Does he hate me or does he love?

[clowangel]

I can't tell anymore. Recently, for the past few weeks, Sho has taken to sleeping with me, on me, and near me. So I took this as a sign that he was starting to like me more. Honestly, I'm not sure if he's a people cat, but he does follow me around. As it stands right now, I am probably his favorite person.

But, at other times, I really feel like he hates me. He'll sleep on my lap while I'm working on something, wake up, and then he attacks me right away. I don't even realize he's attacked until I feel his claws and teeth digging into my arm because just seconds before, he was snoring! I'm left confused and hurt both in the physical and emotional aspect. I have a few dozen new scars too. =/

This cat is bold and typically unafraid, so scruffing doesn't work. I've tried. I've also tried remaining completely still. He doesn't seem to care that I've stopped moving. He'll hang on tighter, digging his teeth in, holding my arm with both paws and rabbit-kicking at me. But at the one minute mark, the pain will begin getting to me, and though I try to pry his paws and mouth off me, he only latches onto my other arm. And by that time, he's typically in full aggression mode. Whether I move or not, he attacks! What is going on? o_o; He doesn't display this behavior with anyone else. He might attack my sister, but it's never a full-out attack. And I'm pretty sure sitting still while he's sleeping on me can't be counted as on offense to his person. >.>

 

[yayi]

I would not call it an "attack". It's more like playing. I see my cats do the rabbit kicking/scratching with a stuffed animal or rug.
My San sometimes "attacks" me in the back while I am sitting on the floor cleaning the litter boxes. No backless dresses for me thanks to San

You must teach your boy that his behavior is unacceptable. Remaining still does not work. Try hissing, NO, and push him away. Then leave and ignore him.
BTW, does he have enough toys? He may end up with a favorite one where he can use his claws on instead of on you.

 

[clowangel]

The problem is when I 'hiss', push him away, and say no... and then walk away, he'll ambush me with ears pinned back and eyes wild. Well, they were pinned back to begin with. It's like he won't take no for an answer. Seriously. He just keeps coming at you. Is that really playing? =/ It seems a bit too aggressive to be playing. Especially when he continuously draws blood.

Edit: Yes. He has toys...that he's taken great care to hide from me. I have NO idea where they are. Occasionally, he'll pull one out of nowhere to play with before stashing it away again. I really have no idea where he puts them. And when I try to play with him, he pretty much gets bored of any activity once it hits the five minute mark. Short attention span.

 

[frankthetank]

I have a cat like that too!! He is a big orange fluffball, and about 10 mos old. We found him outside at a scrawny skinny 10 weeks and nursed him to health. At first, sweet as can be. Within a couple months after he got used to us and realized we were keeping him, be became the most playful kitten EVER. He chases us just to jump on us. We have scratches/scars all over hands, feet and legs. Not much helps...I say NO loudly, freeze for a min, then gently remove his claws from me and put him down. Our other 2 cats around his age have not been playing with him as much so I think he is doing it out of a shortage of a playmate...because he also chases every other cat until someone plays with him and if no one does, he will just plop down and sigh. We have to keep buying new toys because he plays with them and hides them! Two things that get his attention away from us....
1. laser pointer. he chases it forever!! its wears him out.
2. a dangly toy on a string. we have one that is a green stick, thick string hanging down and a green mouse on the end. In the middle between stick & mouse is a ball that makes noise but is connected on the string. If wedangle it above him he will go after the fake mouse forever. If we let him take it from us, he will carry the entire thing through the house like the mouse is his prey, and growl if anyone tries to take it from him. Again, this wears him out also!
I think it is a stage they ill grow out of, and that he is not maliciously trying to cause harm to you....he just wants to play and has a bad way of showing it!

 

[ducman69]

If you're able to last a minute and didn't need hospitalization... that wasn't a real attack.

Definitely needs to stop immediately as cats can carry some really nasty bacteria in their claws and mouth, but I agree I think you are dealing with play aggression perhaps from being weaned too early and having no littermates to learn proper behavior. There are a plethora of ways you can address play aggression if you do a search on the forum, and one or more options are fine as long as you are consistent and immediate in correction or redirection IMO.

So on the plus side, from your description your cat does like you.

 

[nerdrock]

I posted something very similar to what you're describing the other day! The behaviour is very similar to what our cat does, she's 11 months old.

Her eyes literally change and it's like she's possessed. I think she's just overstimulated from something. She'll also be sleeping nicely and then just wake up and attack, lol.

 

[clowangel]

Well, good to know my cat isn't possessed by the devil and isn't trying to kill me half the time. He's definitely not 11 months old though. He's four years old by now. Though...I only got him a little over a year ago. I have no idea how he was raised before he was dumped on me. I don't know his previous owner.

I'll try the redirecting thing. See if that works. Thanks for the advice.

o-o And I doubt a house cat attacking me will have me end up in the hospital. Sure I get some puncture wounds from his teeth and claws (that I immediately poured rubbing alcohol on because yes, I know about the bacteria), but it's not like it bleeds heavily. It stings though. >.>

 

[katkuddler]

Originally Posted by clowangel

Well, good to know my cat isn't possessed by the devil and isn't trying to kill me half the time. He's definitely not 11 months old though. He's four years old by now. Though...I only got him a little over a year ago. I have no idea how he was raised before he was dumped on me. I don't know his previous owner.

I'll try the redirecting thing. See if that works. Thanks for the advice.

o-o And I doubt a house cat attacking me will have me end up in the hospital. Sure I get some puncture wounds from his teeth and claws (that I immediately poured rubbing alcohol on because yes, I know about the bacteria), but it's not like it bleeds heavily. It stings though. >.>

We've always had at least 3 cats. If you don't think a cat can put you into the hospital, try breaking up a cat fight. Or, just try giving a pill. We had one cat that did what yours is doing. She was a bite and run cat. That behavior continued until one time the instant she bit me I gave her a finger snap on the nose. It didn't hurt her, but shocked the heck outta her. She never did the bite and run after that.

 

[Willowy]

I have 3 littermate kitties who were bottle babies, and they do bite somewhat more than most cats (despite being raised in a large cat household). I find that if I say "meowch!" (like ouch but also like a meow, if that makes any sense

) like they do when they bite each other too hard, it makes them stop biting. Until they forget and do it again, LOL.

 

[clowangel]

Originally Posted by Katkuddler

That behavior continued until one time the instant she bit me I gave her a finger snap on the nose. It didn't hurt her, but shocked the heck outta her. She never did the bite and run after that.

A what? o-o A finger snap on the nose?

 

[katkuddler]

Originally Posted by clowangel

A what? o-o A finger snap on the nose?

Yeah, it works good and really smarts. Here's how ya do it. You can use your index finger (the one used for pointing), or the next one (the traffic finger). Bend either of them around and lock under the thumb (on the same hand). When ready to "snap" (actually the word..."flick" could be used), apply a little force on the finger used, and release the thumb. Make sure the finger is in a close perspective to the nose to make contact when extending, or else you are just moving air. Hope this helps.