Awgee the Cat

[Lee Kilgore]

I just joined petlovers a few minutes ago and am looking forward to meeting folks and their pets. I've always been a dog person, really. But my husband and I were given an 8 week old kitten (tiger) which we named Awgee. Awgee is now 7 months old and she is a wildcat. When we first got her, she was zipping all over the place and getting into everything. People who are familiar with cat behavior told us, she'll slow down as she gets older. And she likes to wrestle and includes her teeth and claws alot. Not so much with my husband. She doesn't use her claws and teeth quite as aggressively with him; but she is brutal when wrestling with me. My husband laughs and says that he thinks that she just likes to hear me say "OW!" Don't get me wrong, she is actually a very sweet and funny cat and she isn't a mean cat either. Just she plays really rough. At what age does a kitten stop using their teeth and claws so aggressively when playing. She is also brutal with one of the dogs (yellow lab) who likes to play just as rough back. The two are great friends and chase each other around much of the day. One minute you will see the dog chasing the cat and the next minute you'll see the cat chasing the dog. They taunt each other all the time and seem to be having lots of fun. It's not too unusual to see the dog running by with a cat wrapped around his head or leg.
I know virtually nothing about cats and hope I can get some insight on cat behavior from folks.
Nice to meet you all!
Lee

[KatMom]

HELLO !! So Glad to have you here ! WELCOME !!! Reading about your Wild-Child made me really laugh . That is GREAT !! Kittens do that; I know you have heard that before. We have a Kitty named Gracie....Gracie was a Wild Child too !! Usually about 1 year they start to settle down. Every cats temperament is different though. Gracie was so bad we nicknamed her LUCI-FURR; and told our friends she was from He_ _ !! WE have an older cat named Jellybean that she tortured to no end. WE later got her a buddy (MI-CHOW) who is not as WILD as she is. But he will play with her & help wear her out !! THANK GOD !!!! But the real change came after she was fixed. After she came home from the Vet ; she really calmed down ! I thought nothing less than an Elephant Tranquilizer gun could do that !! :D She still gets a little wired.....but nothing compared to before. Also if she is playing really hard with you.....you may try ( Bitter Apple ). It's used for cats and dogs. You can spray a little on your hands so that she won't bite.!! They generally hate the taste of the stuff. It is used to keep dogs from chewing themselves. It also works in training ferret's not to bite. It comes in a spray pump bottle....about $6 or $7 bucks for a big bottle. You can give it a try....
Also if Gracie got really bad ( She would draw blood on my hand on occasion ) I would flick her on the nose with my fingers Hard ! Not to injure but just to let her know this behavior will not be tolerated.!! Because if you don't stop it now.....it can get worse.
GOOD LUCK with your Wild-Child !! and Thanks for the LAUGH !! :D
Katmom

[Lee Kilgore]

Thank you for the tip about bitter apple. Awgee hasn't been spayed yet, but we do plan on it. She is an indoor cat now and goes out to the dog corral with either myself or my husband Dennis. I don't dare let her roam outside unattended for a few reasons. The first being that although we live on a relatively back road, the cars zoom past the house. We are afraid that she would get run over. (I've seen to many pets killed on our road). The second biggest reason is that we live alongside a wooded area that has critters that are not cat-friendly, like coyotes. Also, there are lots of other cats roaming around and we don't want her to become a mommy cat.
She really is a little doll for the most part. Snuggly and very verbal. She talks up a storm. She is also an awesome hunter. She is the terror of the bug world in our house. No bug that enters her domain goes un-noticed or is around too long. (Drives me crazy when she starts stalking hornets and she looks positively shocked and offended when I get the hornets first.)
You are right about as she gets older she becomes a little less wild. Awgee is certainly less loco now that I think of it, compared to when she was 8 weeks old. But she has a looong way to go before she gets to laid back. I see other people's cats at their houses and they don't seem to be acting anything like her. I know that pups are full of the dickens to a certain age and have been thinking that kittens must be alot like pups. Makes you want to tear your hair out sometimes.
Anyhow, I will look for that bitter apple. And will try flicking her on the nose when she bites really hard. So far, we've just hollered "Awgee! NO BITE!" And she'll stop for a minute and look at you then "attack" play again. As mentioned before, my husband Dennis thinks that the cat gets a kick out of hearing me say "OUCH!"
Thanks again for your insight KatMom!
Lee

[Cat&Dog mom]

Whenever one of my guys bite a little too hard when playing I blow in their face and push them away from me, they get the hint.