Attacked by your own cat
Discussion
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Rather derail the Caturday I thought it would be easier to start a new thread. We adopted a cat back in October from cats protection that was labled up as anti social. Her original owner had passed away, ended up in a catenary for a year, CP for a few months, got adopted and returned due to her aggressive behaviour - fair enough. When we saw her and spent time in the pen for an hour we had 1 swipe but was still able to stroke her later on with her purring away. She settled in very quickly and became very inseparable from us - sleeps sometimes on the bed with us or on the landing, happy is sit with us when we are watching tv, follow us around the house. She has still had a swipe at us but from time to time but it’s gone from Claus out to just the palm. On Thursday and Saturday this week both me and the misses has been attacked by her - first time was misses fault with her making cat noises (not to her but close enough for her to hear) and second time was her hearing next doors cat having a barny with another cat - she ran out the door to investigate, I run out to call her back of which she came back and then went for me (and I do mean attack). I had to give her a kick to get her away from me. She has scratched and bitted us so a bit on edge as a whole. The thing is less than 5minutes after attack she’s calling out to us (like she does when she wakes up and not sure where we are, very patheticly sounding). She wants to then be with us and is in a mopey way to apology to us. Other than keeping her way from other cat (house cat), I can’t think what else to do? We don’t really want to return her but worried she would attack someone else
Rather derail the Caturday I thought it would be easier to start a new thread. We adopted a cat back in October from cats protection that was labled up as anti social. Her original owner had passed away, ended up in a catenary for a year, CP for a few months, got adopted and returned due to her aggressive behaviour - fair enough. When we saw her and spent time in the pen for an hour we had 1 swipe but was still able to stroke her later on with her purring away. She settled in very quickly and became very inseparable from us - sleeps sometimes on the bed with us or on the landing, happy is sit with us when we are watching tv, follow us around the house. She has still had a swipe at us but from time to time but it’s gone from Claus out to just the palm. On Thursday and Saturday this week both me and the misses has been attacked by her - first time was misses fault with her making cat noises (not to her but close enough for her to hear) and second time was her hearing next doors cat having a barny with another cat - she ran out the door to investigate, I run out to call her back of which she came back and then went for me (and I do mean attack). I had to give her a kick to get her away from me. She has scratched and bitted us so a bit on edge as a whole. The thing is less than 5minutes after attack she’s calling out to us (like she does when she wakes up and not sure where we are, very patheticly sounding). She wants to then be with us and is in a mopey way to apology to us. Other than keeping her way from other cat (house cat), I can’t think what else to do? We don’t really want to return her but worried she would attack someone else
Sounds to me like a cat that just gets aggressive quickly; mine was a bit like that. The trick is maybe not to make 'cat noises' at it, and realise that she gets very wound up by the sound of other cats fighting. This probably goes back to her previous life and is now engrained. So don't pretend to be another cat, learn to recognise when it's wound up and leave it alone until it calms down. In short, just step back a bit and let her come to you when she's calm.
Mine had been in a cat rescue for about 6 months because she would attack people. That's because she hated every other cat, yet was surrounded by the sight, sound and smell of them. Take a wound up cat, add a human holding its hand out and saying 'Aw what a cute puddy cat let me stroke you' - and wallop. She still has a short fuse but now in a peaceful cat-free zone, she's a, well, pussy cat!
NB You have another cat, a 'house cat'? What is this cat?
Mine had been in a cat rescue for about 6 months because she would attack people. That's because she hated every other cat, yet was surrounded by the sight, sound and smell of them. Take a wound up cat, add a human holding its hand out and saying 'Aw what a cute puddy cat let me stroke you' - and wallop. She still has a short fuse but now in a peaceful cat-free zone, she's a, well, pussy cat!
NB You have another cat, a 'house cat'? What is this cat?
When cats are young they play fight and can be fairly vicious, they learn when it’s too much from their siblings screeching in pain. Saw this with two kittens we adopted. If they scratch or bite you then making a loud clear noise (can just say ow, don’t need to mock cat yowl, but needs to sound like you’re in pain) can help as they’ll know it hurts and will start to modify their behaviour.
If it’s physiological from being mistreated then may not work so well, less familiar with how to deal with that.
If it’s physiological from being mistreated then may not work so well, less familiar with how to deal with that.
Of our three, the big cat is the one that gets paws (usually teeth) on.
He's affectionate most of the time but can flip quickly. Trick is to spot the tells - for him, it's the tail flicking or if he is laid down, then a back leg raising. He can then go full schizoid and clamp on - blowing in his face makes him stop, but when we first got him, I looked like I had put my hands in a blender.
He is a rescue and he has had a hard time - we learned to give him space and do any head rubs in slow time. We've got to belly rubs (mindful of the back leg) and he's getting a lot better.
It's often either fear, pain (we think he might be arthritic) or over stimulation.
