious behavioral, emotional and physical problems that often emerge within days, weeks or sometimes years after the surgery was performed. In any situation where pet parents are making major decisions I really believe that it's important for us as our pets' guardians to take the time to properly educate themselves so that they're better able to make informed decisions once they have as much information about declawing as possible. I truly believe that it's very important for pet parents to understand just how intelligent cats really are and how simple training a cat can be once you know what motivates your kitty. Most disturbing of all in my opinion are the number of cats who suffer horribly after being declawed as a direct result of receiving poor pain management or none at all....In spite of all of the evidence available to back the fact that cats (and other animals) are capable of feeling pain there are still veterinarians who simply don't take the appropriate steps to manage post-operative pain while their feline patient is in the hospital or when they send their patients home with the people who love them. For further information on declawing, humane alternatives to this painful surgery and training tips from a variety of sources please check out http://www.declaw.lisaviolet.com before you make any decisions about the fate of your kittens' claws.

Bear in mind that kittens are baby predators and as such they will often play quite roughly with one another practicing hunting, stalking and self defense skills as well as learning the intricacies of determining who is most dominant. Some kittens are relatively stoic and make little noise during rough housing with their siblings while others will scream bloody murder and you'd swear they were being killed or seriously hurt. I'd say that it's a good idea to check each kitten over daily to see if they've got any scratches or wounds that might need some basic first aid (like cleaning them out with mild soap and applying some antibiotic ointment - bigger wounds should be assessed by a vet but for minor scratches the basic first aid I described will work nicely). Ultimately so long as these babies are fairly close in size and you aren't finding any injuries beyond the odd scratch I'd say that you have a fairly dramatic boy kitten and the two babies will need to work things out on their own. Once they've figured out who is who within the household the posturing and dramatic yowls should stop during playtime but they may crop up again from time to time as the kittens grow.

As for the play that you're seeing between these guys there is a possibility that both babies are responding negatively to the trauma of leaving mom too soon as well as having been separated for a week or so - at this stage I wouldn't suggest that you separate the kittens again, they've already got enough stress happening since they weren't ready to leave mom behind just yet. Just in case the kittens are having issues related to their early separation from mom and the remainder of their littermates I'd recommend giving them a homeopathic remedy called Bach's Rescue Remedy which is a blend of 5 flower essences that works incredibly well to calm and reassure cats and kittens of all ages in a variety of situations. For babies this young my recommendation would be that you administer a single drop to each kitten 2-3 times daily for a few days. The kittens won't take well to having this remedy administered orally because the flower essences are preserved in grape alcohol which has a strong smell for feline noses so I recommend gently rubbing a drop of the Rescue Remedy into the outside of each kitten's ear flap - they'll enjoy the benefits of an ear rub and the remedy without you having to stress them out too much by forcibly medicating them. Be sure to store your Rescue Remedy in a cool, dark place. You can find Rescue Remedy in just about any health food store for roughly $15 or so CAN depending on where you buy it and what size of bottle you pick up. Rescue Remedy is great for so many things that I've kept it on hand for years and it's safe, gentle and effective without having the risks or side effects associated with typical Western drugs.

Because these babies are so young I'd strongly suggest that you keep a close eye on their weight and how well they're growing - you can weigh them on a kitchen scale. Keeping track of their weight every day or two will also provide the vet with valuable information about their overall development when they go for their first check up. Since kittens this age normally wouldn't be living entirely on solid food - they'd still be nursing quite a bit without human interference in the weaning process at this age I would also suggest that you pick up some kitten milk replacer such as KMR or Just Born to supplement the solid food you're feeding just to ensure that these kittens are getting enough calories, fat and fluid in their diet. I would also strongly advise against feeding kibble - it's too easy for such young kittens to choke on kibble and dry food really isn't good for cats anyway since they're designed somewhat differently than people and other mammals. Today's domestic cats evolved from the deserts of Egypt - as a result of living in a dry environment where fresh water was scarce they didn't evolve quite the same drive to drink water in order to maintain proper hydration that other mammals typically have. Instead cats have been designed through evolution to obtain the vast majority of their water through their food. If you'd like to learn more about feline nutrition I'd recommend that you check out a great website that my family vet referred me to years ago. This website was created by a veterinarian by the name of Dr. Lisa Pierson and she's got a fantastic down to earth approach to explaining the unique nutritional needs of cats, you can find plenty of great information at www.catinfo.org.

Another important thing to consider is the fact that in recent years vaccine protocols have changed dramatically from years past because growing concerns have been raised by research that suggest we're giving our pets too many vaccines too often and that's causing some serious health problems for our much loved animal companions. To learn more about the new research on vaccines check out the following websites:

- http://www.ora-animalsrescue.org/catcare2.html

- http://www.dogsadversereactions.com/scienceVaccineDamage.html
Please note that while the site above and the two sites following this one talk about over-vaccination as it pertains to dogs the same issues apply to cats, perhaps even more so.

- http://www.weim.net/homeovet/English/Vaccine.htm

- http://www.spanieljournal.com/28lbaughan.html

- http://www.holisticat.com/vaccinations.html

Hopefully the information that I've provided on a variety of topics in this answer is helpful for you and your new family members. I'd love to hear how training is going and I'm more than willing to help troubleshoot if necessary. If you have any further cat related questions or concerns please don't hesitate to contact me again, I'll be more than happy to help you and your kittens to the best of my ability.