Is Nala Ava Marie sick?

[Columbine]

She can definitely still learn manners :nod:

I hope the Composure helps her :cross:

When I asked what had been happening just before she attacked you, I meant what was SHE doing - body language, did her tail start twitching before hand, could she have seen or heard something that upset her etc.

Basically, I'm wondering if this could be redirected aggression ([article="32390"]​[/article]), or if it's something else. I'm also trying to work out if the attacks are totally unpredictable, or if her body language, expression etc give any kind of warning. I'm sure these attacks weren't provoked by you, but the more information you have surrounding the attacks the easier it'll be to redirect her and keep yourself safe [article="29673"][/article][article="22328"][/article][article="22480"][/article]

 

[adoringangel72]

We have noticed when she's affectionate and purring we are generally "safe." We have also observed sometimes her tail does switch before she attacks. She tries to make eye contact with me, like she's challenging me. She's been loving today. If she has been hurt or played with too roughly, could that impact her several hours or even days later? It's a subject of contention here but I think my fiance's son is mean to her when no one is around. When I confront my fiancé, his son denies any wrongdoing. I try to keep her with me as much as possible but I can't avoid it sometimes. Nala Ava Marie growls and hisses at my fiance's son if he comes near her, like if he comes up to her. However, if he is laying on the floor, Nala approachs him, goes right up to him. I just cringe when she gets close to him. I wish she would just stay by me.If he's hurt her, wouldn't she avoid him at all costs?

 

[Loving Mickey]

So sorry that you are having some issues with Nala. She just looks so innocent looking. She is still a kitten, though and needs to be taught with is and isn't acceptable behavior. Yes, a cat will usually give some sort of warning sign before attacking.
If someone is being too rough with her or is just mean and hurting her, she will act out. (I know that you would never hurt her. I know how much you love her).
If Nala is hissing at your fiance's son, I would suspect he is doing something. I know it is hard to just keep her with you, but I would try my very best. I do think it is quite possible that someone is being mean to her and she may be directly her aggression towards you. I AM NOT saying that is what is happening but it is a possibly. Just something to consider. I do hope the calming chews will help her. Glad to hear she is feeling better though. She may have been acting so quiet because she was frightened by someone. I just hope things work out for both you and Nala.
I have come to love Nala just from your posts and adorable pictures of her. I am in tears thinking that someone may be hurting her.Again, I know YOU would never hurt your Nala.

 

[Columbine]

Has the biting started since her injury and declawing? It's possible she's biting because scratching is no longer possible. Biting is a common issue with declawed cats.

I know it was medically necessary and that you'd never have chosen to declaw, but unfortunately that doesn't help Nala with adjusting to the changes

It's always possible your fiancé's son is hurting Nala - but do bear in mind that it might be unintentional. If he's not been around cats before then he may not know what is and isn't appropriate. You could gently teach him appropriate was to interact with her, and also how to read her body language so he knows when to back off. He might really enjoy interactive playtime with her once he knows how to do it

Lastly, do bear in mind that the past few weeks have been incredibly stressful for you and Nala. It may take some time for you both to fully relax again. Hopefully the Composure will really help in this.

 

[donutte]

@Adoringangel72, something happened last night and I completely thought of you!

Pea-Pea was on my bed last night. I was petting her and she started giving me love bites. I had no problem with that. Then she started grabbing my arm so she could give me love bites without pulling away! Not that I was, but that was my guess. Then I saw her tail going like she was mad! I just told her enough of that young lady. Pushing against the teeth definitely works for the letting go! I had several welts on my arm after that, I was a bit shocked. Washed them off with alcohol just to make sure.

Normally she just gives a couple of love bites and that's that. I kept petting her though and maybe that's why she decided to get a bit more extreme, lol.

So funny (ironic), after she would bite me each time, even when she got extreme, she would lick me where she bit as if to say "I hope I didn't hurt you." I swear, Lucky always did that. He didn't normally bite, he mainly gummed, but regardless of which he did, he always licked afterwards. 

