Possibly Giving up for Adoption :/ Advice needed

I pet and cuddle my boys all the time. Only 1 of the three is a bit grumpy about it.

When I adopted Phoenix he was 7 weeks old. A devil. He would lunge at me and get all four paws claws into me and just bite. I wanted to give him up so many times. But I loved him too much and dealt with it. It's not a fun experience so I feel for you. The thing I do best with Phoenix is if I'm petting him, and I notice he's about to get too rough (he's 10 now) then I just stop, and move on. This lets him know that I wont tolerate his behavior and that he wont get affection.

It's definitely your best start. Not all cats are that way. My other two are Angels.

The first thing I'd recommend is getting his nails trimmed! Take him into a groomer and make sure you keep up with this. (I do my cats nails every 2 weeks) Keeping their nails very short will reduce the amount of scratches that penetrate the skin. You might also want to consider having him groomed. I bathe and blow dry my kitties because my husband is allergic. He only has occasional flare ups and Pandora sleeps with us. Vacuuming frequently and getting an air purifier will help too.

For the behavioral issues you can work with him.. Don't play with him with your hands!! Get him some lure toys and play with him with those. If you wear him out he will be less likely to go after you. Here are some toys I recommend: http://pandorascatbox.weebly.com/toys.html

You can also train him to stop attacking you. It will take a lot of patience. When my kitten attacks me I make a sharp "ah ah" noise and then I ignore her. The other thing I do is training. I've clicker trained all my cats. I'm currently working with Lilly because she can be pretty aggressive when she is being petted. I will run my hand along her back and click and treat her for not reacting and being good. To train good behavior with petting you don't have to have a clicker, if you can get him some treats that he really loves, let him smell the treat, put the treat on the ground and pet him as he eats it. That way he associates something good with a "cuddle". The more you do this the better he will get.

When he attacks you stop touching him, give him absolutely no attention for a while. That will send a clear message that the fun stops when he gets aggressive. I really think he's just wanting to play with you and he doesn't know how to properly. Another trick that some people will do is screech "ow" in a high pitched voice when he bites and scratches. That way he learns that he's hurting you. Plus the high pitches noise isn't all that pleasant to their ears.

Links to some good books:

http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Starte...1950379&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Naughty-No-Mor...1950379&sr=8-5

The biting and scratching can be fixed. Some just plain grow out of it, and there's various training techniques and if they fall short there's nail caps (if the cat is decently cooperative) or laser front declaw.

Being allergic can not. Washing the cat frequently is not fun for the cat, potentially not very fun for you, can remove essential oils, and the cat is just going to lick himself all over when you're done so I don't see that as being a solution... its the saliva after all that you're allergic to.

My concern for you though is that I have read health concerns over continuous antihistamine use. Continuous Benedryl use is likely to cause drowsiness and overall body drying including urine retention. I always keep some handy, and its no problem for someone visiting, but 24x7x365... I'd be concerned, especially if you have a family history of high blood pressure or anything.

My understanding is that allergic reactions to a cat are due to dander, not cat hair. A quick Google:

[dander] is a glycoprotein found in the cat's sebaceous glands under the skin, to a lesser degree in cats' saliva, and in cats' urine. When a cat grooms his coat, the Fel D1 present in his saliva lands on the cats' skin and hairs, and combined with the Fel D1 from the sebaceous glands, creates a sort of "double whammy" to allergy sufferers.

Rather than bathing the cat try using a damp washcloth and just wipe the cat with it. Much less of a struggle than bathing a cat and it is something you could do every day. Bathing a cat every day is not good for the cat, or for you - I can imagine a pissed off cat flailing around and leaving you looking like you'd been rolling around on barbed wire!

First of all I can't believe you would recommend a declaw.. So disgusting. Just casually slipping that in there with no other information... really? To the OP please don't declaw. It will only make the biting worse. I've personally seen this behavioral issue in many cats and I am very passionate about not de-clawing.

http://www.pawsneedclaws.com/Declaw_...ral_Issues.php


By the way Ducman this is an anti-declawing website. I know you know that by all the other debates we've had.



Second I didn't recommend that they bathe the cat themselves. I recommended them have a groomer do it because the groomer will also dry the cat. When they are dried they don't lick themselves excessively. If the cat is bathed with proper shampoo it will not remove essential oils. There is nothing wrong with bathing a cat on monthly bases as long as you use a high quality product. I've been a pet groomer for the last 8 years of my life plus the experience I have with my own cats and husband who is allergic.

