Mean kitty advice Please help!

My four year old male cat is so mean! He bites while you pet him and attacks your feet atleast three times a day. I've tried yelling, water, everything. He has become pretty dangerous. I've been seriously hurt by him a handful of times. He sneaks up behind you and bats at your face leaving deep cuts and bruises. I'm at a crossroads. Does anyone have any ideas as to what to do? Any medication? Please help, I don't want to put my kitty down.

 

Is he fixed?

 

Also, is this behavior a new development, or has he always been this way?

 

Yes, he is fixed and this has been going on since he was 2. It started out with just the biting and ankle slapping then gradually got to the where it is now. I love him so so much but he's getting out of control.

 

before medicating him try Bach's Rescue Remedy for awhile. It's all natural ingredients and has a calming effect on both animals and people. Not all animals respond to it but it's worth trying before you do resort to drugs.
You can get it online or at GNC or natural food stores. It's a bit high priced but drugs would be too.
You can either add it straight into his mouth or add to his water if he's a water drinker.
and/or get a Feliway diffuser. That releases phermomes (might have spelled that wrong) that also helps a cat to relax.
I'd give both a try and see what happens.
diffusers can also be bought online or at pet stores. They can be a bit pricey (in my opinion) and you would need one for each room your cat frequents.

 

thank you so much for your help. I appreciate it!

 

does he like water? try a squirt bottle...it works for some cats but not for others

 

My kitty Mittens is somewhat hyperactive (although since she is about 8 yrs. old now and seems to be calming down) and she has attacked our hands when we try to pet her and tries to bite if she see your hand out of the corner of her eye. My husband and I say that is a good thing we have her because we don't think anyone would put up with some of her antics.

I used to yell at her and have used the squirt bottle but it would only get her more excited and more hyper. Also, the more upset I got, the more hyper she got.

So, I decided to do just the opposite. When she got excited I would just sit down and talk to her calmly and tell her it was okay. Stuff like that. When she would try to scratch or bite I would just say NO firmly and stop moving my hand or whatever was moving. Something else that worked pretty good was that I would just leave the room and go somewhere else. Then, she didn't have anyone there anymore to try to get attention from.

These things have worked well for me. They are just a suggestion.

Good luck with your kitty.

 

sunset...we did similar w/our Tilly. She was declawed by her previous owner :cry: and when we got at her nearly 2 years of age she was a biter.
We didn't overreact - we simply stopped petting her, gave her a stern no and either set her down or walked away from her.
With Tilly it was when she got overstimulated and she would bite/nip or slap us upside the head....she learned that doing that meant no attention. She's wonderful now

 

IMO, he does'nt need medicine or punishment...he needs more exercise. From what you describe (feet attacks and sneaking up on you) it sounds like predatory/play aggression and the best way to fix it is to provide him with an outlet using interactive toys that he can "prey" upon. Unfortunately for us humans, when an outlet is not provided we (or sometimes even other household pets) become the target but its certainly not fair to punish a cat for this when no alternative outlet is being provided.
For the petting aggression you'll need to pay close attention to his body language so you can stop petting him before he reacts. Specifically, keep an eye on his eyes, ears and tail whenever you are petting him.

 

my grandmother years ago took in a cat that belonged to her neighbors kids. Nappy was a biter but it quit soon after she adopted it. He bit her one day, she grabbed Nappy and bit his ear. Nappy never bit her again.
I had same situation with my sister's cat "Brat"..he was notorious for biting. He laid into me one day and without thinking but remembering what grandma had done, I bit his ear. Sure enough he never bit me again though continued biting everyone else.
I know this works with dogs since I was bit when I was 6 years old and literally bit the dog back.

 

and if you are observed biting your pet it is considered animal cruelty...people have had animal cruelty charges pressed on them for biting their pets back.

 

I totally agree with Nern. :y_the_best:

 

We had a very mean cat named Pooky, my very first cat. He attacked us without any warning and drew blood everywhere. My deepest regret is declawing him. I believe it shortened his lifespan as he had kidney disease as well. After we learned how to handle him by giving him a yellow stuffed dog to attack and lots of kitty toys, he became much more docile and loving. It takes time and patience, and love, but their behavior can be modified. Good luck!

 

Well if that seems a bit extreme for you at all....you could always try hissing...thats how i trained my cat. I never tell her "NO", but if she starts getting nasty or out of control with play biting, i grab her scruff and hiss in her face. She hates that and knows i mean business, but it doesn't hurt her any and doesn't make a mess like water :mrgreen: I've been doin that to her since she was a kitten for other things too, like teachin her to stay off the furniture and now she's great. All i gotta do is hiss at her across the room and she knows i'm watching and quits whatever she's getting into. You could also try whining if you get bit too hard. Sometimes Vianne will bite me when i pet her too much, but if i make like a crying/whining noise, she will stop and lick the spot where she bit me. So cute. :mrgreen:

 

So much advice! Thank you all. This forum is amazing. :y_the_best:

 

I used the hissing method on Kyrre as well whan he was a kitten and it worked wonders! :y_the_best:
Also I stare him in the eyes if he is doing something wrong, he always backs off when I do that. Not sure how that would work on an agressive/dominant cat though... And the second he stops what ever it is hes doing wrong I always make sure I praise him.

Good luck! :wink:

 

I bit my grandmas dog Ricky....that was my very first lesson in canine behaviour!!!. I was sitting under the kitchen table with him, he bit me so I grabbed his tail and bit it, we bonded well after that....I was about 18 months old though and didnt know any better.

 

No offense, to the "pet biters" out there :wink: .......

But I have a strong urge to highly recommend against biting an aggressive animal back (whether dog or cat) as a possible solution to treating aggression because it is a dangerous suggestion. Biting an aggressive animal back is a good way to get scratched or bit in the face! Besides, treating aggression with aggression often causes more aggression.

 

I agree totally....and I should add in addition to the post I put in, like I said I was about 18months old, had Ricky had been another dog, another temprement I could well have ended up facing a lifetime of plastic surgery....or worse!!!


I havent had that many cats but Ive always found, with every problem Ive had with them (7 in all) whether its biting, scratching, shredding the furniture, attacking the plants....a squirt bottle with plain water worked well, all it took was one quick squirt, in fact once Id used it a couple of times I only had to pick it up or shake it....one cat (Macca) would then proceed to 'shake the water off himself' even though I hadnt actually squirted any at him.