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- Jan 22, 2016
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Hello everyone, my name is Kristen and I could really use some advice. About 6 weeks ago me and my boyfriend adopted my very first cat (he'd had many growing up, but I grew up with dogs). I was absolutely thrilled to finally be in a position to adopt a cat and set about finding the perfect cat for us. I choose a cat from a rescue that was described to me as a "peoples cat" who was extremely affectionate. I wanted an adult cat because I was worried about rearing a kitten and I wanted one with an already developed personality. I just wanted a nice friendly cat. So we adopted Tiberius an absolutely beautiful cat who also happened to have ringworm and fleas.
Up until recently we've refrained from petting him excessively because he's been contagious but with many visits to the vet (so I know he's otherwise healthy) we're finally getting his skin issues under wraps. However, now that we can pet him more, I'm worried I made a mistake and adopted a mean cat. In many ways he's wonderful, he follows me around the house and sits on my feet, and is basically wonderful but if I pet him he'll bite me and my boyfriend. He hasn't bitten hard yet, but I'm really fearful that he's going to hurt someone, and it makes it even trickier because he seems so friendly and rubs up like he wants affection. At first I thought maybe it was a sort of affectionate love bite, but now I think it's aggressive and its getting more frequent. There really is no pattern to his petting induced aggression, nor any warning. Everything I've read online basically says that with cats with petting induced aggression your best bet is to avoid their triggers, but he doesn't seem to have any. Is there any hope of training him to not bite? He has zero interest in treats, and we play with him as much as he wants, although he's pretty lazy.
I'm now sure this is why his previous owners surrendered him, and I have to say I'm not really sure I can handle this either. I could deal with the health problems, but this aggression just has me feeling betrayed and worried for my friends and family. Because I don't have any prior cat experience, I'm wondering if all cats have quirks like this? I feel horrible because I love him and I really want to be a good cat mom, but I can't help wondering if maybe I should return him to the rescue? Please help!
Up until recently we've refrained from petting him excessively because he's been contagious but with many visits to the vet (so I know he's otherwise healthy) we're finally getting his skin issues under wraps. However, now that we can pet him more, I'm worried I made a mistake and adopted a mean cat. In many ways he's wonderful, he follows me around the house and sits on my feet, and is basically wonderful but if I pet him he'll bite me and my boyfriend. He hasn't bitten hard yet, but I'm really fearful that he's going to hurt someone, and it makes it even trickier because he seems so friendly and rubs up like he wants affection. At first I thought maybe it was a sort of affectionate love bite, but now I think it's aggressive and its getting more frequent. There really is no pattern to his petting induced aggression, nor any warning. Everything I've read online basically says that with cats with petting induced aggression your best bet is to avoid their triggers, but he doesn't seem to have any. Is there any hope of training him to not bite? He has zero interest in treats, and we play with him as much as he wants, although he's pretty lazy.
I'm now sure this is why his previous owners surrendered him, and I have to say I'm not really sure I can handle this either. I could deal with the health problems, but this aggression just has me feeling betrayed and worried for my friends and family. Because I don't have any prior cat experience, I'm wondering if all cats have quirks like this? I feel horrible because I love him and I really want to be a good cat mom, but I can't help wondering if maybe I should return him to the rescue? Please help!