Violent Foster Cat Terrorizes Household!

[softkittywarmkitty]

I am in desperate need of help!
My mom agreed to foster a cat (male, 4yrs old) for a friend who had run out of room. She’d had cats before and thought it would be fine. Unfortunately, the cat she ended up receiving was incredibly violent and bullied the (larger) dog. Out of fear that the dog would eventually kill the cat, my parents asked me to take him as I was moving out.

In the three months that Barnaby has lived with me and my roommates, he has only gotten more violent and destructive. He bites, scratches, and destroys furniture. We spray him with water when he bites, but he doesn’t learn. All of us are in our early twenties and don’t have the resources, mentally or financially, to keep this up. Neither myself nor my mother can stomach taking him to a shelter, but the previous foster can’t take him back and we’ve had no luck finding him a home. Any thoughts on what our next move should be??

 

[susan denning]

Is there a group in your area that fosters cats (i'm thinking of something like Cat Rescue and Adoption network where I live (Oregon). W as the cat originally a shelter cat? If so, it might be worth taking to the shelf he came from.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

First, thank you for trying to help this cat! However, spraying with water may be doing more harm than good. 5 Reasons To Never Spray Water On Your Cat

I'm going to give you links to several articles on how to deal with all sorts of behavioral issues. ALL of them are easy to read, and very clear. I'm hoping that you will find what you need here!

Your Cat Probably Hates It When You... (so you don't trigger him by mistake)
Solving Cat Behavior Problems: The Key Ingredient
How To Set Healthy Boundaries For Your Cat
The Dos And Don'ts Of Cat Behavior Modification
When Physical Problems Turn Into Behavior Problems
Cat Aggression Toward People
Is Your Cat Stressed Out?
Potential Stressors In Cats - The Ultimate Checklist
Six Surefire Strategies To Reduce Stress In Cats

The articles on stress may end up being your best friends. This cat has gone through a huge amount of upheaval in a short amount of time. To a cat, his territory is EVERYTHING, and this has been torn away from him, not once, but TWICE in a very short amount of time. Most of what you are seeing may well be fear induced.

Can he be confined to one room that he can make "his"? I know that may be impossible, but it could help. Also, if you can manage it, you can syringe a tablespoonful of chamomile tea down him three times a day. It has a calming effect without actually sedating the cat. Just buy the bags from the grocery store, brew a cup, chill it in the fridge, and dose him. The tea is good for about three days in the fridge, then brew more. A box only costs around $5, and if it works, it is WELL worth the price!

Best of luck with this problem boy, and let me know how he does!

 

[softkittywarmkitty]

Thank you for all the links! I wasn’t aware that water doesn’t help, so we’ll stop doing that. I’m not comfortable putting anything down his throat (he likes to bite even when he had just been calm), but maybe I’ll ask my mom about taking him to the vet. Other than that, I’m not sure what to do - he has his own room, toys, and gets played with fairly often. But maybe the vet will help!

 

[Timmer]

Do you have a scratching post for the cat? They do like to scratch and that might help him not scratch the furniture. If you can catch him, clip the tips of is claws so it isn't as sharp.
4 years old is young and he probably has a lot of energy. Play vigerously with the cat with wand toys with feathers on them or interesting ends but of course, nothing that will come loose so he can swallow it.

One way to get a cat to release you if it bites is instead of pulling away, gently push toward the cat. When you pull away, you sort of trigger a captive pray instinct and the cat will only grab on tighter. It takes some practice on the human part not to pull away, but if you gently push into the cat, they will release.
Maybe the cat doesn't want to be locked up in a room.

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS.

Mamanyt1953 posted with all sorts of links that hopefully will have some tips for you.

I'm going to add one more, which is actually for ferals, but might have some helpful ideas for socializing him.

Handling Feral Cats

Plus, this one:
14 Cat Experts Reveal: How To Get A Cat To Like Me