why is my cat doing this, and is it a problem? (long, sorry)

In article ,
enlightened us with...

Thanks! I tried this a minute ago. I could see he was starting to
get worked up - this attack always seems to be preceded by him
starting to groom my hand. Sometimes he just grooms my hand without
going nuts, but there's something about his face that signals that the
Cat Attack is on the way. So I tried heading it off at the pass, when
he made to grab my arm I wailed. He stopped instantly. We repeated
this scenario but not more than once.


Glad to hear it!
Sometimes, you just need to let them know beyond a doubt that they're hurting
you. They don't know how sensitive our skin is unless we teach them. They've
got fur.


--
--
~kaeli~
Well, aren't we just a flipping ray of sunshine?
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace

"Tiger Girl" wrote in message
...
His favorite toy is a wand with feathers on a string. He's pretty tough
on that - he'll pounce it like mad and chomp on the feathers.We're going
through the feather bundles at a rate of 1 every 10 days. I don't mind this,
but he treats the feathers like he treats my arm, and I'm wondering if I'm
reinforcing the behavior through the feather
toy. Or maybe it will get it out of his system so he doesn't want to
beat up my arm?

I think the latter. He needs to beat the snot out of
something. A hard early life can bring that out in
creatures. Better an object than you. I would
take Kaeli's advice and never play with him with
your hand at all--without an object between it and
him, I mean. Bless you for taking him, too.




Thanks again for the advice! I've seen this happen with parents so
often - my first one was an angel and now I've got a real little devil
as number 2...

TG


On Wed, 8 Sep 2004 09:16:15 -0500, kaeli
wrote:

In article ,

enlightened us with...

snip
They couldn't let him play at will with the other kitties in the
center because he played "aggressively". This means that when they
let him out of his kennel, he'd make the rounds and beat up the other
cats by pouncing them, wrestling them to the ground, and sitting on
them. No hissing, no fur fluffing, no angry posturing. It almost
looked like a hobby to him. Beating Up Other Cats For Fun and Profit.


Nah, this is a slightly different hobby. This one is I Like To Play Rough
Because Being A Bully Is Fun, or My Momma Left Me Too Early And I Didn't
Learn How To Play Nice. *heh*

This is a cat who likes to play rough. Most other cats will hate this,
thus
provoking the impression that he's beating on them (and possibly
provoking a
real fight from an intolerant or dominant cat). Another cat who can dish
it
out as well as take it would make a great companion for him, provided the
other cat is truly playing as well. The play fights would be noisy as all
heck, but neither would actually get hurt.


Lately, he's developed a couple of weird behaviors.


I've noticed indoor-only cats who have no other animals as companions
tend to
do the behaviors you're mentioning below.
All the single cats I've ever had have done this (while I was growing up)
and
my Mom's cat does it now.

He'll hang around in my travel path (we live in a flat) as I'm moving
around - generally, when I'm doing things not involving him, like
getting ready for work. Then when I get within direct eyeshot, he
hunkers down and gives me a frightened glare, and when I get close, he
rockets away and scuttles under the bed.


I don't know your guy enough to know for sure, but Louie, my Mom's cat
(an
only kitty, and indoor-only) does this as an invitation to play chase. He
can
get too rough, though, so she has to be careful about how intense he
gets.

The last couple of nights (roughly coinciding with Spazzy Cat Thing
One) he's started beating up my arm like he used to beat up the other
cats.

Sounds like Louie again. To a tee.

IMO, two cats is always better than one, provided they get along. The
trick
is finding one who will get along with your guy, since he likes
roughhousing.
You don't want another bully, since it could cause dominance problems and
real fights, but you don't want too submissive a cat since it would just
get
beat up, so to speak. If you can have two, you might want to consider
searching for a companion for him. You'll need to be picky to find the
right
match, and you'll probably need to have the option to try out the new cat
before committing to adoption, but my bet is that a lively,
well-socialized
6-8 month old cat would do your friend (and your arm) a world of good.
Big
enough to hold his or her own, young enough to not get overly ****y about
someone who wants to play a lot.

If getting another isn't an option, you'll need to work on training now
so
that he doesn't think biting you is an okay thing. It gets worse, not
better,
if left alone. With the right training, though, roughhousing can work.
It's a
fine line, though. Your skin is much more delicate than a cat's skin with
fur. Teaching him that "Ow" or "enough" means to stop is VERY important
before he learns bad habits. But teaching him that biting is okay in some
situations means he may be more likely to bite, period, so weigh your
decision whether or not to allow it very carefully. A cat who thinks it's
fun
to bite is not a cat you want around children. He may live for 15-20
years.
If you think you might have kids before then, I'd suggest NOT playing
rough
with him at all. YOMV, of course.

