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#12
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"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. -- |
#13
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"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. -- |
#14
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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 |
#15
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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 |
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