If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Jekyll/Hyde
I recently took into foster care a half-Siamese female, declawed on
the front. She has a real Jekyll/Hyde personality. One minute she is all cuddles and purring, then out of the blue she bites hard enough to draw blood. Two minutes later she's back to cuddling and purring. I've had fosters that bit out of shyness or fear, and even ones that that were just generally aggressive, but this is the first with such a two-faced personality. I can't in good conscience offer her for adoption while she's like this, Any suggestions? |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Jekyll/Hyde
"Richard Evans" wrote in message ... I recently took into foster care a half-Siamese female, declawed on the front. She has a real Jekyll/Hyde personality. One minute she is all cuddles and purring, then out of the blue she bites hard enough to draw blood. Two minutes later she's back to cuddling and purring. I've had fosters that bit out of shyness or fear, and even ones that that were just generally aggressive, but this is the first with such a two-faced personality. I assume you are familiar with the correlation between declawed cats and biting, right? And this poor girl is part Siamese, too. They can be really moody. I can't in good conscience offer her for adoption while she's like this, Any suggestions? Many of us have had and loved psycho kitties for years. I had one for 20 years. Do you plan on fostering her for long enough to train her not to bite? |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Jekyll/Hyde
"cybercat" wrote:
I assume you are familiar with the correlation between declawed cats and biting, right? Anecdotally, yes. Many of us have had and loved psycho kitties for years. I had one for 20 years. I've been fostering for about ten years and five of my six personal cats were former fosters who were hard to place for one reason or another. I simply can't absorb an unlimited number of difficult cases. Every one I keep is one less I can foster. Furthermore, though you and I may be able to tolerate eccentric behavior, most potential adopters won't. Do you plan on fostering her for long enough to train her not to bite? Yes, that's why I'm asking for advice on how to train her. Over the years I've trained some real hard cases, but nothing like this one. I have more scars from her in a month than from all previous fosters combined. |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Jekyll/Hyde
Richard Evans wrote:
I recently took into foster care a half-Siamese female, declawed on the front. She has a real Jekyll/Hyde personality. One minute she is all cuddles and purring, then out of the blue she bites hard enough to draw blood. Two minutes later she's back to cuddling and purring. I've had fosters that bit out of shyness or fear, and even ones that that were just generally aggressive, but this is the first with such a two-faced personality. I can't in good conscience offer her for adoption while she's like this, Any suggestions? Unfortunately you don't know her history; however, she has been declawed... and declawed cats are more inclined to bite because they no longer have claws as a defensive mechanism. |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Jekyll/Hyde
"Richard Evans" wrote in message news "cybercat" wrote: Many of us have had and loved psycho kitties for years. I had one for 20 years. I've been fostering for about ten years and five of my six personal cats were former fosters who were hard to place for one reason or another. I simply can't absorb an unlimited number of difficult cases. I did not mean to suggest that you should keep her. I just meant that it is possible to keep and love these cats. I was not sure you knew that. Furthermore, though you and I may be able to tolerate eccentric behavior, most potential adopters won't. Very true. These cats need special people who are willing to work with them. Do you plan on fostering her for long enough to train her not to bite? Yes, that's why I'm asking for advice on how to train her. Over the years I've trained some real hard cases, but nothing like this one. I have more scars from her in a month than from all previous fosters combined. I cannot recommend my means of getting my cat to stop biting me to the bone (literally) out of the blue, because I have been told that it is abusive. But it really did work. She wound up biting very gently and stopping that as soon as she heard "OW." Then she would lick me like "oo, sorry, sorry ..." I believe something similar is the old loud "OW" and withdrawal. But I am not sure if she would have to be attached in order for that to work. (My allegedly abusive way was to swat her--very gently, like a tap--in the side of the face and yell "OW." It did not hurt her but it startled her enough that she stopped the dangerous biting. I referred to this as a "slap" in other posts, and so it did sound bad. She actually continued to bite, but just to the point before it broke the skin. Then I'd say "OW, she would anticipate a swat, and lick me instead. I think this is essentially what a mama cat would do--swat, that is--if a baby got too rambunctious. But I am not really sure now if I was being abusive or not, since so many say I was.) |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Jekyll/Hyde
Joe Canuck wrote:
