Kitten Issues...

[**Sapphire**]

I've been seeing since my male cat EJ & Lady (our newest kitten) have been getting along that they are "playing" more.

The thing that has me worried though is Lady has her claws & I've watched her play with EJ, she hits him in the face & has made him yelp quietly when she pulls on his hair while playing. He can be laying on his back chilling & all of a sudden she comes out & pounces on him. :(

Now as you all probably know EJ came to me 5 years ago as a stray. His old owners left him with NO DEFENSES by getting him all 4 paw de-clawed, even castrated him as he has nothing "down below". The vet even told us when we took him to get checked out that he was missing teeth so he couldn't make a more accurate age to tell us.

It's much more easier to take a swipe with claws as the kitten does than it is to jump on the cat & bite. I'm probably being a worry wart, but EJ is my baby boy, he is not an aggressive cat at all & he's never had to be. Lucy I don't worry about too much as she still hisses at the kitten & takes a swipe at her, so the kitten won't go by her.

EJ watched the kitten play around the house with the toys & sometimes likes to join in. That's when they get to tusseling & I eventually hear EJ yelp a little bit. I don't like that & to be honest with you all, if I find that EJ is hurt in any way, the kitten will be gone quicker than I don't know what because I won't stand for my peace loving little baby boy to be hurt in HIS home! :nono:

Last night when the kitten wouldn't leave him alone I took to spraying her & making sure she ran off, she's a bit afraid of me now, but I don't really care. She needs to lay off EJ or she will find herself somewhere else very quickly.

How can I get her to stop trying to tussel with EJ guys? I know EJ is no saint either, but I don't like that she continues to go back at him & even when I sprayed her she ran, only to come back when I backed away a bit.

[persian_kitty]

It sounds like he is allowing her to do it. When he gets tired of it he will put her back in her place. It sounds like she also stops when he yelps as well. I would not worry too much about it unless blood is being drawn. They each know the other's limits.

[**Sapphire**]

Your right persian hun, I've gone back & forth with it, watched them play & I know in my head that if EJ didn't want to be around her he would run away & stay away. My heart tells me that I don't want her to hurt him, yeah I spoil a whole lot, but I can't help it, he's such a good boy. :)

The more I watch them though, the more I see that EJ seems to enjoy it & like last night, when he got tired of her he did push her back. So I will do my best to try not to worry so much about her claws. :)

[hopscotch]

LOL......worry wart Mom! Let EJ fight his own battle Sapphire. He has his burdens but he's a cat!! and he will instictively put Lady in her place if she gets out of line. They have their way of 'communicating' whats acceptable and non-acceptable behavior. Besides, it doesn't sound like it's a dominating thing she's doing but just being a playful puss.

[**Sapphire**]

Hee hee hopscotch, I can't help but be a worry wart mom about my EJ. :D

I watched them this AM, when EJ had enough, he turned her on her back & grabbed her by the throat, she DID NOT like that & squirmed out & ran away from him...hee hee...I was like GOOD BOY! :whoo::D

[hopscotch]

yay EJ! :whoo: definitely not defenseless huh Mom? :)

[persian_kitty]

LOL!!! See I told you he can take care of himself....he gives her klimits and when she crosses them...well you see...lol!!

[**Sapphire**]

Hee hee, maybe 1 day I won't be such a worry wart when it comes to my EJ. It is fun to see him kick her butt though, he couldn't do that much with Lucy. She's a big bad girl! :D

I never worry much about Lucy because she can be a pretty aggressive cat, I've seen the way she is with EJ & Lady now, so I know I won't have to worry about Lucy, "taking care of business". EJ he's just not aggressive so that's where I worry.

[oceangurl]

Oh Sapphire I can understand about you worrying. I worried so much when I introduced Lucky (at the time he was around one and a half, the only one, male and verrrry spoiled and one eyed to boot) to the two new baby girls whom I was bottle feeding at 3 weeks old, Coco and her sister Littlebit. Lucky would take Coco (who is a little slow) and roll her around in his belly and bit her when she was a kitten, now he couldnt do that with Littlebit because she would have kicked his butt, she did not allow that, but Coco didnt know any better. But things changed and Coco learned how to take care of herself, but I would interfere and stick up for Coco and tell Lucky to cool it, now 2 yrs later Coco is a terror. Lucky will be lying somewhere just chilling and all of a sudden Coco will run out of nowhere and dive bomb him and he'll look up at me as if to say "Mama did you see that?" and Iam like "yeah, but remember when you...." she is definatley getting him back and now she takes care of herself, so dont worry they will out grow it...:p

[**Sapphire**]

Hee hee, that sounds like EJ & Lady oceangurl!

Lady has been wanting to play with my Lucy the way she does with EJ, but Lucy isn't having it. LMAO...she was trying to do that this AM, she jumped on Lucy's back real quick & Lucy about killed Lady! :D

I do think that Lady got EJ's eye a little bit as it's been tearing, I posted about that in another thread here.

