Tass ~ sorry but I haven't learned the finer art of multi quoting yet so forgive the randomness of my reply!
I do agree & recognise that there resource holding/guarding issues in the domestic cat world but I don't necessarily call this "dominance". This is because I consider "dominance" to be when one animal has achieved a higher rank or status in all walks of life, including food, sleeping places, rights to mate, territorial possession, social interactions etc.
Sorry but that isn’t my interpretation, and it very rarely happens, with animals or people, including in animals widely accepted by ethogolists (who do not have the same politics as "Behaviourists") as having a hierarchal structure, not least because being in charge of every little thing, especially in a multi-individual group, including what you are not bothered about at that time would be an appalling a waste of energy, and divert your focus, contrary to your best interests in terms of survival and success.
It just wouldn’t make any evolutionary sense. As I have defined before, being dominant is being the most controlling influence in that situation, at that time.
Resource guarding/holding very much depends on the perceived value of a particular resource to a particular animal in a particular set of circumstances, and the cost they are prepared to pay to obtain or keep that resource. ~ in fact quite a sophisticated form of cost-benefit analysis! To some animals food could be the most valuable resource at a particular time, but when they have a full belly, then food is not so important & they would not always risk injury trying to defend a food source. This is very simplified as I know that past experience & learning need to be overlaid on this ~ an animal that has experienced severe food shortages in the past is likely to attach a much higher priority to food in the future.
At another time & say, if the weather is very cold, a warm sleeping place may become very valuable, in breeding seasons, the right to mate is seen as vital & some species may fight to the death for this right. On top of all this is the need for sufficient territory to obtain the resources needed for staying alive.
This is a very simplified account as in practice many factors influence who is in control of the resouce in question under different circumstances, including if either cat has a friend with it for back up, (i.e. "basic rank", one-t0-one, or "dependant rank" i.e. dependant on who is helping you) or even different times of the day.
To go back to the cat world, most intercat aggression is over territory & very often this includes toiletting "rights" because of the importance of pheromonal signalling in the feline world, hence the guarding of litter trays. Warmth & the ability to sleep in a safe place is also a key resource for domestic cats so warm, safe places may be "guarded" in a multi cat household. But it is not always the same animal guarding ALL resources ~ it very much depends on the perceived importance of that particular resource to that particular cat in a particular set of circumstances. So one cat may defend to the hilt the right to sleep in a certain place & have no issues about toiletting rights but another cat may perceive another resource as very important at a particular time & therefore show aggression towards a perceived antagonist. If this is considered "dominance", then fair enough, but it is not the way that I have interpreted "dominance".
Well I defer to the dictionary, which says it is. What you refer to as “dominant” would be more about being domineering, not just dominant. They are not the same thing. This is why there is so much discussion and re-defining in behavioural circles of “dominance aggression/status aggression/conflict aggression” etc which, if you use a dictionary definition of dominance, are all the same thing i.e. who is in charge of that resource, at that time, under those circumstances. Simple, end of confusion merely by adopting normal use of English, rather than getting tied in knots over avoiding /misusing/misapplying words due to political agendas.
I agree that cats don't have the repertoire of appeasement behaviours that are vital in the more social canine society. But it is not always the case some cats will calmly give way to another cat that is, say, guarding a litter tray or entry/exit points like a cat flap. Very often the cat that is being intimidated by a stronger, more aggressive cat may be too scared to risk confrontation but this doesn't mean that it is calmly giving way, or that the stronger cat perceives that the other cat is giving way. More likely is that the stronger cat will continue to guard a particular resource in the presence of a competitor & the other cat will end up with stress-related cystitis from continually holding its bladder! I wouldn't describe this sort of situation as co-operative or stable, more like stressful & intimidating for both cats, who will generally be more vigilant & less able to relax.
If you check my post/quote you will see I deliberately used the word “may” not “will”, the flip side of which is” may not”. If their interactions and learned experience did not result in this co operation to avoid conflict then the “understanding” that I referred to, conditional on this, would not have been reached.
Once a hierarchy is stable the interactions may be less apparent and more subtle, as the lower ranking cat may well just calmly give way and move if the higher ranking cat looks likely to come over, with many owners thinking it just chose to move at that point anyway. This can be very much more about calm communication and co operation rather than aggression at this stage, as an understanding has been reached.
