Aggressive cat question

[Redfraggle]

Originally posted by: dabuddha

Originally posted by: Redfraggle
When the cat misbehaves, is it your wife that corrects her, or you? Who feeds them? What about sleeping arrangements? Does your wife take them to the vet, or do you? If your wife just home more often? Did it coincide with being fixed?

This cat clearly has a behavioral issue that could be caused many ways for many reasons. I think none of here are really going to be that successful in diagnosing a cat we don't know in a setting we don't know.

For the record, my cat is female and crazy as well. She hates most of the world, and my friends are scared of her mostly. She hates my female best friend, even when I try to convince her it's ok to be nice, expected even. She tends to be more ok with males that I like and am close to, and she thinks I'm just fantastic. She's always been a little weird, and was known to have been abandoned very young, and starved as a result. I think it made her a little wonky in the brain. My point was, I feel your pain.

It's mostly me. I've told my wife she needs to so the cat sees that it's coming from my wife but she gets scared. My wife gives them breakfast and I give them dinner. We both go together whenever we take em to the vet. My wife is a stay at home mom so she's there more than me. Both were fixed when they were ~6 months old.

One thing I've wondered about is my wife used to baby her and the male cat a lot before our daughter was born. Once my daughter was born, she hasn't been as affectionate towards either cat (not saying she hates them or abuses them, just no time with a kiddo). Even if this is the source of the problem, I have to figure out a way to deal with it because I dunno if my wife will spend more time with them.

Cats are pack animals. Could be the cat resents being demoted within the pack? Have your wife provide the discipline, but also make a special time for the cats. Even if it's just 5 minutes a day, cats learn fast and adapt.

 

[TheNinja]

F that. The first time the cat scratched enough to draw blood, ok it gets a smack on the head and "bad kitty". If it happens again that thing is getting smack and declawed. If there are children around that thing is getting declawed or given away the first time it attacks anyone....granted, I hate cats, but I'd do the same with a dog attack/bite and I love dogs. Cats are perverted, nasty, arrogant, a-holish creatures who probably hate most humans.....plus they crap in my yard.

 

[dabuddha]

Originally posted by: Redfraggle

Originally posted by: dabuddha

Originally posted by: Redfraggle
When the cat misbehaves, is it your wife that corrects her, or you? Who feeds them? What about sleeping arrangements? Does your wife take them to the vet, or do you? If your wife just home more often? Did it coincide with being fixed?

This cat clearly has a behavioral issue that could be caused many ways for many reasons. I think none of here are really going to be that successful in diagnosing a cat we don't know in a setting we don't know.

For the record, my cat is female and crazy as well. She hates most of the world, and my friends are scared of her mostly. She hates my female best friend, even when I try to convince her it's ok to be nice, expected even. She tends to be more ok with males that I like and am close to, and she thinks I'm just fantastic. She's always been a little weird, and was known to have been abandoned very young, and starved as a result. I think it made her a little wonky in the brain. My point was, I feel your pain.

It's mostly me. I've told my wife she needs to so the cat sees that it's coming from my wife but she gets scared. My wife gives them breakfast and I give them dinner. We both go together whenever we take em to the vet. My wife is a stay at home mom so she's there more than me. Both were fixed when they were ~6 months old.

One thing I've wondered about is my wife used to baby her and the male cat a lot before our daughter was born. Once my daughter was born, she hasn't been as affectionate towards either cat (not saying she hates them or abuses them, just no time with a kiddo). Even if this is the source of the problem, I have to figure out a way to deal with it because I dunno if my wife will spend more time with them.

Cats are pack animals. Could be the cat resents being demoted within the pack? Have your wife provide the discipline, but also make a special time for the cats. Even if it's just 5 minutes a day, cats learn fast and adapt.

I'm definitely going to have her try this.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: dabuddha
We have 2 cats currently (1 male 1 female). They're going to be turning 5 this July. Over the last year or so, the female cat has suddenly become aggressive. She's attacked my wife a few times now (never me for some reason). Most of the times it happens when she gets startled. But few times it's out of the blue (like this morning. She started stalking my wife and clawed her feet).

I have an appointment with a vet later this week but does anyone have any ideas/suggestions about how to deal with this? I really don't want to get rid of her but this behavior is completely unacceptable.

You sure it's attacking and not just playing? Cats are very playful and pretty social animals. Maybe she just needs more attention.

