Cat Attacks -- How to Discourage Cat From Attacking Person?

[Rackonteur]

My friend has a 6-month-old kitten who was an orphaned feral when he found her, before her eyes had opened. He took her in, took her to the vet, got all her shots. She has been an indoor-outdoor kitty since then. We think she may be at least part Manx, since she has no tail and apparently was born without one.

Just recently she has started attacking him out of the blue. One night she attacked him in his sleep and bit his nose; another time she jumped right up into his face and bit his lip, drawing blood. When he’s awake he can sometimes see her getting ready to attack. He says her eyes will get very big and then she will attack him.

Other times she will climb into his lap and curl up and go to sleep.

He has another cat, a few years old, but she is either outside most of the time or staying with his neighbor, who takes her in and keeps her in for a few days at a time.

He told me last night he was going to “break” the kitten of these attacks, maybe by shutting her out on the porch when she attacks. It was 11-below there the other night.

I tried to tell him that shutting a cat out, after the fact, not only won’t teach the kitty anything but could kill her in these temps. He scoffed; the feral tomcat he feeds lives outdoors, he says, but of course we don’t know if the tomcat has a shelter he knows about and uses.

When his older cat is there and the kitten attacks her, she just fights back and then holds the kitten down. I suggested he just shut her out of his bedroom at night, but that won’t stop her during the day.

Could this be the kitten’s idea of playing? Should he bring his older cat home and keep her in to train the kitten? Should he get the kitten an older kitten to play with, a bigger one she couldn’t hurt?

Any ideas?

[candyappy]

Reminds me of a cat my friend had. He would lay in wait for some unsuspecting person and then savagely attack them. I think her sister used to play with him a bit too rough when he was young. He also started shredding the curtains and being destructive. I have no idea what became of him.

If it was my cat I would lock her out of my room at night and I would keep a rolled up newspaper ( or something like it) and if she comes at him in that manner during the day, than I would whack her once and say " NO! "

Cats can handle discipline too.

[Rackonteur]

Thanks, candyappy. He has tried bopping her on the nose with his fingertip but she seems to think he’s playing.

I will recommend the rolled-up newspaper to him and “NO!”

[CanadianTrotter]

@candyappy

If it was my cat I would lock her out of my room at night and I would keep a rolled up newspaper ( or something like it) and if she comes at him in that manner during the day, than I would whack her once and say " NO! "

Cats can handle discipline too.

Cats can handle certain discipline and training but do you honestly think a physical reprimand with a whack from a newspaper is going to teach an aggressive cat anything except to attack more, become afraid or become territorial and start p*ssing all over the place? If you treat aggression with aggression, especially if this is a Manx, good luck!

[CanadianTrotter]

@Rackonteur

Thanks, candyappy. He has tried bopping her on the nose with his fingertip but she seems to think he’s playing.

I will recommend the rolled-up newspaper to him and “NO!”

Don’t you have cats yourself? Do you really think advising someone to whack a cat with a rolled up newspaper will work? Your only promoting this cat to be thrown out into the cold if you tell your friend this.

If he’s going to use a rolled up newspaper he should only whack the floor or his hand to make a loud noise while saying no, a squirt bottle would work as well. If the cat can’t be trusted at night while sleeping then he needs to put her in a separate room with toys, litter box and food with the door closed. If the cat is aggressive he should only have calm interactions with it and not play with it. Manx cats are more aggressive than other breeds.

[Feliz]

Please have a look at Jackson Galaxy’s stuff - he did a series called “My Cat From Hell” - lots of aggressive cats. No punishment required - but a bit of work by the owners to fix the problems - environment, entertainment etc.

It’s possible that this cat just needs a lot more play time to take out her “aggression” in an appropriate way. A laser pointer is a great way to exercise some cats from the comfort of the couch :lol:

[Rackonteur]

@CanadianTrotter

Cats can handle certain discipline and training but do you honestly think a physical reprimand with a whack from a newspaper is going to teach an aggressive cat anything except to attack more, become afraid or become territorial and start p*ssing all over the place? If you treat aggression with aggression, especially if this is a Manx, good luck!

Gee thanks for your helpful suggestions!

[Rackonteur]

@Feliz

Please have a look at Jackson Galaxy’s stuff - he did a series called “My Cat From Hell” - lots of aggressive cats. No punishment required - but a bit of work by the owners to fix the problems - environment, entertainment etc.

It’s possible that this cat just needs a lot more play time to take out her “aggression” in an appropriate way. A laser pointer is a great way to exercise some cats from the comfort of the couch :lol:

My friend and I talked about this. When my old kitty came to live with us she was aggressive, but not out of the blue. She just didn’t like to be petted and it took me about one minute to learn this. After that I never tried to initiate a petting session. If she did, I accepted her invitation, but only for the few seconds she wanted it.

And CanadianTrotter, since you did come back and add to your harsh post with an actual suggestion, why is shooting water at a cat any nicer than a soft whack with a newspaper? You didn’t suppose I would recommend giving a forceful rap to a small animal? It’s a gesture, not a bombardment.

My solution for this particular kitten would be to get her an older roommate – as I already said – a bigger kitten with energy and inclination to play but old enough to take of itself. But my friend says the last thing he wants is another cat in the house.

I just don’t want him “punishing” this little girl by shutting her out on the porch in -11-degree weather.

So, Feliz, Jackson Galaxy’s stuff is legit? I saw a little on TV but didn’t take him seriously because of his “name.”

[Rackonteur]

He has already tried the newspaper on the floor. Didn’t work.

He had tried water. Didn’t work.

He plays with her about an hour every night before bed. Doesn’t help.

He said he will try to find the Jackson Galaxy videos. Are they on YouTube?

We don’t want to try keeping the other kitty in to play with this one because that wouldn’t be fair to her. She likes her life as it is now, part-time with him and part-time with the neighbor.

[CanadianTrotter]

@Rackonteur

He has already tried the newspaper on the floor. Didn’t work.

He had tried water. Didn’t work.

He plays with her about an hour every night before bed. Doesn’t help.

He said he will try to find the Jackson Galaxy videos. Are they on YouTube?

We don’t want to try keeping the other kitty in to play with this one because that wouldn’t be fair to her. She likes her life as it is now, part-time with him and part-time with the neighbor.

What did the cat do when he used the newspaper on the floor and the squirt bottle? Manx cats are pretty tough and confident and they don’t usually scare easy and they are also high energy and very intelligent, almost dog-like. They like a lot of attention and time spent with them and may act out if they don’t get it. When he’s with her during the day and she looks like she’s going to attack maybe he can divert her by throwing a toy away from him each time. Manx are highly trainable, maybe say "Get your ‘insert name of toy’ " each time he tosses the toy to distract her then after she has caught on he can tell her to get her toy when she looks like she’s going to attack without having to toss it each time. Divert her attention away from attacking and teach her to play fetch at the same time. If he plays/wrestles with her with his hands or feet he is basically training her to attack his hands or feet.

He can’t do anything to prevent attacks at night in the interim except keep her in a closed room with provisions or close the bedroom door while he works with her behaviour during the day. This is a kitten so I don’t think that these are real attacks but more trying to play.

[shayaalliard]

Sounds like about the right age for kitten crazies, coupled with the feral lineage. I’ve bottle fed feral kittens who hissed at me from birth. This doesn’t sound like true aggressive attacking as much as poorly directed play- has he tried yowling like an injured cat when she bites too hard? Sounds odd, but I teach it to all my bottle babies- I meow if they are too rough and they meow if they want me to stop.

[NoDQhere]

Distraction, distraction, distraction. And if that fails, a little vinegar added to the water in the squirt bottle might help. Hitting a cat NEVER works.

[candyappy]

@Rackonteur

Thanks, candyappy. He has tried bopping her on the nose with his fingertip but she seems to think he’s playing.

I will recommend the rolled-up newspaper to him and “NO!”

I guess I gave bad advice :lol: My cats have always been well behaved so I was just guessing. Personally I would throw her little butt outside and let her burn some energy. We had a barn cat in MN and she did just fine.

[Rackonteur]

Actually I thought it was pretty good advice, candyappy. Unlike some here, I didn’t interpret it as a severe blow but more like a whack with an extension of the attackee’s own finger to keep that finger out of fangs’ reach.

And I don’t see why it would be any more severe than others’ recommendations of spraying a cat with cold water or vinegar or shutting her up in a cold hard bathroom all night long.

[sascha]

1. Just because a cat has a short or missing tail does not mean it is Manx. Birth defects happen to cat tails same as in other species.

2. Whacking a cat with a rolled up newspaper is not going to make it more aggressive. Allowing aggressive behaviour to continue will make the cat more aggressive.

3. I live with 5 former ferals who came at various life stages from tiny kitten to 6 years old. They all live in harmony and none are now aggressive. That was not an accident. Every last one of them has been yelled at harshly, had hands clapped at them very loudly while yelling, been scruffed and held down, had sharp finger flicks to the ear flaps, and yes, even been whacked on the ass.

The thing is that done right the cat learns that it’s the behaviour that is bad, not the cat itself.

Good luck to your friend OP. My advice would be to play hard with the kitten with wand type toys and never with the hands. Make a hard and fast rule that being aggressive with a human is not acceptable, but make an effort to give the little guy an outlet for pent up energy at least a couple of times a day. Also, after having to get after the little beast foe any aggressive behaviour, be sure not to let the kitten go and hide. That teaches that the cat is bad not the behaviour. Get the point across quickly, let it go, love on the little beast for a moment, then get out a toy and have a play session.

[Sugarwells]

Hitting an animal or human is never a good idea.

[sascha]

Absolutely! Always better to reason with an animal that doesn’t understand the rules of engaging with a human and could injure that human, or worse, be discarded or abandoned by that human.

Should anyone ever look for a reason to “hit” an animal? Nope. But if bad or non-existent training leaves no choice, it is far safer to lay the law down quickly than it is to mess about psychoanalysing the animal in hopes of finding some sort of magic.

[Rackonteur]

@Sugarwells

Hitting an animal or human is never a good idea.

An animal, no, I agree. A human? I was raised in the era of spankings and so were many of my friends. We were much more well behaved and respectful than the screaming whiners I have seen in public for a few decades now, the kids who are “threatened” – “Let’s not talk in church, OK?”

[Sugarwells]

@Rackonteur

An animal, no, I agree. A human? I was raised in the era of spankings and so were many of my friends. We were much more well behaved and respectful than the screaming whiners I have seen in public for a few decades now, the kids who are “threatened” – “Let’s not talk in church, OK?”

There is a middle ground. Spanking a child only shows weakness, loss of control of emotions and ultimately the child looses respect for the adult.

There have been a multitude of studies done, spanking or hitting a child is a very very bad thing.

Please do yourself a favor and do a “is spanking a child bad” search on Google and revise your child rearing approach.

[Sugarwells]

@CanadianTrotter

A kid might be better behaved out of fear but they certainly do not respect the parent that hit them.

I raised 5 kids(none of them screaming whiners) and never spanked one of them. They were all very well behaved and showed me much respect.

I thank you, and I bet your kids do also.