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The litter tray

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

Original poster

Aggressive cat getting worse

55 replies

EssexMummy123 · 18/12/2014 09:18

I've posted before about my cat and was advised to remove him from the room whenever he bit/clawed. It's now so bad that he can't ever spend 5 minutes in company before biting/clawing (draws blood) or attempting to trip you up, he's just clawed my OH in the face when he was putting him outside (cat won't use cat flap) and I'm fed up with him, he bullies other cats and I can't trust him to be anywhere near my toddler. Not sure what to do, I don't know that he could be successfully rehomed - he's an ex feral but ended up living in my kitchen after some major operations due to injury.

Any ideas?

OP posts:
Original poster
EssexMummy123 · 18/12/2014 09:27

Should say that although he's ex feral he very much wants to be an indoor cat, has been neutered. I think he's trying to be dominant in some way.

OP posts:
SockyWockyDooDaaa · 18/12/2014 09:32

Hi, just read this and did not want to read and run.

Broken my response into two parts:-

Firstly, my initial thought on reading your OP is perhaps the cat is still experiencing pain and is reacting to being touched. It could be a post-surgery infection. Cats in pain loathe being picked up, touched or even looked at. They will lash out immediately. He would even explain why he hates the catflap! It may be literally to painful to push the door open to go through. If he is still unwell he won't tolerate other cats either, in actual fact it is reversed. If he is unwell other local cats will sense it and pick on him, especially if they are male. So you might be seeing is his reaction rather than him starting on the other cats.

So a trip to the vet will determine if he is still in pain or not. If he shows stress whilst at vet then I would say then there is pain present. Cats are the masters of disguise when it comes to illness and pain.

Keep posting.

SockyWockyDooDaaa · 18/12/2014 09:38

Sorry, pressed wrong button.

Secondly, once you have ruled out that he is no longer in pain. A truly feral cat won't tolerate being indoors. So it is more likely that he is a long term stray cat that is just used to living on his terms.

Could you get or build an outdoor shelter for him?

SockyWockyDooDaaa · 18/12/2014 09:39

Just seen your post about wanting to be an indoor cat, makes me even more convinced that he is still experiencing pain and/or discomfort.

AngelCauliflower · 18/12/2014 11:39

I am not an experienced cat owner so don't really have any advice. But I can understand how you are feeling. My cat wants to be indoors but it very bitey, scratchy and loves to run and trip us up. I have a plaster over a bad scratch just below my neck and ds has scratch marks. My hands are covered in teeth marks!

I have only had my cat two months but in that time I do see a big difference. But I suspect she may always be a bitey cat.

I do 'time out' but what works the best, for my cat, is praise for good behaviour. If she is about to bite and stops when I say no I praise her a lot and give her a treat. Telling her what a good girl she is and giving her some dreamies has really helped a lot with bad behaviour. But sometimes I do still have to use time out.

I hope things get better because it is not a good situation.

Original poster
EssexMummy123 · 18/12/2014 11:58

hhmm i hadn't considered pain but the cat has seen the vet about 3 times since the last operation which was a year ago and always given the all-clear. If he was in pain then why wouldn't he just stay put rather than seeking out and following people - he doesn't give any sign of being of pain, he jumps the fence rather than walk round, runs, eats very well - the vet calls him a big cat :-) I think if he gets much bigger the vet may start dropping hints about his weight.

He does have outdoor shelter but desperately wants to be inside all the time, i agree not much of a feral-type!

Actually he sounds like your cat angelCauliflower - last night i was opening his food and he bit my leg - he wasn't being touched at the time so it wasn't like he was reacting to pain, timeout just seems to make him want to be with us more but as soon as he is with people within 5 minutes he's bitten or clawed enough to draw blood. He does get treats but not related to behaviour.

OP posts:
AngelCauliflower · 18/12/2014 13:44

I do get annoyed and frustrated with my cat. She has been quite good today then all of a sudden ran and jumped on my arm biting my hand while I was putting some books in ds' bookcase. I managed to get her to stop and calm down and praised her for that. Putting her to time out would only have made her angry and she would have continued wanting to bite me.

She is lying on me now being affectionate but don't know how long that will last. she could bite me soon.

emeline · 18/12/2014 13:56

What is the deal with aggressive cats? I'm glad to be reading this thread. I've had cats all my life, and only now, in my mid fifties, have I come across an aggressive cat. He bites randomly, I don't like that, but I can deal with it. I just stop stroking him when he does it, and withdraw my attention.

What I really don't get, is the tripping you up thing! I'm amazed by it. He actually lies across stairs, blocking the way. Truculent is the word that comes to mind. He also gets into fights with other cats, regularly.

