This is what just happened.
Minou (a 4yo feral who seems to trust me and that i'm slowly introducing to me home of one semi-feral 1 yo) started out the day as usual, rubbing himself on my outside and laying on my lap when i went out to give him his breakfast. Fast forward a couple hours, he comes back, eats the boiled chicken and rice i made him (he currently has diarrhea, stool test came back clean), i put my cat in my bedroom and let Minou in for his twice daily inside session\scent swapping.
I was doing some cleaning in the kitchen and he stuck around me, eating some more, rubbing on me, playin with the cat tree, talking to me, etc. He was on the kitchen table and i presented my hand to pet him like i do a thousand times, and he bit me. He has 'warned' me in the past when i touched whatever no-no area at the time, but it has been about 6 weeks since he slapped me last. Never has he bitten me head on like that. I said 'Ouch! No!' and he rolled himself on his back, got back up, seemed uneasy, stopped talking, went to the cat tree, murdered a toy.
Not sure if it was play aggression or he didn't like my hand smelling of dish detergent. He didn't hurt me cause my finger ended up between his two fangs, but i felt that his bite was hard.
So now i have lost trust in him and felt afraid of him. If he was in my path as i tried to move around, i would stop and wait till he 'let me' pass in fear of him attacking my legs.
I wanted him outside and went on the balcony, but he wouldnt follow me. He stuck on the cat tree, high up, looking at me, wagging the tip of his tail.
I eventually got him to come out with treats, but he jumped right back indoors. I have never tried picking him up so the option of pysically remove him is not there.
He came out again with treats and i was able to pet him but (and maybe i'm seeing this with fear tinted glasses) he seemed a bit grumpy and uneasy. Perhaps its cause i yelled at him when he bit me, i dont know.
So, thinking back on how i reacted, him being high up on things, getting in my way, and my being afraid of him...it's pathetic. He's a 12 pound creature. This is my home.
Was i totally being owned by this cat? I know this is how it works with dogs, but do cats need leaders? Will he take advantage if he senses i am afraid of him?
Minou (a 4yo feral who seems to trust me and that i'm slowly introducing to me home of one semi-feral 1 yo) started out the day as usual, rubbing himself on my outside and laying on my lap when i went out to give him his breakfast. Fast forward a couple hours, he comes back, eats the boiled chicken and rice i made him (he currently has diarrhea, stool test came back clean), i put my cat in my bedroom and let Minou in for his twice daily inside session\scent swapping.
I was doing some cleaning in the kitchen and he stuck around me, eating some more, rubbing on me, playin with the cat tree, talking to me, etc. He was on the kitchen table and i presented my hand to pet him like i do a thousand times, and he bit me. He has 'warned' me in the past when i touched whatever no-no area at the time, but it has been about 6 weeks since he slapped me last. Never has he bitten me head on like that. I said 'Ouch! No!' and he rolled himself on his back, got back up, seemed uneasy, stopped talking, went to the cat tree, murdered a toy.
Not sure if it was play aggression or he didn't like my hand smelling of dish detergent. He didn't hurt me cause my finger ended up between his two fangs, but i felt that his bite was hard.
So now i have lost trust in him and felt afraid of him. If he was in my path as i tried to move around, i would stop and wait till he 'let me' pass in fear of him attacking my legs.
I wanted him outside and went on the balcony, but he wouldnt follow me. He stuck on the cat tree, high up, looking at me, wagging the tip of his tail.
I eventually got him to come out with treats, but he jumped right back indoors. I have never tried picking him up so the option of pysically remove him is not there.
He came out again with treats and i was able to pet him but (and maybe i'm seeing this with fear tinted glasses) he seemed a bit grumpy and uneasy. Perhaps its cause i yelled at him when he bit me, i dont know.
So, thinking back on how i reacted, him being high up on things, getting in my way, and my being afraid of him...it's pathetic. He's a 12 pound creature. This is my home.
Was i totally being owned by this cat? I know this is how it works with dogs, but do cats need leaders? Will he take advantage if he senses i am afraid of him?