Beginning to really hate my cat

[Soubriquet]

Just a little bit.

She keeps viciously attacking me. Getting to the point where I can't even touch her. Fine. Ill stay away. But then she will sit next to you, tense up and pounce, with teeth out and claws. Not a fun playing pounce but a I hate you and will kill you pounce.

I'm getting fed up with it.

I'm putting it down to teenage hormones at the moment as she's now 6 months. Does that sound about right or do I need to accept that I have a cunt for a cat?

[Soubriquet]

Yep. She keeps pinching Dd's soft toys to carry around the house to "kill"

Kitten toys aren't good enough for her. She prefers stuffed monkeys

That makes me laugh watching her carry them

[cozietoesie]

Has she already been neutered ?

[Soubriquet]

Not yet. We have took her to the vet to be done and they want to wait another couple of weeks. She goes into a cattery on the 12th September, so they want her to wait until after that.

[TheGirlOnTheLanding]

How does she feel about treats like Dreamies? I'd bribe her to play nice - takes a head scratch well, gets a Dreamie, or her treat of choice; sits nicely alongside you on sofa, gets a treat - while talking calmly all the time to her. And silently removing her to another room every time she bites with intention - if she's biting playfully, offer her a kicker toy to beat up instead. (We have an ex stray BiteyCat. All this has helped - he hasn't completely given up his bitey ways but we can share a sofa without incident now.)

[Soubriquet]

Haven't tried dreamies yet. Will have to give them a go but she's partial to ham and cheese

[cozietoesie]

If she's not been neutered yet, she might, at 6 months, have a case of the raging hormones - sort of PMT squared - so I'd wait until after she's had the procedure and see how she does then.

[Soubriquet]

So teenage hormones could have a lot to answer for?

[cozietoesie]

Ha!

Yes. And remember to keep all the doors and windows closed/unmanageable, despite any heat where you are. They can be the very devil for wanting to party and then escaping at that age, unneutered, and while the procedure should take care of any immediate consequences, they can be real stupid about eg rushing across roads to see a handsome bit of stuff - when there's a car coming.

[Soubriquet]

Already on top of. She hasn't come into season yet and we have no intention of tootsie babies.

[cozietoesie]

Well done. You just can't predict when they'll 'officially' come into heat - it could be in 10 minutes time, I'm afraid.

She may not be, by nature, a real loving cat but I wouldn't like to judge anything about her right now. Hormones are incredibly powerful.

[Soubriquet]

She's hit and miss but she's never been as bad as what she is at the moment

[cozietoesie]

It could be that the hormones are starting to course. (All wound up and nowhere to go sort of thing.) You just can't tell right now but I'd certainly get that out of the way - plus a couple of weeks to allow the hormones to die down - before evaluating her in any way.

[Soubriquet]

I won't get rid of her. Even if she never becomes the fussy cat. But we do need to sort something out where I don't have to worry about being attacked every time she gets pisssd off

[MrsEvadneCake]

My boy cat was like it at 6 months. Attack for no reason. I would pick him up and put him in the kitchen and walk away when he did it. Once he was neutered he was much better and only did play fighting then. He's naughty now but not rough.

[neonrainbow]

Have you thought of clicker training her?

[Soubriquet]

I think if I tried clicker training her she would attack me more

She's not the most tolerant feline

[MissClarke86]

Is she attacking aggressively or play fighting? Does she ever hiss at you and flatten her ears, or does her tail swish excitedly when she does it?

For any advice, we need to understand the emotions behind what she's doing.

If she's just play fighting (and I know this still seems like attacking) she'll likely grow out of it as she gets older and just has lots of energy. You need to play with her lots, and if she attacks you make a short, loud noise to shock her and make her realise that isn't a game. From your description this is what it sounds like to me. Does she stalk you if your leg etc is twitching and then jump?

If she's genuinely attacking (hissing, flat ears, unhappy) that's trickier to deal with.

[Soubriquet]

She's definitely attacking aggressively

Ears flat, arched back. Pure nastiness. She knows I don't like it. As soon as I jump in reflex because it bloody hurts, she flattens her body and glares at me

[cozietoesie]

You've got to get through to - what - end September, mid October then? I'd isolate her immediately she attacks (for the moment) giving her a good twenty minutes or more in the 'sin bin' while you go about your business. Fingers crossed that the forthcoming op will help.

[Soubriquet]

I hope so

I'm expecting a lot of punishment once we have collected her from the cattery..

[cozietoesie]

It sounds as if she just can't help herself right now - this flattering etc when you jump. She's expecting to be attacked back it sounds.

Good luck and let us know how she is in a couple of months. (Remember she'll have a little bit of age on her as well then.)

[Soubriquet]

I do feel sorry for her. Hormones are a bitch.
But I'm feeling pretty sorry for myself too. Those teeth and claws are sharp

[cozietoesie]

flattening

[cozietoesie]

Well I wouldn't like it either if I were you. Hormones are the very devil, though. I'd give her the opportunity to redeem herself - while not tolerating any nonsense in the interim and warning the cattery about her behaviour.