Help! Considering Giving Away My Baby!

[Squrrrl]

I can't stand it anymore!!

He claws and bites me daily~! Random attacks of violence while im working (typing at computer), laying bed, watching tv... etc

I picked him up the other day to say hi and give him a kiss and he grabbed me around the head and bit my cheek! I had claw marks down my face (lucky i didnt try to pull him off too hard so they werent deep) and a bite on my cheek, that hurt but wasnt visable.

Just now I was working and he was sleeping in front of the keyboard.

he turns around and starts stalking my hands and clwas at them and then i put gloves on cuz he cut me and he jumps on the gloved hand and starts biting it HARD with his ears pinned back and meowing in this sort of whine.

IM hella frustrated! I didnt really want a cat but if you remember my story he found me and i fell in love.

Now i still love him but I look like a victim, new cuts and scratches daily!!

PLEASE HELP ME!

he is 8 months old!

[jason]

I can't stand it anymore!!

He claws and bites me daily~! Random attacks of violence while im working (typing at computer), laying bed, watching tv... etc

is this max?

IM hella frustrated! I didnt really want a cat but if you remember my story he found me and i fell in love.

PLEASE HELP ME!

ok, what exactly have you been doing in terms of discipline?

sometimes, one of mine will do similar things...acts like he just got injected with liquid catnip and will terrorize anything moving or nonmoving in the house. i immediately pick him up and place him in a locked room in the house with enough food-water-litter to last a day and leave him there for at least an hour or so. this is basically a time-out, but when its done at the near exact time of the infraction (biting hard, scratching hard, basic terrorizing) it seems to click in his head (after an hour or so) that what he did just prior was a no-no.

that routine is typically repeated for a bit before i notice major improvements. i have not needed to do that for a while now (about a couple months) but he slips every once in a while still.

i would also suggest the "clapping hands hard and strongly saying NO" just before you take him to his time-out, this will help associate the "clapping and NO" with bad behavior in his head...eventually, the "clapping and NO" will mean "you going to time-out now".

this guy might need a medical consult Squrrrl, how long has it been since he was "checked out" by a vet?

[Traci]

Don't forget to add boredom to the list of possibilities. If he isn't getting enough stimulation, exercise, playtime, one on one with you, he could be acting the agressor simply because he doesn't know any better. Also, if you adopted him fairly young (i.e., less than 8 weeks of age), he wouldn't have learned socialization skills from his siblings, etc.

[Candycane]

How old is your cat now? We adopted a feral we he was 6 weeks (he was being neglected by mom) and he was behaving the same way. We tried to discipline him but it didn't seem to do much. I am happy to saw that he grew out of it after about a year and a half. He still has his "moments" but not as bad as he used to.

[Squrrrl]

is this max?

yes

this guy might need a medical consult Squrrrl, how long has it been since he was "checked out" by a vet?

October

ok, what exactly have you been doing in terms of discipline?

Mostly deep voiced NO! He is a terror though, even now that I have the spray bottle he challanges me and the bottle. He runs away when I pick it up but he will come back in a few mins and try again to see if I'll do it again.



He always does stuff at nighttime when I am trying to go to bed. He sleeps in the day and is a good boy.

*sigh* My hellion!

[Squrrrl]

Don't forget to add boredom to the list of possibilities. If he isn't getting enough stimulation, exercise, playtime, one on one with you, he could be acting the agressor simply because he doesn't know any better. Also, if you adopted him fairly young (i.e., less than 8 weeks of age), he wouldn't have learned socialization skills from his siblings, etc.

We play lots!! Mostly with the flashlight beam now though cuz my hands are a mess from playing with him and him accidently getting me.

also when I rub him he sits nice for like 10 seconds maximum and then tried to bite/chew on me.

[Squrrrl]

How old is your cat now? We adopted a feral we he was 6 weeks (he was being neglected by mom) and he was behaving the same way. We tried to discipline him but it didn't seem to do much. I am happy to saw that he grew out of it after about a year and a half. He still has his "moments" but not as bad as he used to.

8 months

[Candycane]

From my limited experience, what you are describing seems normal to me.

My cat isn't affected by the spray bottle, loud noises or vocal discouragement. I have found that he is much more responsive to time-outs or simply ignoring him. About the petting...he may be displaying what it called petting-induced aggression. Many cats do it (mine included). Here is an article about it.
http://aolsvc.petplace.aol.com/articles ... artID=3757

[jason]

ok, what exactly have you been doing in terms of discipline?

Mostly deep voiced NO! He is a terror though, even now that I have the spray bottle he challanges me and the bottle. He runs away when I pick it up but he will come back in a few mins and try again to see if I'll do it again.

He always does stuff at nighttime when I am trying to go to bed. He sleeps in the day and is a good boy.

i stand by the time-out discipline (as i see others do) and you should try confining him to his own area during the night for a while, like a seperate bedroom.

[Squrrrl]

ok, what exactly have you been doing in terms of discipline?

Mostly deep voiced NO! He is a terror though, even now that I have the spray bottle he challanges me and the bottle. He runs away when I pick it up but he will come back in a few mins and try again to see if I'll do it again.

He always does stuff at nighttime when I am trying to go to bed. He sleeps in the day and is a good boy.

i stand by the time-out discipline (as i see others do) and you should try confining him to his own area during the night for a while, like a seperate bedroom.

he just plays while he is in there