Please help me I have been around cats for all my life but never encountered one such as this. He is about 5 years old with an unknown history as he is a pound kitty. The problem is he likes to attack people as they go upstairs. I mean he bites hard out of nowhere draws blood and everything. Even right after puuring and acting docile. I mean do they have mental illness like people because I wouldn't be suprised. Was this cat abused?
Answers:
It may be that previous owner's did not mind this rough type of "play". Here is some information about cats who bite or scratch:
Cats Who Bite or Scratch People
Unlike some dogs, cats usually don’t go out of their way to bite you. If you don’t try to pick them up or pet them, they’ll generally leave you alone.
The rare exception is the territorial cat. While cats are very territorial to each other, they seldom react this way to people. If you’ve been the target of a territorial cat, you know it’s a memorable experience. Territorial cats may chase, stalk, and threaten people as soon as they arrive, because to them, people are intruders who need to leave what your cat sees as his territory.
Many bites happen if you or someone else is forcing your attention on a cat who really isn’t interested. Trying to pick a cat up, or pet him before he is comfortable with you may cause your cat to react defensively and bite or scratch you.
Cats will also bite or scratch during play. We see this most often in young cats. People tell us they think their cats have suddenly turned mean. You can unintentionally trigger play motivated aggression or make it worse, if you encourage or allow your cat to think that parts of your body are play toys. Teach your cat to play with toys, not your hands, fingers, or feet. Never allow your child to tease your cat in any way.
Other cats will show “don’t pet me anymore behavior”. They’ll tolerate petting for a period of time, even seeming to enjoy it, and then suddenly bite your hand.
Redirected behavior is another common cause of cat aggression toward people. If your two cats are swatting at one another for example, and you try to intervene, one or both cats may redirect their anger to you.
Scratches and bites from cats can cause nasty infections, so the first step in working with your cat’s behavior is to try to prevent injuries by not putting your cat in situations where he is likely to bite. Things will go better if your cat can make the decision about how much contact he wants with you and others, rather than people forcing themselves on your cat.
Supervise and manage every encounter between your cat and children. Never allow children to try to pick up your cat without adult supervision. Teach your children to gently pick up your cat with one hand on his chest, behind his front legs, and the other hand support his rear end. If your cat’s legs are dangling free, he can easily use his claws to scratch you.
It’s also not a good idea to try to punish your cat for biting or scratching, as this can really increase his aggressive behavior.
---Although they say not to punish the cat, I can tell you from past experience that if you carry a spray bottle of tap water with you and spray the cat in the face each time he bites, it may help. It doesn't sound very nice, but then, neither is biting!
he was probaly abused in the past
This cat could have been abused. maybe it was on the street and it got attacked because it was weak, so it hardened up. If you're around the cat and you try to be his friend (with protective padding on), mybe he'll begin to trust you.
th e same thing happens wih my cat and nobody knows what to do either. not even the vet!?!?!?!
this may sound mean but it is the only thing you can do - when your cat bites pop his/her nose. It may take a few weeks for him/her to learn. good luck! :)
Be careful! About 80% of cats carry pasteurella bacteria in their mouths. A bite can case cat scratch (cat bite) fever. It is a VERY dangerous infection.
Believe me, I found out the hard way.
I'm unsure if he only bites feet, but for biting hands, I learned that holding down a cat's tongue (gently mind) whenever they bite, long enough for them to get annoyed and struggle will eventually train them not to bite. It does take time and patience, though. He may or may not have been abused. The attacks may be just playing in his mind, but he just never learned how to control himself when playing.
Perhaps hes claimed the stairs as his territory.
Not all cats HAVE to be pleasant.
It could have been abused, or he is just a mean old cat. Either way, get rid, of it. Cats carry many deceases and some people and children, when they get scracth or bitten by a cat can get an allergic reaction or an infection, because cats go in the litter box, and of course there is germs there. So before this silly cat hurts someone, give it to the Humane Society, so that they can do what they think is best for that cat. Sometimes they can rehabilitate him, but a cat like that can cause you many problems. Sorry, but for your sake and others the cat must go.
Could be any of the above. If you got it as a kitten - I don't rate the abuse theory highly.
Animals can have mental diseases or brain damage.
Could a vet blunt their teeth?
He might have been abused, but he might just be a feisty kitty. You need to put your foot down and let him know the behavior is not wanted. A good safe way to do this is with a squirt bottle. Every time he does something you don't like, call him a bad kitty and squirt him with the bottle. Sometimes, you may need to pin him down and spray him with it. I know that sounds cruel, but he'll get over it and you'll have established authority over him.
Eventually, and this has happend with all my cats, if you have a trigger sound or phrase, they'll stop the behavior right away. My boys respond to bad kitty as if I was beating them senseless. All it took to establish this was a squirt and a stern bad kitty. Eventually, they connected bad kitty with a displeasure with their behavior. Now, when they hear me say it, they stop whatever you're doing.
Good luck!
It could be that your cat was abused. But I would take the cat to a Cat doctor that specialized in odd behavior. They do have doctors to help with problems like that in animals, I saw it on the news. Hope you have good luck in finding out what is causing that problem.
This is my suggestion.. each time that you intend to go up the stairs pick the cat up and take it in arms up the stairs as you go.
It won't be biting at your legs and feet. Try that. .If that doesn't work each time you go upstairs wrap the cat in a large towel and take it up stairs. You have to figure out a way to change the cats habbit that he has. It will take more effort but will be worth it.. right! You might put a toy on a string and each time you start upstairs drag the string and toy up the stairs. .maybe the cat will focus on the toy and not you. You have to replace the habbit with another. wish you well.
Next time pop him one the head, not hard of course, but sternly that'll mek him stop, hopefully
I used to have one like this. I got him as an older kitten. I think maybe he had been abused. Or else he'd perhaps been a feral kitten that was not captured till he was too old to be fully tamed. I never figured out what to do about it. Squirt bottles didn't help, saying "No!" did not help and not only would I never have hit him, but it just would have made him even wilder and more vicious. Mine would also purr and let a person hold him, then get a wild look in his eye, put his ears back and bite hard enough to draw blood. He was the only cat I ever had de-clawed because he would go for a person's eyes and it was just too dangerous.
I had him till he got kidney failure and died about age 5. I think I would have had to give him up if I'd moved in with anyone. Or especially if I'd had a child. You can't really inflict this on anyone but yourself. And I'm not sure you should inflict this on yourself. You can see if your vet thinks anything would help but occasionally you get a cat that is just that way. Can you possibly look for someone out in the country who has a barn and needs a cat to catch mice? I think what you have is a barn cat, not a house cat.
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