 

[adoringangel72]

Nala sometimes does the same thing Pea-Pea did! She'll grab onto my arm too! I don't mind the soft love bites but when she won't let go, it's scary. She doesn't lick me afterwards though. [emoji]128575[/emoji]
She actually started the aggressive/bitey stuff shortly before her accident and declaw but at that time I just excused it as "kitten behavior." It did make me absolutely sick that she had to have surgery. Honestly she didn't scratch furniture or anything really. The vet said it wasn't medically necessary to remove the left front claws but for matters of balance it was recommended. Her right paw had the severe burns.
There are several days when Nala is just with me. My fiancé shares custody with his ex so He's only at our home a few days a week. This "child" is 14 1/2 years old, a teenager so it's not as is I'm dealing with a small, innocent child. He knows what he's doing. He's not an animal lover. I don't understand that however why can't he just be mature enough to just leave her the hell alone? Nala continues to approach him oftentimes though. Ugh, 4 more years & hopefully he'll be out of the house. Is that mean? I care about him, I've known him his entire life, he's not a terrible kid, he's getting poor grades in school right now so he's grounded off PS4. Once he improves his grades, he'll be gaming nonstop again and have less time to harass my kitten. My children are 22, 19 & 17 but bonafide animal lovers. My daughter has 2 male cats, Jax and Jeremiah. She has said that Nala isn't as cute as she used to be but she's kind to her, if she bites my daughter, she just puts her down and ignores her.
I don't know what triggers Nala's episodes of violence. It's not an everyday occurrence. I can't wait to try her Composure chews. I'm grateful for all the support I get on this site, thank you all. I am insecure and doubt myself all the time. I'm not going to give up on my kitten girl and I'll keep trying to make her a happy, healthy cat! [emoji]128571[/emoji]

 

[Columbine]

I know the declaw wasn't what you wanted. Please don't think I'm getting at you about it - I'm really not. Sometimes s*** happens. That's just how life is.

I hope your almost step-son isn't being unkind to Nala. It's perfectly possible that she senses he doesn't like her, and is hissing in response to that. He certainly doesn't sound like an easy kid. I hope things improve with him - it sounds like it'd make your life a lot easier if they did!

 

[donutte]

Nala sometimes does the same thing Pea-Pea did! She'll grab onto my arm too! I don't mind the soft love bites but when she won't let go, it's scary. She doesn't lick me afterwards though. [emoji]128575[/emoji]
She actually started the aggressive/bitey stuff shortly before her accident and declaw but at that time I just excused it as "kitten behavior." It did make me absolutely sick that she had to have surgery. Honestly she didn't scratch furniture or anything really. The vet said it wasn't medically necessary to remove the left front claws but for matters of balance it was recommended. Her right paw had the severe burns.
There are several days when Nala is just with me. My fiancé shares custody with his ex so He's only at our home a few days a week. This "child" is 14 1/2 years old, a teenager so it's not as is I'm dealing with a small, innocent child. He knows what he's doing. He's not an animal lover. I don't understand that however why can't he just be mature enough to just leave her the hell alone? Nala continues to approach him oftentimes though. Ugh, 4 more years & hopefully he'll be out of the house. Is that mean? I care about him, I've known him his entire life, he's not a terrible kid, he's getting poor grades in school right now so he's grounded off PS4. Once he improves his grades, he'll be gaming nonstop again and have less time to harass my kitten. My children are 22, 19 & 17 but bonafide animal lovers. My daughter has 2 male cats, Jax and Jeremiah. She has said that Nala isn't as cute as she used to be but she's kind to her, if she bites my daughter, she just puts her down and ignores her.
I don't know what triggers Nala's episodes of violence. It's not an everyday occurrence. I can't wait to try her Composure chews. I'm grateful for all the support I get on this site, thank you all. I am insecure and doubt myself all the time. I'm not going to give up on my kitten girl and I'll keep trying to make her a happy, healthy cat! [emoji]128571[/emoji]

Please don't get scared when she does that. Kittens and young adult cans (heck, even older sometimes) can be rather rambunctious and can "rough-house" a bit much. Penelopy wrestles with the boys as much as they wrestle with each other, and I imagine the grabbing is a bit of a possessive thing also. Even Lucky used to go a bit overboard at time, hence me saying older cats can be rambunctious. I actually laughed at Penelopy last night, saying "Oh, someone is feeling kinda horsey!!" If you don't think of it as a big deal (even if it hurts - sometimes Lucky bit that horrible spot on the underside of the arm!), they won't really either.

 

[adoringangel72]

Nala Ava Marie is my first cat ever! When I was growing up we had a beautiful, highly intelligent and well trained miniature poodle. She lived to be 19 years old so she was the only pet I ever had. Just one super smart poodle. I always thought I was allergic to cats though I always thought they were cute. I never imagined I'd have a cat let alone fall madly in love with this little kitten girl! My fiancé grew up on a farm, they had many feral barn cats so he never considered cats to even be "real" house pets. I wanted the best for her the moment he brought her in the house to me. He wrapped her in an old, stained ratty turquoise towel that had faded to pale aqua riddled with holes. She was a dirty mess but to me, she looked beautiful. She's only 4 months old. She is growing and learning. She will have her moments. I know I write about the negatives and issues but she's also cuddly. She snuggles right up in my face at night. She plays with her toys just like a child. She looks stoic and regal when she is perched on the back of the sofa. She is curious. She is funny. She's sweet. She is skittish sometimes. I hope she knows she is loved. [emoji]128151[/emoji]

 

[margd]

What a sweet picture of little baby Nala.[emoji]10084[/emoji]️[emoji]10084[/emoji]️[emoji]10084[/emoji]️. I'm sure she knows you love her. You show her that every day.

 

[segelkatt]

I have a foster who used to bite me out of nowhere. I would be in his room petting him, he was purring and all of a sudden he would grab my arm and bite it, hard, blood  running. I would immediately shake my finger in his face, say very sternly "NO" and then leave the room. Then I'd pour peroxide on the wound and cover with a bandaid. 5 minutes later I would go back in the room, act like nothing happened and we'd be friends again. Sometimes he'd bite me again and we'd go through the same routine as before, sometimes several times. He did not always draw blood but it was painful anyway. He had to learn that he would "loose" me or at least my presence if he bit me. It took about a week of reinforcing that biting would cause me to leave his room before he learned this. He has never bitten me again. The peroxide cleans the wound, does not hurt, just looks weird with the blood bubbling, and I have only one very fine pale scar that I have to look for to find it. The other (many) bite marks left no scars at all. I recommend peroxide for this kind of injury or any other relatively surface cuts and scrapes. Alcohol hurts and iodine stains, peroxide does neither.

You will have to teach Nala some manners as her fur mommy did not have time to do the job. Now it's up to you. Good luck.  

 

[adoringangel72]

Thank you! That sounds much better than spraying her with water or flicking her cute little pink nose! I have (gently) placed her off of my bed or the sofa or wherever she's attacked me. I was going through lots of peroxide but fortunately she has not seriously bitten me in about a week or so. Just little love bites. When she has wanted to attack my hands I quickly grab one of her toys. At night she likes to sleep on me! She purrs. She's loving and affectionate. She's not always naughty. There are times she disappears for a couple hours at a time but I allow her to have her privacy.

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• adoringangel72
• Jan 24, 2016

 

[segelkatt]

I don't know who came up with the idea of spraying a cat with water, especially in the face. That's just going to make the cat hate you or at least make it fearful. The response to unacceptable behavior has to come immediately (cats are notorious for short memories) and it has to deprive the cat of something it wants (in this case my presence, or you could take away a toy it was playing with). Within 5 minute or so you can give the toy back but as soon as the bad behavior comes back you need to take the toy away again, and again, and again. 

Flicking its nose does the same thing as the water bottle (how would you like to have somebody much bigger than you bop you in the nose when you do something dumb?), use that to spray your house plants instead.

A really good book for behavior modification is titled "Naughty  No More". It shows exactly how to go about training your cat. Clicker training is the key to make your cat do what you want it to do, to keep it from doing things you don't want it to do is more difficult. As with children it is easier to train a young cat than one that is set in its ways. My foster was 3 years old and he also learned. And then there are those who are just stupid and never learn. My now 16 year old Persian has yet to learn to use the cat door (once she sat outside the balcony door in the cold all night when I had forgotten she as out there), instead of using the cat door, she made a beeline to the litter box once I let her in) although my other 16 year old learned in no time. What can I say, the Persian is just not smart in some things, in others she is just as smart as the other cats..