It's new to me, and I don't like it. I'm not sure how much the cat actually likes me! I always greet him with warm and chat to him and stroke him, but most of the time I get the sense I'm in his way!

AngelCauliflower · 18/12/2014 14:25

I was so embarrassed when my mum, sister and brother in law came to meet my cat and they all left with scratches on them. I don't think they will be keen to come back! They were shocked by how aggressive she is. But I do think she is calming down now. She even licked me instead of biting me today Smile

SockyWockyDooDaaa · 18/12/2014 19:43

Kitty Stairblocking can be solved by putting a tiny drop of karvol capsule, NOT ON THE TREAD AS IT IS OILY, but on the upright part of every third stair.

Are you playing with your cats enough, as what you see as aggressive can sometimes be a bored cat wanting to play. Ie, you become prey he is the hunter when all you want is to give them a quick fuss.

Ten to fifteen minutes is usually enough for my cats. I also leave the radio on for my cats when I am out, Smooth FM mostly. Convinced that home alone pets make up the majority of their daytime listening figures. Not Kiss FM, they go hyper.

Feliway plugins are great.

Original poster
EssexMummy123 · 18/12/2014 20:20

Well i've just seen my OH's face - he has a deep scratch and a black eye, it's half an inch away from his actual eye. I think i will call the rescue centre he came from tomorrow, i don't feel like i can trust the cat near anyone.

OP posts:
AngelCauliflower · 18/12/2014 23:28

that's sad you feel that way.

AngelCauliflower · 18/12/2014 23:32

socky yes we are playing a lot with our cat and I think that is why she has been better recently. A combination of her settling in, a routine where we play hunting type games and her understanding the house rules plus me being a bit more flexible about her breaking the house rules.

op I do understand how you are feeling. You need to do what you think is for the best.

RubbishMantra · 19/12/2014 00:31

This toy tires my kitties out. It's interactive, so also helps with bonding you to each other.

emeline · 19/12/2014 00:38

My cat LOVES that toy! It's his favourite. And it got broken/died! I think I underestimated it's importance, and will replace, immediately.

THANKYOU for the tip. Will do more play times.

AngelCauliflower · 19/12/2014 07:35

that toy looks fab, I will get one. My cat does love her toys. She is a very active cat

cozietoesie · 19/12/2014 09:02

EssexMummy

Has he actually got a litter tray to use inside? (Sorry if you said but I couldn't pick this up anywhere.)

AngelCauliflower · 19/12/2014 18:05

hi essexmummy, did you phone the rescue centre? Did you have a better day with your cat today?

My cat was unbelievably good today. She seems to have really calmed down these last few days.

Original poster
EssexMummy123 · 19/12/2014 23:01

I did call them but i need to call them back to speak to someone else, the lady i spoke to suggested trying to get him to live outside but i'm not convinced that's the answer. Yes he does always have a litter tray inside - he's banished to one room and has been in his bed ever since i got in from work apart from eating. Other half has a full on black eye it looks awful, if that had been the toddler it could have been very serious.

OP posts:
girliefriend · 19/12/2014 23:10

I don't think time out works for cats, I would be shouting firmly saying NO and spraying with a water pistol!!

He may do better in a home with no children and no other pets though.

cozietoesie · 19/12/2014 23:18

Good. (The litter tray.)

I'm wondering, then, why your OH was putting him outside? If he really, really wants to stay inside then your OH forcing him out might cause him to regard him as an enemy of sorts.

Was there any reson for that?

Do you know much about his history?

Original poster
EssexMummy123 · 20/12/2014 00:19

He can be a bit funny about the litter tray, he will only have a wee on brand new litter and the vet was quite worried earlier this year about him not emptying his bladder when he had to be kept inside for a few weeks - usually he does his wees outside i guess he saves it up to mark territory - sorry if that's TMI.

Anyway OH often lets him out in the mornings, normally he's happy to go out - so i think he was just trying to hurry him up not realising that possibly he didn't want to go out. But he also bit my leg last night when i wasn't and hadn't been touching him, he just came up behind me. So with that kind of behaviour it makes us not want to interact with him.

His history is that he was found on a building site along with 20 or so other kittens at approx 4 months.

One unusual thing is that even though he's 2 he still has growth plates, i don't know if that means physically he didn't mature.

OP posts:
cozietoesie · 20/12/2014 07:59

He sounds almost as if he's permanently frightened and sometimes 'getting his retaliation in first'.

Do you talk to him much? (And how does that balance out with physical contact?)

Original poster
EssexMummy123 · 20/12/2014 10:03

That could be true he's always the first to be aggressive with other cats (normally he's bigger than them) and also dogs which has got him into trouble before.

OP posts:
PolterGoose · 20/12/2014 18:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

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