- Joined
- May 18, 2012
- Messages
- 11
- Purraise
- 2
Earlier this week, I picked up a female stray (9-12 months old, according to the vet) from behind the dumpsters at my work place yesterday. This is the first time I've ever taken a stray in. Every time a person would go out back where she was hiding, she'd trot up and start talking away and nuzzling legs, so I couldn't resist. I brought her over to my vet to get checked out and got all of the routine shots. She's perfectly healthy aside from being very underweight. All of the tests came back negative and she's scheduled to be spayed this coming Monday.
She's extremely affectionate for a stray. She constantly bumps her head against my arms and legs and loves to sit on people. She's already spent hours sleeping on my lap and seems very comfortable prancing around in the apartment. However, she has an evil side. One minute she'll be nuzzling all over me, begging for some petting, and then out of nowhere, she'll literally CHOMP down on my hand/arm/whatever she can get a hold of. Just earlier today, she did this again after I finished briefly brushing her long coat. She was purring and rolling around on the floor while I was sitting next to her (no longer brushing her). I turned away for a moment to look at the TV, and she pounced at my upper arm, chomped down and dragged her teeth across the skin, then ran away. It's been three days since we took her in and my girlfriend has been bitten this way three times, and me twice. These aren't like the little love bites my other cat gives me sometimes - these appear outright aggressive.
I've had a Feliway diffuser going and she's being kept in a separate room from my other cat. At night time, I leave her alone in one of the bathrooms with her litter box, food/water, bed, scratching post, and a night light. There are no sudden loud noises that could be startling her. In almost every instance, we weren't even touching her when she attacked - she's the one who approaches us. I really don't understand what's provoking this behavior. Is it possible that the upcoming spay might help? I've heard that spaying/neutering tends to mellow cats out a little. If this continues after the spaying, I'm not sure what to do. I'd love to keep her, but that kind of completely unpredictable and aggressive behavior makes me very nervous, especially for my other cat. Does anyone have any experience with this type of behavior? What's the best way to discourage the biting after it happens?
She's extremely affectionate for a stray. She constantly bumps her head against my arms and legs and loves to sit on people. She's already spent hours sleeping on my lap and seems very comfortable prancing around in the apartment. However, she has an evil side. One minute she'll be nuzzling all over me, begging for some petting, and then out of nowhere, she'll literally CHOMP down on my hand/arm/whatever she can get a hold of. Just earlier today, she did this again after I finished briefly brushing her long coat. She was purring and rolling around on the floor while I was sitting next to her (no longer brushing her). I turned away for a moment to look at the TV, and she pounced at my upper arm, chomped down and dragged her teeth across the skin, then ran away. It's been three days since we took her in and my girlfriend has been bitten this way three times, and me twice. These aren't like the little love bites my other cat gives me sometimes - these appear outright aggressive.
I've had a Feliway diffuser going and she's being kept in a separate room from my other cat. At night time, I leave her alone in one of the bathrooms with her litter box, food/water, bed, scratching post, and a night light. There are no sudden loud noises that could be startling her. In almost every instance, we weren't even touching her when she attacked - she's the one who approaches us. I really don't understand what's provoking this behavior. Is it possible that the upcoming spay might help? I've heard that spaying/neutering tends to mellow cats out a little. If this continues after the spaying, I'm not sure what to do. I'd love to keep her, but that kind of completely unpredictable and aggressive behavior makes me very nervous, especially for my other cat. Does anyone have any experience with this type of behavior? What's the best way to discourage the biting after it happens?