Partners Cat is Mental

Horizon81

Ok so my new partner has a cat and it's got some serious problems. I've only once before come across a cat that bites its owners but that was just a nip.

This cat is nothing short of pure evil. It's nipped me on the foot for no reason and I've caught it ready to pounce twice. Yesterday I was sitting on the counch with my partner when all of a sudden it lunged at her, clawing her arm and sinking its teeth in, leaving a nasty hole mark and bruise.

The cat ran upstairs as soon as it did this. She said she normally leaves it be, but I ran up after the thing. It was at the top of the stairs looking at me and hissing with the most evil look on its face. It was squatting down as if ready to lunge again!

Now then... she's said it bites her every so often, and once it attached itself to her arm and wouldn't get off without vigorous shaking. The thing clearly has a screw loose and she agrees things cant go on the way they are. If it were me, it would be taking a 1 way trip to the vets but she's had it since a kitten (4 years) and is thinking about behavioural therapy.

I'd be welcome for any advice on this. I'm an animal lover but I fail to see the point in having a cat you live in fear of. Is behaviour therapy likely to succeed or just clutching at straws? Personally I think once evil, always evil. Is there any way I can convince her to put it down - obviously we couldn't re-home it as the new owners wouldn't appreciate it, particularly if there were children in the household.

I'm trying to get her to stop seeing it as a cute fluffy ball and more the evil animal it is. It's a 4 year old house cat if that helps inform matters. She had asked the vet in the past if allowing it outside would help but he had said that if it bites her like it does then it doesn't matter if it's a house cat or a cat that goes outdoors. In other words, it's evil!!

flicks

Hmm. That doesn't sound good. We had a cat many years ago who developed evil tendencies after years of being sweet and I turned out to be a brain tumour but if this has been going on for the entire life of the cat I think we can count that one out.

You say it's an indoor cat. Does it have to be? I think if I were shut in all day that would make me bite, claw and lunge out at everybody who came near me.

Think a one way trip to the vets wouldn't be advisable. Highly unlikely a Vet would put a cat down for being vicious anyway and you know that would be wrong. However I'm not sure behavioural therapy would work with a cat.

The only other choice of course is to try and get it rehomed. Whatever your girlfriend does though she mustn't let you write the ad :rotfl:. Maybe a life on a farm could be just what this cat needs.

Dumbe

Horizon81 wrote: »

Ok so my new partner has a cat and it's got some serious problems. I've only once before come across a cat that bites its owners but that was just a nip.

This cat is nothing short of pure evil. It's nipped me on the foot for no reason and I've caught it ready to pounce twice. Yesterday I was sitting on the counch with my partner when all of a sudden it lunged at her, clawing her arm and sinking its teeth in, leaving a nasty hole mark and bruise.

The cat ran upstairs as soon as it did this. She said she normally leaves it be, but I ran up after the thing. It was at the top of the stairs looking at me and hissing with the most evil look on its face. It was squatting down as if ready to lunge again!

Now then... she's said it bites her every so often, and once it attached itself to her arm and wouldn't get off without vigorous shaking. The thing clearly has a screw loose and she agrees things cant go on the way they are. If it were me, it would be taking a 1 way trip to the vets but she's had it since a kitten (4 years) and is thinking about behavioural therapy.

I'd be welcome for any advice on this. I'm an animal lover but I fail to see the point in having a cat you live in fear of. Is behaviour therapy likely to succeed or just clutching at straws? Personally I think once evil, always evil. Is there any way I can convince her to put it down - obviously we couldn't re-home it as the new owners wouldn't appreciate it, particularly if there were children in the household.

I'm trying to get her to stop seeing it as a cute fluffy ball and more the evil animal it is. Seriously this thing is nothing short of evil. It's a 4 year old house cat if that helps inform matters.

I don't think any cat is evil..

But I can see the behaviour would be challenging ( I have cats all my life and had one .. Now sadly passed away, who when I first got him would attack at the smaller provocation, literally he wou
D launch and attah himself to his vistims exposed arm or leg and it would take an effort to detach him, witthresh lying wounds being quite severe . This happened at least 3 or 4 times a day at first..It was I suspect fear based.. Gradually I learnt his triggers.. E.g men in shoes were bad news, so all guest removed their shoes out side the flat!

Eventually after much patience hebecameessentially a happy normal well adjusted cat, with no more aggressive attacks, but I would still never have allowed a child near him , as an accidental pull of the tail or something would probably have resulted in seriously hurt child)

First I would get him checkedby a vet, for an health issues.

Then observe him, learn what sets him off and how to calm him down, with mine, when he lost it , I would cuddle him, ( wearing long sleeves, at the beginning jeans etc even going to the bathroom at nig were a must!)

If your reaction appears to make him worse.. Try another reaction until you find what works

Good luck

Horizon81

flicks wrote: »

Think a one way trip to the vets wouldn't be advisable. Highly unlikely a Vet would put a cat down for being vicious anyway and you know that would be wrong. However I'm not sure behavioural therapy would work with a cat.

The only other choice of course is to try and get it rehomed. Whatever your girlfriend does though she mustn't let you write the ad :rotfl:. Maybe a life on a farm could be just what this cat needs.