As both cats know where they fit in there is actually less stress and antagonism than would be the case if they had to constantly re-establish who controlled the resource at each encounter, It is this acceptance and understanding that is the proper fuction of a hierarchical structure.
There may not be overt aggression at each encounter between cats in these situations so it may well appear to owners that the cats are not constantly trying to establish who controls a particular resource, & that there has been a kind of acceptance of a hierarchical ranking between the cats. But very often this is not what is happening at all. At the risk of being anthropomorphic, cats are the masters of "psychological bullying" so whilst there are no signs of overt aggression, there are plenty of other communication signals between these cats that mean one is continuing to guard a resource and the other is still desperately trying to get access to it. In a truly hierarchical ranking system, the cat that was deferring to another cat wouldn't be so psychologically disturbed by these encounters & the "dominant" cat wouldn't feel the need to constantly guard a resource. As you say, they would have worked it out between them & come to agreement & reached a stable relationship. Unfortunately this is far less common with domestic cats as they haven't needed to develop the behavioural strategies to cope with these situations.
It is because owners often misread their cats that behaviourists are kept in work.
I think you are confusing the difference between a situation where a stable hierarchy has been established and one where that hasn’t occurred, as behavioural problems of this type do not occur where the cats do have understandings over resources, including agreeing to amicably share in some cases, and very many pet owners will easily recognise which cat has “first dipps” in a certain situation, as some posters here have said. There are very many households where more than one cat lives very amicably with another due to having understandings of who fits in where i.e. a hierarchy.
I see no reason for a hierarchy to mean that the same individual has the upper hand in ALL situations, they can be very much situational/circumstance dependent but those individuals know, recognise and accept who is top in which set of circumstances, so it works, it can be stable in each situation, and aggression, conflict and stress are reduced when it works, to everyone’s benefit, though not necessarily equally to both parties.
After all if you can’t access something at will you are better, and less frustrated, to know and accept that and use alternative strategies to access what you need e.g. different source, different time, bring a friend etc.
Dogs have been evolved to be a socially co-operative, group-living species but that doesn’t prevent instances of “sibling rivalry” between cohabiting dogs. With cats, as with dogs, it can be as much more about the individuals concerned, and all the circumstances at the time, than a lack of behavioural strategies, indeed the many peacefully cohabiting more-than-single cat households are testament to how well they mainly achieve this.
I also agree that cats can be social creatures within their own species ~ but they are solitary when it comes to hunting, stalking & killing prey (apart from when a mother cat is teaching its kittens the finer points of mousing!). Because of the small size of the prey that they are capable of killing, it is not an evolutionary viable strategy to hunt co-operatively ~ one mouse = one small meal so definitely not enough to share! But cats can be very adaptable in their social interactions & some have said that their social interactions are only limited because of their need for a hunting territory large enough to support their needs. If there is an abundant supply of food, such as around food dumps at hospitals, factories, hotels etc, then cats can & do form colonies & interact socially with each other. This is also another reason why food aggression is rare in cats ~ they are programmed to hunt alone & feed alone so haven't developed the behavioural need to be aggressive over food.
But cats can & do form social groupings & studies have shown that the social interactions in feral cat colonies are usually between closely-related females who may share kitten-raising duties, may mutually groom each other, sleep together etc.
As for being solitary cats may hunt singlely as adults but they often live in feral colonys, have feline friends they seek out and socialise with, and with whom they have dependent rank advantages, and they may use combined creches for kitten care .
Female cats that live & breed & have ready access to key resources have been labelled the "central" females & a cat that is born a central female will remain so, regardless of any strength or ability to win in a punch up with another cat. Female cats that live further away from the key resources are the "peripheral" females & once born a peripheral female, that is generally where they stay. Peripheral females have a much lower success rate in raising kittens, & are more susceptible to disease because of the poorer access to key resources.
And this situation of being born into a more, or less, advantageous position, and that established position being maintained and constant over time does not a show a degree of hierarchical structure because??
Various species, acknowledged to have hierarchical structure, from baboons to hyenas and lemurs inherit their rank to a large degree from their parent, indeed this can also apply to humans.
