Pet handling is not all about pleasures and enjoyment. Sometimes, pet owners face the stage of changed behavior in their pets. Like other pets, kittens show some awkward behavior that is difficult to handle. However, you should tackle the behavior problems in kittens in the best possible medical ways.
Besides, there are some different categories of kitten behavior problems. Therefore, you cannot solve all the issues with one or two traditional methods. In this article, you will find the synopsis of the most common behavior issues in kittens. Additionally, separate solutions and preventive measures for each problem will also be presented.
Common reasons for behavior problems in kittens
Multiple reasons can be responsible for the kittens’ weird behaviors. We have combined some recurrent causes for behavior issues in kittens.
Genetic: Genetically, some cat breeds are more prone to problematic natures. Moreover, some genetic disorders that have been passed from the mother cat can be its cause.
Environmental: The overall surroundings affect the kitten’s nature a lot. Thus, sudden house movement, uncomfortable living place, the congested area can do the changes in kittens’ behavior. To clarify, if your kitten fails to adjust with the changed atmosphere, he behaves strangely.
Contact with the wild animal: If your kitten comes in touch with wild or ferocious animals, things can go bad. Dogs, foxes, wild cats, birds can terrify your little feline anytime.
Seasonal change: Sudden change in weather like extreme heat or cold weather can affect your kitten’s mode.
Physical discomfort: In general, skin disease and food allergy make the way of uneasiness in your kitten. Moreover, almost all types of feline illnesses provoke their mental conditions.
Common behavior problems in kittens
Here are some common behavior issues in kittens that need proper supervision and guidance of owners to resolve.
Aggression
Distress or mental pressure can lead to serious aggression in kittens. Moreover, medical problems like body pain, skin irritations may be the reason. Also, some hormonal issues affect animals behavior.
Signs
Common signs of aggression are attacking moods. Moreover, they will scream or try to scratch the owner or other animals. Aggressive kittens attack their mothers also.
Solution
- If you notice any certain issue that changes your kitten’s behavior out of the blue, avoid it.
- Moreover, try to make your kitten comfortable with the reason of being violent.
- Talk to your vet if things become worse. Then, your vet will suggest medications, some supplements, and specific meals to relax him.
- On top, Increase your kitten’s activities. Besides, engage him with fun plays.
- Ensure his proper sleep. However, that is the ultimate solution for all types of mental conditions.
- Lastly, if there are any physical issues behind this aggression, consult your pet doctor. If you can treat the underlying cause, mental issues will improve automatically.
Fear
The following points indicate the most common causes of fear in kittens.
- If your kitten has any certain phobia, then fear is normal.
- Moreover, being scared can also be genetic.
- Besides, an unknown place and people can scare your kitten.
- Bigger animals than your kitten are enough to make him afraid.
- Abusive behavior, in some cases, maybe the cause of lifelong fear.
Signs
The behavior problems in kittens mostly include their fear and nervousness. However, a panicked cat always shows some reactions.
- Hiding
- Escaping from spots
- Being panicked over trivial noises
- Hissing and groaning
- Straightening the back
- Expanded eyes
Solution
Tension and fear due to some unexpected events occasionally are normal. However, anything more than that is alarming. So, it is better to contact the veterinarian to conduct some tests. In case of a severe panic attack, the glucose amount in kitten’s urine may increase. Furthermore, for more diagnosis, examination to check the neurological condition will be necessary.
Nevertheless, here are some tips to solve the kitten’s fear issues.
- Ensure the safety of your kitten.
- Be careful about introducing it to a new person.
- Find out the cause of fear and try to solve it.
- Give him delightful treats to improve his mental states.
- Contact your vet in case of severe frightening behavior.
Scratching and biting
It is quite normal for every kitten to bite and scratch his owner or other playmates. To clarify, it is their playtime nature.
However, scratching and biting with a violent approach can be caused by physical illnesses, mood swings, or anger.
Moreover, approaching a new and unlikeable individual makes him do these activities.
Signs
Scratching and biting is a problematic behavior as well as a sign of both physical and mental ailment. However, be cautious if you notice these symptoms.