So as soon as we can get the money together we are getting her vaccinated, spayed & de-clawed. EJ & Lucy are both de-clawed, they were done before I ever got them both, so it's best we at least get Lady de-clawed.

She had her fist cycle too this past week, so we know that Lady is 6 months old now. OMG...the howling...I can't go through another month of hearing that howling for a week! :scared1:

[persian_kitty]

Yeah it is definetly time to get her fixed...I remeber with Zoya ( a cat I had many years ago) the way she was before we had her done. The howling was awful!! I wished you would reconsider the declawing but I understand the reasoning for it.

[**Sapphire**]

I'm really glad that EJ is neutered, just from instinct he mounted Lady a few times, but thankfully nothing will happen.

I know Persian hun, I go back & forth about getting her de-clawed, but since I think she knicked EJ's eye slightly I really don't want that to happen again & maybe worse next time, you know?

[nenella]

Hi Sapphire,
I have a similar 'problem' to yours in that my 2 cats (brother & sister) play... except the female, Saba, has sharp needle like 'claws', and her brother, Sasha has blunt ones....
I believe the reason is he is bigger and stronger, and therfore when using a scratching post does it more 'violently' than his sister..and therefore 'files' -for want of a better word- his claws 'better'. She does 'hurt' him (as he squeals)sometimes...
The 'solution I have found to this is to clip the pointy edges of her claws once in a while and this has solved the problem...
I'm afraid I don't approve of de-clawing cats... or cutting animals tails or ears etc....

[**Sapphire**]

Well after her destroying 2 out of our 3 plants we decided to put her in the carrier over night for a couple days. We would let Lady out during the day, but when we went to bed we put her in the carrier until we woke up.

We really didn't want to do it, but we used up all our ideas on how to stop her from digging & urinating in the plants at night. We tried Cayenne pepper spice in the dirt, we used vinegar distilled a little bit on the plant leaves, around the rim of the planter etc., & she still go in them.

Now the last plant we have left is a our palm tree plant, what my fiance did was he tore aluminum foil off & put it around the plant like a cover over the dirt. That is the only plant he can do that to because it's tall & the leaves are higher up. She hasn't messed with it although she's sniffed at the foil around the dirt.

So last night we decided to not put her in the carrier over night, I have to say that Lady was very good. I woke up a couple times during the night & checked on the plant & her, she was laying on the couch both times. MAYBE she has learned her lesson, only time will tell though.

[persian_kitty]

cats are funny like that...recently Brownie has taken to jumping on my dining table (something I don't want her to do). So one day she done it in front of hubby and she got her little nose popped good. As far as we know she hasn't done it again. but of course when we are not home she has run of the house so......

[**Sapphire**]

Yeah they are funny persian. :)

I caught Lucy jumping on my dresser a couple days ago. She never does that, all I had to do was look at her & say LUCY, she got right down...LOL!

You know ever since we put Lady in the carrier for 4 night in a row she has been really good at night. We let her out to sleep at night last Sunday night & she's been really good all this week, maybe we finally broke her little destructive at night streak, I sure hope so.

[Runsnwalken]

Kittens will be kittens just like kids will be kids, this kind of thing is why a lot of rescues steer people away from kittens,esspeically if they have older cats. Being a kitten she probably would have been snatched up quickly at a rescue/shelter though and would have been off your hands, you would have saved quite a bit of money on the de claw too.:rolleyes:

Even if the worse had happened,which is less likely for kittens then it is for adult cats, she would have been painlessly put down. Though this is terrible, its lesser I think because many de clawed cats are put to sleep anyway after suffering and unknowning owners, find out what truly has happened to their cat and lots of behavioral issues arase, or they bite people. I've known/heard of many cases even when cat acts or seems "fine" where the cat would probably from a quality of life standpoint/safety libality risk to people be better off dead.

I'm sorry but I think it would have been kinder (though not good at all for her and you) to allow her to get pregnant over and over then to de claw ( not for kits for just her) At least cats that have this happen to them,can have a chance at saving themselves if a dog or other predator tries to nab um, they don't stop using litter boxes, or bite, have pain, reduced athletic ability, or have to have their entire paws cut off the way SOME, though not all, de clawed cats do.:(

Spaying at any age even after mulitiple litters is beneficial. De clawing actually gets worse older cats get.

[**Sapphire**]

Well you have your "out there" opinions & I have my PROOF that Lady is a very healthy & love cat.

[persian_kitty]

Hi all I haven't been on in awhile but I have been reading the posts. As I previously stated, I don't agree w/declawing but I can see why it was done. As far as you saying that it would have been better for her to have litter after litter of kittens just because it would have been kinder to her...I think that is a very ridiculous statement. Do you really, honestly believe that? Maybe you actually have never seen what an animal can go through during delivery or if you have you would never have made that kind of comment...that is a very warpped mentality to say that, that would have been better...

[Erikkaas]

Persian kut, I wholeheartedly agree with you.