Male cats may form much looser social groupings but there are cases of "brotherhoods" being formed to defend a territory and access to the females attached to that territory.{/B]
As I said, allegiances can increase status, and thus access to desirable resources, elements of a hierarchical struture:
This is a very simplified account as in practice many factors influence who is in control of the resouce in question under different circumstances, including if either cat has a friend with it for back up, (i.e. "basic rank", one-t0-one, or "dependant rank" i.e. dependant on who is helping you) or even different times of the day.
Similarly males & females may interact socially within the same territory. But these social groupings only form when there are sufficient resources to support that group. If resources are in short supply, then cats can & do cope as solitary creatures, coming together only for mating. In fact they are amazingly adaptable creatures.
I like your analogy of the zebras watching the lions. But it may go further than this ~ zebras & wildebeest can acutually tell not only when the lions are hunting, or just passing through, but on "hunting days" they can also tell whether the lions are hunting zebra or wildebeest! I suppose it means that the non-hunted species can relax a bit more that day.
This is the similar to e.g. Zebra, being able to read by its body language if a lion is hunting or just passing from A to B so the zebra don't waste energy and lose grazing time unnecessarily.
So as I said the zebra could read it would not be hunting Zebra at that time. and not waste energy avoiding it unnecessarily. I do not always include every possible permutation or my posts would be considerably longer :eek:
Maybe I should consider doing so to avoid having to reiterate later but I assume people will appreciate that I am neither trying to write a book nor give a lecture!
I have another question though. How do I discourage him from biting wires? Our little genius has discovered the telephone wires and managed to pull down the whole phone off its shelf this morning.
Are there any tastes/smells that will put him off going near them? Someone suggested citrus smells like lemon and orange, but given how much disagreement there seems to be on cat stuff, I want to be sure it's safe or that it's even going to work.
You won't. You've got two years of this. All the behaviour you're stating is what I went through with mine. I used the 'get em off' sprays and they did nothing to deter and instead made things sticky.
The only thing you can do when he's doing this, is to destract him. The best thing I ever bought was a laser pen (see Maplin). It drives them crazy and if they're doing something they shouldn't (like chewing wires, blind cords, shredding curtains, peeling the wallpaper, dragging themselves along the floor by the sofa skirting (!!)), they'll soon stop to chase the laser about. A spare cardboard box or two will keep him absorbed for hours aswell (this will save your wallpaper!).
There's not much you can do until he gets to about two and a half years' old. The only other possibility is to get another one to keep him company - it makes absolutely no difference in terms of food, etc but gives him a playmate and something to rebound his energy off of. As kittens they will tire each other out and save you getting too frazzled. And as adults, they'll be good companions for each other (my two are bro and sis and every day will cuddle up and sleep together and give each other a good ol wash - very sweet to see).
As someone once posted to me on here when I just got my two...the whole world's a cat toy!
Tass ~ I am not trying to be pedantic or to expect you to write a book or give a lecture. But I do think it is important to be very careful when using dominance/hierarchy/rank/status to explain animal behaviour. It can be so easily misinterpreted & misused to the extent that we then find humans trying to be the "alpha wolf" in a suburban semi when faced with a little chihuahua who won't get off the sofa:eek:
The dictionary definition I've used for dominance says that it is the state that exists when one person or group has power or influence over another & that dominant is to be the most important, powerful or influential. It doesn't say anything about being in charge of that resource, at that time under those circumstances.
I think that in the situation we've been discussing resource holding potential or resource guarding is a far more accurate description of what is actually happening. Dominance & hierarchy invoke a ranking from "top" animal to "bottom" animal ~ a linear hierarchy, where one is dominant over the other, who is dominant over another lower ranking animal ~ and obviously this is far too simplistic to describe animal or human relationships.
With regard to the final point on the "zebra aspect" I was merely pointing out that not only do zebras know which days the lions are hunting, but they recognise which species the lions are hunting ~ so I don't understand the comments in your final paragraph.
Nor do I understand your comments about "avoiding/misusing/misapplying words due to political agendas". What political agendas?
It may be more appropriate to continue this via PMs or another thread as I feel we've somewhat hijacked the OP's thread!
