Having a Cat Issue... May 1 Update!

[TaraF]

She is a 7 year old Calico and I've had her since she was 7 weeks old. She is front declawed and spayed and strictly an indoor cat. She's always been a b*tch as I say, a bit more aggressive than I'd like, but as of this year she's been a lot more aggressive than normal. She attacks my bare feet, while normal cat behaviour, she is drawing blood, leaving scars, etc. She's just really aggressive. She will attack my hand when I'm typing on the computer, again normal but it's the aggressive attack that has me bothered, and sore, and scarred! I've tried the water bottle, I've tried the stern tone, etc it doesn't work with her.

I'm considering getting rid of her, and it breaks my heart to even be considering this. I have such a crappy immune system as is that quite frankly I don't want to risk getting an infection from her constant biting and scratching. And trust me she scratches great with her back claws! Right now I'm dealing with inflammation in my foot from an attack last week.

I keep thinking that if it was a dog that was constantly attacking me I wouldn't think twice about getting rid of it, so why is a cat any different? Anyways, yeah that's where I am right now.

I swear my cat is jekyl/hyde. She can be the sweetest cat one minute and won't leave me alone because she has to be everywhere I am, and the next she's totally aggressive.

Any thoughts on how to handle her? How to correct this? I really do NOT want to get rid of her, but I'm so frustrated and annoyed. I've been thinking of just trying to ignore her and shut her out. As in, don't pay any attention to her and when I go into a room not let her in with me. Kind of like to "teach her a lesson", but I'm not sure if that would be effective or counter productive.

Thoughts? Advice? Help?!

This is my little hellion:





May 1 Update:

So I went out and purchased the calming spray for my little kitty figuring there really are 2 spots in the house she just tends to always be so I figured I can just spray those spots. Well I went out and purchased a few things for her due to some wonderful suggestions made here on SC. One was the treat ball to which might I add she hates lol I think she just doesn't like working for her treats Another thing I purchased is a "mouse pad". It's an activity centre for kitties that has little dangly toys and it folds up for easy portability. I sprayed it with the calming spray and my cat LOVES it! She actually will wake us up in the morning because she's playing with it lol Here is a photo of the Mousepad:



And here is a video that I posted on Youtube of her playing with it. Seriously she loves the thing! Needless to say she's been quite calmer lately and enjoys her new toy, so things are improving!


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[GTAkitty]

Have you ever heard of Feliway diffusers?

http://www.feliway.com/us

Or At Ease Spray?

There is a calming collar too.

And something to add to your kitty's water to calm her down.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Andit]

Could she be bored? I know, silly question. But you might think she's got enough toys, but she might still not be getting enough mental stimulation. That's always the best trick with naughty dogs - give them a job & they'll stay out of trouble.

Does she know any tricks? Sit? Shake hands?

My cat was completely feral when my dog brought him home. He would spit & smack the floor if I came within 4 ft. He's now a big cuddly baby, whom I can dress up at Halloween.

Just one thing to keep in mind, you've let her get away with naughty behaviour for a long time, it won't stop overnight (it might actually get worse before it stops - she'll be testing you).

I'll be back on later, I have to go get ready to meet up with some SCers downtown in a little while.

[Natalka]

I hope you are trimming her back claws (she's a beauty, BTW!).
I agree with Andit that she could be bored. I'd get another cat! Having two is no more trouble than one - in fact, it's even less because they have a playmate, someone to cuddle, someone else to bug! And don't think she's too old to introduce a new cat to, my brother did it with his six year old cat, got a six month old kitten and they were fast friends.

[TaraF]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Actually I used the plug in Feliway before (totally forgot about that!) I believe my cat was about 3 or so, anyways my Aunt was taking her cat to the vet (my cats sister) and brought her carrying cage in the house (with the cat in it) and placed it on the floor for maybe 2 or 3 minutes. My cat took a hissy fit and she went crazy. She was aggressively biting and hissing all of the time for about 3 months straight afterwards, and that's why we ended up getting the Feliway. But I had to get it in the States because I couldn't find it here. I will check PetSmart when I'm out to see if they carry it. Otherwise I'll need to order it online. That's also why I'm not sure about introducing another cat lol I do remember that we used it for about 3 months or so and it worked. Maybe I will need to use it on a consistant basis from here on out with her. *shrugs* But if it works it will be worth it.