I would almost ignore him and let him come to you - he'll settle in due course, ours has.
With any cat, particularly a rescue, it takes time. And they all have different likes/dislikes.
Ours is ex Battersea Cats and Dogs home, and it took easily a year before he was comfortable around us. Now he is the friendliest old boy you could wish for, always wanting to sit on knees or next to us, and loving being scratched under his chin or having his nose rubbed. But he has very definite boundaries. It is on his terms - he won't be picked up and put on a knee for example, and trying to roll him over to rub his belly would end badly.
In the first few months we considered taking him back to Battersea. Very glad we didn't.
Ours is ex Battersea Cats and Dogs home, and it took easily a year before he was comfortable around us. Now he is the friendliest old boy you could wish for, always wanting to sit on knees or next to us, and loving being scratched under his chin or having his nose rubbed. But he has very definite boundaries. It is on his terms - he won't be picked up and put on a knee for example, and trying to roll him over to rub his belly would end badly.
In the first few months we considered taking him back to Battersea. Very glad we didn't.
Simpo Two said:
Sounds to me like a cat that just gets aggressive quickly; mine was a bit like that. The trick is maybe not to make 'cat noises' at it, and realise that she gets very wound up by the sound of other cats fighting. This probably goes back to her previous life and is now engrained. So don't pretend to be another cat, learn to recognise when it's wound up and leave it alone until it calms down. In short, just step back a bit and let her come to you when she's calm.
Mine had been in a cat rescue for about 6 months because she would attack people. That's because she hated every other cat, yet was surrounded by the sight, sound and smell of them. Take a wound up cat, add a human holding its hand out and saying 'Aw what a cute puddy cat let me stroke you' - and wallop. She still has a short fuse but now in a peaceful cat-free zone, she's a, well, pussy cat!
NB You have another cat, a 'house cat'? What is this cat?
We had between us 10 cats growing up all rescue cats so are use to cats and more importantly rescue cats that can be testing at times. It s been more of a case of dr Jekyll and Harriet Hyde personality. We don t play with toys with her because I can see that it would wynd her up.Mine had been in a cat rescue for about 6 months because she would attack people. That's because she hated every other cat, yet was surrounded by the sight, sound and smell of them. Take a wound up cat, add a human holding its hand out and saying 'Aw what a cute puddy cat let me stroke you' - and wallop. She still has a short fuse but now in a peaceful cat-free zone, she's a, well, pussy cat!
NB You have another cat, a 'house cat'? What is this cat?
It wasn t a case of the misses pretending to by a cat but her on the phone to others chat about the cat. Our cat heard her rather than it being directed to her. Either not planning on doing it again. We always tend to let her come to us or call her, never pick her up to force her onto our laps.
We only have the one cat, our neighbour has a cat that sometimes comes over to our garden but is very timid and it was that cat that was having a fight on Saturday with another cat. The house cat I referred to is our cat, if things did not improve we would end up keeping her in side as a house cat.
Chris Stott said:
I would think it s a fright response.
She s maybe been attacked in the past, and the sound of the cats fighting has set her off.
Completely agree, I would say we are very chilled with her as a whole. House is big enough to go where she pleases, there’s always some food for her, we don’t wake her up even if we wanted to stroke her etc. As I’ve said, we have had other rescue cats in the past but not one that has been as vicious (even fore a split second) - most that have been antisocial have been just not interested in being around anyone at any time other than for food.She s maybe been attacked in the past, and the sound of the cats fighting has set her off.
SlimJim16v said:
It can take months if not years for a damaged animal to forget, overcome or recover from whatever abuse they suffered. It was 2 years before our Snowy curled up on me, even longer before he stopped hiding whenever we had a visitor.
That’s the thing, first 10minutes home she was happy to sit on our lap, happy to have head (chin, nose and gum) scratches when she wants to, is fine with friends or strangers coming over (will come and sit on their laps straight away) other that noisy kids (which has only been once and she was able to run away). The misses mum came and cat sat for a week while we were away and there was no issues mattvanders said:
We only have the one cat, our neighbour has a cat that sometimes comes over to our garden but is very timid and it was that cat that was having a fight on Saturday with another cat. The house cat I referred to is our cat, if things did not improve we would end up keeping her in side as a house cat.
So the house cat and the adopted cat are the same animal? If not you have two cats 
I’ve had my girl for 8 years… she was just under a year old old when I got her as a rehome from CPL.
Shes never been mistreated… she had to be rehomed as the young couple who had her before split up and they couldn’t take any of the 4 cats they had to their new accommodation… I took her and a male cat (unrelated), someone else took the other 2.
She was described as nervous, and CPL would only let her go with the male cat… to which she had become attached.
