HELP! Viscious attack cat

sillylilykitty · 13-08-2007, 01:18 PM

Lily is my cat, she is a Siamese cat. Shes taken a turn for the worse she hates being touched, so much that if shes not happy about it she will bite you. Sometimes she will bite lightly sometimes she comes close to creating an abscess. Im afraid shes turning into her mom. Her mom was put to sleep because she could not be trusted not to bite if you touched her. The breeder I worked for was not going to adopt out a cat that was scared all the time and attacked hands.

I dont want to give up on Lily like that. But I cant take this much longer!! WHAT DO I DO?!?! Its in her blood, her mom was a fear biter her dad is even more aggressive....Im fighting against the odds, but how do you stop a cat from biting?

Fran · 13-08-2007, 01:24 PM

I have no experience of this and do not know what to advise. Have you consulted your vet? Is there a possibility there may be a medical reason why she is turning this way? I do hope someone will have some answers for you and please let us know how you get on.....

Moli · 13-08-2007, 01:57 PM

As PK says I would get her checked over by the vet, there could be a simple reason for it...

dinahsmum · 13-08-2007, 02:08 PM

This must be vet territory.
I hope it can be resolved.

charliebubs · 13-08-2007, 02:33 PM

I hope you can sort it all out for Lily and for you. Please do keep us posted.

I'm not sure that I agree that "it's in her blood" - I think that if she never did it before and has just started it recently, then it's either a medical or a behavioural problem.

If the vet can rule out any medical problems perhaps you could get a cat behaviourist to come and assess her. They may be able to help.

Best of luck

Donna · 13-08-2007, 03:31 PM

I too dont believe an animal to be born with a tendancy to be nasty. There has to be a reason for it... either mental or physical.

Rule out the physical side with the vet, and then find a cat behaviourist who can find out why the cat is behaving in such a manner.

Good luck!

sillylilykitty · 13-08-2007, 07:33 PM

I have a great cat book that explains all kinds of cat behaviors. I am sad that I didnt look at the biting portion of the book before Lily got this bad. It says that some cats just dont like to be touched in certain places. And if I dont pick up the signals from Lily that say to stop then she will bite. When she bites I stop petting and since this has happened various times before, Lily just isnt patient anymore and just attacks immediately to make me (or anyone else) stop touching her.

This is my very first cat that is my own. I have definatly learned from this mistake. I dont think she has anything medically wrong, because other than the biting she acts perfectly normal. Lily is fine with me touching her head but doesnt like being touched (as in petting, I can clip nails and pick her up just fine) anywhere else. I guess I just have to accept that Lily just doesnt like to be pet.

Thank you for your help! I was just so freaked out this morning when Lily bit me for trying to move her feet. She can get cranky sometimes too (which is what I think is what happened).

charliebubs · 13-08-2007, 07:38 PM

Maybe you could try starting from square one with her again. If she doesn't mind being stroked on the head, just do that for a while and then, when she trusts you again and knows that you're not going to touch her in the wrong place and make her bite, try to stroke a bit further down her back. Gradually build it up over time - a long time - and it might work.

I would say that she just needs to learn that you don't want to hurt/annoy/upset her and touch her in the wrong place. Once she understands this maybe you'll be able to start again with her. Just take it slow.

Don't you show her too? How do you manage that if she doesn't like to be handled?

Or maybe that's even what has put her off being touched?

Donna · 13-08-2007, 07:44 PM

My Misty is very particular about where she is touched and she will swipe with claws out if anyone touches her sides, tummy, legs, feet etc.

She is ok with head rubs and back rubs and tail touching, but again this has to be on her terms.

Maybe back off from touching all together - dont give her attention unless she comes to you for it.

sillylilykitty · 13-08-2007, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charliebubs

Maybe you could try starting from square one with her again. If she doesn't mind being stroked on the head, just do that for a while and then, when she trusts you again and knows that you're not going to touch her in the wrong place and make her bite, try to stroke a bit further down her back. Gradually build it up over time - a long time - and it might work.

I would say that she just needs to learn that you don't want to hurt/annoy/upset her and touch her in the wrong place. Once she understands this maybe you'll be able to start again with her. Just take it slow.

Don't you show her too? How do you manage that if she doesn't like to be handled?

Or maybe that's even what has put her off being touched?

I will try to get her used to it over time, a loong time. She has never been very happy at cat shows. She never bit a judge. After a few cat shows she started "charging" at the judge when they closed the cage door. Then she stopped and acted like she was ok with shows and the judges started playing with her. Then she started charging again and a judge actually took the time to try and work with Lily so she learns that she shouldnt charge (that was a very good judge, some judges just look at Lily like theres something wrong with her when she does that

). She is entered in an upcoming show in September and even though she is 8 points away from her Grand Premiership, IF she DOES bite a judge, I dont plan on showing her for a long time (if ever) after that. No she has never bitten a judge before. So her show life has been a roller coaster ride.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donna

My Misty is very particular about where she is touched and she will swipe with claws out if anyone touches her sides, tummy, legs, feet etc.

She is ok with head rubs and back rubs and tail touching, but again this has to be on her terms.

Maybe back off from touching all together - dont give her attention unless she comes to you for it.

Thats also what I plan on doing, not touching her at all. If she comes to me ok but I dont want to pet her, I've pushed her far enough, I dont want to move to fast.

Welcome to our Cat Forums!
				Welcome to our CatForums! You are seeing this message because you are viewing our cat forums as a guest. You can continue to browse our many cat related areas as a guest but you are more than welcome to register and join our friendly community of Cat Lovers! ... And for free! Doing so will also remove this message and some of the ads, such as the one on the left. Please click here to register.