Natalka, her back claws haven't been cut in YEARS. Anytime we'd try to get near them she'd bite aggressively so we just left her alone. I was thinking of getting that Emery Cat thing but wasn't sure if that would work on her back claws since cats tend to "paw" with their front claws to which she doesn't have. In order to take her to the vet or a groomer to get her back claws clipped I'd have to get her shots updated. That's the one thing I regret not doing. Grrrr. My Vet said that if she is going to be an indoor cat that I didn't need to worry about getting yearly shots as long as I got the main set of 3 shots at birth. Being a first time cat owner I figured he knew what he was talking about!

When my cat was a kitten and getting her 2nd set of shots her regular vet wasn't available and someone else was filing in for him. My cat being the crazy cat she is was hissing, growling etc when getting her shots, so bad that they had to wrap her in a towel to protect themselves from getting tore up! That vet said that I should put her down because she will be an aggressive cat for life considering she was "showing signs of aggression so young", she was just a kitten at the time!

So she's definitely been feisty her whole life lol But I will definitely get that feliway this week and try that again.

[Miss_April]

I agree with the bordem, I think if you find a toy that she can "kill" it will help with the biting. I bought this cat toy at Zellers and its a mouse that squeaks and hangs on a sting and that hangs out your door, my cat loves it, he spends hours trying to kill it and it just keeps bouncing away.

If your thinking of adding a new kitty as a companion, I would really suggest getting another female. I made the mistake (but I still love him) of adding a new boy to my troops when my other two cats are 9-10 yrs old females. He is really really rough with them, He's always jumping on them and biting them so female would be best.

[TaraF]

Have you ever heard of Feliway diffusers?

http://www.feliway.com/us

Or At Ease Spray?

There is a calming collar too.

And something to add to your kitty's water to calm her down.

Good luck and keep us posted.

I called my local PetSmart and they have the Comfort Zone with Feliway Diffuser and it's on sale this week for like $40 and they have the At Ease Spray which is on sale as well for like $13. So I will pick both of those up this week when I get out and hopefully it helps some. It seems to be recommended that you use both products as the diffuser gets plugged in the room the cat frequents and the spray can be sprayed on where she otherwise tends to lay, so I'll try them both.

I agree with the bordem, I think if you find a toy that she can "kill" it will help with the biting. I bought this cat toy at Zellers and its a mouse that squeaks and hangs on a sting and that hangs out your door, my cat loves it, he spends hours trying to kill it and it just keeps bouncing away.

If your thinking of adding a new kitty as a companion, I would really suggest getting another female. I made the mistake (but I still love him) of adding a new boy to my troops when my other two cats are 9-10 yrs old females. He is really really rough with them, He's always jumping on them and biting them so female would be best.

I actually just bought my cat one of those for Easter! It kind of clips over the top of the door. She isn't much interested in it though and isn't interested in toys unless they make noise (those jungle balls) or unless someone else is interacting with her with the toy. And oddly, she isn't much into catnip either I will look for some stimulating toys when at Petsmart this week. Somethings gotta work!

[abbasgirl]

She's beautiful! But she does have that look in her eyes.
I've never dared to get a female cat (although some have found their way into my home anyway ) because I've known a few who started out okay but then turned aggressive later on for no apparent reason. When I was a teenager my neighbour had a cat that was so friendly I had to put her inside my car when I was practicing to get my driver's license so that I wouldn't run her over. She was so tame she just fell asleep on the floor and I forgot she was in the car. But later she turned so wild that she would bite your hand off if you got too close to her. And I've known others like that too. They weren't mistreated. Something just shifted in their personality. So I think it just happens sometimes with females. But yes, if she is stressed out, I would go with calming measures.