I can't see what's wrong with putting down a vicious cat. You would do it if it were a dog. Whilst I can't exactly put my foot down cos its not my cat I've told her it would never go near any children of mine. The damage it could inflict on a baby is unimagineable. I don't know if vets have a code of practice for when it is and isn't right to put a cat down???

As for rehoming, I could not morally lie in an advert and say it was a pleasant cat when it is certainly not. Like I say, I would be equally as concerned of it harming its new owners.

Horizon81

Dumbe wrote: »

I don't think any cat is evil..

First I would get him checkedby a vet, for an health issues.

Then observe him, learn what sets him off and how to calm him down, with mine, when he lost it , I would cuddle him, ( wearing long sleeves, at the beginning jeans etc even going to the bathroom at nig were a must!)

If your reaction appears to make him worse.. Try another reaction until you find what works

Good luck

He's been to a vet recently as he was unwell. £100 and a few pills later and he's back to normal. But the problem is the cat has been like this from birth, by what she's telling me.

Your suggestions may make sense but I do not see why people should make such adjustments to their life for the sake of a mental cat, when most cats do not exhibit this behaviour. Asking male visitors to remove shoes, wearing thick clothing in case he bites - this is no way to live your life. You hit the nail on the head where you say even with your cat, you would not leave him alone with children, which to be honest, is not the sort of pet I would want in my life.

moomin5

If the other option is to put to sleep why not see if a behaviourist can help. It may seem like there is no reason for the attacks but then we view things totally different to other animals so may not notice if there was a trigger or if something's causing stress to the animal.

Your partner obviously cares about their cat and while it may not be a nice cat to be around, you should be supportive in trying to help as calling it evil, chasing it & pushing for PTS is likely to damage your relationship.

Celli

Is this an indoor cat ? If so I would guess the behaviour is down to the cat being bored stupid and in need of an outlet for its natural hunting and stalking behaviours, not because it's" evil" .
I would try getting some hunting toys such as Da Bird and a Kickaroo and give the cat some fun hunting games, which the cats owner will need do four or more times a day, just ten minutes at a time will be enough. It may take a few weeks to work so be patient.
If the cat does launch an attack, shutting it out of the room and allowing it to calm down will be more helpful that chasing it up the stairs . If you can ,try and divert the cat with a toy if you think it's about to go into attack mode.

Horizon81

moomin5 wrote: »

If the other option is to put to sleep why not see if a behaviourist can help. It may seem like there is no reason for the attacks but then we view things totally different to other animals so may not notice if there was a trigger or if something's causing stress to the animal.

Your partner obviously cares about their cat and while it may not be a nice cat to be around, you should be supportive in trying to help as calling it evil, chasing it & pushing for PTS is likely to damage your relationship.

True. But then again could you ever trust it? Even with some rehabilitation you'd never know what may trigger an attack, and who wants to live in fear, or fear of having friends and their families over to visit.

As for damaging the relationship, I guess it's a 2 way street. Maybe she also needs re-evaluate her priorities.

Horizon81

Celli wrote: »

Is this an indoor cat ? If so I would guess the behaviour is down to the cat being bored stupid and in need of an outlet for its natural hunting and stalking behaviours, not because it's" evil" .
I would try getting some hunting toys such as Da Bird and a Kickaroo and give the cat some fun hunting games, which the cats owner will need do four or more times a day, just ten minutes at a time will be enough. It may take a few weeks to work so be patient.
If the cat does launch an attack, shutting it out of the room and allowing it to calm down will be more helpful that chasing it up the stairs . If you can ,try and divert the cat with a toy if you think it's about to go into attack mode.

Read what I said in post #1. A vet has said that it makes no difference if it were indoor or outdoor - it would still display these biting characteristics.

And she has tried leaving it when it does this. It hasn't worked. Hence why I decided to challenge the thing straight after it drew blood out of her arm. Thanks for the advice, but Im gonna continue to argue to get this thing dispatched of.

liz545

My cat behaved like this after my boyfriend moved in - he's very sweet and cuddly with me, but he hunted my partner and would be quite determined at times. We got a spray bottle and every time he tried it, he got a soaking - it only took about a fortnight before the behaviour stopped entirely. Water doesn't hurt them, and it's a simple way of getting them to stop the undesirable behaviour. We've also made more of an effort to play with him, just simple games like chase the string, to give him a positive way to expend his energy. He's a much calmer cat now!

Lara44

Our cat came from a shelter and she displayed aggressive behaviour when she first arrived, although not on the scale you are talking about. She sometimes attacked because she was bored and wanted to play. At other times she was scared and wanted us to stop interacting with her.

We got some toys for "hunting" play and that worked well. Also I bought a Hexbug Nano for her to chase which was brilliant until it got underneath the bathroom cabinet, lol. She loves best to chase a length of ribbon or string with a knot in the end and give that a good chew. I also made some toy mice and we scoot them along the floor for her to chase and capture.

We also found the Feliwaydiffuser very helpful. As soon as it was plugged in we noticed a change in her behaviour. This seemed to decrease behaviour where she felt threatened.

We also found she hates plastic bags and can only be stroked on the side, or the head, and only from a particular angle. We haven't been scratched or bitten in ages, and get much more affection from her now which is great. Although I also think she is not safe to leave alone around children (not many pets are though, I think). HTH!