Unfortunately you don't know her history; however, she has been declawed... and declawed cats are more inclined to bite because they no longer have claws as a defensive mechanism. Her history is that she was a house pet who was given into foster care because of this biting behavior. I can understand why a declawed cat would resort to biting in a threatening situation where clawing would otherwise be an option, but I don't understand biting in nonthreatening situations that the cat herself initiated. |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Jekyll/Hyde
"cybercat" wrote:
I cannot recommend my means of getting my cat to stopbiting me to the bone (literally) out of the blue, because I have been told that it is abusive. But it really did work. She wound up biting very gently and stopping that as soon as she heard "OW." Then she would lick me like "oo, sorry, sorry ..." Abuse is relative and I have no qualms about swatting her. I have another decalw here who was given to mild biting when I got her and she finally got over it by plying her with Pounce treats and encouraging her to associate treats with touching. The process was slow but painless, This latest one is anything but painless and I'm not sure how much blood I'm willing to donate to the cause. (She doesn't care for treats, so I have nothing to bribe her with.) |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Jekyll/Hyde
Richard Evans wrote:
Joe Canuck wrote: Unfortunately you don't know her history; however, she has been declawed... and declawed cats are more inclined to bite because they no longer have claws as a defensive mechanism. Her history is that she was a house pet who was given into foster care because of this biting behavior. I can understand why a declawed cat would resort to biting in a threatening situation where clawing would otherwise be an option, but I don't understand biting in nonthreatening situations that the cat herself initiated. Overstimulated? |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Jekyll/Hyde
Suddenly, without warning, cybercat exclaimed (21-Nov-05 8:24 PM):
"Richard Evans" wrote in message news "cybercat" wrote: Many of us have had and loved psycho kitties for years. I had one for 20 years. I've been fostering for about ten years and five of my six personal cats were former fosters who were hard to place for one reason or another. I simply can't absorb an unlimited number of difficult cases. I did not mean to suggest that you should keep her. I just meant that it is possible to keep and love these cats. I was not sure you knew that. Furthermore, though you and I may be able to tolerate eccentric behavior, most potential adopters won't. Very true. These cats need special people who are willing to work with them. Do you plan on fostering her for long enough to train her not to bite? Yes, that's why I'm asking for advice on how to train her. Over the years I've trained some real hard cases, but nothing like this one. I have more scars from her in a month than from all previous fosters combined. I cannot recommend my means of getting my cat to stop biting me to the bone (literally) out of the blue, because I have been told that it is abusive. But it really did work. She wound up biting very gently and stopping that as soon as she heard "OW." Then she would lick me like "oo, sorry, sorry ..." I believe something similar is the old loud "OW" and withdrawal. But I am not sure if she would have to be attached in order for that to work. (My allegedly abusive way was to swat her--very gently, like a tap--in the side of the face and yell "OW." It did not hurt her but it startled her enough that she stopped the dangerous biting. I referred to this as a "slap" in other posts, and so it did sound bad. She actually continued to bite, but just to the point before it broke the skin. Then I'd say "OW, she would anticipate a swat, and lick me instead. I think this is essentially what a mama cat would do--swat, that is--if a baby got too rambunctious. But I am not really sure now if I was being abusive or not, since so many say I was.) I wouldn't say this is abusive, if it was light enough to only startle her. If she ran off frightened, then obviously it'd be too strong a 'swat'. I used to do something similar - a strong tap with two fingers - when Meep was a kitten. It worked very well without frightening her, and she hasn't seriously threatened to bite me in years. She's very cute, because if she does think of biting me - a quick head motion is my only clue - she starts madly licking me instead. jmc |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Jekyll/Hyde
That sounds a LOT like Gaya (my female Tortie)
unfortunately I never could "reform" her.. she just trained me to live with it.. Hope you figure it out though.. it's hard enough to adopt out cats that don't have bad habits.. ( -- Will~ "... so that's how liberty ends, in a round of applause." Queen Amidala, The revenge of the Syth. "Richard Evans" wrote in message ... I recently took into foster care a half-Siamese female, declawed on the front. She has a real Jekyll/Hyde personality. One minute she is all cuddles and purring, then out of the blue she bites hard enough to draw blood. Two minutes later she's back to cuddling and purring. I've had fosters that bit out of shyness or fear, and even ones that that were just generally aggressive, but this is the first with such a two-faced personality. I can't in good conscience offer her for adoption while she's like this, Any suggestions? |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|