Discipline for a cat?

My sister's cat is really mean. we bring her in by the fire to warm up everyday and she isn't allowed off our laps. so she'll just be laying there and i'll be petting her and she'll suddenly bite me really hard and she'll usually draw blood. all i do is pet her. i tell her no and stop petting her were she continues to attach me. it's not a play attack, it's an all out "i want to kill you" attack. she doesn't hate me or anything, when she comes in to warm up she'll lay there and purr, but when she's warm she'll attack. how do i get her to stop?

 

She isn't allowed off your lap? Heck, if you brought me in once a day to warm up and not allow me to move I'd bite you too

I'm no expert but I'd say she resents not being alowed to roam.

Also, you failed to mention factors that would help determine behaviour such as how old is she? Where did she come from? Is she a stray cat? Was she adopted? If so, when? Is she up to date on her shots (since she's puncturing your skin)? Have you had your shots? LOL

Even a fully domesticated/socialized animal has only so much tolarence for unusual restraint.

 

If I read it right... aside from not being allowed off your lap (which my cats would attack me for - they go where they want, when they want) -

Could the cat be overstimulated? My cat Tash loves being pet. But, when he's had too much, he'll turn on you. He'll love the petting, but all of the sudden freak out and claw and bite. He gives little warning. It's his way of saying, 'that's enough. Stop.' If we pet him too much, he doesn't seem to know what to do with himself.

So, we stop. (Then we go to clean up our wounds!)
I've learned to predict him so I don't get hurt, but my husband often pushes his luck.

 

Yeah, lucidity is right about the overstimulation thing. A cat can go from purr to nip rather quickly. And I can easily see purr to bite if they're being forced to sit and take the stimulation.

In my humble opinion, the cat isn't doing anything wrong. Just acting naturally

 

Don't understand not allowed off the lap.

How do you keep him on your lap if he wants to get off? I am the person of a most loving cat,Raymond, he is fully clawed and very fit. Even though he has never to this date unsheathed his claws in anger at anyone, not even the pesky dog, I'm sure if I tried to make him stay on my lap he wouldn't hesitate to let me know what's up.

 

the beauty of cats...you can't force them to do something they do not want to do, and if you try you'll see why

Give kitty his space he'll respect you more for letting him be a cat.

It sounds like he's primarily an outside cat that you bring in once a day to warm up...that in itself could explain the attitude - he's not used to human contact. Only way to change that is to make him an inside only

 

Hi,

I'm a little confused, is the cat an otherwise outdoor cat except for the daily warming by the fire? :?

Sounds like all the previous posts were alot of really good advice.

Wait, let me dig for another two cents...

Okay, what I think is this cat, if he's an outdoor cat, is full of mega independence when he's outside and he's got some pretty high tuned survival techniques to keep him safe in his hood. :0012:

So, coming inside, while warm, is not part of his element. So, I think they get spooked more easily when they hear and see things that are out of the norm. If he was allowed to explore the inside when he comes in he may get more adjusted to the inside routine. but, if it's something like...umm...your dad :x won't let him in the house unless you are holding him, he (the cat) is not going to understand that dad :x is inflexible. He's just going to be scared. If he is forever only going to be an outside cat, maybe if you guys have a garage or a barn or someplace where you can fix him up with a warm, cozy, dry bed, it might work out better for him.

I try to give my boys as much freedom as possible, but I limit their outside time 'cause I'm afraid our neighborhood is too busy with traffic for them to be safe.
I've had cats that spent a good deal of time outside 'cause they had to patrol their area. :0019: Those were the cats, I could tell, while they really liked us as their family...I could see in their eyes..it really boiled down to "what's for dinner? I gotta get back out there"
Maybe your cat is as independent, and like a polite guest...only came in for the food. :y_the_best:


Good luck

 

My guess is overstimulation unless this aggression occurs when the cat is trying to move and you are forcing her to stay where she is.

Here's some more info on overstimulation/petting aggression:
http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/cathumag.htm

 

Wow! Thanks for all the advice! Ok she was rescued and she's about 8 months old. she is also current on her shots. when we first got her she lived inside until she grew up a bit, then we started to move her out during the day. we used to let her come in and roam the house until she chewed the handle off our leather recliner (which i could care less about, but my parents freeked) and she peed on my white bathrobe (this one i cared about) ok so now she has to be in only if she's in our laps. so we sit by the fire and let her sit with us. ok, so i think everyone's right about the petting thing and thanks for all the great advice. i'll try to stop petting her before the bite happens. but she still isn't allowed to wander the house (parents rule) so if she does bite i guess i'll have to just put her back outside since she obviously doesn't want to stay were shes is. but then i feel guilty (depends on how deep the bite is) cause she'll yowl at the door. our garage has several nice warm beds for her and our other cat. thanks again for all the advice. we lost our sweetest cat, he was the best, when we were little we'd dress him up in doll clothes and feed him cat food from a spoon while he sat in the hi-chair.

 

I think your parents either needs to allow this cat to roam the house when she's inside, or have to make her a strictly outdoor cat. (But I can see how hard that must be for you, since it not likely your parents will change their mind, and you'll probably feel guilty about not letting her in at all)
All in all, you are the only one who can tell if the cat seems uncomfortable with being a "lap cat" only. If she purrs to begin with, maybe you can just let her back out a little sooner than you usually do to avoid the biting. Have you/your parents thought about making a kittie room inside, a room just for the cat/cats? If you have enough space, that would probably be a good solution.
Good luck :y_the_best:

 

could kitty stay in your room?

 

Well, our old cats had a room, but now it's my dad's room were he keeps all his hunting and fishing stuff. so that's out of the question. other than that we don't have anyroom. she really couldn't stay in my room cause she doesn't get the idea of a litter box anymore and my room isn't very big so that wouldn't work.