- Joined
- Jun 6, 2014
- Messages
- 38
- Purraise
- 4
Hi guys,
This is an extremely touchy subject for me. My male kitten, about 7/8 months old has weird habit that has me thinking that my home is not the best place for him. We have trained him into letting us sleep at night, using his hidden litter box, eating on a schedule, playing on a schedule, not paying with hands, and appropriate scratching. He is 99% of the time a very well behaved cat.
Our problem lies in his aggression. Neutering, air cans, ignoring, time-outs, and crying and hissing have not worked. Normally we can watch for signs in cats of when they are fed up with attention. Opie does not display any signs and strikes completely at random. Most of the times he is forcing himself upon myself or my boyfriend, purring and sweet, then he turns toward whatever body part is closest, wraps himself around it with claws and takes a large hard bite and yanks as if to pull the skin away. This happens regardless of whether or not he is being pet, It's almost as if he is getting spooked by something and a light switch just goes off in his head. Lately he has been biting harder and breaking skin. When he does this, we blast him with the canned air duster, or shut him out of the room for awhile as a time out. This has been going on for months and we can't seem to get control of him.
Myself and my guests are scared to pet him because they have seen him flip a switch like this. The past two weeks, he is also doing this new thing where he runs as fast as he can towards me and circles me with his hair up, ears back, and eyes dilated. This happens for no reason also! Usually when I'm eating breakfast or doing schoolwork. It's been over 2 months since he was neutered so I was expecting a lessening in his aggression.
My ultimate feeling is that we got him when he did not have adequate time with his mother (6 weeks), but I thought me taking him was better than him going to the shelter. I feel like Opie would benefit from some time with other cats that may mellow him out. Or perhaps be an outdoor cat, where it is not an option here in the city.
I feel terrible even considering it but I think with his behavior pattern, something needs to happen while he is young, otherwise his bad behavior will be on me, and who knows what may happen to him if he has to be re-homed later in life if he is worse. Do they treat human aggression in cats the same way they do dogs? I sure hope not for his sake..
Just for reference:
Fed: Tastes of the wild
play- one 15 min session in morning, and hour or more at night duing TV time
neutered
male
only cat
Allegedly half Bengal half Russian Blue
very very quiet apartment complex
I want what is best for my animal as anyone would. I understand that sometimes some animals just aren't fit for the environment in which they are placed and can sometimes benefit from being re-homed. It would break my heart but if it what is best, then I would do it.
This is an extremely touchy subject for me. My male kitten, about 7/8 months old has weird habit that has me thinking that my home is not the best place for him. We have trained him into letting us sleep at night, using his hidden litter box, eating on a schedule, playing on a schedule, not paying with hands, and appropriate scratching. He is 99% of the time a very well behaved cat.
Our problem lies in his aggression. Neutering, air cans, ignoring, time-outs, and crying and hissing have not worked. Normally we can watch for signs in cats of when they are fed up with attention. Opie does not display any signs and strikes completely at random. Most of the times he is forcing himself upon myself or my boyfriend, purring and sweet, then he turns toward whatever body part is closest, wraps himself around it with claws and takes a large hard bite and yanks as if to pull the skin away. This happens regardless of whether or not he is being pet, It's almost as if he is getting spooked by something and a light switch just goes off in his head. Lately he has been biting harder and breaking skin. When he does this, we blast him with the canned air duster, or shut him out of the room for awhile as a time out. This has been going on for months and we can't seem to get control of him.
Myself and my guests are scared to pet him because they have seen him flip a switch like this. The past two weeks, he is also doing this new thing where he runs as fast as he can towards me and circles me with his hair up, ears back, and eyes dilated. This happens for no reason also! Usually when I'm eating breakfast or doing schoolwork. It's been over 2 months since he was neutered so I was expecting a lessening in his aggression.
My ultimate feeling is that we got him when he did not have adequate time with his mother (6 weeks), but I thought me taking him was better than him going to the shelter. I feel like Opie would benefit from some time with other cats that may mellow him out. Or perhaps be an outdoor cat, where it is not an option here in the city.
I feel terrible even considering it but I think with his behavior pattern, something needs to happen while he is young, otherwise his bad behavior will be on me, and who knows what may happen to him if he has to be re-homed later in life if he is worse. Do they treat human aggression in cats the same way they do dogs? I sure hope not for his sake..
Just for reference:
Fed: Tastes of the wild
play- one 15 min session in morning, and hour or more at night duing TV time
neutered
male
only cat
Allegedly half Bengal half Russian Blue
very very quiet apartment complex
I want what is best for my animal as anyone would. I understand that sometimes some animals just aren't fit for the environment in which they are placed and can sometimes benefit from being re-homed. It would break my heart but if it what is best, then I would do it.