Sweetie is her name, shes being mean and biting and scratching....

Hi, I am a new poster here and I adopted a cat named Sweetie about a month and a half ago from a humane shelter in Michigan. She was 11 months old when we got her and now i think she's almost 13 months.When we first got her, she was such a sweetheart and would come and cuddle with my husband and I in bed and would cuddle with us on the couch, she would play nicely. This last week, i noticed a big change in her behavior. She has become mean and doesn't want me petting her much. She's been biting my hands and arms and lately has been scratching me. I have 2 big scratches from her one i am praying is not infected. We have tried the "NO" attempt at discipline, She doesn't mind water so that wouldn't work, My husband swatted her butt a couple times seemed to only make her run off not learn anything so I don't think that will work either.

 I have noticed that she is either sleeping a lot or not sleeping enough, acting crazy and spazzy when shes awake, she has plenty of toys so I know shes not board And I play with her every day.  She seems to only want to eat the wet food now, she complains and begs even when there is still food in her bowl. It's weird because she will eat her kitty treats we lay out for her and those are crunchy. Today she has been spazzy and wining and seeking my attention like something is important however she's not wanting to play with me and she again has food in her bowl and won't let me pet her. She was chewing on one of her cat toys a little catnip mouse and i noticed blood on the mouse from her chewing on it. I was going to try and check on why she was bleeding only she won't let me look at her mouth to see if there is something caught or wrong. She also will not clean her behind. She hasn't since we got her and i can't get her to sit still enough to clean it for her. I have once or twice but that was pure luck. 

Is it possible she's teething? I don't have a cat carrier for her yet and don't really have the money or any money right now to get her to a vet. 

Nothing in her diet or life has changed recently so I don't know why she is acting so strange. What can I do to help her other than take her to the vet I cannot afford at the moment. 

Yes she is fixed, she is an indoor cat and i leave my windows open so she can peak outside and get fresh air. She has plenty of toys, like i said she doesn't like to play with most of them and actually prefers to play with clean qtips, and other things that are not her expensive cat toys.  She has food/water and clean litter, Took her to the vet a few weeks ago and she was given a clean bill of health. She does need a bath and some brushing but again i can't get close enough to her without coming out looking like a scratching post. I'm just at my wit's end and sad because this isn't my little baby anymore she's just mean and hurtful. 

Anyone have any idea's or suggestions for me?

Thanks.

Hello and welcome to TCS, Sorry your kitty is having these problems.

Usually any sudden change in behavior could be an indication something is wrong and a vet visit is the wisest course of action. This is needed to rule out any possible medical problem, before ruling it a behavioral one.

Wet food is the best for her over dry, so this is good she prefers it. What are you feeding her and how often? She's still young and may need more food still. Also if the foods are high in carbs, they won't keep her feeling full as long. A high protein, low carb, grain free wet food is best. What kind of play is she getting? Is it active, making her leap and run kind of play? A wand toy like the Da-bird or a laser pointer will help wear her out.

Some cats get over stimulated with petting. Keeping the petting to only her head may help. If you see her starting to twitch her tail during a petting session, just stop petting for a bit. If she turns to bite, say NO, and put her down or walk away.

As for grooming. Try doing it after a good work out play session, when she's calm and sleepy. Start slowly, put her brush or comb near by and let her get used to to site and scent of it. Start with just using it around her head, let her become used to the feel. You can then work your way down. Offer her treats with each session, this will help her associate grooming with good things. Hope this helps, keep us posted.

Thank you for your welcome and your post. I am feeding my cat a mixture of friskies wet foods ( verity box) and Purina one indoor cat. My cat is super active and we play constantly, We have a routine of every morning she will wake me up by purring and standing on my stomach and ( i sleep on my back) and occasionally she will lick my face. I get up feed her and when shes done eating we play with her favorite toy. It's a wand with like a fuzzy cloth at the end of it and it use to have a bell inside but i accidentally stepped on it and broke the bell and she tore the thing up anyway, It's falling apart but i can't bare to throw it away ( btw she has 2 other wand toys one with feathers and one that tweets like a bird she won't use either of those and shes scared of the tweeting one).  She has a ton of other toys, a scratching box thing and even a cat bed which she never uses any of those. we also have a little mousy laser thing she likes but I try not to use it as often as I read somewhere that it can stress a cat out if used too much.  Anyway after play time she normally would wander off and by that time I'm exhausted so i'll end up going back to bed or something ( mind you this all happened at 5am)  This was the normal routine for the first few weeks we had her then I got sick with the flu and my husband ended up having to get up with her in the morning and he didn't continue with the playing routine. He would feed her and go back to bed. She would then come into our room and bug me and finally i would have to get up and play with her. But after i had the flu i didn't go back to the old routine I've just been so stressed over bills and other things that i'm way to exhausted to get up with her at 5am everyday. So my husband has taken over ( because he has to be up early for work anyway) and feeds her then he goes back to bed. I try to when I do get up play with her as much as I can sometimes shes interested other times shes not. ( I guess i can see how that could upset her, I wonder if it's too late to try and get back into the old routine?) 

As for grooming, Even when shes laying down and calm she still won't let me anywhere near her face, ears, or bottom. She had ear mites when she was at the humane society shelter and i'm suppose to clean out her ears every week, I try to get as much as i can out but i'm so scared of getting half my flesh ripped off. My husbands always working so he isn't around much to help me out with her for grooming. How much would it cost to take her into a groomer, kind of give her a little kitty spa day?...lol  I spoke to someone on my facebook a game friend who I didn't know until now is a vet tech and she thinks her tooth might be bad and that's why she was bleeding and been acting strange with her food and whatever. Either way I need to get my poor little kitty into the vet and soon. I will post updates. Thanks again.

I would definitely vote for a vet over a groomer right now. The bleeding is worrisome. If something is causing her pain, that may account for all her behaviors.

vball91 said:

I would definitely vote for a vet over a groomer right now. The bleeding is worrisome. If something is causing her pain, that may account for all her behaviors.

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I agree, vet first. I was just giving some tips on how the other things can be dealt with later. First and foremost you need to find out if there is a medical reason contributing to her behavior, THEN worry about the other stuff later