Random aggressiveness

Question
Hey Rosie!

The apartment Kermit and I live in has a fairly active environment.  I have three roommates, but this summer we have a new roommate and another who moved out a month ago.  The new roommate has only moved in a couch so far and has not been around other than that.  

The only other thing I can think of in terms of changes in environment is that I'm working a lot more often and see him less than I did before the summer started, but he still gets a lot of attention...if people are in the apartment he has to be around them.

His behavior really has me thrown off, it is so off base from the way he usually acts.  No one else in the apartment has noticed anything and today I actually had to unwedge his claws from my thigh. This is only the second time he's acted like this but it's rather frightening.  After our "fight" I ignored him for a short period of time until he decided to be friends again. Now's he's back to his same old self.  

I hope this is enough information and not too far from what you wanted, I'm just trying to help you get a good picture of what's been going on.  

Thank  you!
Lindsey



-------------------------

Followup To

Question -
In February I adopted a 9 month old neutered kitten from the Humane Society.  The paperwork given to me by the society says that he was found as a stray.  He has all his claws and is a little over a year old now and we have named him Kermit.  For the most part Kermit has been a wonderful, sociable and happy cat.  He is very high energy but as we have a lot of visitors and he loves people it makes him a perfect fit for our home.  Only recently he has been getting into strange moods where he will come and attack me unprovoked.  If I try to stare him down or tell him "no" he gets more agitated with me and will even run at and attack my leg and try to bite me.  How do I teach him that this behavior is not acceptable?  I have a lot of experience with dogs but far less when it comes to cats and I need to curb this behavior as soon as possible.  Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!
Lindsey

Answer -
Hello Lindsey (and Kermit)!  :o)

I have a quesion for you.  Did anything change in Kermit's environment around the time he started behaving in this way?  Any new people introduced in his environment?  Any new or moved furniture?  Did you guys change residences?

So, before I give you advice that might not actually handle things, go ahead and answer my questions.  That way I'll be able to better pinpoint the possibly thing(s) behind his behaviour.

Until then, hugs to you both!  :o)

Rosie

Answer
Hello again!  :o)

Okay, let me ask you this: did your new roommate previously live with any animals?  If so, he/she could have transferred the smell of that animal(s) with the couch that was brought in, and it could be making your Kermit a little crazy.

Either way, I would recommend using a product called Feliway.  It is a product that emits cat pheromones that help calm kitties down.  It comes in either a spray or a plug-in, and though I haven't used it myself, I've heard some GREAT THINGS about it.  

I would recommend purchasing this product and spraying it on the couch, as well as the house in general.

If he continues to behave in this manner, even with the Feliway, I would suggest tapping him (very lightly) on the nose when he does it.  Kitty's noses are very sensitive, so you don't have to do it hard AT ALL.  This will give him pause, and teach him that you don't like what he's doing.

Another thing you can try is placing your hand flat on his forehead (with your fingers flat kinda between his ears), and putting a little bit of pressure, pushing his head down just a touch.  This is something mama kitties do to show their kittens who's boss.  He'll know exactly what you're trying to communicate when you do it.

Neither of these things will make him feel bad...they are just extremely helpful in teaching kitties when they do something physically to you that is out-of-line.  Does that make sense?

So, between those three things (the last two doing when he attacks and tries, or does, bite) you should be able to get him to calm down and stop the attacking.  He's young yet, so have patience...it might take a few times of doing it before he remembers and stops doing it, but he'll get it!

Let me know how things go, ok?

Hugs!!  :o)

Rosie*