Badly Behaved cat

choille

I got a 3 year old cat from the Cat's Protection league about 9 months ago.

He has Trioditis & has a special diet, but has never been ill since we've had him. He's very clean & very gorgeous, but he bites and can attack you with claws & teeth drawn. he's bitten me often & twice really made a mess of my arm.

He seems so lovely & then turns - you can't trust him with anyone that comes. I always warn visitors about him.

I've tried ignoring his behaviour but it hasn't helped.

Any suggestions gratefully received.

tizerbelle

He could just be one of those cats that doesn't like being fussed with. You need to learn his signals, he will be giving them.

We have one such cat - no more than three strokes at any one time or he goes for the kill - his signal is a tensing of the neck muscles and it is subtle, you have to know him to see it. But this is progress - when I first got him he could barely stand a single stroke.

But he does really enjoy the company of people, he just doesn't want to be stroked. He loves sleeping in your lap but you can't move an inch or touch him. He likes having a brush but you have to hold the brush still and he rubs against it! Like you, all visitors are warned to ignore the cat on pain of death!

He is the polar opposite to our other cat - she demands to be stroked and scratted to the point that she will paw at your hands if you aren't giving enough attention.

choille

I've had cats all my life. I've never had a cat that launches itself upwards to bite your arm when you are just sat down.

GwylimT

Our last cat did that, you may find he is attempting to mate with you.

choille

He's neutered.

He has not just nipped but really bitten & drawn a lot of blood.

Marmaduke123

choille wrote: »

I've had cats all my life. I've never had a cat that launches itself upwards to bite your arm when you are just sat down.

I have - she's a bengal! She doesn't do it now as she's elderly, but when she was younger she would do it quite often if she wanted me to play. She wrapped her front legs round my upper arm and dug her claws in, as if I was a tree trunk!

choille

He's a long haired beauty, but he's quite scary at times. I have to warn visitors about him before they reach down to stroke him.


He has loads of woodland to roam in. He can come & go as he pleases - although he prefers if we open the door for him!

The weather has been really rubbish & we wondered if that had anything to do with it - although I think he was given to the Cat's Protection League because of his behaviour.

WeAreGhosts

He could be bored. My cat 'attacks' when she wants to play, she launches herself at my legs and her claws and teeth wrap round me

Mine also nips when she's fussed too much. There are signs - stiffening, violent swishing of the tail and a crouched position.

GwylimT

choille wrote: »

He's neutered.

He has not just nipped but really bitten & drawn a lot of blood.

Yes it sounds exactly like mating. Many females also do this as a sign of dominance.

Pollycat

Do you know his early history?

I had a farm kitten, alpha male, and he would sometimes attack with very little warning, quite often when he was sat on my knee.
It was as though a switch in his brain had been thrown.
He was very ill as a small kitten (the vet said he was only 5 weeks old) with cat flu and pneumonia and we didn't know if he'd live or not.
We'd only had him 18 hours when he became poorly so we don't know if the 'madness' was bred in him as semi-feral or as a result of him being so ill.

GBNI

Pet Remedy do plugs in (I use them for my dogs) and I have noticed a lot of cat owners reviewing them on their FB page and saying how much it has helped their behaviour. May be worth a try as they're not as dear as Feliway.