My cat bit my mum, no clue what to do

[Biteycat]

My cat is about 6 years old, he lives with my mum (large grounds) and has always been a bit grumpy but he's, unfortunately, crossed a line now.

I think in general he likes to be left alone, however, he has a habit of seeking out cuddles/strokes and then will almost immediately attack you as soon as you touch him. He'll come to sit on your lap and (sometimes) if you move your hand (to pick up the remote/scratch your nose etc) he'll attack. He definitely loves tolerates my husband and me the most as he's always been ours, and in general is ok with us but still does the above on occasion.

Anyway, the other night he was sitting on my mum's lap, begging for strokes, she went to tickle his head and he properly bit her. She didn't think much of it but woke in the night in a lot of pain and in the morning needed to go to the hospital. Her hand is really swollen, she can't use it.

I'm really pissed off and have no clue what to do. What if he's like this around kids when we eventually have them? Is there anything at all I can do?

I'd rehome/ PTS

You can train a cat to some extent

My cat is like this- the rescue think it’s because he was removed from his litter too young without a sibling to learn appropriate interaction with.

he needs lots of play or he is very bitey but we also get the sense that he think it’s affection and engagement and doesn’t realise it hurts!

it’s not his fault, he’s a cat, and as you can with yours, recognise the scenarios where it occurs and give him space in those situations. My parents have a cat who LOVES a lap but hates you touching her in any other way!

Look up petting aggression. Ours is a bit of an arse but in the summer he can get really hyper - demanding stroking then lashing out. We think he gets skin irritations.

Hope your mum is ok! I would just avoid having the cat on people’s laps and tell people to leave it alone, even if it appears to want them not to!

We try and avoid stroking him, getting him at all wound up when he's like that and limit any touching to his head which is less sensitive.

But he can be a scary fucker.

He has full access to the outdoors, my mum has a huge garden and is in the countryside, he can roam wherever he wants within kilometres and kilometres. During summer he's almost always outside, during winter he's almost always inside, sleeping. I work at my mum's in her office, he has a bed on my desk and I play with him whenever he wants (toys, laser pointer, sometimes hands). There are 2 other cats here, they all mostly get on.

He's also hungry all the time. We're taking him to the vet soon but he's been like this since he was a kitten. We found him in the countryside round my mums when he was tiny, so I'm sure that contributes.

He just doesn't give you a choice. If he jumps on your lap you just can't move at all. If you push him off, he'll bite. If you touch him, he'll bite. If you ignore him entirely he gets closer and closer to your face, will nip your arm until you touch him, and then he'll attack!! Simply ignoring him and not interacting physically isn't really good enough because he won't give you a choice...

Although cat bits can be nasty. A cat is very unlikely to cause a serious injury in the way dogs can. For starters their mouths aren't big enough. And you need to be able to read their signs that they've had enough.

I understand that entirely, but he will not show any signs of being unhappy at all. He'll come in the room purring, will rub himself against your legs, then will jump up onto the sofa (still purring), will flop down next to you, lift his head up and purr, then move onto your lap, get comfy, still purring, then push into you, still purring, then the second your hand moves he'll attack! So no chance of even pushing him off either, nor ignoring him.

You can ignore him by either moving away from him or ejecting him from the chair as soon as he jumps up .

He just doesn't give you a choice. If he jumps on your lap you just can't move at all.*

Just stand up. He will jump down, you don't have to touch him.

He will still bite. As you stand up he'll bite your stomach or your arm. If you manage to stand up and eject him, he'll bite your leg. It's as if he chooses when he wants to bite you and you just have to suck it up. That's why I'm worried about having kids near him, or anyone for that matter.. He's lovely and I love him but fuck me he's a bastard.

Jackson Galaxy on YouTube.

I'd talk it over with your DM, decide how you move forward.

If you're concerned about his hunger, do get him checked out - he might have an overactive thyroid. Just wondering if being peckish would make him creep, but then he can deal with the love as all he wants is food. If you're going to the vet, might be worth making a note of where he was touched.

We had one who was a bit of a jekhll and hyde, but luckily for us you saw the look change on his face before his other personality kicked in. He mellowed in old age and would even tap us for attention, and if we stopped and he wanted more, he'd tap again.

Are you looking for a chorus of people telling you to put it down? Because you won’t find it here.

My male cat was an arsey little shit as we had him castrated late (another cat we had was rescue and castrated at 2 ish too and was the opposite) ... the first one settled down by the time he got to about 7-8 years old - before that he used to scare me with his viscious antics!

We had a cat like this growing up, my mum just didn't leave us alone in the room with him when we were small (he was quite an outdoors cat so not as big an issue as it might have been)

On the other hand my neighbour rehomed her cat to friends because it could be aggressive without warning and she had three very young children at the time and an open plan house which meant herding the cat out of the way was harder (and the cat was incredibly stressed by the children and happier with the people they rehomed him too)

There isn't a right or wrong answer. But I think it's not worth worrying about until there are actually children in the picture as it doesn't sound like you have any or are pregnant? Lots of things could change, there's no point borrowing trouble

@justgettingthroughtheday No one called for the dog that bit my brother's face to be put down. The little bastard was small sized so therefore not dangerous. I've yet to see anyone savaged by a cat though.

OP, I have a bitey cat too (rescue) and she's never bit either of my kids (baby and toddler both born after we got the cat). We are obviously wary of her though and don't trust her 100%. It seems to be an attention seeking thing for our cat. I don't understand why she pushes for our attention then bites us though.

Jesus Christ what's wrong with you?

Our cat was like this. It’s what cats do. He’s not there to please you, he’s an animal. I hate it when people get pets and then are disappointed that they don’t meet expectations, especially when they’re just acting like their species does. Get him checked out of course but accept he’s a cat.

Your mum will be fine. My friend is a veg and had loads of cat bites over the tears. Only one needed antibiotics and she was fine within a couple of days.

All cats I have had bite at times, my current girl cat is the worst for it. The poor thing was rehomed for biting her previous owners. CATS BITE! That's just part of their nature. I have two DC and both know to tread carefully.

People saying PTS are bloody ridiculous. They are not lions or tigers They, they are tiny domesticated cars. They will cause you no harm other than a few scratches.

When was the last time a pet cat savaged someone to death?

My childhood friend had an arsehole of a cat like this. They fed him and made him a warm dry spot in the shed as they didn't want him I side. He just never really liked people.

If he's hungry all the time plus mean get his thyroid checked.

We felt so bad when we realised annoying cat was actually hyperthyroidism cat.

Probably more likely hoping everyone will say rehome. It’s baffling. Cat acts like cat. 🤷🏻‍♀️