undefinedundefinedundefined I desperately need some advice. My cat Peanuts is very aggressive. Only towards me. He is an 11 month old male. He has been neutered. We thought that he would calm down some after the operation but he still attacks me every chance he gets. We have had him since he was 8 weeks old. No one has ever been violent towards him. I had always thought aggression in animals was due to the aggression they saw in the humans that took care of them. But he has been nothing but loved and played with. He has his own toys and good food and we try and play with him as often as possible. But he gets very angry with me, I never know quite why. He turns back his ears and jumps up on me biting and clinging on with his claws. When my husband is around he stops but when he is not... he doesnt. It is becoming increasingly difficult to live with him. We have had guest the last few weeks and other than a bite here or there was mostly pleasant. But with me... he simply wont quit. I litteraly have to go in another room. When he is nice, he is oh so nice, but when he is mean (which is more often than not) he is very mean. Please advise. I dont want to give him away. I just want him to calm down and not attack me.
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Need urgent advice needed... my cat is highly aggressive
- Thread starter dubgirl
- Start Date
Ok, you just explained the exact situation with my kitty, Dori. I have been working with her for awhile on this. Here's a thread I posted: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=36479&
There is a good suggestion from Hissy about making a ball box. We started joking around quite a bit on the thread, but there is good advice in the beginning
The thing I have been doing with Dori is distracting her during the attacks. When her ears go back flat and she gives me "the look". I roll a treat ball for her to play with, I just shake it and roll it away from me and she becomes interested in it. It is filled with her dry food, I think thats probably better than treats which would be more fattening. I have tried to distract her with other toys, just figure out what works for your kitty and have patience.
Oh and just for laughs heres a link to the pictures I posted with Dori in attack mode:
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=36922&
Good luck let us know how it goes.
There is a good suggestion from Hissy about making a ball box. We started joking around quite a bit on the thread, but there is good advice in the beginning
The thing I have been doing with Dori is distracting her during the attacks. When her ears go back flat and she gives me "the look". I roll a treat ball for her to play with, I just shake it and roll it away from me and she becomes interested in it. It is filled with her dry food, I think thats probably better than treats which would be more fattening. I have tried to distract her with other toys, just figure out what works for your kitty and have patience.
Oh and just for laughs heres a link to the pictures I posted with Dori in attack mode:
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=36922&
Good luck let us know how it goes.
Moving this to Behavior.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #4
Wow, this makes me feel so much better. I looked at your previous postings and my husband is always telling me that Peanuts only does that because I allow him... only I have tried everything. I have noticed it happens most freqently in the mornings when I am getting ready to go to work. I even thought maybe it was because he didnt want me to leave. But then this afternoon when I came home, we cuddled a little. I gave him a treat, everything was fine. Then boom he just started in at me. For no reason. I dont always have something handy to distract him. The few times that I have it hasnt worked too well. It seems like if I go away for a little while to another room and come back that sometimes he forgets. But I see the same facial expressions in Peanuts as the pictures you sent of your cat. Although I dont see how you were able to take them when he was like that. Thanks for your advice.
It is hard... I will tell you that. Just this morning when I got out of the shower Dori ran full speed to greet me and latched onto my ankle, I not only have a bleeding bite mark, but it is bruised underneath. I didn't have anything to distract her so I had to pick her up off my leg, which means getting my arms bit and had to close her out of the bathroom. I have always taken good care of her, so I have no explanation of her attacks. I just work with her on it as best I can and just deal with it. Getting rid of her is absolutely not an option for me. There is also a sticky on agression posted in the behavior section, you should try the ideas in that as well
This thread has some great ideas on how to deal with aggression in cats.
Slapping does not work, it will just make them afraid. Also you have to be very careful with water make sure it doesn't go near the ears... in my opinion I wouldn't use the water and I wouldn't hit my cat either.
Hmmmmm, I wonder. Have you tried hissing at him when you see he is about to attack, if you get any warning? I've hissed at my cats when they were about to start fighting each other, and man! I must have a really good hiss, because you should have seen them scatter! If it works, at least you have your hiss with you at all times! Might be worth a try.
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Please don't EVER slap a cat! That just causes the cat to be afraid, and to become aggressive. The same goes with a squirt bottle, it just isn't nice. Cats are scent driven, is it possible you are bringing in a scent that sets Peanut off? Any contact with other animals in your day? Have you tried not wearing the perfume you normally wear? If you do put that on- changing soaps and shampoos to see if that helps?
Has he been in for a neurological workup- have you ever either directly or indirectly hurt him? Slammed his tail in the door accidentally? Stepped on his paw? Anything? Even something minor to us, makes an impression on certain cats and they react-
Has he been in for a neurological workup- have you ever either directly or indirectly hurt him? Slammed his tail in the door accidentally? Stepped on his paw? Anything? Even something minor to us, makes an impression on certain cats and they react-
I sure feel like I have to add my 2 cents in as well, although at this point it might seem a bit redundant...
You need to view the cat like an energetic balloon of sorts. Punishment (I believe any time, but especially in circumstances when he or she is already acting out in stress), will inevitably result in more negative energy directed toward either you, another family member, or back at the cat themselves. The key is to find out the whys and wherefores, just as folks were starting to suss out in this thread. Dubgirl, I think you're going down the right path by exploring the times of days, activity level spikes, how he responds to you as opposed to others, and most especially, learning his body language better. As some time goes by, you will find that you can anticipate his attacks better and redirect them toward an "appropriate victim," like a favorite toy. With a cat like him, I've found having a toy like a laser pointer handy is always a good thing. It can almost always be on you, and when you notice the subtle signs, i.e., flattened ears, wagging tail, shudders of electricity down his spine, or even when the two of you assume a certain physical space that sometimes predicts attacks, out comes the light, and BOOM, he's got a positive place to funnel his hunting instinct. You can than be in a position to praise him instead of fear or get frustrated by him.
This is a bit simplistic. I'm assuming that he may be displacing a bit of play aggression onto you, but that's worth a try, and definitely a more positive start.
You need to view the cat like an energetic balloon of sorts. Punishment (I believe any time, but especially in circumstances when he or she is already acting out in stress), will inevitably result in more negative energy directed toward either you, another family member, or back at the cat themselves. The key is to find out the whys and wherefores, just as folks were starting to suss out in this thread. Dubgirl, I think you're going down the right path by exploring the times of days, activity level spikes, how he responds to you as opposed to others, and most especially, learning his body language better. As some time goes by, you will find that you can anticipate his attacks better and redirect them toward an "appropriate victim," like a favorite toy. With a cat like him, I've found having a toy like a laser pointer handy is always a good thing. It can almost always be on you, and when you notice the subtle signs, i.e., flattened ears, wagging tail, shudders of electricity down his spine, or even when the two of you assume a certain physical space that sometimes predicts attacks, out comes the light, and BOOM, he's got a positive place to funnel his hunting instinct. You can than be in a position to praise him instead of fear or get frustrated by him.
This is a bit simplistic. I'm assuming that he may be displacing a bit of play aggression onto you, but that's worth a try, and definitely a more positive start.
