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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

bastard cat just attacked dh

25 replies

bookmark · 16/02/2012 21:15

sitting on the sofa, cat on my lap purring gently blah blah, dh stroking her head then shy seriously viciously attacked him - was biting his hand and arm and viciously too and for no reason, i was sitting there and witnessed it. wtf do you do when your cat does shit like that. i screamed at her and chased her outside. she is now sitting by the back door wanting to come back in but the way i feel about her at the moment i don't want her in our house

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Fluffycloudland77 · 16/02/2012 21:22

Oh mines done that tonight too. Full moon? Anyway I just get him off me and he calms down eventually.

Gotta take the good with the bad.

Fluffycloudland77 · 16/02/2012 21:24

Or the bad with the good.

MyCatHasStaff · 16/02/2012 21:28

If she was purring and happy it may have started as a love-bite. Sometimes they get all beside themselves and tip over into attack mode. There's not much point in shutting her out, she won't connect what she did with the 'punishment'. Better to let her in and your dh to give her the cold shoulder for an hour or two, then she'll know she's upset him, but she may not care, she's a cat.

Original poster
bookmark · 16/02/2012 21:38

DO cats really know if they have done something wrong? i will let her in in a moment although dh is quite upset, he is REALLY bleeding and i want to keep her away from him. i know dogs tend to know if they have done something wrong but i just don't get that from cats, i get the feeling they just don't either care or notice. i saw it, she didn't nip him in a play fighting way, it was REALLY vicious and came from nowhere which has really freaked me out, that she can go from completely content to mad bastard in the blink of an eye, i am quite upset actually. i will let her in now but am not happy :(

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PurpleWithaBlueBun · 16/02/2012 21:50

Cats get PMT you know...
There are cat behaviourists, I have access to one through the centre I rescued my cat from. Obviously I don't know if yours is a rescue but there are services out there. It sounds like she got a bit carried away. However, have you looked her over to make sure she isn't hurt at all as she could have reacted to pain.

Original poster
bookmark · 16/02/2012 21:52

purple - she is a rescue, had her since november. no, she is not in pain, totally chilled, endulged cat, spends her time in doors or sat in the garden (very lazy). she just went for him, i have no excuses for her. she is usually lovely though so i am telling myself it is a cat thing and i have to put up with it and think of it as a regular/occasional thing (joy)

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Fluffycloudland77 · 16/02/2012 21:58

Mines curled up on my chest now purring.

What you have to remember is that when they do this to each other (and when you have had four in one house you see it) they understand the body language better plus they have fur to protect them from the claws.

If they are properly attacking they scream and the hackles come up, you rarely see a cat that aggressive though. If mines just biting but not making loud screams/howls I take it as rough housing.

MyCatHasStaff · 16/02/2012 22:00

Most do know if they're taught young - a mother cat will teach a kitten to behave. Have you had her long? Is she young/a rescue? Do you know much about her background? Some can be unpredictable, especially if they have been treated badly in the past, or are just not very bright. One of my cats is very intelligent and knows exactly what he's up to, the other is a rescue with a 'past' and also is not the brightest crayon in the box, and she is definitely more unpredictable than him. From what you've said, she may have a tender spot that your dh touched without realising - cats are very good at masking injuries, so it may be worth just checker her over.
That said, it may not be any of that - she might just be a nutter Grin

MyCatHasStaff · 16/02/2012 22:01

x-post. Must type faster!

Original poster
bookmark · 16/02/2012 22:09

my cat - that's a problem for me in that i have no idea of her age or history. she was a real rescue, living rough in a builders yard for months, noone else wanted her for varying reasons, secretary at the yard used to feed her in the week but at night and all weekend she lived rough outside. they tried to rehome her, called rescue centres (they didn't come and get her, too full i seem to remember them telling me), they put up signs etc. i am guessing she got into someones van possibly and it drove off.she wasn't chipped (i took her to the vets straight from getting her from the yard) and gave her a full mot, she is fine. she is not hiding any hurts, he was stroking her face, she LOVES me stroking her face. she barely moves off her behind all day, spends most of it sitting on or under a hot radiator. no, i think she is just an unpredicatable cat which keeps us on our toes. we have no idea what she was used to before she got lost, she belonged to someone at some point. frustrating not knowing how old she is, vet wasn't too sure.... i have let her back in. she is strutting all over the place totally oblivious to the pain she has caused, at least she hasn't bitten anyone again. she is sitting on dd's lap, i keep telling her to not over stroke her and to watch out for signs ie tail wagging.........i am guessing that it is alot better when you have had a cat from being a kitten, that way they have no baggage and you know EVERYTHING about them. still lover her though, she's just a bugger :)

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SP0104 · 16/02/2012 22:23

Our foundling kitten gets a bit carried away sometimes and has drawn blood (on DH) but we noticed that as soon as one of us makes an "owww" or yelp sound as he starts to get carried away with his 'play' scratching and biting he immediately stops.
Our 15 year old cat who lets you pet, cuddle and carry round as much as you like cannot abide you touching or scratching her at the base of her tail, but at least she gives you a warning scowl and then a growl before the claws appear. She has a scowl on her that could curdle milk!
Cats are a lot harder to train and teach right from wrong than dogs.