Snozzcumber - re biting wires. My last kitten was obsessed with biting wires, I can still see his teeth marks in the tv aerial wire I never found a cure, I would remove/distract him if I was there, and if he was on his own in the room I switched the electrical devices off at the wall so he wouldn't go bang. I tried to divert his chewing onto appropriate objects but he wouldn't have it. He also used to chew the corner of the kitchen cabinets. He did grow out of it eventually.
she is also cleaning and looking after them but she doesn't give them too much say in the matter so they grow up with her having established her leading role naturally .
That message is why you might notice a washing session with adult cats sometimes ends with one cat nipping another to counter the challenge of being washed, or one moving away and leaving the other in possession of that place.
That's how it is with my two, it starts nicely, then it gets rather over-vigorous, followed by a nip and if that doesn't work, all-out slapping, it's very evidently about who is in charge. Cats using the 'paw on the head' regime know exactly how to time it and use accompanying body language, so it's probably not easy for most humans to replicate it successfully.
Tass, you have described the situation in our 3-cat household perfectly. We originally had a stable hierarchy, led by our tabby cat. All four cats knew exactly where their place was and it ran like clockwork. Any challenge to his authority was met with a withering stare and flick of the tail - he never had to do more than that. When he died, it was mayhem, none of them knew who was where. After some time E nominated himself Captain Cat, and the girls defer to him, sometimes it's subtle, sometimes not. Until recently he was practising an all-out reign of terror, bullying, strutting and swaggering (no longer - he's been demoted:D ). He was a complete tyrant BUT he chose what he bothered to fight over. He wasn't bothered about the litter tray or food, but he would physically intimidate both girls as and when the fancy took him, often but not exclusively in relation to resting places - he would also attack them when they were walking across the room. I would certainly call him the most 'powerful' cat in the house even after demotion, although his aggression is greatly toned down the girls acknowledge he's 'first'. This has benefits - he protects them from the neighbour's cats. (Vicky Halls said that inter-cat aggression is often more upsetting for the owners than the cats, who accept and understand their role, as you say - keeps behaviourists in work:D )
I have a kitten at the mo (and four other cats, long story, but he is definitely the last) at the moment and have the same problem. I have
a) Bought an oven glove which I wear on my hands when he's playing to protect them
b) Done the same with thick hiking socks
c) Bought lots of balls to distract him, especially good on laminate floors
d) Bought a really cheap packet of socks, stuffed them with plastic bags. I throw them for him and they distract him for a while because he likes the crinkling noise.
e) Ripped up about 57 million newspapers and thrown rolled up balls to distract him.
However.....the best solution I can recommend is to get another kitten. They will keep each other company and play with each other and will practice their fighting behaviour on each other, not you. Sorted, hurrah!
If not they do grow out of it. My second youngest kitty is about 2 now and plays with him but grew out of her own 'mental kitty' phase at about six months. Funny thing is, when they stop running around like mad things going loopy you really miss it.
Snozzcumber - re biting wires. My last kitten was obsessed with biting wires, I can still see his teeth marks in the tv aerial wire
My kitten destroyed about 6 pairs of earphones in a week last week. One of the new pairs I bought lasted about 2 minutes from door to claw. Literally I unwrapped them and two seconds later they were decapitated.
However.....the best solution I can recommend is to get another kitten. They will keep each other company and play with each other and will practice their fighting behaviour on each other, not you. Sorted, hurrah!
I agree, definitely the best solution. They are quite violent with each other at that age, but they sort it out between themselves.:cool:
I agree, definitely the best solution. They are quite violent with each other at that age, but they sort it out between themselves.:cool:
My two roll around kicking each other in the face and biting. They even started doing it about 10 minutes after I got them back from the vets following their neutering operations on Tuesday- I was frantically trying to separate them as I was worried about the little girl's stitches and the little boy's sore bits!
That's why it's such a good idea to have two, imagine if one of them was trying to do that to your hands and feet all the time.
Thanks Lippincote- you know how worried I was about it all!! He hardly noticed his missing bits and she has left her stitches alone and they are healing nicely-she didn't seem to be in any pain or discomfort at all after the op. I am letting her go out now as she was hurtling around the house and running the risk of doing herself more damage indoors!
