How do i handle a young aggressive cat?

Question

A friend of mine got a really young male cat (just 8 weeks old when he got it). Now he's around 4 months old.

and when we meet for boardgaming, he continously climbs, walks, sneaks and plays around us. He is not ignored, in fact, he gets maybe too much attention. He has some toys that will occupy him for short durations.

Problem is, he is very prone to start fights with anyone present. Normally i would sit him down to the floor and ignore him, but he instantly get's back to continue the fight (not only with me, that's true for everyone). I don't think that he is playing anymore, i think he is really aggressive.

Any tips how we can get his behaviour to be less aggressive?

Answer 1

Young male cats are normally fairly rambunctious. It is healthy behavior for them. This behavior serves to build their musculature, coordination and teaches them cat combat arts.

In my experience typically If you play a lot of aggressive games with your cat, the cat will grow up to be more aggressive and rambunctious including play-fighting with you and your friends. That cat will see you as his play-buddy. This is fine unless you mind having cuts and scratches all over your hands and arms.

The simple solution is to treat him more calmly; pet him and put him in your lap etc. Stay away from chasing/hunting, fighting, and pouncing type play. When he approaches you for some play fighting very gently and calmly pick him up and set him to the side. He will bite and scratch as you move him but he will get bored of this new game quickly. If you wrestle with him with your hand at all he will see your hand as a plaything.

You can use a laser pointer to play with your cat if you like since it is hard for the cat to directly associate you with the red dot.