Bathing does help reduce the dander as long as you dry the cat too. Groomers have driers that blow gentle room temperature air on the kitty while they are kenneled it's virtually stress-free. Vacuuming frequently helps as well as having an air purifier. I've never had a cat struggle to be bathed and I didn't recommend bathing the cat every day. Like I said I've been a groomer for 8 years and I've groomed enough cats. I have NEVER had one act psychotic in the way you described it would. I bathe my own cats in my home that they are used to and I have NEVER had any issues. I've never been scratched or bitten while I was bathing a cat. I have had unhappy loud cats that weren't thrilled with getting wet (in the grooming salon, my personal cats are used to the grooming and don't care) but I've never had one freak out in the manner you described. Having the cat groomed monthly is what I would recommend.

The best way to prevent the scratches is to keep the nails short and don't play with the cat with your hands. I keep my cat's nails short and I've never had a scratch break the skin. Lilly jumps up and attacks my legs. I keep her nails short and I have no wounds.

I am going to go and hug my Lilly "naughty" cat now.

To the OP if you have any questions about getting your cat groomed or questions about training feel free to PM me.

pawsneedclaws.com is an anti-declawing website, pretty sure this is a cat discussion forum.

As another person with cat allergies (well, everything that's in the air and every animal too - no fun!), I can commiserate with you. But I also have 5 cats and have one snuggled in my arms right now, purring away. Allergies are not the end of having cats as our companions.

I would definitely recommend one of the formerly-prescription-only options of Claritin, Zyrtec or Allegra. I know Claritin and Zyrtec have generic equivalent options that are quite reasonable. If you're concerned with the heath ramifications then talk to your doctor about long term use. These were made for long term daily use, moreso than Benedril which is made for reactive use.

When you're having an especially rough time with itching/scratching at night you may try sleeping with lightweight gloves on. Obviously not the kind you wear out in the winter but cotton/poly gloves made for stage. I slept with gloves as a child for weeks at a time since I had allergies and dry skin eczema. It's really not that uncomfortable but it will save your skin.

Those are the easier solutions since we all know that it's easier to change ourselves than it is a cat. But you definitely do need to work on breaking him of playing with your hands/arms. Lauren made some really good suggestions on that end, as well as keeping his nails trimmed.

Watch his body language when you are petting him to see if you can catch it before he goes from purry-furry to a ball of claws and teeth. It could be that he is getting over-stimulated - when the nerves flip from feeling good to almost painful with the same touch. Watch his tail - if it starts flipping back and forth it means he's getting irritated. If his skin does the ripple after your touch then it's time to stop. And of course the eyes and ears - eyes dilated and ears back mean he's getting defensive. If you stop before he gets over-stimulated then he will associate you more with happy pets.

In regard to the suggestion of laser-surgery declaw, I would highly suggest that you research long and hard before making such a drastic choice. The laser-surgery option lessens the possibility of post-operative infection because it cauterizes the cut at the knuckle as it is done, but the procedure is the same. The pain is much the same. The long term complications are also the same.

Hope this helps.

TheCatSite is a site for education and feline advocacy in all forms. We take a very strong stance on pro-spay/neuter, and also as anti-declaw. While we are not solely a pro-spay/neuter, anti-declaw site those are the positions of the owner and site team.

Please refer to Site Rule #3

3. This website considers declawing a drastic way to curb cat behavior. A painful ordeal for your kitty we would suggest that declawing never be considered for any behavioral issue. Health issues are entirely different. It is up to you as a responsible pet owner to explore all the different options available instead of declawing. Your cat is dependant on you to make wise choices for her, and not put her into any more stress or discomfort. Please be a responsible pet owner and research this subject thoroughly. Understand that if you are pro-declaw in your posts, you will encounter opposition. Please learn more about alternatives for declawing here in our forums as well as on our website itself. Declaw - More than Just a Manicure. Hopefully those of you with claw-related problems will find solutions by spending time in our Behavior Forum.

I know how you feel about your kitty making you have patience you didn't know you had. LOL!

My Lilly has tested my patience since we brought her home. She has a very strong personality with the 'tude to match. The first thing I had to teach her when she was a baby was to have patience with her treats. She'd bite my fingers off to get some food. I started clicker training her at 8 weeks. She is still the naughtiest cat I've ever had but it's getting better. She gets overstimulated with petting too and sometimes she doesn't even want to be petted. I'm doing the clicker training and she will actually head-bump my hand now for pets so she can get her click and her treat. It's pretty funny. She is now testing my patience with counter surfing. The little nut figured out that she could jump up there just today.