MyCatHasStaff · 16/02/2012 22:30

She's lucky to have you, and I suspect she knows it Smile. As Fluffy said, unless she was growling or yowling, and she had a massive great big tail, it wasn't an attack in the cat sense. Honestly, to me it sounds like an overdone love-bite. Watch her body language, I can tell with my big (softie) cat when he's had enough, and I stop stroking him, but dh can't and is often shredded. My rescue was very young when we got her, and we know a fair bit about how she was treated (quite badly Sad) and I've had cats all my life, but she can still catch me out. Making an exaggerated oowwww usually stops her.
Yours sounds like she's landed on her paws with you. You know why she likes you stroking her face (around the sides I'm guessing)? They have scent glands there, and she's marking you as her property Grin

Original poster
bookmark · 16/02/2012 22:37

my cat - spot on!! she LOVES us brushing/touching her where you have said, loves it! out of interest, please tell me of the varying signs that a cat is getting pissed off (& wants you to stop stroking it) as i am still a leaner! ta (i tend to go by her tail swishing)

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NickettyNacketty · 16/02/2012 22:43

One of my cats gets sudden vicious moods. His body language is to go very still, his ears go back slightly and he sort of eyes me up. Staying very still myself and particularly not putting any body parts in front of his face helps.

MyCatHasStaff · 16/02/2012 22:49

Tail swishing can be a bit late! With mine I just 'know' him iyswim. He gets 'that' look in his eye. He also starts lining his mouth up with the bit of you he's going to bite! The other nutter is not so subtle, she starts striking like a snake. My big cat will push us away with a paw, but the little one uses claws. You know, it may just have been that she only wanted you to stroke her and not your dh, or she may have been protecting you because she thought he was going to hurt you - who knows what may have happened to her when she was living rough Sad. My first instinct though, if this was out of character, is that she had affection overload, literally too excited.

Fluffycloudland77 · 17/02/2012 08:48

Op didn't you used to be Paisley?

Dilated pupils are a good indicator of excitement, ime cats are more tolerant of kids than adults.

cutegorilla · 17/02/2012 09:00

I would get her checked by a vet if this is out of normal character for her there may be something wrong.

A good website for cat stuff is www.fabcats.org/ there is a section on behaviour www.fabcats.org/behaviour/index.php with a bit about aggressive cats www.fabcats.org/behaviour/nervous_aggressive/index.php

If you've checked there's no underlying health problem and this behaviour keeps happening then you could get help from a behaviour counsellor. Your vet can refer you to a member of the APBC www.apbc.org.uk/ you don't just have to live with it!

worldgonecrazy · 17/02/2012 09:08

I agree with checking for underlying health issues.

I know you said that the attack came out of nowhere, but it may be that your DH did something which frightened her without either of you realising it.

Cats are gorgeous, cute, fluffy, purring individuals, but never forget that every single thing about them is designed to make them nothing more than a perfect killing machine. There is no other creature in nature that is 100% built to kill. I think because they would have trouble killing a human, unlike dogs, we often forget that, and lose ourselves in their cuddliness.

Angelico · 17/02/2012 09:15

Bookmark your DH should probably get an antibiotic if the cat bit him badly. Their mouths are foul apparently - have lost count of people who got 'a little bite' only for their whole arm to go up like a balloon. A crazy cat bit me once at a sanctuary and the staff were all like, "Trust me, go and get an antibiotic!" One of the guys there said his arm swelled up to epic proportions and when he went to casualty the doc said, "You always need an AB with a cat bite, their mouths are filthy!"

cutegorilla · 17/02/2012 10:30

Oh yes Angelico that's very true. He should definitely seek some medical advice.

worldgonecrazy · 17/02/2012 11:10

Their saliva is part of the 100% built to kill I mentioned. It's so that if they bite prey and it manages to escape, it will become weak and die due to infection. Their claws also contain nasties which is why a cat scratch will often go inflamed and red.

Fluffycloudland77 · 17/02/2012 12:12

I still think she was over excited and was playing, it doesnt hurt if they do it to each other as cats have quite tough skins. I've picked other cats claws out of my cats skin and he hasnt even noticed.

My sil's cat is a rescue and it took a year for him to intergrate into the house, you dont know what people have done to them whilst they have no owner and people can be evil to cats.

beckyboow88 · 17/02/2012 23:55

Keep a pair of oven gloves handy for next time, I've used this method!!

Original poster
bookmark · 18/02/2012 00:27

thanks for your advice chaps, i have taken it all on board. dh's bites look fine but i will keep an eye on them, he isn't the easiest person to get to the drs at the best of time, if i mention to go & get a jab he will laugh at me. fluffy - well spotted! you have a good memory for MN members names, tis' I Paisley! i fancied a change. she (the cat) has been fine since. tbh earlier that day she had a 'moment' with a male cat that likes to come and annoy her, she had had a mad moment (attacking him through the window) in the morning and hadn't been herself since (edgy & territorial). actually, there have been ALOT of cats around the last few days, some that i don't recognise. she HATES other cats, i think she may be on edge with so many interlopers around :) . the good news is that she was happily rolling around with a piece of string earlier, legs in the air (love it when she does that) with her big fat belly facing upwards. she is sniffing around me and very affectionate, she tends to hide a little around dd as she sometimes makes alot of noise around her (likes to perform for the cat in the form or singing and dancing, the cat can tolerate it for about 1/2 an hour sometimes, lord knows how, really funny to watch, dd will be singing an adele song with the cat inches away just lying there looking into the distance ignoring her, she puts up with it sometimes, also with dd putting the odd pair of knickers on her or a sock, the cat tolerates this, quite good natured most of the time :)

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Original poster
bookmark · 18/02/2012 00:28

becky thanks for the oven gloves tip, bloody great idea for emergencies

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