Gabby made a critical mistake today... please help...

"-Lost" wrote in message
...
Response from "CatNipped" :

"-Lost" wrote in message
...
Gabby is STILL pushing the limits. Today during their normal
play I could hear Pudge start to whimper as Gabby bit and clawed
harder and harder, nearer and nearer to Pudge's genitalia.

Almost at the exact moment I reached down to grab Gabby away,
Pudge bit her on the face.

3 things...

1. Pudge is the KINDEST, SWEETEST dog I have ever met or had the
joy to call my doggy daughter. She has NEVER done ANYTHING like
that OR even growled at ANYONE, including my youngest child who
used to tug on her quite forcefully. So I believe Pudge did what
she did only because it hurt too much.

2. Gabby is fine. It was not a vicious mauling or even a
critical snapping of the jaws. For "us" it would have been a nip
to say back off. For Gabby, whose head can fit inside Pudge's
mouth it was, "Oh ****e, the mouth of Satan himself came gnashing
at my soul!" Haha!

3. Pudge, I think having realized Gabby is just a baby made it a
point to walk over to her and give her the once over -- licking
her from head to toe.

How does Gabby repay Pudge for this kindness even after Gabby
went too far?

Back leg...
http://img99.imageshack.us/my.php?im...ntpudgelm8.jpg

Front leg...
http://img502.imageshack.us/my.php?i...tpudge2ak1.jpg

Poor Pudge's Privates...
http://img98.imageshack.us/my.php?im...tpudge3lp2.jpg

I swear this cat is going to give someone a stroke.

LOL! Sorry, I know this is hard for you, but a picture of a tiny
kitten taking on a large dog - and *winning* is just too funny.

Naaah, it cracks me up too. : )

snip

Your pictures just reminded me of this. If you ever watch Animal
Planet you'll see kittens attacking their dog friends all the
time. Did Pudge have any actual scratches or bite marks on her?

Actually, after the first genitalia bite I scoured Pudge's
underbelly and sure enough there were two TINY pinpricks so to
speak. Two itty-bitty drops of blood RIGHT BESIDE her genitalia.
My poor puppy. : |

It would be very odd for a kitten that small to do any real damage
to a much larger dog. Some dogs whine when they are in an
unfamiliar situation and don't know what to do. If Pudge has never
been around kittens before she may not know how to play with
Gabby, and may feel uncomfortable at first.

I thought so at first, but Pudge is actually the one who initiated
play with Gabby time and time again.

Demon on the other hand has NEVER wanted anything to do with her
really. Although they did have a bit of fun before Gabby started
biting too hard.

I think once they get to know each other better they'll have a
lot more fun (unless Pudge is a very old dog) - puppies play even
rougher than kittens, so I'm sure it's not a case of Pudge being
hurt.

Nope, Pudge and Demon both are barely 3 years old.

And beside what I told you about those couple drops of blood (I
couldn't even tell if they were bite or claw marks they were so small
and seriously DOTS), Pudge is just fine. I have roughhoused with her
10x worse than what Gabby did to her.

I think the worst part of it is being new to Gabby, liking her, and
then getting hurt (regardless of how severe) by her. She immediately
went and tended to Gabby afterward so there was no hard feelings.

And as you stated, she does have her own defenses. As
long as Pudge isn't viscious I wouldn't worry about it - they'll
work it out. You may find that in a year's time that they've
become the best of
friends.

Yeah, Pudge is the polar opposite of vicious. I used to call her
"pudding pup" is how laid back she is.

I really think they'll be fine. Pudge will deal with her, um I mean him in
her own way. As long as there is not injuries invovled I'd let them work it
out themselves. Gabby has to learn that she can only go so far with being
chastised for it.


And now, as of about 10 minutes I made a startling revelation. And
it just goes to show me that when someone tells you something,
sometimes it helps to see for yourself.

See my new thread entitled "Gabby is a funny name for a boy." I am
sure you and everyone else will get a superb kick out of this one. :
)

LOL! Nope, happens all the time - we had a poster here not too long ago
with a female cat called Oscar! ; You can always change his name to
Gabriel and call him Gabe for short!


--
-Lost
Remove the extra words to reply by e-mail. Don't e-mail me. I am
kidding. No I am not.

On Oct 14, 6:24 am, "-Lost" wrote:
snipped

Bosley is bothered by people of any size who move suddenly, or are
loud,
or who touch him uninvited. He weighs over 20 pounds and usually
goes for the face. He just gets overstimulated easily. Even when
I'm petting him, he sends "signals" (ears back, or tail
thumping)...that he's had enough. If I don't stop, he attacks me.
He's just a weird cat.

Ah, OK. And I knew the general tail THUMPING part, but I wonder, is
tail wagging in cats always indicative of poor mood or becoming
upset?