Dominance & hierarchy invoke a ranking from "top" animal to "bottom" animal ~ a linear hierarchy, where one is dominant over the other, who is dominant over another lower ranking animal ~ and obviously this is far too simplistic to describe animal or human relationships.
Dominance doesn't just involve a "linear" hierarchy. Certainly not in cat society.
Anyone who has a kept a group (or more accurately "groups") of cats will easily recognise their social hierarchy. And it is not usually linear.
Cats are stressed as a result of dominance disputes in a multi-cat household (often seen by pulling fur and scent-marking), but are relaxed if the dispute is resolved and the hierarchy position is clear.
So, in other words, "dominance" in cats will not necessarily mean violence, simply a social acceptance of hierarchical order so all the members of the household are contented and relaxed together, and do things in appropriate order.
As for cats being "lone hunters", my pack of three gingers stalking a pigeon rather defies that theory!!
.....in fact here is a very good short article about the dominance hierarchy in a multi-cat household, written by someone who has had obvious expereince of keeping groups of cats.
It also shows that hierarchies are dynamic and not necessarily linear.
On the other hand, here is an article written by someone who has picked up the politically-correct theory from the new age "pet behaviourists", but who clearly has never kept cats in groups and has no idea about the dynamics of a multi-cat household at all.......
When our cats were kittens, about year n half ago now, they were quite aggressive playfighting with eachother. Sometimes when one would be sitting asleep, the other would silently be walking up behind him and pounce on his back!:eek:
We had a few ocassions where they bit our fingers when playing with them, but a gentle tap to the nose seemed to stop them doing that. Also we have leather sofa's and they use to think that the leather made for a very good scratching post! :eek::mad: We managed to stop that by giving them a tap whenever they stretched their paws onto the leather, which was what the vet told us to do. We also got some stuff from Pets At Home which stopped them biting things etc because it had a horrible taste on it.
Now they have grown up to be veryy affectionate cats, always laying on us, laying on our chest when we are in bed, laying down outside a bedroom door when it is shut etc. They have never bitten/scratched us once now they are older, even though they are still very playful. Hehe right now i have one draped across my legs as im typing this:p
The only thing we never managed to stop, was when they are playful, they can be quite aggressive to our doggie, e.g. when he walks past one of the cats, and they are sitting on the sofa or something, they will scratch his head or whack their claws into his nose. And i dont think the dog realises that by wagging his tail, it makes it worse and the cats try and catch his tail. But when they aren't playful, they sleep on the same bed as the dog and curl up next to him! Truly odd cats
Comments
Sorry but that isn’t my interpretation, and it very rarely happens, with animals or people, including in animals widely accepted by ethogolists (who do not have the same politics as "Behaviourists") as having a hierarchal structure, not least because being in charge of every little thing, especially in a multi-individual group, including what you are not bothered about at that time would be an appalling a waste of energy, and divert your focus, contrary to your best interests in terms of survival and success.
It just wouldn’t make any evolutionary sense. As I have defined before, being dominant is being the most controlling influence in that situation, at that time.
As I said:
Well I defer to the dictionary, which says it is. What you refer to as “dominant” would be more about being domineering, not just dominant. They are not the same thing. This is why there is so much discussion and re-defining in behavioural circles of “dominance aggression/status aggression/conflict aggression” etc which, if you use a dictionary definition of dominance, are all the same thing i.e. who is in charge of that resource, at that time, under those circumstances. Simple, end of confusion merely by adopting normal use of English, rather than getting tied in knots over avoiding /misusing/misapplying words due to political agendas.
If you check my post/quote you will see I deliberately used the word “may” not “will”, the flip side of which is” may not”. If their interactions and learned experience did not result in this co operation to avoid conflict then the “understanding” that I referred to, conditional on this, would not have been reached.
It is because owners often misread their cats that behaviourists are kept in work.
I think you are confusing the difference between a situation where a stable hierarchy has been established and one where that hasn’t occurred, as behavioural problems of this type do not occur where the cats do have understandings over resources, including agreeing to amicably share in some cases, and very many pet owners will easily recognise which cat has “first dipps” in a certain situation, as some posters here have said. There are very many households where more than one cat lives very amicably with another due to having understandings of who fits in where i.e. a hierarchy.
