I'm gonna kill him if he doesn't stop this!!!!

Originally Posted by Aries

Peter was one of those CRAZY attacking for no rhyme or reason cats, too. And I mean ATTACK! I have many scars and everyone in the house was scared of him. My niece was afraid to go to the bathroom at night because he would stalk her and ambush her on the way back. My friend who is vet diagnosed him as psychotic.

But one day, God brought another cat, Snow, into our household. Snow was a young (under 1 yr) male cat. Peter was a neutered male about 2 yrs old when Snow came to live with us. The difference was immediate and kind of scary! Peter and Snow were the best buddies! They didn't fight, no territory disputes, no weird sexual behaviour, or anything. Just great companions.

And one of the best things was that Peter stopped attacking people! He stopped running madly through the house knocking things off or over. He stopped sleeping on my bed. He started sleeping like a normal cat. It was amazing! I would not have believed it if I hadn't been living there. People who knew Peter couldn't believe the difference.

The moral of this story is that what your kitty may need is another kitty. As much as we love them and care for them and welcome them into our lives, we just aren't another cat. They need someone like them to relate to and bond with. It is kind of sad for them, I think, to not have someone they can talk to that really understands them. Please, consider a companion before you do anything drastic.

Aries, guardian of Peter, Snow, Kit Kat, Angel, Leighia, Padma, Stormy, Midnight, and Milo.

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Glad to hear Peter calmed down. However, as I've mentioned previously in this thread, Sammy already has a companion.........a female named Lola. They too are the best of friends, just like your guys. They're actually brother and sister from separate litters and are only a few months apart in age. He does the same thing to her that he does to us (of course, it doesn't hurt her, since she's a cat and built for just these type of kitten brawls), which makes me think Sammy is "playing" with me like he would his mother or another cat.

Maybe a another male? Pete and Snow are both males, neutered of course. And this is the odd thing, Pete and Snow both tolerate and dislike the same other cats. I brought home a stray female that I found on the road one night and they hated her instantly and permanently. I finally had to give the poor thing to my sister. Snow is a little less friendly to the girls than Pete, but Snow is kind of loner. Since Pete found Snow, Pete is a lot more social. I am just so thankful for Snow bringing Pete out of his terrible psychotic stage. Just a thought. Good luck.

Leli.....Once again I agree with hissy. I think you have to immediately distract him and get his attention on something else or doing something other than biting you. We have been very lucky with having six cats in our house none of them have ever attacked us in this manner. Two of them, however, do try to take our house-slippers off of our feet while we are wearing them. When we are gone we have to keep the house-slippers where they can't get to them. They always take them under the bed but never chew them up, they just seem to want to lay on them. I believe this is because they smell like US and since when we are gone they can't have the real thing they settle for something that smells like US. Give what hissy told you a try and keep something that is a favorite of theirs (feathers are a big favorite of all cats) and when he grabs your ankle, immediately distract him with the feather or whatever it is that you have. It will take some time but I'm sure that in the end the results will be better than having bite and scratch marks all over your ankles and feet.

Ooooh! Another thing that distracts Peter is a feather duster. He loves attacking one. I guess he thinks it is a big bird because he loves watching birds. You can just see the intense satisfaction on his face when he is playing with it.

Peter is just a very unusual cat though. He will play fetch with his tinkle ball and he loves to lay in front of a fire (like a dog).

Thanks for all the tips, everyone. I've been trying the toy distraction technique, with mixed results so far (once it worked, but another time he just waited until I turned my back to pick up the toy, then attacked again lol). I'll keep at it and let you know how it works.

Originally Posted by Leli

Sammy is driving me CRAZY!!!!!! He's got a habit of biting when he's in his "playful" mood, which I've posted about before. I got a few replies that said it was probably just because he's still young and it will calm down, but he's actually starting to hurt me, so it's just not cool anymore. He is only a year and a half old, but he's 13.1 lbs......not a tiny guy.
Basically, what happens is this. I'll be walking along, minding my own business, and he'll run up from behind, use his two front legs to "hug" my leg from the back and give me a good bite on the ankle. I usually end up with a scratch made by a tooth when I pull away in surprise and he's still holding on. He only does this to me or my bf, never to guests (thank god).
Could this be because he lives with us and thinks it's okay to attack us just like he does his sister during play?? The behaviour seems similar to when he ambushes Lola and starts a kitten brawl (a very common game for them). Is he maybe confused about the fact that WE ARE NOT CATS and it hurts us when we get bit?
Any ideas on how we can curb this behaviour would be GREATLY appreciated.

