Vicious behavior in young cat

sario23

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Mar 25, 2015
Messages
3
Purraise
1
Greetings to all. I no longer have a cat, but I'm hoping to get some advice for a friend. "Jill" lives with her boyfriend, "Joe." Both wanted a cat, and did get one about five months ago. "Beau" is now almost one year old. He's been neutered and has gotten his shots.

Almost from the beginning, Beau will suddenly go into attack mode. He bites and scratches hard enough to draw blood --- sometimes a considerable amount. Jill gets attacked, and visitors get attacked, with this writer being the only exception.**

This kitty does NOT attack Joe, even though I'm afraid Joe might be causing the bad behavior, ie: He feeds Beau anything and everything, including chili, applesauce, ice cream, cookies, popcorn etc. Basically, whatever goes into Joe's mouth he shares with the cat. Jill is not in favor of this, but Joe can't be convinced he's doing anything wrong. There is also cat food available, and Beau does eat that, but he's getting all this garbage on the side, and he never seems too full to eat it, also.

Only recently I learned that digestive issues might be responsible for behavior that manifests as fear and/or aggression. Beau never acts like he's sick, but I'm really wondering if his garbage-inclusive diet might be causing him some kind of distress that he takes out on people. (He's the only companion animal living with Jill and Joe.)

**When Jill and Joe had to leave the state for a family emergency, they gave me a key, and I took care of Beau for about 7 days. I didn't give him anything other than water and his cat food; I played with him; and he didn't even try to attack me. Still, I realize that might have been caused by the fact that his people weren't around.

Any help you could give me is much appreciated. Thank-you.
 

misterwhiskers

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 7, 2014
Messages
2,013
Purraise
714
Does the kitten get played with? Hands? Or with Toys? Is he being taught boundaries or is he prince of the house?

I'm inclined to think at least some if this is excess energy mixed in with the need to be alpha. I could be wrong, so wait and hopefully an expert will be along.
 
Last edited:

higgscat

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
11
Purraise
3
My cat was big on attacking - he didn't ever go for my exboyfriend but he would go for me every morning, demanding food. When we broke up, the cat started attacking me a lot, a biting my ankles and going for my hands, to the point where I was constantly bleeding.

I stopped it by being strict with meal times, he only gets fed in his bowl at certain times, and by scheduling in time when he gets attention (15 min in the morning while I'm getting ready, cuddles when I get in, play before dinner and before bed, although he usually doesn't want to play for long). I also got a water spray and whenever the cat bit me hard enough to be painful, he got a squish on the back - never in his face, and then I calmly walked away. He got the message quickly. Routine and positive attention helped a lot.

I suspect that your friends cat is demanding attention because he gets it from Joe but not Jill, but Joe won't be helping at all by feeding the cat constant treats. Aside from the digestive and health issues with them feeding human food, it is probably confusing the poor cat as to how to get positive attention.

Hope that helps.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

sario23

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Mar 25, 2015
Messages
3
Purraise
1
Thanks so much for your response. The vet said he thought the cat would eventually outgrow this aggressiveness, but I was curious to see what other people have experienced, and what they might recommend. I appreciate your input.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

sario23

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Mar 25, 2015
Messages
3
Purraise
1
Thanks much for your response, also. I'm going to pass these hints on to my friend, and see if I can talk Joe into not feeding this kitty all the garbage. I was actually amazed to hear he was eating all that stuff. The last cat I had wanted one particular canned food (c/d) and one particular dry food (Tami-Ami). Other than that, she turned up her nose a anything to eat. Again, I very much appreciate you response, as I would like to make life easier for this kitty -- and for Jill, too. (Jill would love to cuddle and play with the cat, but she's almost afraid to try by now. I like your ideas about standard feeding times and some discipline. Might be good for Beau. 
 
Top