I see no reason for a hierarchy to mean that the same individual has the upper hand in ALL situations, they can be very much situational/circumstance dependent but those individuals know, recognise and accept who is top in which set of circumstances, so it works, it can be stable in each situation, and aggression, conflict and stress are reduced when it works, to everyone’s benefit, though not necessarily equally to both parties.
After all if you can’t access something at will you are better, and less frustrated, to know and accept that and use alternative strategies to access what you need e.g. different source, different time, bring a friend etc.
Dogs have been evolved to be a socially co-operative, group-living species but that doesn’t prevent instances of “sibling rivalry” between cohabiting dogs. With cats, as with dogs, it can be as much more about the individuals concerned, and all the circumstances at the time, than a lack of behavioural strategies, indeed the many peacefully cohabiting more-than-single cat households are testament to how well they mainly achieve this.
And this situation of being born into a more, or less, advantageous position, and that established position being maintained and constant over time does not a show a degree of hierarchical structure because??
Various species, acknowledged to have hierarchical structure, from baboons to hyenas and lemurs inherit their rank to a large degree from their parent, indeed this can also apply to humans.
As I said, allegiances can increase status, and thus access to desirable resources, elements of a hierarchical struture:
So as I said the zebra could read it would not be hunting Zebra at that time. and not waste energy avoiding it unnecessarily. I do not always include every possible permutation or my posts would be considerably longer :eek:
Maybe I should consider doing so to avoid having to reiterate later but I assume people will appreciate that I am neither trying to write a book nor give a lecture!
You won't. You've got two years of this. All the behaviour you're stating is what I went through with mine. I used the 'get em off' sprays and they did nothing to deter and instead made things sticky.
The only thing you can do when he's doing this, is to destract him. The best thing I ever bought was a laser pen (see Maplin). It drives them crazy and if they're doing something they shouldn't (like chewing wires, blind cords, shredding curtains, peeling the wallpaper, dragging themselves along the floor by the sofa skirting (!!)), they'll soon stop to chase the laser about. A spare cardboard box or two will keep him absorbed for hours aswell (this will save your wallpaper!).
There's not much you can do until he gets to about two and a half years' old. The only other possibility is to get another one to keep him company - it makes absolutely no difference in terms of food, etc but gives him a playmate and something to rebound his energy off of. As kittens they will tire each other out and save you getting too frazzled. And as adults, they'll be good companions for each other (my two are bro and sis and every day will cuddle up and sleep together and give each other a good ol wash - very sweet to see).
As someone once posted to me on here when I just got my two...the whole world's a cat toy!
The dictionary definition I've used for dominance says that it is the state that exists when one person or group has power or influence over another & that dominant is to be the most important, powerful or influential. It doesn't say anything about being in charge of that resource, at that time under those circumstances.
I think that in the situation we've been discussing resource holding potential or resource guarding is a far more accurate description of what is actually happening. Dominance & hierarchy invoke a ranking from "top" animal to "bottom" animal ~ a linear hierarchy, where one is dominant over the other, who is dominant over another lower ranking animal ~ and obviously this is far too simplistic to describe animal or human relationships.
With regard to the final point on the "zebra aspect" I was merely pointing out that not only do zebras know which days the lions are hunting, but they recognise which species the lions are hunting ~ so I don't understand the comments in your final paragraph
Nor do I understand your comments about "avoiding/misusing/misapplying words due to political agendas". What political agendas?
It may be more appropriate to continue this via PMs or another thread as I feel we've somewhat hijacked the OP's thread!
That's how it is with my two, it starts nicely, then it gets rather over-vigorous, followed by a nip and if that doesn't work, all-out slapping, it's very evidently about who is in charge. Cats using the 'paw on the head' regime know exactly how to time it and use accompanying body language, so it's probably not easy for most humans to replicate it successfully.