[Andit]

Does she get fed kibble or wet food? If kibble, have you tried to use a treat ball (rubber ball with hole inside to put kibble or treats)? The cat has to bat the ball to get the food out - keeps them busy. A cheaper alternative is to put treats or kibble under a plastic dish & have the kitty try to get the treats. Here's what I do with Q:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojjtYeImOss

[GTAkitty]

Feliway does worked great for my cats. Yes, it's quite the investment but she's your lovely. My kitties were stressed out when they first met. Used the feliway. When they each came home I sprayed At Ease in their carriers and a blanket. Feliway was the most helpful when we dog-sat the in-laws' huge collie dog. The cats were so stressed out and scared that one of them started over grooming herself to the point of serious road rash looking scabs. They are mixed Russian Blues so they don't have much hair to pull out anyway.

Thank gooodness for the Feliway. I thought she was going to lick herself bald before the dog left. Friend recommended it to me after her cat got stressed out when her bf moved in. Sometimes the stress is obvious and sometimes we'll never know what's up with kitty to make her behaviour become self-destructive or violently aggressive. I've heard of kitties stressed and it turned out to be over their litterboxes and/or litter in the end. A change in those may help too?

She's so pretty.

Oh, and if you go to PetSmart, get their card. They will send you some good coupons and members get cheaper prices on some items.

[ergo2]

Could she be bored?

that would be my guess. this has happened to me too when my kids went to visit thier mom. grab a shoelace or string and pull it around for 20 minutes. Bugsy is also front declawed and it did the trick to stop this

[TaraF]

Andit, she gets kibble. But I will look for a treat ball, that's a great idea! Any suggestions of what to put it in? I assume just a dry cat treat she likes? I can't get out to get the Feliway until Friday but I'm confident it will work. I remember it working years ago, so hoping it will work again. I have been reading up on cat behavior to try and figure things out with her, like I said I'm a first time cat owner so I'm not use to it all LOL And I did read that if there is stress in the house that your cat can pick up on that. And God knows there has been NO shortage of stress in this house for the last 5 months or so. Infact without going into huge detail there was a large blowup at my house on Christmas day that consisted of 7 adults with unfortunately 5 children present that included massive yelling, doors slamming, physical violence, police etc and the cat and dog were caught up in the middle of all of that as well. Unfortunately the emotional stress of that incident has continued to carry forward with my Husband, Mother and myself in regards to that incident too. So I'm thinking that has had to have contributed to her stress levels.

Last night Koshka (my kitty) crawled up on the bed and laid right on my stomach in front of my face so I would pet her, and I did without incident. So it isn't a constant aggressiveness she has, and hopefully the feliway, treat ball and other suggestions that you all have provided will help calm her some so that her aggression dwindles or disappears entirely.

[sarajk]

I would advise you NOT to get another cat.

If she has displayed that much agression I don't think a small cat would stand a chance against her.

More importantly because you haven't kept her shots up todate. The new cat could bring an illness into the house. Even if it appears perfectly healthy it could be a carrier.

[Litesandsirens911]

Good luck with your beautiful kitty, but I would definately advise AGAINST getting 2 females...I have 4 cats..two of each, and the female cats have always been, lets say, "buggers"...my female purebred Himalayan was fine with the male cats, but then we got a female 5 week old kitten and my Himalayan became a big time B*tch, and that was 4 years ago...they still don't get along, and the little calico hides from the Himalayan constantly, to the point where the two of them won't even go on the same bed together or couch even...it's sort of sad...also, I find in my own experience, the males very tolerant and friendly to everyone.
*my cats are all indoor cats too, but not declawed though I wish I had before they ruined the new furniture..lol*

[daisybear]

I don't have any cat advice as I'm a dog owner. I hope things work out well for you however if it does get to the point where you can't keep her anymore please have her put down not given away.
I know a million people will bite my head off for this but If you give her up because of of it, what might happen if the next owner isn't as understanding as you and beats or worse her because of the attacks.
I really do hope that with some work you will get her back into a loving family cat.