Kitty-Rare-Us sept 28 09

Hello, I have a cat that was found in Target parking lot 2 weeks before Christmas. Our Vet said she was around 6 weeks old. She was put on meds to clear her breathing. I put her in a large crate for around 3 weeks so my scotts could meet her & she them. She was never affraid of them. After 3 weeks she had visits out of her crate to get know our home. Well new 9 months later she will sleep with the dogs & loves them, they will play in & out doors. Now this is the problem, Kitty-Rare-Us, has never been overly affectionate, but at night she will come to me at my computer, & has done this as soon as she stared to jump up, & would lay across my chest. From almost the beginning she would stay for 5 to 15 minutes, she will look at me hiss & bite & scratch me. I have no idea why. We have alwasy been very gentel with her No rough housing. Kind words & lots of love. She will not do this to my husband, only me. I love this little gray girl, but i just dont get her, & why she does this, because she comes to me.

Is she spayed?

Yes Kitty was spayed at about 6 months. I dont know what other to say. She comes when called & she likes to follow me all over the house even in the back yard.

Cats that do not have the guidance of a mother cat, tend to grow up sometimes lacking the social graces. My cat Farley V was like that. We found him in an abandoned house and raised him from before his eyes opened. He always had an attitude. You could pick him up just for a short time till you heard that little high pitched growel in his throat. Then you knew it was time to let him down. He would come up to me and let me pet him and then swat me. But I loved his quirkieness. Your kitty, IMO, is exhibiting behavior that is a result of loosing mom too soon. Hopefully, she will settle into a less aggressive mode as she ages. Like you, I loved my Farley V to the end when he died at age 13 last year. Keep the faith and be patient. I learned to love his strange behavior and smile when I think of it. I wish he was still here to growl at me!

thank you so much. your words have helped me to see the other side of a cat. i have came a little ways with her i will see her start , with her ears pinned back first, & i will tell her NO , a few times over, & sometimes she will calm & othrs not. thanks again.

Originally Posted by Autumn Robin

thank you so much. your words have helped me to see the other side of a cat. i have came a little ways with her i will see her start , with her ears pinned back first, & i will tell her NO , a few times over, & sometimes she will calm & othrs not. thanks again.

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That is the right way to go about it, recognizing her signals and stopping it before it starts.

If she stops, praise her. If she continues into the scratching and biting, say your "NO Kitty-rare-us" and get up and turn your back on her. Ignore her for a few minutes then return to whatever you are doing.

The ignoring is very important, as this is how a mama cat trains her kittens to behave. She hisses, (or cuffs, but you won't hit her of course), then gets up and ignores the naughty kitten.

Now this method requires consistency to work. Every single time she bites and scratches you, tell her no and get up and turn your back on her. She'll learn from that. It may take a while, don't expect it to work right away, but it will work.

Hurray for you for rescuing the kitten, welcome to the forum, and please keep us updated!

Originally Posted by otto

That is the right way to go about it, recognizing her signals and stopping it before it starts.

If she stops, praise her. If she continues into the scratching and biting, say your "NO Kitty-rare-us" and get up and turn your back on her. Ignore her for a few minutes then return to whatever you are doing.

The ignoring is very important, as this is how a mama cat trains her kittens to behave. She hisses, (or cuffs, but you won't hit her of course), then gets up and ignores the naughty kitten.

Now this method requires consistency to work. Every single time she bites and scratches you, tell her no and get up and turn your back on her. She'll learn from that. It may take a while, don't expect it to work right away, but it will work.

Hurray for you for rescuing the kitten, welcome to the forum, and please keep us updated!

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I have been doing this with a fear aggressive ADULT I took in... one who BIT me twice and I had to be on antibiotics. When he swats or gets that "look" in his eyes I hiss and say uh-uh or NO. And then I leave the room. He also gets lots and lots of praise and treats when he behaves well. That plus Feliway running all the time seems to be helping.

Originally Posted by AddieBee

I have been doing this with a fear aggressive ADULT I took in... one who BIT me twice and I had to be on antibiotics. When he swats or gets that "look" in his eyes I hiss and say uh-uh or NO. And then I leave the room. He also gets lots and lots of praise and treats when he behaves well. That plus Feliway running all the time seems to be helping.

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I, too, have trained adults, using this method.

(and yes, feliway plug in diffusers! )

Mazy cat sent me to the ER twice with bad bites. Once was Thanksgiving morning!

The most common problem, I've found, is that people don't give it enough time. It can take months to have complete success. It took about 18 months with Mazy, before I felt that I had really made a difference with her behavior.

Even now, I have to respect her boundaries. Mazy has limits the other cats don't have, and as long as I understand and respect those boundaries, (with the exception of necessary handling such as medicating, teeth brushing and nail trimming, which she now allows) she has never reverted back to her biting scratching ways.

Training a cat is possible, but it's not easy and it takes consistency, patience and understanding.

It took 18 months to train out the biting scratching. It took 3 years to be able to trim her claws.