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: Redfraggle

Originally posted by: dabuddha

Originally posted by: Redfraggle
When the cat misbehaves, is it your wife that corrects her, or you? Who feeds them? What about sleeping arrangements? Does your wife take them to the vet, or do you? If your wife just home more often? Did it coincide with being fixed?

This cat clearly has a behavioral issue that could be caused many ways for many reasons. I think none of here are really going to be that successful in diagnosing a cat we don't know in a setting we don't know.

For the record, my cat is female and crazy as well. She hates most of the world, and my friends are scared of her mostly. She hates my female best friend, even when I try to convince her it's ok to be nice, expected even. She tends to be more ok with males that I like and am close to, and she thinks I'm just fantastic. She's always been a little weird, and was known to have been abandoned very young, and starved as a result. I think it made her a little wonky in the brain. My point was, I feel your pain.

It's mostly me. I've told my wife she needs to so the cat sees that it's coming from my wife but she gets scared. My wife gives them breakfast and I give them dinner. We both go together whenever we take em to the vet. My wife is a stay at home mom so she's there more than me. Both were fixed when they were ~6 months old.

One thing I've wondered about is my wife used to baby her and the male cat a lot before our daughter was born. Once my daughter was born, she hasn't been as affectionate towards either cat (not saying she hates them or abuses them, just no time with a kiddo). Even if this is the source of the problem, I have to figure out a way to deal with it because I dunno if my wife will spend more time with them.

Cats are pack animals. Could be the cat resents being demoted within the pack? Have your wife provide the discipline, but also make a special time for the cats. Even if it's just 5 minutes a day, cats learn fast and adapt.

Actually that is totally wrong, cats are not pack animals, they are solitary hunters. The key to training them is to understand that as it is the key to figuring out how to motivate them properly.

 

[Perknose]

Originally posted by: Redfraggle
Cats are pack animals. Could be the cat resents being demoted within the pack? Have your wife provide the discipline, but also make a special time for the cats. Even if it's just 5 minutes a day, cats learn fast and adapt.

Actually, cats are not pack animals at all!

This doesn't mean they aren't social animals, but understanding the difference is basic and key to understanding how to deal with them.

 

[dabuddha]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: dabuddha
We have 2 cats currently (1 male 1 female). They're going to be turning 5 this July. Over the last year or so, the female cat has suddenly become aggressive. She's attacked my wife a few times now (never me for some reason). Most of the times it happens when she gets startled. But few times it's out of the blue (like this morning. She started stalking my wife and clawed her feet).

I have an appointment with a vet later this week but does anyone have any ideas/suggestions about how to deal with this? I really don't want to get rid of her but this behavior is completely unacceptable.

You sure it's attacking and not just playing? Cats are very playful and pretty social animals. Maybe she just needs more attention.

Yeah she's drawn blood each time and she still keeps "stalking" my wife afterwards with a puffed up tail.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Lots of bad advice here.

Please have the cat checked out by a vet to rule out a medical condition first.

 

[dabuddha]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
Lots of bad advice here.

Please have the cat checked out by a vet to rule out a medical condition first.

That's why I have an appointment this week. Want to make sure she's not in pain because of something and is lashing out because of that.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Genx87
Sure it is painful for a cat to be declawed. But after they are healed I havent had a cat that acts any different. I have had inside\outside cats that killed enough small rodents and birds to fill a landfill. They also had little problem scaling tree's. Both of my cats which are strictly inside cats still try to sharpen their claws. They dont know any better.

When my cats do wrong I give them a sharp voice and occasional slap on the butt. It is amazing I can train a cat to know right and wrong but many humans are incapable of this lol.

As for the OP's cat. Are you sure it isnt playing? My cats will on occasional go bat shit crazy and jump at imaginary things in the air and chase your feet. It is in their nature.

Edit: As for the morality police. What is your stance on spaying and neutering cats?

Why would you, or anyone for that matter, compare spaying/neutering to declawing?

I've had half a dozen cats over the years and none of them were declawed. I would never declaw a cat but they were all spayed/neutered.

 

[Modelworks]

Something that worked for me was spraying the cat with water to discourage bad behavior. Get a sprayer bottle and put plain water in it, when the cat misbehaves spray it.
Another thing key with cats is eye contact. Cats are very big on this.