If you are going to go the Grooming route with your allergies make sure to find a cat experienced groomer. You don't want to get Yoshi shaved or any hair cutting done just a good nail trim, bath, brushout and dry. You will want someone who will form a connection with Yoshi. Someone who doesn't mind talking to you about him and takes the time to get to know both of you and answering all your questions.

I love grooming my cats. They look so beautiful, fluffy and are so soft when it's all over. Pandora always prances around when she's done. Pandora and Hurley were rescued as adults and they learned to tolerate grooming so you can begin at any age.

Good Luck with everything!

Edited to add ~ I had a co-worker who's cat would come out of no where and latch on in the way you described. She ended up keeping socks around the house in the areas her cat would do that and she'd give him the sock to claw and attack he would go for that and she could escape. I'm not sure if I'd recommend using socks as that might teach him to go for your feet, but maybe you could use fake mice or some other appropriate toys.. She would have socks available everywhere so she could redirect her cat on them. Eventually he grew out of the behavior.

ckovacs = anti-declaw

How old is Yoshi now?

You've already gotten some excellent advice. Trim his nails regularly, don't allow anyone to play with him with body parts... and I'm going to add, when he bites, yell OW! and blow a short, sharp puff of air directly in his face and say "NO." Repeat if necessary. THEN give him the time out.

As to the allergies, I'm allergic. We live with 8 cats in an RV. I take the generic of zyrtec (cetirizine). It doesn't make you drowsy, it works really well, and it's cheap.

Unlike Lauren, we don't take our cats to a groomer or bathe them. If your kitty likes to be brushed, get a Furminator. It's a special kind of comb/brush thing that removes the hair that sheds. It's AMAZING. Use it every other day on him. And every day wipe him down with paper towels made damp with a little bit of distilled water. This doesn't leave him wet, doesn't displace any smells that would cause him to lick himself again, but picks up dander that would otherwise be bothering you.

...but you may find that the zyrtec (or whatever) is all you need. I would try zyrtec/cetirizine first, as it is the only one that was designed specifically to include pet-related allergies.

I had the same issue, with welts from left over bits & scratches. I took Zyrtec for it and it worked well with no drowsy side effects.

Well, all drugs have potential side-effects, but they are listed as lower in trials than Benedryl, although it would still surely vary w/ the dosage needed depending on the severity of the reaction. My sister without medication just becomes all red eyed and stuffy when visiting for example and so needs a maximum strength dosage. Over time this can increase if your body develops a tolerance to the drug, and some side effects of Benedryl (not sure about Zyrtec) are cumulative per Dr Boustani's research on the nervous system.

More common Zyrtec side effects:
Drowsiness -- 13.7 percent of people
Fatigue -- 5.9 percent
Dry mouth -- 5 percent (see Zyrtec and Dry Mouth)
Sore throat -- 2 percent
Dizziness -- 2 percent
Weight gain - 2 percent

Less common side effects (less than 2%) include migraines, dehydration, arthritis, depression, acne, and decreased libido. They can also reduce your desirable reaction against true bacterial and viral intruders. More specific details on drugs.com. Check with your healthcare provider for any long-term regimen IMO to help set a normalcy baseline, as you may experience none of the side-effects (as you can see above, the majority are fine), but some are potentially serious.

An unpopular answer I'm sure, but even though I <3 kitties, IMO human welfare should still always come first, and generally speaking it is best to avoid allergens when possible (at least if severe). And be cautious about all those scratches, as scarring is only a minor issue, its some of the bacteria under the claw from scratching in the litterbox that can be potential bad news.

According to MediGuard, for Benadryl (28,000 patients polled), 33% experience side effects and 2% experienced significant side effects. The common side effects are drowsiness and dryness. According to the paperwork that comes with the stuff, hallucinations are possible.

For Zyrtec, (62,000 patients monitored), 18% experienced side effects and 0% experienced significant side effects. Common side effects were drowsiness and dryness.

And actually, I've found that over time I'm becoming less and less sensitive to the cats, and I don't need to take zyrtec as often. I'm taking it now for my spring-related allergies, but I didn't need to take it all winter.

I totally agree with LDG. My husband's allergies have actually improved after we got our cats. He was terribly allergic for a long time. When we got Hurley, Hurley was not allowed in our bedroom and my husband was slowly introduced to the allergens. It took several months but he only needs meds occasionally now. We call it a "allergy day" when he's sneezy. All the cats are allowed to full roam of the house now and Pandora sleeps with us at night. We have an air purifier in the bedroom and I vacuum twice a week plus I groom the cats once a month.

I would rather take a pill that might cause a side effect than get rid of my cats. They are my babies. My husband feels the same way.