Yeah!!! My cat didn't bite me last night!

[princesslucy]

I'm new here, but believe me, this is an amazing event.

Last July, I found this cat on my deck. Very skinny, but a large (tall, large headed) cat. 11.5 pounds, should be around 17, according to the vet.

I fed him, but as I don't own the house, I didn't bring the cat in.

The next day, there is a shiny collar on the cat, who is once again on my deck. I discovered that the girls next door bought the collar, and named the cat Chloe.

They, ummm, didn't notice the, ummm, spare boy parts.

I took him in to find him a home. Neuter, shots, treatment for giardia, etc.

I tried to adopt him out for a while, but no takers. I spent over $400 on his vetting, but all I was looking for was a $25 donation to the HS.

Got a lot of flack for not setting him back outside while he recovered, but I was eventually able to get him living in the house, in my bedroom. He does get limited free roam of the house, when the dog is in a different room (for the dog's protection). He is indoors only.

Anyway, he tries to terrorize me at every chance. He bites, scratches, and now he started sleeping on my back, chest or side. He does all this while purring. His latest trick is biting my hair at the scalp. Oh what fun!

If I did this right, this is Mittens. This is an old picture, from last year. He is around 5 or 6, according to the vet.



I think I liked him better when he was on his best behavior. When he wanted to get around from one side of the bed to the other, he used to walk around me. Now, he walks across my face instead. While purring, of course!

 

[calico2222]

Aww, he looks like a sweetie! I bet you have your hands full.

Bless you for taking him in. Keep us posted.

 

[atinsley]

Great work saving him! He's a cutie. Have you tried to redirect his aggression? If he attacks your hand, don't try to pull it away. Use your other hand to pull him away and then use a "fishing pole" type toy to get him to attack that.

 

[princesslucy]

Funny you said about the fishing pole toy. I just bought him another one last night.

Most of the attacks happen while I am sleeping. 6 AM this morning, he decided to attach my head. Again. Always the top of my head.

The daytime attacks are normally the "don't stop petting me because I am going to grab your arm with everything at my disposal and get it back" kind of thing, which are annoying, but not too bad.

The worst of the biting is when he goes to the groomer.

The first girl that clipped his nails could do him one-handed. When she was on vacation, someone else clipped his nails and hurt him. After that, he would bite every time he got his nails clipped. The groomer makes me hold him, so everything is taken out on me. I am the one wearing the winter coat with really really thick sleeves in the summer...

He is a polydactyl, and the nails are also fused together, double nailed in some other way, or really small in between the toes. He has 3 dewclaws on one foot.

He did technically have a home. Almost. The girls next door, the ones who bought the collar, were going to keep him in their cold garage, but their parents said no, since they have a rather annoying beagle who just kept baying at the garage. He would have been in the garage at night only, and outside all day.

His other almost home was outside, at the neighbor across the street garage.

Neither neighbor "gets" the safer indoors idea. We have coyotes in the neighborhood.

I actually took the cat from the neighbors garage to have him neutered, and they haven't seen him since. They know I have him, but they didn't want him. Their letting him sleep in their garage was all they were willing to do as far as keeping him safe. He didn't get along with their indoor/outdoor cats, so they weren't willing to take him in.

Did I mention coyotes? They still let their cats roam, even though I let them know about every coyote sighting...

I had 2 people interested in him at the beginning, indoor only, but not to the point of applying/home check/references. They just lost interest.

Another person said her boyfriend would take him, sight unseen. Ummm...No, I'm not thinking so.

 

[taryn]

Sometimes you do what you can. I have 6 outside and yes we have coyotes. I can't take in 6 more cats, I already have 3 inside. It's not about 'getting' it. They had very valid reasons for not bringing him inside. I'm sure they get that they are safer inside. They just couldn't bring him inside their houses. I feed my 6 and they do live here. That is the best I can do.

Don't come down on people who were trying to help him. Sometimes you do the best you can and from the sounds of it that was what they were trying to do. You could take him in, they couldn't.

Taryn

 

[princesslucy]

I didn't mean taking him in as much as keeping their own in. That's really what I don't think they get.

I cringe when I tell her about the coyote sighting 2 doors away from me, and she tells me that she hasn't seen one of her cats in a couple of days, and I should let her know if I see him.

Her cats like to play in the woods behind my house. It is more developed behind her house. She is across the street from me.