Cat Psycho!..??? HELP

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

Ms J Thompson - 04 Mar 2005 08:23 GMT

Hi,

I have recently got a new addition to my little family, which consists of me
and my partner.. and I decided that I wanted to get myself a nice
pussycat... one I could give lots of love too, and look after and
everything... So I decided that the S.P.C.A was the place to look for one...
and boy did I find her!! she is about 1 year old so they think, and they
couldn't really tell me much more about her life before arrival.
I got her home and gave her a name (Madison) and everything went well.. she
settled in very quickly and its only been a few weeks and I know her
likes/dislikes, when and how she would like her food.. hehehe.. I am
basically a servant to my cat... she is so cool. :)

BUT now getting onto the serious matter which I have at the moment. I will
be sitting down, giving her a nice pat.. or playing with her and her toy
that she adores (picks it up in her mouth) and moves around the house
constantly.. when suddenly for no reason what so ever.. she will have this
look of "Pure Evil" on her face... and she goes in for the kill.... and I
mean BIG TIME!!.. I wouldn't cross her if I didn't have too. & she bites and
scratches.. latches onto anything she can find and just will not stop doing
that.. if I move she will bite my leg!!!... now don't get me wrong I love
my cat.. but What do I do???

Do you think that she will settle down with time, as they don't know the
type of life she has had before maybe it wasn't a very nice one...
I give her all the love and attention... she has heaps of places to play
outside... inside she has cat houses.. toys, you name it my cat has it.. but
she is just a very unhappy cat when she is like that. I suffer from
depression and I am wondering if she does also!!.. I feel so bad for her,
cause I love her so much.. I just won't her to settle in and realise that I
would never hurt her.

I tell her "No Madison" when she bites and stuff.. and she will run off...
but turns round come back and just attacks again...

Does anyone have any advice?? :(

From a concerned cat owner - Janette

Reply to this Message

PawsForThought - 04 Mar 2005 13:46 GMT

> BUT now getting onto the serious matter which I have at the moment. I will
> be sitting down, giving her a nice pat.. or playing with her and her toy
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> that.. if I move she will bite my leg!!!... now don't get me wrong I love
> my cat.. but What do I do???

Hi Janette,
First off, congrats on your new kitty! :)
As for her aggression, it sounds to me like she's a normal young cat,
acting like a young teenager. You should watch for signs that she is
getting to stimulated, i.e. tail twitching a lot, ears back, eyes
dilating. When she becomes too stimulated, stop any interaction with
her and ignore her. Also, young cats need lots of playtime. You might
want to try a feather on a stick toy. This will help use up some of
her extra energy and give you time together to bond. Never use your
hands to play with the cat, or she will start to consider you a big
toy. If she goes for your legs, you might want to keep a squirt bottle
on hand and give her a little spray and tell her no. Then ignore her.
She'll get the message. I would also recommend a book called The New
Natural Cat by Anitra Frazier. It's got a lot of great advice and
information in training cats and is one of my favorites. Lastly, you
might want to consider adopting a second kitty as a playmate for your
cat. I would go with one about the same age or younger. But if you
do, make sure to introduce them slowly. There are a lot of websites
out there that give great advice on making introductions.

hope this helps,
Lauren

Reply to this Message

Barb - 04 Mar 2005 15:42 GMT

Madison really loves and appreciates the home you have given her. She loves
to play and sometimes she plays imaginary games like stalking or attacking
her enemy. She is pretending like kids do. You don't want her biting or
scratching you so give a loud "no" and then stop playing with her. Ignore
her the best you can.

--
Barb
Of course I don't look busy,
I did it right the first time.

Reply to this Message

Karen - 04 Mar 2005 16:36 GMT

This sounds like how my cats would get when playful, but I have stuffed toys
around that they can jump on and bunny kick the heck out of. Try ones about
half the size of your cat. Long tubular type things are REALLY good for
this. Something like this:
http://www.krittersinthemailbox.com/animals/snakes/waplt2170ch.htm

Would really work well. Couch throw pillows work too. My little boy who just
passed on was a big fan of attacking the pillows. His sister likes a small
stuffed mouse and also a draft blocker kind of like the above.

See:

"http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/kchuplis/detail?.dir=/e1a3&.dnm=f3d6.jpg&.src
=ph"

> Hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 34 lines]
>
> From a concerned cat owner - Janette

Reply to this Message

BarB - 04 Mar 2005 22:33 GMT

>BUT now getting onto the serious matter which I have at the moment. I will
>be sitting down, giving her a nice pat.. or playing with her and her toy
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>that.. if I move she will bite my leg!!!... now don't get me wrong I love
>my cat.. but What do I do???

A mom cat would HISS at her and bop her on the nose. Try the HISS and
a can of canned air duster which makes a great hissing noise. (just
don't point it in her face). This has worked with several biters.
Keep a feather toy handy to distract her. Keep a pillow handy to
protect yourself. A toy she can kick the bejesus out of is a help.
One of mine likes a roll of paper towels.

If she does get you, don't move or interact with her in any way. You
can cry "ouch". That's what her litter mates would do and it's how
most kittens learn not to bite hard when they play. A kitten taken
from its mother and litter mates too early doesn't learn this so you
will have to teach her.

BarB

Reply to this Message

Mary - 04 Mar 2005 23:31 GMT

>> If she does get you, don't move or interact with her in any way. You
> can cry "ouch". That's what her litter mates would do and it's how
> most kittens learn not to bite hard when they play. A kitten taken
> from its mother and litter mates too early doesn't learn this so you
> will have to teach her.

This has been very effective for me.

Reply to this Message

Ms J Thompson - 05 Mar 2005 04:23 GMT

Thankyou everyone for your advice :) I appreciate that alot and will try
these things with her and see how that goes. I will keep you posted.

Thanks once again

Janette

> Hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 34 lines]
>
> From a concerned cat owner - Janette

Reply to this Message