Rival cats try to out-stare each other to resolve conflicts. When a cat realises it is being watched or stared at, it may stop whatever it is doing, assess the "threat" and then continue with its activity, but in a far more self-conscious way. The cat knows it is being watched and becomes uncomfortable. Only when it is no longer being watched, does it relax again. This is one reason it is hard to study cats! Slowly blinking breaks up an aggressive stare and is a reassuring signal between cats and between owners and cats. Yawning is even more reassuring! When relaxed, most cats have their eyes half-open, giving the appearance of being half-asleep.

Cats have excellent peripheral vision and tend not to stare directly at something unless they are getting a fix on a moving object in preparation for pouncing. When a cat sits day-dreaming, it appears to be not looking at anything in particular. It is actually taking in a great deal of information with its peripheral vision.

Some owners deliberately engage in "blink kissing" with their cats - when looking directly at a cat the owner blinks in a slow and deliberate manner. This uses the cat's own language to say "I am not threatening you, you can relax". The cat often blinks in response and then acts in a self conscious way, perhaps fluffing itself up or grooming. While some owners claim "blink kissing" helps the cat-owner bond, the cat would no doubt prefer the owner to politely gaze into the middle distance and observe the cat using peripheral vision instead of a direct gaze.

Interestingly, behaviourists have tried the "gaze and blink" trick with big cats in zoos and have reported that lions and tigers will blink back at them. A few readers have emailed me having tried the same. This is not recommended since a direct gaze is a challenge and a big cat has no real need to reassure us of its friendly intentions - it sees us as potential prey.

 

[Kev]

Originally posted by: AntiFreze

Originally posted by: TwiceOver
Declaw.

declawing is actually an amputation of the last digit. It affects the cats overall psychology since it can no longer protect itself or hunt if needed. It is also extremely painful for a cat, which you may argue that your cat didnt show signs of pain, but cats are one of the most bull headed animals. They will not show pain unless they are on their death bed.

Lots of Europe have made it illegal and I know many vets that refuse to do it. This isn't the answer. If you dont like a cat with claws, then you dont deserve to have a cat.

It lives in a fucking house.

 

[Joemonkey]

Originally posted by: dabuddha

Originally posted by: Redfraggle
When the cat misbehaves, is it your wife that corrects her, or you? Who feeds them? What about sleeping arrangements? Does your wife take them to the vet, or do you? If your wife just home more often? Did it coincide with being fixed?

This cat clearly has a behavioral issue that could be caused many ways for many reasons. I think none of here are really going to be that successful in diagnosing a cat we don't know in a setting we don't know.

For the record, my cat is female and crazy as well. She hates most of the world, and my friends are scared of her mostly. She hates my female best friend, even when I try to convince her it's ok to be nice, expected even. She tends to be more ok with males that I like and am close to, and she thinks I'm just fantastic. She's always been a little weird, and was known to have been abandoned very young, and starved as a result. I think it made her a little wonky in the brain. My point was, I feel your pain.

It's mostly me. I've told my wife she needs to so the cat sees that it's coming from my wife but she gets scared. My wife gives them breakfast and I give them dinner. We both go together whenever we take em to the vet. My wife is a stay at home mom so she's there more than me. Both were fixed when they were ~6 months old.

One thing I've wondered about is my wife used to baby her and the male cat a lot before our daughter was born. Once my daughter was born, she hasn't been as affectionate towards either cat (not saying she hates them or abuses them, just no time with a kiddo). Even if this is the source of the problem, I have to figure out a way to deal with it because I dunno if my wife will spend more time with them.

$10 says it has something to do with your daughter. We had to give a cat away after our daughter was born. Cat was fine before, turned into a "pissing on everything our daughter owned" machine after

more info here

 

[Chiropteran]

Originally posted by: racolvin

Says who, you? If it offends your sense of morality then feel free not to declaw your cats, I won't make a fuss. It does not however present any moral questions to me at all, so spare me your recriminations while my cats live long, healthy, spoiled lives that every housecat deserves.

I wasn't even commenting on the morality of the declawing itself.

I just find your reasoning to be flawed. If you think that having a cats extremities amputated is fine and good, say so. But that isn't what you said... your post implied that you do see the negative in it, but you justify it because you feed your cats, give them a home, keep them safe from being run over, etc. I just don't buy that.

Three good deeds doesn't cancel out one evil deed.

 

[torpid]

alkemyst, if they do declaw, hypothetically, are you saying that the cat wouldn't bite her and/or that it would in some way improve the behavior? It seems like you were implying that but I suspect it was just an unintended implication. Surely you would agree that the root behavioral issue needs to be addressed?

