So, here's my situation: My 7 year old bachelor cat has been "attacking" my fiancee and her children (ages 4 and 9) by biting and lunging at them when they walk by. I live in a small townhouse so it's nearly impossible to not walk past the cat to move from room to room. To make matters worse, my fiancee is allergic to the cat and her allergy medicine does not appear to help much. The cat attacks have completely freaked out the Mom and kids to where they don't want to come over anymore. Any good ideas on how I can get married AND keep the cat?
-
Too many ads? Join our community of cat lovers now to reduce ads by 90%! Click here to join for free!
When Cats Attack!
- Thread starter skeets
- Start Date
"... biting and lunging at them when they walk by..."
I just want to clarify that your kitty is not merely playing but truly defending territory? So he does not do this to you and is normally an affectionate cat?
If these are territorial attacks one suggestion is to start all over with the introduction process. Confine kitty to one room where he has all sorts of cool toys, food and litter. Confine him to this play room when you have houseguests and also occasionally when you are alone with him so he doesn't associate his play room with punishment.
When fiancee comes over assign her to be in charge of feeding him. Initially she should say hi Kitty before opening the door and just bring his food in, walking with a confindent style so as not to provoke an attack. Then leave the room -- no petting or attempt at interaction. Gradually as his tolerance for fiancee improves she should try to sit quietly in the room, for longer and longer periods. Not soliciting attention from him -- just reading quietly. When he is ready he will begin to associate her with food and become curious and want to spend more time with her. Then have each of the kids be assigned feeder role and do the same thing over with each kid.
Blending families can be a really stressful time. . . it can be done but many times it is a slow process. Good luck
PS I have allergies to cats also. Washing my hands after petting and vacuuming really have helped.
I just want to clarify that your kitty is not merely playing but truly defending territory? So he does not do this to you and is normally an affectionate cat?
If these are territorial attacks one suggestion is to start all over with the introduction process. Confine kitty to one room where he has all sorts of cool toys, food and litter. Confine him to this play room when you have houseguests and also occasionally when you are alone with him so he doesn't associate his play room with punishment.
When fiancee comes over assign her to be in charge of feeding him. Initially she should say hi Kitty before opening the door and just bring his food in, walking with a confindent style so as not to provoke an attack. Then leave the room -- no petting or attempt at interaction. Gradually as his tolerance for fiancee improves she should try to sit quietly in the room, for longer and longer periods. Not soliciting attention from him -- just reading quietly. When he is ready he will begin to associate her with food and become curious and want to spend more time with her. Then have each of the kids be assigned feeder role and do the same thing over with each kid.
Blending families can be a really stressful time. . . it can be done but many times it is a slow process. Good luck
PS I have allergies to cats also. Washing my hands after petting and vacuuming really have helped.
For your fiance's allergies, has she tried Zyrtec? See if she can switch to that - it is absolutely a godsend and is supposed to work a lot better for pet allergies than the other ones.