8 years on and she’s still super nervous… she never goes out at night, spending every night curled up alongside me on the bed. She’s afraid of her own shadow, jumps at the slightest strange noise, she’s been through periods of hyper grooming and she still won’t go near another human (other than my wife on occasion, who’s the only other human that’s touched her in 8 years). She’s a complete daddy’s girl, but despite being treated like a princess and me never even raising my voice to her… she will still run off if I try to pick her up, or if i make too much noise around her.
On occasion, she will turn on me and hiss… typically, this is when she’s super fussy, purring like mad, but I happen to stroke her too hard, or I slightly catch her tummy or back leg… but she’s a tiny thing and has never actually scratched me… it’s just her way of saying ‘I don't like that’
Despite never being mistreated I don't think she’ll ever change… it’s just how she is.
Shes never been mistreated… she had to be rehomed as the young couple who had her before split up and they couldn’t take any of the 4 cats they had to their new accommodation… I took her and a male cat (unrelated), someone else took the other 2.
She was described as nervous, and CPL would only let her go with the male cat… to which she had become attached.
8 years on and she’s still super nervous… she never goes out at night, spending every night curled up alongside me on the bed. She’s afraid of her own shadow, jumps at the slightest strange noise, she’s been through periods of hyper grooming and she still won’t go near another human (other than my wife on occasion, who’s the only other human that’s touched her in 8 years). She’s a complete daddy’s girl, but despite being treated like a princess and me never even raising my voice to her… she will still run off if I try to pick her up, or if i make too much noise around her.
On occasion, she will turn on me and hiss… typically, this is when she’s super fussy, purring like mad, but I happen to stroke her too hard, or I slightly catch her tummy or back leg… but she’s a tiny thing and has never actually scratched me… it’s just her way of saying ‘I don't like that’
Despite never being mistreated I don't think she’ll ever change… it’s just how she is.
Some cats are just like that.
Ours will be triggered by a specific movement (reach up above his head from the back) and by the time the teeth and claws are firmly clamped on, he will look at you with a 'oh s
t' look and then let go.
He has been like this for 15 years, you just have to try not to trigger him.
He is a rescue cat and wasn't handled that well as a kitten.
Ours will be triggered by a specific movement (reach up above his head from the back) and by the time the teeth and claws are firmly clamped on, he will look at you with a 'oh s
t' look and then let go.He has been like this for 15 years, you just have to try not to trigger him.
He is a rescue cat and wasn't handled that well as a kitten.
Ours is the same. Rescue cat, mangled and eventually amputated tail, over 18 months in the shelter, returned twice by others for being aggressive.
We’ve had him 15 months, absolutely fine for weeks on end then all of a sudden he’ll have a brain fart and attack for no reason whatsoever (happened this afternoon for the first time since Christmas). 5 minutes later he’s sat in my lap making V8 turbo diesel purring noises.
Poor little bugger had a proper stty life before coming to us so maybe he just has some sort of feline PTSD.
We’ve had him 15 months, absolutely fine for weeks on end then all of a sudden he’ll have a brain fart and attack for no reason whatsoever (happened this afternoon for the first time since Christmas). 5 minutes later he’s sat in my lap making V8 turbo diesel purring noises.
Poor little bugger had a proper s
tty life before coming to us so maybe he just has some sort of feline PTSD. My ex wife got 2 kittens from Gumtree. Only a couple of months old and they spent most of their time hiding under the sofa or behind the telly.
Only came out for food as long as everyone cleared the room.
One eventually went to a relative but Cassie remained and seemed ok with the other cats but wouldn't let a human near her.
She was around 6 years old before I could gently place a hand on her and she stayed by me but was so nervous.
I always wonder what happened in her first few weeks of life to be affected like that for years after
Only came out for food as long as everyone cleared the room.
One eventually went to a relative but Cassie remained and seemed ok with the other cats but wouldn't let a human near her.
She was around 6 years old before I could gently place a hand on her and she stayed by me but was so nervous.
I always wonder what happened in her first few weeks of life to be affected like that for years after
wombleh said:
When cats are young they play fight and can be fairly vicious, they learn when it s too much from their siblings screeching in pain. Saw this with two kittens we adopted. If they scratch or bite you then making a loud clear noise (can just say ow, don t need to mock cat yowl, but needs to sound like you re in pain) can help as they ll know it hurts and will start to modify their behaviour.
If it s physiological from being mistreated then may not work so well, less familiar with how to deal with that.
Definitely wasn’t play fighting, got the full scratch and bites to show for it. She’s almost 7 so way past the playful kitten stage If it s physiological from being mistreated then may not work so well, less familiar with how to deal with that.
Landlubber said:
Cat's frightened, give her a space that's hers, let her set the pace and never stare at her. She'll come around.
This was how she was 20min after I was attacked the first time. The misses injures, tennis and antibiotics were needed.
[url]
][url]
[url]
Edited by mattvanders on Thursday 26th March 20:42
Forum | All Creatures Great & Small | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff