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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / November 2003biting in the middle of the night
hi, this might seem kind of strange. my 2-year old tabby has always gotten plenty of love and attention, but i've recently moved to a new place further from work. this means that i'm home less often and don't get to spend as much time playing with him as he's used to. he likes to play, a LOT, and sometimes bites down--but never hard enough to break the skin. last night, however, he came up to me while i was sleeping, and woke me up at 4am by biting down REALLY HARD -- around my eye! i now have scratches around my eye and eyebrow. it never occurred to me that he would ever do that. has this ever happened to anyone else? and is it just because he's lonely? (i came home really late, and went to bed very soon after coming home... i noticed that he was sleeping by my head at one point, which he doesn't usually do--he tends to sleep at my feet.) does this sound like separation anxiety? or a behavioral problem that should actually be addressed? can you punish a cat for something like that, and would he actually learn anything?? (if i see him looking like he wants to attack or play rough, i usually show him a water bottle and he backs away without my having to actually squrt it. but there was no way of seeing this attack, as i was asleep!) short of getting another cat (which i would LOVE to do but can't right now), what should i do? he has toys he likes to play with, and windows to look out... i just can't be there all the time... any thoughts would be HUGELY appreciated. thanks. catherine > last night, however, he came up to me while >i was sleeping, and woke me up at 4am by biting down REALLY HARD -- >around my eye! i now have scratches around my eye and eyebrow. it >never occurred to me that he would ever do that. has this ever >happened to anyone else? My cat Boots had an aggression issue for about two weeks once. He'd attack my head in the middle of the night. I thought I would need stitches once because my head was bleeding so badly and it wouldn't stop. He also got right next to my eye. It turns out there was a tom cat peeing on the window outside my bedroom and office. He was very upset and needed to unleash his aggression. I think your cat is upset by the move, having less time with you and maybe there's another cat around. I tried to give my cat more love, attention, game playing, catnip an hour before bedtime. It helped a little. What really helped was that tom cat leaving the area. I also had to lock him out of the bedroom because I couldn't sleep because I was frightened of being attacked by my own cat. I think getting another cat at the moment might not be the best thing. Another cat would take away time with him and may upset him even more. Sushi, The only punishment you can administer is to shut your bedroom door when you go to bed, leaving him alone at night. If you find that he keep you up at night, just relocate him to another bedroom or a bathroom for a few nights. I had a similar problem a few months ago. I had to put my cats in one of my guest rooms on the other side of the house so I could get some sleep. You might consider using Feliway to help calm him after this move. It has probably stressed him. You could get a diffuser for your bedroom. It's available at most pet stores and vets. Pricey, but IMO worth it. Karen > hi, > this might seem kind of strange. my 2-year old tabby has always gotten [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > any thoughts would be HUGELY appreciated. thanks. > catherine > hi, > this might seem kind of strange. my 2-year old tabby has always gotten > plenty of love and attention, but i've recently moved to a new place > further from work. this means that i'm home less often and don't get > to spend as much time playing with him as he's used to. Hi , A house move ,your cat used to get plenty of attention and you don't have so much time to play with him . That's *major* life style change. If you're keeping a cat in a situation where he can't amuse himself then you *have* to compensate . You can get things like videos for cats to keep him amused and playing with a fishing rod toy in the am before you leave and at night will help. You have to make time . Swop his toys around so he doesn't get bored. Check out websites for new toys , thers things like crinkle bags , da bird and panic mouse . Please don't punish your cat . * punishment isn't the opposite of reward. Rewarding a pet increases the good behaviour while punishment doesn't stop bad * (Dr Peter Neville). Pam Johnson Bennet has written good books about how to keep your cat happy indoors . Think like a cat and psycho kitty . Please read them , she gives great advice. Alison > he likes to play, a LOT, and sometimes bites down--but never hard > enough to break the skin. last night, however, he came up to me while [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > any thoughts would be HUGELY appreciated. thanks. > catherine > Please don't punish your cat . * punishment isn't the opposite of > reward. Rewarding a pet increases the good behaviour while punishment > doesn't stop bad * (Dr Peter Neville). Don't tell that to my cat. I punished her for a) going on top of our dining table; b) playing on our kitchen counter where we keep our food; c) scratching on our carpet instead of her post. Now she doesn't do those things. She just stays on top of the TV or her cat tree and uses the scratching post. >. She just stays on top of the TV or her cat tree and > uses the scratching post.>> I have a cat that sits on top of the TV all the to time. It's a china one. Alison Hi everyone, Thanks for your input. I'm kind of relieved to hear aggressive phases pass... The apartment we're in now is much bigger than the studio I had before, and he has windows, houseplants to play jungle kitty in, and all sorts of toys. I just wish I lived closer to work so I could spend more time with him. Anyway, last night I made a point of stopping by the house to play for an hour before heading out again. It seems I just have to make a LOT more effort. I understand punishment is pretty pointless (and there are no real doors in this apartment, so, I just have to hope for the best when I go to bed that he won't scratch me!) Poor little guy. I thought cats were supposed to be independent creatures, but not mine! I guess I'll just spend more time playing with him, and hopefully that aggression was a one-time occurrence. (It was scary though.) Thanks again-- catherine |
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