Kitten behavior change after adoption

Hello,

My hubby and I got a 4-mo. old kitten a week ago. In the shelter she used to be a very relaxed, friendly and lovable kitten. She allowed me to hold and pet her even though I was new to her. She even purred.

The first couple of days she was of course a bit timid and she was scared of almost everything in her new home and of every noise. She wasn't scared of me or my husband if we were to pet or hold her. She'd come and sleep on top of my pillow and purr during the night.

Ever since then though (and I think especially after the first day we had to go to work and leave her alone for 8 hours) I feel like she's been mad at us. She doesn't allow to be petted and all she wants to do is play (bite, chase, scratch something).

Basically, as far as I know she used to be a pretty quiet and lovable kitty and now, for a week in our apartment, she became a little tomboy.

Currently, she doesn't want to be held at all, she let's us pet her for about 2-3 seconds before she attacks our hands. (And we've been playing with her actively at least for an hour a day, we clean her litter and give her food & water properly, and trying to be gentle with her, so she doesn't get more aggressive)

I don't have a problem with her behavior change, but I'm wondering if she actually wants to play, or if she's annoyed at something/us. Also, I wonder if she'd get more aggressive and not let us touch her at all.

Reply
Hi
Sounds to me like she has settled into her some so much that she feels relaxed enough to be herself.

The initial behavior could well be that she was unsure of what was going on and so being overly affectionate to the new people in her lives. A sort of appeasement if you like. I had a cat once that this did this too.

Now her behavior doesn't indicate that she is mad at you at all. in fact this is not a cat emotion at all. we have to be careful that we don't try and think of our cats as humans with the same sort of thoughts an emotions. they are cats and they react to life and things around them as a cat would. Understanding cat behavior is a complex but fascinating subject. I have pages on my site which cover some aspects of different cat behavior which you may find of further interest

http://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-behavior.html

As for your cat biting you, this play or rather bad play. She has not learned that biting during play is not acceptable and she needs to be taught this to prevent possible problems with strangers as she gets older. please see my page about how to try and change this behavior here

http://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-discipline.html


I'm sure that given time she will settle down into your new home and learn the ropes as it were. It can take some time and you will notice all sorts of changes in behavior. It can be a real fun (or not) roller coaster sometimes :)

best wishes kate