Odd behavior?

Hey guys, I have posted about Houdini before but I will quickly review some of his behavior. He is a neutered, almost 2 yrs old male. He is not very "friendly", as he will sometimes attack (usually no skin is broken), and seems to be territorial. He will sleep in bed with me, and head butt for food.

Now that we have settled in since adoption in late November, I have noticed some possibly odd behavior.

He seems to meow at me often, and even meows before he is about to bite/attack. He just sits there looking at me, meowing, and then pounces. Houdini and I stay in the basement, but he is allowed upstairs often/everyday. (House is not set up that he could roam the whole house). He often yowls at the ceiling, and door and this makes me feel quite sad. I'd love to allow him the whole house, but it is nearly impossible. I have made the basement as comfortable as possible for him. Cat tree, toys, heater, more scratchers, etc.

Lastly, a more cute behavior, is that he will place his wand toy (The kind with a stuffed toy and feathers on the end) on my bed. He places it there everyday, if not multiple times a day. I've never seen him do this, as he does it when I am not there. Just this morning he carried the wand toy to the end of my bed and was persistently meowing while he was holding it in his mouth. I was on the bed, so I feel this is some type of dominance/territory marking? He also loves to lick and bathe feathers. That seems motherly to me?

I believe the shelter we got him from mentioned that he was indoor/outdoor, and we told them he would be strictly indoor. Shouldn't they have mentioned that this might cause behavior issues?

Thanks in advance!

Hi, personally I don't read these behaviors as aggressive.  Houdini bringing you his wand toy seems to be him asking you to play with him.  My cat does this too with her favorite toys.  Sometimes she will sit by it and meow.  I think it's super cute!

When you say he attacks or pounces, does it seem aggressive or playful?  An aggressive cat will have ears back, and there will be hissing and growling.  A playful cat will look like he is stalking a toy.  Ears are normal and tail is possibly moving back and forth, eyes dilated.  

If he bites/attacks while you are petting him, it is possible that you pet him too much, as cats have a relatively small tolerance for being pet.  If you notice that his tail is moving more and more while you are petting him, you should allow him to rest a little.  Also, most cats are more tolerant about having their faces and heads touched, particularly the cheek area as it has scent glands (and they want you to smell like them).  In this case, he would be more annoyed than aggressive.

Him meowing at the ceiling, etc, does make it seem as if he wants to get out.  However, if letting him out is not possible for you right now, I think that he will definitely be okay in the basement.  Visit him a few times a day and either just sit with him and do your own thing or play with him if he wants interaction.  

Houdini licking the feathers doesn't seem motherly to me personally.  My cats do this when I use toys to play with them, and to me it seems like play/ hunting instincts.  Idk if I would allow him to play with the wand toy unsupervised as he might swallow some parts.  

These Jackson Galaxy videos are short and informative.  Check them out for some more info on cat behavior.  

Thanks Ruaryx!

I should have clarified that Houdini and I live in the basement together I am only gone when I am working/out and about, otherwise I am with him most always.

At first, I took that as him wanting me to use that toy as well, but when I try to play with him he is scared of it. He prances away if it touches him.This is why I took it more as if he is placing his own flag, lol.  He seems to prefer solo play (Chasing balls, running around, playing on his cat tree, etc). The only thing he will play with me with is string, and we do that together.

Yes, when he attacks he seems to be doing it out of fun, but it still hurts and I don't much like having him attached to my arm/ankles. Sometimes he will pounce if I look him in the eyes too long, move too quickly, etc.

Maybe his wand toy is like his security blanket?  If he was being territorial I would assume they he would spread his scent through marking with urine.  

When my cats play rough with my hands or body parts, I simply move my hand and ignore them, as I don't want them to learn that it is okay.  Houdini seems more timid than aggressive.  It's really great that you guys are spending so much time together and playing and bonding.  Keep us updated. :]

My cat does this with a lot of his toys - his Pom Pom balls get to "eat" aka in his food dish, "drink" aka in the water dish, he puts them on the window ledge to look outside, sticks them under the door to the laundry room (where he isn't allowed) as "time out" and lines them all up together .... But they are never allowed to touch - he gets mad then and has to move them. He has done this for years and years.

His favourite wand toy was his baby for weeks - all the same things as before plus it had to come to bed with us, get regular exercise up and down the stairs and couldn't be left alone - had to be in whatever room we were. It was adorable! Sadly he lost interest after about 3 weeks and hasn't played with it in months.

Karma2222 said:

My cat does this with a lot of his toys - his Pom Pom balls get to "eat" aka in his food dish, "drink" aka in the water dish, he puts them on the window ledge to look outside, sticks them under the door to the laundry room (where he isn't allowed) as "time out" and lines them all up together .... But they are never allowed to touch - he gets mad then and has to move them. He has done this for years and years.

His favourite wand toy was his baby for weeks - all the same things as before plus it had to come to bed with us, get regular exercise up and down the stairs and couldn't be left alone - had to be in whatever room we were. It was adorable! Sadly he lost interest after about 3 weeks and hasn't played with it in months.

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Aw that sounds adorable! I would love to see pictures or even videos of this.  The only thing my kitty does is carry her favorite toy around in her mouth sometimes.  

Action shot of him playing
crappy phone picture - I did not touch his toys AT ALL ... this was all him and showed me when I got home from work.


sorry those are the only ones I have on my new computer .... I never got any good videos and I'm not sure if I ever got a photo of him with his wand toy, oops

Karma2222 said:

crappy phone picture - I did not touch his toys AT ALL ... this was all him and showed me when I got home from work.

IMAG0129.jpg

• karma2222
• Jan 5, 2015

sorry those are the only ones I have on my new computer .... I never got any good videos and I'm not sure if I ever got a photo of him with his wand toy, oops

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Ohmygosh, that is ADORABLE!!  I can't believe he really does all of those things.  My cat is so normal in comparison.  Haha