"CatNipped" wrote in message
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"-Lost" wrote in message
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Nope, he's still kicking... or should I say scratching and biting and
going ape bouncing off of walls? *shrugs*

Just wondering, have you tried hissing loudly at Gabby when he gets too
rough? It doesn't do any good to yell and say "NO" because cats don't
know our language, so we have to learn theirs. I've been around cats all
my life, so I've learned to imitate all the sounds they make and I've
learned when to make them in order to communicate what I want the cat to
do (or *not* do).

Regarding another suggestion to give Gabby to someone else before sending
him to the pound... unless it's to someone who really knows how to train
cats and understands what he/she is taking on with Gabby (and someone who
doesn't have children), I wouldn't pass on a potential danger that I am
not willing to face for myself or my family. Only you are there to gauge
how bad the behavior is and how dangerous it makes Gabby, so all I can say
is use your best judgment. I know you're doing the best you can in trying
to socialize Gabby and give him a good, loving home.

I thin that some people underestimate of don't understand just how
dangerous a cat's bite can be (and, of course, we would all do any and
everything to fix a problem rather than harm a cat in any way).

ACK! I'm way too groggy with cold medicine and the pain from getting not
one, but TWO teeth drilled down to the bone in preparation for crowns this
morning! That should have read, "I think that some people underestimate or
don't understand just how dangerous a cat's bite can be."


Just to illustrate the danger (and hopefully I'm not scaring you with
this): There was a story on Animal Planet about a woman, a pianist, whose
cat fell from a second story balcony and impaled himself on a wrought iron
fence. The woman rushed outside to try to help her cat, but she couldn't
remove him from the fence. The best she could do was try to hold him
still until help could arrive. The entire time she was holding him, the
cat, in pain and terrified, continually bit her hands. She immediately
got medical treatment at an emergency room, but the bites still got
infected (a cat bite, unlike a scratch or a bite from a dog which has
larger teeth, is a tiny hole, but a deep one, so it's extremely difficult
to wash it out well - a lot of the time the outside of the wound will
close, but the bacteria still deep inside will cause the wound to fester).

The infection she got was very resistant to antibiotics and she ended up
in the hospital again and again so she could be given intravenous
medication. Every time they thought they had the infection under control
it would spring up again. For quite some time the doctors thought they
might have to amputate both her hands in order to stop the infection from
becoming systemic. They were eventually successful in getting the
infection under control without having to amputate, but her hands were
permanently disabled (from the doctors continually cutting into the
muscles to lance the wounds and remove pus). She was unable to play the
piano well enough to continue to make her living doing so. [BTW, the cat
lived and completely recovered.]

Anyway, that is why I take cats' biting very seriously (and because I had
a cat who was a biter and had to spend considerable amounts for my own
medical treatments for cat bites).

It's bad enough when an adult gets bitten, but their larger size and
better immune system makes it harder for an infection to become systemic.
A child who is bitten, however, can succumb easily to a rampant infection.
Again, this is why I always strongly suggest that people *do not ever*
play with kittens with their hands - *always* use a toy and divert your
cat away from your hands, because once learned, this is a very hard habit
to break (as you're finding out the hard way). As much as I love cats
(and I am a complete ailurophile), I would still have to place a child's
welfare over a pets'.

I really hope you can find a way to get Gabby to quit his biting, I would
be heart-broken to read that he had to be put down because of this.

Anyway I'll keep thinking about this (so far all that I've read about
curing cats from biting just lists all the things we've already suggested
you do).

Hugs,

CatNipped