attacking kitty!

Question
Hi :)
I just got a kitten (it was a stray) a couple of weeks ago.
He is now only 6 weeks old.
He's adorable, healthy, loves to play, and is very curious. lol
He's def. an indoor cat. (wont even go outside if i leave the door open.)
I don't even know if he knows that he's not human. lol
I named him Monkey. you would understand if you observed him for an hour. He hangs on my neck, falls asleep on my neck, climbs up my body... he's a monkey. lol

The only thing is everyday it gets a little more aggressive and i understand it wanting 2 play or being hungry or having 2 go to the bathroom or what not... I'm just afraid of having a big mean cat.
i know he's so young but he is already spoiled. He will only eat his food if I'm holding the dish. He just got the point that i dont have to walk him to his litter box every time he has to go. "That he can walk there himself." LOL

He bites and doesn't let go sometimes and scratches hard. He's just getting stronger.
Do you think he knows when he's hurting me?
He wasn't like this the first week i had him.
I dont know do you have any advice for me??? please
oh! and another question... Can my cat have anxiety enough to make it throw up when I'm gone?
I left for the day and when i came home it had been throwing up. it didn't ever since i got there though...
(it wasn't left alone though)

thank you  

Answer
Hi Jade,

Thank you for your question (and for taking on this stray kitten).

This is a fairly common problem with hand-reared kittens. Normally the litter-mates would teach it not to play too rough as the game would stop if it started to get too rough (i.e., the other kitten would refuse to carry on playing). Normal play with other kittens is, however, often fairly rough and your kitten needs to learn that this type of play is inappropriate with you.

The way I have handled this problem with my own hand-reared kittens is that as soon as they started to get too rough (bite too hard or scratch me) I simply ended the game by standing up and walking away. In this way my kittens have learned that excessively rough play doesn't work (the fun ends) but gentle play works well (the game carries on). They can engage in rough games with each other but with me they have to be more gentle.

Kittens (like any other young animal, including humans) need to be taught appropriate social behaviour, they need some rules/guidelines to know  what they can do and what is not allowed. I suggest you start with this kitten as you mean to continue, don't allow him to do things now that you won't want him to do as an adult cat. Obviously you need to make allowances for the fact that he is a baby - but as he matures you should gradually raise the criteria and expect him to show more and more self control.

For example, i would not expect a six week old kitten to be able to stay at home alone for the entire day (without experiencing severe stress) unless it has been taught to be alone for 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, then half an hour, an hour, two hours, 4 hours, etc. I would also ensure the kitten learns to entertain itself (by playing independently with its toys) whilst I am away from it (in another room) before i left it alone for any length of time. In other words, gradually teach and encourage your kitten to become increasingly independent of you - both for its own sake and for your own. I am sure you don't want to land up being unable to leave your home because your cat becomes ill (or howls, gets destructive, or whatever) as soon as you leave.

I know just how cute and adorable kittens can be and how easy it is to fall into the trap of allowing them to do as they want but PLEASE, please remember that this is not doing either of you any favours in the longer-term.

I suggest you join one of the clicker-training lists (Cat-Clicker@yahoogroups.com is excellent) and start clicker-training your kitten. This provides the mental stimulation that cats need in order to stay healthy and happy whilst enhancing your relationship with your cat.

Please let me know how this goes as your feedback helps me to "fine-tune" and improve my interventions - to everyone's benefit.

Enjoy your new kitten.

Regards,
tania