--

"Tiger Girl" wrote in message
...
His favorite toy is a wand with feathers on a string. He's pretty tough
on that - he'll pounce it like mad and chomp on the feathers.We're going
through the feather bundles at a rate of 1 every 10 days. I don't mind this,
but he treats the feathers like he treats my arm, and I'm wondering if I'm
reinforcing the behavior through the feather
toy. Or maybe it will get it out of his system so he doesn't want to
beat up my arm?

I think the latter. He needs to beat the snot out of
something. A hard early life can bring that out in
creatures. Better an object than you. I would
take Kaeli's advice and never play with him with
your hand at all--without an object between it and
him, I mean. Bless you for taking him, too.




Thanks again for the advice! I've seen this happen with parents so
often - my first one was an angel and now I've got a real little devil
as number 2...

TG


On Wed, 8 Sep 2004 09:16:15 -0500, kaeli
wrote:

In article ,

enlightened us with...

snip
They couldn't let him play at will with the other kitties in the
center because he played "aggressively". This means that when they
let him out of his kennel, he'd make the rounds and beat up the other
cats by pouncing them, wrestling them to the ground, and sitting on
them. No hissing, no fur fluffing, no angry posturing. It almost
looked like a hobby to him. Beating Up Other Cats For Fun and Profit.


Nah, this is a slightly different hobby. This one is I Like To Play Rough
Because Being A Bully Is Fun, or My Momma Left Me Too Early And I Didn't
Learn How To Play Nice. *heh*

This is a cat who likes to play rough. Most other cats will hate this,
thus
provoking the impression that he's beating on them (and possibly
provoking a
real fight from an intolerant or dominant cat). Another cat who can dish
it
out as well as take it would make a great companion for him, provided the
other cat is truly playing as well. The play fights would be noisy as all
heck, but neither would actually get hurt.


Lately, he's developed a couple of weird behaviors.


I've noticed indoor-only cats who have no other animals as companions
tend to
do the behaviors you're mentioning below.
All the single cats I've ever had have done this (while I was growing up)
and
my Mom's cat does it now.

He'll hang around in my travel path (we live in a flat) as I'm moving
around - generally, when I'm doing things not involving him, like
getting ready for work. Then when I get within direct eyeshot, he
hunkers down and gives me a frightened glare, and when I get close, he
rockets away and scuttles under the bed.


I don't know your guy enough to know for sure, but Louie, my Mom's cat
(an
only kitty, and indoor-only) does this as an invitation to play chase. He
can
get too rough, though, so she has to be careful about how intense he
gets.

The last couple of nights (roughly coinciding with Spazzy Cat Thing
One) he's started beating up my arm like he used to beat up the other
cats.

Sounds like Louie again. To a tee.

IMO, two cats is always better than one, provided they get along. The
trick
is finding one who will get along with your guy, since he likes
roughhousing.
You don't want another bully, since it could cause dominance problems and
real fights, but you don't want too submissive a cat since it would just
get
beat up, so to speak. If you can have two, you might want to consider
searching for a companion for him. You'll need to be picky to find the
right
match, and you'll probably need to have the option to try out the new cat
before committing to adoption, but my bet is that a lively,
well-socialized
6-8 month old cat would do your friend (and your arm) a world of good.
Big
enough to hold his or her own, young enough to not get overly ****y about
someone who wants to play a lot.

If getting another isn't an option, you'll need to work on training now
so
that he doesn't think biting you is an okay thing. It gets worse, not
better,
if left alone. With the right training, though, roughhousing can work.
It's a
fine line, though. Your skin is much more delicate than a cat's skin with
fur. Teaching him that "Ow" or "enough" means to stop is VERY important
before he learns bad habits. But teaching him that biting is okay in some
situations means he may be more likely to bite, period, so weigh your
decision whether or not to allow it very carefully. A cat who thinks it's
fun
to bite is not a cat you want around children. He may live for 15-20
years.
If you think you might have kids before then, I'd suggest NOT playing
rough
with him at all. YOMV, of course.

--

On Wed, 08 Sep 2004 07:14:43 -0500, Tiger Girl wrote:

My thoughts: He's a CAT. He wants to play chase, hide-and-seek- and
catch the monster. Best wishes. MLB

On Wed, 08 Sep 2004 07:14:43 -0500, Tiger Girl wrote:

My thoughts: He's a CAT. He wants to play chase, hide-and-seek- and
catch the monster. Best wishes. MLB