- Excessive scratching and biting that hurts others
- Being defensive when someone wants to touch the kitten
- Overly possessive over minor facts
Solution
Acute scratching and biting of your kitten can affect the normal ambiance of your house. So, we have prepared a small guideline to get rid of this issue.
- The use of calming agents like the pheromone can ease the mental condition of your kitten. Thus, it minimizes the act of scratching and biting.
- Secondly, for others safety, insert plastic wraps around his sharp claws.
- Keep your hands away from the sensitive body parts of your kitten that he might dislike being touched.
- Conduct regular training for behavior improvement.
- Supply scratching materials (See the prevention part of this article).
- Lastly, if the home instructions do not work, talk to your vet. In severe cases, veterinarians suggest declawing. However, it is a painful amputation of kitten claws. Besides, it is only conducted for extreme behavior problems in kittens.
Noisiness
Crying aloud or being noisy is a common behavior issue in kittens. Cats are late-night active animals. However, over crying or acute noisiness can occur due to the following reasons:
- Disease discomforts
- Stress
- Trouble in urinating or pooping
- Wounds or skin swelling
- Fear of unusual objects at night
- Hunger or thirst
- The effort of seeking attention
Signs
Signs of noisiness include
- Continuous howling
- Meowing loudly at night
- Moaning
- Increased voice volume
Solution
Here are some solutions for overboard vocalization in kittens.
- Engage them with some fun activities to decrease nighttime boredom.
- Moreover, keep them active in the morning so that the tiredness lets them sleep.
- If you suspect any physical issue in your kitten, take it to the vet. Subsequently, the original cause of noisiness will be discovered. Also, the crying attitude will stop as soon as your kitten recovers from illness.
- Provide sufficient food so that your kitten becomes full at night.
Urine spraying
Like other behavioral issues, urine spraying in kittens is visibly common. However, we can ignore rare events. Yet, behind urine marking there can be the following causes:
- Swelling bladder
- Stones in the urinary bladder
- Anxiety
- Tumor in the urinary passage
- Urinary tract infection( UTI)
Signs
The normal sign of kitten’s urine spraying is urine marks in different places around the house. Moreover, you will notice splashes of urine outside of the kitten litter boxes.
Solution
Here are some tips that you can follow to avoid urine spraying in kittens.
- Sterilize your kitten under expert vet supervision.
- Lessen the strains of your kitten.
- Furthermore, keep your kitten away from outside cats. It is because; kittens often tend to leave their urine marks for other cats’ attention.
- Teach your kitten properly about the manner of urination.
- Besides, determine one exact place for their urine making time.
- Also, increase the number of litter boxes and make sure that the box’s location is at a safe place.
- Moreover, you can use an artificial feline pheromone in the marked places as a stress reliever agent.
Chewing
Kittens habitually chew some things, which is common. However, for more serious chewing habits, there are some particular facts.
- Anger issues
- Lack of nutritional diet
- The new phase of teeth growth
- Trauma
- Dental problems
- Monotony or inactivity
Signs
Besides the regular chewing, your kitten will insistently chew some restricted things. Besides, they may show aggressive behavior if you try to snatch the thing.
Solution
Behavior problems in kittens like extreme chewing need total supervision of the overall situations to prevent future hassles.
- If there is any anger issue with any certain object, the kittens sometimes chew it. So, it is better to keep your valuable things out of reach.
- A complete balanced diet will decrease the chewing rate in your kitten.
- Offer your kitten some soft toys, which are safe for chewing. Thus, it will not get enough time to chew other things.
- Some kittens are fond of plant leaves. However, not all plants are safe for your kitten. So, you should restrict the plant areas for your kitten.
- Pet owners often complain about the electrical cord chewing behavior of their kittens. However, you can hide them from the eyesight of cats. Otherwise, simply wrap them or sprinkle bitter apple diffusion to avoid further troubles.
- If your kitten suffers from a critical stage of chewing, it is better to take advice from your vet.
- Moreover, if there is any gum disease or oral inflammation, the veterinarian will prescribe medication to cure the symptoms.
Cat breeds with different behavioral activities
Here is a list for you to study the cat breeds with a dissimilarity of mental behaviors. However, behavior problems in kittens may vary according to their geographical location.