Tass, you have described the situation in our 3-cat household perfectly. We originally had a stable hierarchy, led by our tabby cat. All four cats knew exactly where their place was and it ran like clockwork. Any challenge to his authority was met with a withering stare and flick of the tail - he never had to do more than that. When he died, it was mayhem, none of them knew who was where. After some time E nominated himself Captain Cat, and the girls defer to him, sometimes it's subtle, sometimes not. Until recently he was practising an all-out reign of terror, bullying, strutting and swaggering (no longer - he's been demoted:D ). He was a complete tyrant BUT he chose what he bothered to fight over. He wasn't bothered about the litter tray or food, but he would physically intimidate both girls as and when the fancy took him, often but not exclusively in relation to resting places - he would also attack them when they were walking across the room. I would certainly call him the most 'powerful' cat in the house even after demotion, although his aggression is greatly toned down the girls acknowledge he's 'first'. This has benefits - he protects them from the neighbour's cats. (Vicky Halls said that inter-cat aggression is often more upsetting for the owners than the cats, who accept and understand their role, as you say - keeps behaviourists in work:D )
a) Bought an oven glove which I wear on my hands when he's playing to protect them
b) Done the same with thick hiking socks
c) Bought lots of balls to distract him, especially good on laminate floors
d) Bought a really cheap packet of socks, stuffed them with plastic bags. I throw them for him and they distract him for a while because he likes the crinkling noise.
e) Ripped up about 57 million newspapers and thrown rolled up balls to distract him.
However.....the best solution I can recommend is to get another kitten. They will keep each other company and play with each other and will practice their fighting behaviour on each other, not you. Sorted, hurrah!
If not they do grow out of it. My second youngest kitty is about 2 now and plays with him but grew out of her own 'mental kitty' phase at about six months. Funny thing is, when they stop running around like mad things going loopy you really miss it.
My kitten destroyed about 6 pairs of earphones in a week last week. One of the new pairs I bought lasted about 2 minutes from door to claw. Literally I unwrapped them and two seconds later they were decapitated.
I agree, definitely the best solution. They are quite violent with each other at that age, but they sort it out between themselves.:cool:
My two roll around kicking each other in the face and biting. They even started doing it about 10 minutes after I got them back from the vets following their neutering operations on Tuesday- I was frantically trying to separate them as I was worried about the little girl's stitches and the little boy's sore bits!
That's why it's such a good idea to have two, imagine if one of them was trying to do that to your hands and feet all the time.
Thanks Lippincote- you know how worried I was about it all!! He hardly noticed his missing bits and she has left her stitches alone and they are healing nicely-she didn't seem to be in any pain or discomfort at all after the op. I am letting her go out now as she was hurtling around the house and running the risk of doing herself more damage indoors!
Dominance doesn't just involve a "linear" hierarchy. Certainly not in cat society.
Anyone who has a kept a group (or more accurately "groups") of cats will easily recognise their social hierarchy. And it is not usually linear.
Cats are stressed as a result of dominance disputes in a multi-cat household (often seen by pulling fur and scent-marking), but are relaxed if the dispute is resolved and the hierarchy position is clear.
So, in other words, "dominance" in cats will not necessarily mean violence, simply a social acceptance of hierarchical order so all the members of the household are contented and relaxed together, and do things in appropriate order.
As for cats being "lone hunters", my pack of three gingers stalking a pigeon rather defies that theory!!
It also shows that hierarchies are dynamic and not necessarily linear.
http://www.knowyourcat.info/info/hierarchy.htm
http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-cat_social.htm
We had a few ocassions where they bit our fingers when playing with them, but a gentle tap to the nose seemed to stop them doing that. Also we have leather sofa's and they use to think that the leather made for a very good scratching post! :eek::mad: We managed to stop that by giving them a tap whenever they stretched their paws onto the leather, which was what the vet told us to do. We also got some stuff from Pets At Home which stopped them biting things etc because it had a horrible taste on it.
Now they have grown up to be veryy affectionate cats, always laying on us, laying on our chest when we are in bed, laying down outside a bedroom door when it is shut etc. They have never bitten/scratched us once now they are older, even though they are still very playful. Hehe right now i have one draped across my legs as im typing this:p
The only thing we never managed to stop, was when they are playful, they can be quite aggressive to our doggie, e.g. when he walks past one of the cats, and they are sitting on the sofa or something, they will scratch his head or whack their claws into his nose. And i dont think the dog realises that by wagging his tail, it makes it worse and the cats try and catch his tail. But when they aren't playful, they sleep on the same bed as the dog and curl up next to him! Truly odd cats