I would be really interested to see how a declawed cat could climb a tree. My declawed cat can't climb for crap compared to my other cat who has claws.

OP, as an experiment, you might try playing regularly with the cat with a bird toy (such as Da Bird) or similar for a few days to see if it just has a lot of built-up energy and is directing it at her for some reason.

 

[racolvin]

Originally posted by: Chiropteran

I wasn't even commenting on the morality of the declawing itself.

I just find your reasoning to be flawed. If you think that having a cats extremities amputated is fine and good, say so. But that isn't what you said... your post implied that you do see the negative in it, but you justify it because you feed your cats, give them a home, keep them safe from being run over, etc. I just don't buy that.

Three good deeds doesn't cancel out one evil deed.

You're assuming that the declawing deed is "evil" to begin with, which is a moral judgment. I don't find it to be evil, I find it a regrettable but necessary action. It is expensive for me to do, it requires anesthesia, and during the recovery process they are certainly inconvenienced and in some temporary mild pain, assuming the operation was done correctly. Understand that if I were Dr. Doolittle and could simply tell my cats the rules of the house, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Heck if I could speak to them I'd also make sure that they didn't barf on the carpet, hardwoods, or furniture but keep it to the tile or the vinyl

I'm afraid I don't speak "cat" however, so the option for them is to lose the claws in exchange for a remarkably cushy life in my home. I can't do anything about the barfing so I have to live with that but thankfully a SpotBot is the only required tool to solve that problem.

 

[Q]

Originally posted by: TwiceOver
Declaw.

 

[Q]

Originally posted by: amdhunter

Originally posted by: Linflas

Originally posted by: AntiFreze

Originally posted by: dabuddha

Originally posted by: adairusmc
Sounds like it needs the wall bounce treatment.

I bet she will quit that crap real quick if she starts to associate her attitude with high velocity contact with drywall from the same foot she stalked and clawed.

lol

I have smacked her on the top of her head and yelled at her. She's already a timid cat to begin with so it's just weird that she's become aggressive out of the blue.

/sigh

seriously? you hit a cat? cats arent dogs. You can't beat a cat when its bad. It will not associate the two together. Maybe you should just give your cat up for adoption.

Actually beating any animal isn't going to lead to positive behavior. Cats will respond to a simple tap on the nose much better than hitting them on the head.

They might? But it's just not as fun.

:laugh:

 

[Q]

Originally posted by: DrawninwarD
Hit your cat with a Falcon Punch. It will never bother you or your wife again.

:laugh: x2 this thread is great

 

[torpid]

If all you care about is avoiding the injuries and not the behavior, just trim the claws.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: racolvin
I can't do anything about the barfing so I have to live with that but thankfully a SpotBot is the only required tool to solve that problem.

Dude, I looove the spotbot.

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
if the cat recently started this something must have changed. Perhaps it did it once and you wife thought it was cute and pet it. Cats are quick to learn reward behavior and hard to unlearn it. Wake up to feed a cat once prior to 5am because it was meowing and you will be constantly being woken up.

Cats can be trained, however; they respond differently than dogs. Both dogs and cats are hard to train if they were not started on this early on. The main problem for cats is too many get one than think you just throw it in a room and it will do just fine, yet get a dog and contantly play and teach it. 5 years later they wonder why their cat always hides, doesn't listen, etc when the dog comes when they get home, and can obey commands.

People always think my cats are so unique. The thing is they are not, just properly socialized and trained.

While I won't argue cats training, you can train a dog at any age. Dogs live in the moment.

 

[Wheezer]

is she spayed?

if not, get her spayed and declawed...

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: torpid
alkemyst, if they do declaw, hypothetically, are you saying that the cat wouldn't bite her and/or that it would in some way improve the behavior? It seems like you were implying that but I suspect it was just an unintended implication. Surely you would agree that the root behavioral issue needs to be addressed?

I would be really interested to see how a declawed cat could climb a tree. My declawed cat can't climb for crap compared to my other cat who has claws.

OP, as an experiment, you might try playing regularly with the cat with a bird toy (such as Da Bird) or similar for a few days to see if it just has a lot of built-up energy and is directing it at her for some reason.

I wasn't saying declawing would be the answer for this cats behavior. I was responding to those saying it's an abomination.

A declawed cat can't climb trees really, that is also the point. Cats really should be indoor pets. Declawed cats MUST be.

 

[Cattlegod]

Just kill it and get a new one. Eat it if it if the animal lovers get all pissy so you don't waste anything.