4 month kitten and his aggressive behavior.

Question
Well my name is Stephanie. In June i had gotten a stray kitten from my neighbor, and at the time he was 4 weeks old. He was so cute and cuddly, would always lay with me and follow me. When i moved from my apartment, he started getting more and more aggressive. It first started as nibbling and now its full force biting that draws blood. I have tried using the spray bottle, but he has a wierd fetish for water, like when i take a shower he will jump in and out all the time! He also scratches and attacks us when we walk by him. The only time my kitten will cuddle is when he first wakes up and then no more than 10 mins later he is in attack mode and hardly ever calms down! He is about 4 months old so i know i cannot get him desexed, but it is absolutley frustrating that i cannot seem to break his habit. He has alot of toys and room to roam so i know he doesnt get bored. I also have a 12 year old dog and the kitten does not show any aggression towards her, he just chases her tail! I have googled many questions i have and i still cannot find any answers. HELP!

Answer
Stephanie,

Kittens normally are extremely aggressive in their play.  If you could watch newborn siblings play with each other you would be appalled at how roughly they play.  Cats and kittens have very tough skin, so this kind of biting/scratching behavior does not bother them.  They have to learn that we soft skinned humans cannot tolerate that kind of play.

So, we socialize our kittens to human contact.  First of all, we never engage in rough housing with them when they are young.  We pick them up, talk to them softly, and stroke them gently. Most kittens love this. If they begin to get into that biting/scratching behavior, the game stops, the kitten gets put down and we walk away.  It usually does not take the kitten long to figure out that this biting/scratching behavior is not proper with humans.

With your 4 month old you can try doing this.  It may take a little longer but should work within a few weeks to a month.  Cats do not respond well to negative discipline.  They need positive reinforcement to learn lessons, so yelling NO, using the water bottle are a monumental waste of time.

If all else fails, you might be able to use clicker training.  This technique has had good success in a number of places.  You can try Karen Pryor's web site: www.clickertraining.com

Good luck & best regards... Norm.