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I will assume that the killing comment was a figure of speech and to ask you to let the little guy live because according to my world, you have got it made!
I got my beautiful Calico girl "Rainbow" when she was 5 weeks old and knew instantly that she would be the love of my life. She would want for nothing.
I knew I would never allow her to go out except to the Vet but wanted to spay her for health reasons.
I took her to a Vet close by and was told what a excellent decision I would be making for her if I spayed and declawed at the same time. As God is my witness I believed everything he told me and thought it was no more than a trip to the nail shop for her. When I picked her up I felt like someone had ripped the very heart out of me. She was still screaming and tearing at her little feet and having to experience this at 3 months old.
After it was too late I sat down here and read all about the fact that I had let them amputate my baby's toes. Rainbow is almost 6 now and still cries if she bumps her feet or jumps too far. She is also one of the most violent animals you will ever see. If she were to wrap her legs around me in play I would think I had died and gone to heaven! When I clean her litter pan my husband has to force her to stay in another room to keep her from jumping on my back and attacking me. She hates affection and doesn't like to be touched so all the things that I miss with her I brought on myself by allowing someone to mutilate her.
I searched untill I found a Vet that treats only cats and will not declaw under any circumstance, I just wish I had educated myself before I let this happen. She knows she is loved and that is all I can do for her now.
Distract your Sammy with toys or treats and he will probably catch on in no time. Good luck.

I recommend catching him when he tries to do it and putting him in time out for 20 minutes. Abner started chasing my legs and it was cute at first, then he started jumping out and biting me so hard that I dripped blood and had scars. After a few times of this happening I've learned to keep an eye out for him. I would catch him before he caught me! He'd go straight into time out. He hates time out. We haven't had any problems for a few months.

Originally Posted by buiza

After it was too late I sat down here and read all about the fact that I had let them amputate my baby's toes.

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I am so sorry that you and your poor kitty had go through this terrible experience!

Peter, my oldest cat, was very violent after I got him. I had him neutered, hoping that it would calm him down. Didn't do a thing for him.

I trimmed his nails weekly and filed them to reduce damage. He wasn't very cooperative.

I started considering having him declawed. Everyone I talked to said that was the way to go and that it would be the perfect solution since I refused to get rid of him. The vet even recommended it.

But something nagged at me about the whole procedure. I had an upfortunate experience with artificial nails myself, so I was very conscious about nails. Word of advice for anyone thinking about having artifical nails put on - DON'T! It is never going to be a good idea to have a power tool used on your nails.

Since I trimmed his nails and filed them (by hand), I was very familiar with the structure of his toes. I kept wondering how they declawed. I found out and decided that wasn't the solution.

But how are people supposed to know better?! We rely on our vets who are trained professional to give us sound advice. To be fair I believe that it isn't just coming from vets but people who want animals of convenience. Sort of like people have their dogs vocal cords cut so they can't bark.

But there is a silver lining! Now you can witness to people about what a horrible procedure that this is. Maybe it will save someone else that heartache and agony that you and Rainbow are going through.

By the way Peter's disposition was dramatically improved, not by mutilation, but by the adoption of a companion kitty for him. Now he and Snow are great buddies and I don't have to go the the emergency room for stitches (as often).

I didn't read through all of the posts, so I apologize if someone else has suggested that you read the thread about stopping aggression toward people. You can click here to read that thread.

Well my lily used to hide behind dorrs and jump out on me and go for my feet....she would never bite tho.I think that your kitty will grow out of this becuase lily has, she just stopped one day and i really miss it becuase it was so funny.now she just jumps out on freda its not fair lol.All cats are different and most do have so behaviour problems but most of the time these problems are solved on there own.Goodluck to u

Is ure cat spayed...if it isnt that could be the cause our kitten is excatly the smae but wont be for long.

My legs and feet were a mess when bijou was a kitten. Now however, he never ever scratches or bites even if he doesn't like what you are doing to him, i.e., belly raspberries!

He is probably one of the gentlest cats we've ever had and I wouldn't have believed it when he was a kitten. Mika also is very gentle.