Help!
queenshaks
Posts: 10,281 Forum Member
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As some of you regulars on the Pet forum know I have a a cat called Simba, he's nearly 11 months old. As it's our first cat, I would like some advice.
He's always been a pretty good kitten, temperament wise, litter wise and so on.
Lately, perhaps in the last month or so, he's getting, how can I say it, cockier.
If my son picks him up and then places him down, he has to run for his life as Simba will literally chase him like a dog and try and bite him. My son could just be going past him in a room or up the stairs and he'll bite him again, he has drawn blood on a few occasions. He always seems to go for him.
My daughter, where Simba spends a lot of time in her room and often spends the night there, he's started to bite her more often too. He'll be all lovey dovey towards with her, ie rubbing his body past her several times, so she'll go to pick him up for a cuddle, then suddenly he'll try and bite her face.
Just before typing this post, final straw I think, I was going to do my bed, he was looking at me like he was going to pounce on me, so I looked at him and firmly said no several times, he crouched even more like he was still going to do it. So I thought rather than go past him I'll just climb on my bed instead (as much as I love him to death, the confidence is still lacking sometimes and he's always been good towards me) he decided to leap across my bed same time I climbed on and I nearly fell on top of him!!
How can I calm him down? Will he grow out of it?
He's always been a pretty good kitten, temperament wise, litter wise and so on.
Lately, perhaps in the last month or so, he's getting, how can I say it, cockier.
If my son picks him up and then places him down, he has to run for his life as Simba will literally chase him like a dog and try and bite him. My son could just be going past him in a room or up the stairs and he'll bite him again, he has drawn blood on a few occasions. He always seems to go for him.
My daughter, where Simba spends a lot of time in her room and often spends the night there, he's started to bite her more often too. He'll be all lovey dovey towards with her, ie rubbing his body past her several times, so she'll go to pick him up for a cuddle, then suddenly he'll try and bite her face.
Just before typing this post, final straw I think, I was going to do my bed, he was looking at me like he was going to pounce on me, so I looked at him and firmly said no several times, he crouched even more like he was still going to do it. So I thought rather than go past him I'll just climb on my bed instead (as much as I love him to death, the confidence is still lacking sometimes and he's always been good towards me) he decided to leap across my bed same time I climbed on and I nearly fell on top of him!!
How can I calm him down? Will he grow out of it?
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Comments
Indoor and yes. I thought the snipping was supposed to calm him down.
ok how long ago was he snipped? it may be the hormones still present, and him not knowing what to do with them.
It also sounds like he's a little bored - cats whether they are in door or outdoor need to fulfill the motivation to hunt - whether they catch anything is irrelevant, they need to 'go through the motions'. outdoor cats obviously do this themselves, but indoor cats cant as their range is restricted. Is there a reason he's indoors? can he be let out? if not:
A recent paper I read said that indoor cats that were showing agression and boredom could be calmed by fulfilling this need. They found that if you played 'hunting' with the cat for 20-30 mins before putting their food down (so one of those toys with a stick, string and feather on the end would be perfect) they were significantly less likely to show agressive tendancies.
If you are happy to put in the time to play and keep him entertained then you should be able to solve it. Remember not to run, squal or react when he attacks you - hard i know (my pup is doing it at the moment, we are having the same issue following his op!) but a reaction means he'll do it again.
We've had him since 8 weeks, he got the snip done when he was 6 months, the required time. When he had the snip, you would not have thought he had an op that day as he came with a ravenous appetite ready to play, we were told he wouldn't have an appetite for a while and be a little bit slow. Yeah!
He's indoor cat because although we have a park in the back of our house, it's a park mainly for dog walkers and in the front, we have an industrial estate down the road, lorries up and down 24/7. Also next door neighbour used to have 5 cats, 2 killed outside his house without anyone stopping for them or claiming responsibility.
Simba has a load of toys, my daughter even said to me that I buy more things than I buy them! I bought him a whacking huge scratch post recently. Also I bought a laser pen which he loves, running up and down the stairs till he gets knackered.
I may buy him a leash to get exercise in the garden, I've seen a good site for them. But will that do the trick?
Some cats are like this and they don't tend to grow out of it. Some are just born grumpy or don't like being stroked or played with.
I've had soft cats you could cart around like a baby and one hard as nails cat who would be lovely with me but hated visitors. She'd attack them.
But he's always been lovely.:(
He's wary of visitors and if he trusts them ie they're there long enough, he'll hang around near them.
I just wondered if his nipping will stop.
My husband will often pick him up, cuddle him, no problem. Wherever he sits down, Simba will often jump on his lap for a play and a cuddle.
The nipping is a natural part of growing up.
They say to read the body language of the cat, so you have some warning. Usually the head will swell up and the eyes will get like saucers. Devil's head I call it. It is a hunting reflex.
Saying "no" or "ouch" is also recommended.
It is a shame we no longer have tails as we could communicate better when cats get into this type of behaviour.
I don't want a tail thanks very much!:D
We do the same; ouch, no, stop it and sometimes water spray. When my son gets bitten, he hisses at him, then he'll back off.
Perhaps he'll grow out of it...
Are you sure Simba is a boy?
Training for what and yes.
sounds like he's got a wonderful life! but i think the trick in the article i was reading (will try to find it for you) was doing it prior to meal time, to stimulate the hunter instinct so to speak.
It could be hormones as he'd be reaching full sexual maturity about now (although they can make babies earlier!) so he might naturally settle down.
Has anything changed that might be stressing him - building work near by, new visitor, sofa, baby, smell etc?
He has a brilliant life Bazaar, if I came back as a cat, I want owners like me!:D
Meal time is a tricky one, he gets fed early morning about 7 weekdays before work/school, then he tends to graze all day.
Nothing has changed apart from the laser pen, I know it sounds stupid, I do think whether that's made him go a bit too crazy. He actively looks for it (he knows where I keep it and sits by the draw), then like I said, we play with him, He'll run crazily around then stop, looks at the actual laser pen and not the beam anymore as if to say I know what you're using. It's kind of hard to explain.
Maybe try to reduce the graze during the day an do the play before the meal at night? Thik it's just teenage boy syndrome but you need to try and ignore it where possible. Even an ouch or no, will be responding and him 'winning'
Since I told him off and created this thread, he slept most of the day under my bed (about 5hrs worth!). Then his 'God' (my husband to you and I) came upstairs and Simba was all over him like a rash, snuggling, playing, purring, cute big eyes look, I could go on...:rolleyes: Little bleep!!:D
I think I'll go with the teenage boy syndrome thing and see how it goes.
Thanks to you and Spud for reading and replying, it was good just to air it.
Let us know how you get on!