Affection towards the owner
Ragdoll, Burmese, Domestic Shorthair, Domestic Longhair, Maine Coon, etc. show significantly high affections towards their owners.
Conversely, the Bengal, Exotic Shorthair, Abyssinian breeds are at the end of this list. That means they are not so friendly with their owners and have some behavior issues.
Aggressive act
The Bengals, Siamese cats, Abyssinians are comparatively more aggressive as per the research result. On the other hand, Ragdoll, Maine Coon, Sphynx are at the lower position in this list.
Moreover, Domestic Shorthair and Domestic Longhair are also proven less aggressive.
Noisiness
The habit of vocalizing is another common behavior problem in felines, especially kittens.
For the cat owners, Siamese and Tonkinese cats are the loudest and raucous than any other breeds. Besides, Oriental cats are also in the top list.
However, according to the study on cat behavior issues, Ragdoll and Persian cats are the calmest cat breeds.
Physical activity
It is another common behavior issue in kittens or older cats. The more physical activity ensures feline body fitness. Otherwise, laziness and inactivity lead to obesity or diabetes in cats.
However, Oriental, Cornish Rex, Abyssinian, the Bengal, and Siamese cats are comparatively active in both indoor and outdoor.
On the contrary, Domestic Longhair and Domestic Shorthair breeds are moderately active. Lastly, Persians, as well as Ragdolls, are less active than the others are.
Urine Spraying
Among the behavior problems in kittens, clumsy urination is very common. Moreover, this trait also varies from breeds to breeds.
Thoroughbred felines have more tendency for urine spattering. However, Domestic Shorthair has a high rank in the list of bad urination habits of felines.
Also, some common feline types like the Sphynx, Ragdoll, and Cornish Rex have less tendency of spraying the urine.
Prevention of behavior problems in kittens
Start early training
It is always better to prevent something bad. Moreover, your proper guidance can stop the growth of abnormality in your kitten. Also, behavior problems in kittens are preventable through some prior systematic training.
Early learning helps if it starts from almost three weeks of age. Besides, it is important to create a constructive environmental experience for your kitten. Thus, its positive vibes will reduce the chance of distrustful and violent behavior.
Manage the biting habit
Normally, the mother cats warn the kittens if they bite or scratch roughly. However, if the mother becomes absent, your kitten may lack in this area. So, it is recommended to provide him toys for chewing. If they try to fight with a playing mood, restrict their behavior.
Practice the alternative scratching tool
Do not let your kitten scratch you or your belongings. Nevertheless, scratching habit develops at an early stage, and it is quite normal. So, all you can do it to give it a preferable place for scratching. A scratching post will be very helpful in that case.
Keep the kitten paws clean
It is not suitable to remove the nail claws totally of your kittens. Because, for the kittens, these claws are their protective gear. However, you can shorten their nails to reduce the edge sharpness. Thus, your kitten’s abnormal scratching will be less harmful.
Avoid abusive activities
Human offensive behaviors towards pets can lead to permanent mental damage. Moreover, physical punishment will only hamper their normal growth. Additionally, childhood trauma creates more chances of developing behavior problems in kittens. So, it is important to follow methodological tactics to handle their aggressiveness rather than being rude.
Give your kitten quality playtime
It sounds normal, but this method is more effective. A playful kitten is unlikely to show bad tempers. So, increase the creative activity session of your kittens. Also, make the experience joyful for your pet with your gentle behavior. Also, make its meals nutritious so that it becomes active and feels good.
Keep contact with your vet
Psychological disorders in kittens need accurate therapies. However, your veterinarian can help you to manage the general habitual problems in kittens. In addition, it is important to keep your vet updated about the overall progress.
Conclusion
Kittens are more susceptible to be swayed away by environmental and mental triggers. Accordingly, complaints about behavior issues in kittens are not something to avoid.
However, infrequent defensive nature or being protective is completely reasonable. Nevertheless, problematic responses mainly develop between the period of their birth and youth. Thus, behavior problems in kittens during this phase become a habitual approach. To clarify, it becomes complicated gradually. So, it is crucial to uncover the root cause and take appropriate measures as soon as possible.