Oh, yeah. Or at least from my experience. The *only* time I ever see
any
tail-wagging of any kind is when they're angry, or threatened. You see
tail-
wagging a lot when two cats are in a stand-off about to scrap with
each other. A "happy tail" might curl up and down at the very tip, but
never wags. A *really* happy tail is held straight up, or curled at
the edge
like a question mark!

As a farm kid with dozens of pets of all species, I was scratched,
bitten,
kicked, thrown to the ground, and flogged lots of times. I still
remember
what my mother *invariably* said when I went bawling and tattling
to her:
"Well, what did *you* do to him/her/it?"

I was a "farm kid" too and had to go through the same things. I
think I have been bitten by horses more times than anything to be
honest. But I can honestly say at about age six and beyond I stopped
being mean to animals. I only think I was before then because I
didn't know better.

Ha! Horse bites are the worst, and you don't have to "be mean" to get
one.
Just turn your back! Same with geese. I don't think I ever was
deliberately
mean to an animal, but I did have a tendency to dress them up, and
was constantly "fixing" the horses' manes and tails into braids and
ribbons.
I suppose that's a form of abuse in its own right . :-)
The thing about Gabby is, you just have to learn what her stressors
are. What
agitates her, and what works to calm her. Every cat is different. When
Bosley
would wack out, I'd put him in a quiet bedroom for a while, like "time
out". *IF*
I could handle him without being hurt.
Really, if you can manage to find what works in the meantime, aging is
going
to make a tremendous difference. Even the most fractious teenaged cats
usually
mellow with age.


Sherry

On 14 Oct, 04:24, "-Lost" wrote:

Oh yeah, Gabby is only playing as far as I can tell. She DOES get
worked up easily though. For example she DOES NOT fall for that just
ignore it routine. If you pull your hand or arm away, she pounces on
you. If you ignore her she just gets rougher and rougher until you
have to scream out in pain or yank your hand away or toss her away.


Sarrasine (my evil feline criminal genius) used to get very
overexcited as a kitten and do something similar.

Here's what worked for us

1. When she first bit or seriously claed at one of us, we'd withdraw
from playing. Just stop and ignore her. Sometimes this worked if it
didn't...

2. We'd pick her up at a safe distance- hand under the backside so she
would feel secure , hand under her chest but we would hold her away
from us

3. No cuddles, no stroking so she didn't get a reward for her
behaviour

4. We'd put her in the bathroom and shut the door and leave her there
for 10-15 minutes

5 If she started again when she was let out- she'd go back to the
bathroom (there were times when I spent forever walking to and from
the bathroom) If however she played nice, she would get stroked and
fussed over

She soon learnt (Soon? It took a few weeks) that if she bit or clawed
and we withdrew that she couldn't press it further or she would be
taken away from playing and left in the bathroom for a "time out" Okay
some of it is not being a kitten anymore, through she still plays like
one, she's 4 now, once every few months she might go a bit crazy but
if she does she still gets picked up and put in the bathroom

These days the worse she is guility of is patting your face when
you're trying to sleep and she wants to be petted and even then she
keeps her claws in

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs

On Oct 14, 11:07 am, Lesley wrote:
On 14 Oct, 04:24, "-Lost" wrote:



Oh yeah, Gabby is only playing as far as I can tell. She DOES get
worked up easily though. For example she DOES NOT fall for that just
ignore it routine. If you pull your hand or arm away, she pounces on
you. If you ignore her she just gets rougher and rougher until you
have to scream out in pain or yank your hand away or toss her away.

Sarrasine (my evil feline criminal genius) used to get very
overexcited as a kitten and do something similar.

Here's what worked for us

1. When she first bit or seriously claed at one of us, we'd withdraw
from playing. Just stop and ignore her. Sometimes this worked if it
didn't...

2. We'd pick her up at a safe distance- hand under the backside so she
would feel secure , hand under her chest but we would hold her away
from us

3. No cuddles, no stroking so she didn't get a reward for her
behaviour

4. We'd put her in the bathroom and shut the door and leave her there
for 10-15 minutes

5 If she started again when she was let out- she'd go back to the
bathroom (there were times when I spent forever walking to and from
the bathroom) If however she played nice, she would get stroked and
fussed over

She soon learnt (Soon? It took a few weeks) that if she bit or clawed
and we withdrew that she couldn't press it further or she would be
taken away from playing and left in the bathroom for a "time out" Okay
some of it is not being a kitten anymore, through she still plays like
one, she's 4 now, once every few months she might go a bit crazy but
if she does she still gets picked up and put in the bathroom

These days the worse she is guility of is patting your face when
you're trying to sleep and she wants to be petted and even then she
keeps her claws in

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs

Leslie, that is *excellent* advice. It will work. It worked with Bubby
and Sissy,
the orphan kittens I had. It didn't take them long to learn that when
they
started biting & clawing, they stopped getting attention.

Sherry