Aggressive cat!

[MoJo]

I have a young female cat, recently fixed (In hopes she would calm down her aggressive behaviors) and was wondering if anyone out there has any tips for me!

She was taken from her mom a bit too early (The mom was an extremely friendly outside cat on my Fiances' parents acreage, and it began to freeze outside, the mother abandoned her young, so we had to take in all of them that we could find. Sadly, we only found one out of the few she had.) so I am guessing it has to do with that. I heard that if they are taken away too early, they dont learn to socialize or something like that.

Anyways, Mojo, my cat, is very playful. But her idea of play is like a humans idea of attempted murder! She is very aggressive and plays too hard. Training her is kind of out of the queston as it is nearly impossible to train a cat. Shewill be friendly, purring and cuddling one minute, then bite you out of no where as hard as she possibly can. We trim her claws because she used them as daggers.

Picture this: You wake up in the middle of the night and make your way to the washroom, wiping the sleep from your eyes. Just then, James Bond music plays in your head as a sleek figure slips out of no where and stalks you silently. Once the creature feels you are too far away from the bedroom door to safely retreat and hide, she attacks! Front legs in the air she runs at you all kamakazie style, teeth in to the back of your knee and arms wrapped around your calf in attempt to bring you to the floor and haul your body behind the couch for later feeding. Lol!

Or she can be all calm and tired, stretching as you walk out of your bedroom. She rubs up against your leg and purrs, only to flop on to her side and attack your toes like there is no tomorrow.

Help me! I've tried the spray-bottle technique, but you can't have it on you at all times- believe me, I've tried. We keep the door to the bedroom closed at night otherwise you would be lucky to make it through the night with all your body peices still attatched.. Lol. :eek:

Anyone who wants to reply to this with a 'get rid of her', save your breath. Otherwise, any other advice is welcome.

[KatzNK9]

First thing I'd do is load up on cat toys. Particularly the ones that cats like to romp & chase. Cats with too much energy can be just as destructive as dogs who need more exercise.

I suggest you load up your house with spray bottles & put several of them within reach in EACH room. They're cheap & I'd put one within reach of all the spots you frequent often. If the small amounts of water don't help you with the quick sprays, I'd put plastic cups of water all over the house just waiting for the cat to do it again & dowse the cat with a bigger amount of water ... toss them "cup & all" (yeah, it will be a cleanup job, but it's worth it if the cat starts behaving). It will be a hassle having all this water located strategically around the house but training shouldn't take too long.

In addition, I'd collect some empty soda cans & fill them with small pebbles or pennies & tape over the hole. Use the cans as "shakers" when you see the cat trying to move into "predator" mode to distract the cat's attention. Most cats find loud noises objectionable & will leave the area.

Just like with a dog, don't acknowledge the bad behavior with too much fuss that will increase the "game" portion of the act itself. Try to remain completely quiet with the water approach & not use "overt gestures" when you're attempting to correct the cat ... make the water "appear out of nowhere" with as little noise & movement as possible. If you can manage to dowse the cat or squirt the cat without letting the cat know where it is coming from ... all the better.

Another technique (a last-ditched effort & one which will make your neighbors nuts ... but it still could work work for you) is to start screaming & make an outrageous ruckous, flailing your arms wildly & jump around making stomping noises. Most cats will tuck & run!

Good luck ... one of these methods should work on just about any cat.

[MoJo]

Thank you for the AMAZING advice! The shakers are something I hadn't thought of! I have about 4 spray bottles in my house already, and they randomly go missing ( The cat actually knocks them down, as I have found several under the couches and beds!) It is HILARIOUS when I, myself, go all 'James Bond' on her. Seeing her on the counter in the kitchen when I enter a room, I have a water bottle and sneak every so silently nearer the kitchen- only to spray her and hide behind the bike in our upstairs living room ( That right, their is a sport bike parked in my living room for the winter months! Lol)

Thank you very much for your advice, the pop cans are a good idea- now all I need to do is find some! (We dont drink pop, juice or anything very sugary like that. On a super-healthy diet at least until the wedding so that everything fits good!)

I, myself, particularly like the idea of jumping up and down flailing my arms- but I think Mojo would take that as the look of a suffering animal and attack me, thinking I am injured and weak!

[LoveThatPom]

I think Katz pretty much summed up any good idea I could think of. We had the same problem with Chick biting us, but we all just carried around small water guns. Equally effective, very portable, and also fun to squirt when being attacked!

The rattles sound like the best idea to me.

[skunkstripe]

MoJo if you do not want kitty on your kitchen counters, you might try one of the following:

Bubble wrap. Tape it to the counter. When the cat jumps up onto the coutner and hears the 'pop pop pop' noise it wil scare her a little, enough that she will think twice before jumping up again.

Fly paper. Put something really sticky like flypaper on the counter. Cats HATE it when their paws stick to what they are trying to walk on.

One or both should cure her-good luck!

[KatzNK9]

I'm a Diet Pepsi addict ... so there are always plenty of cans to fill here. Ask your neighbors to save you some of their cans.

MoJo if you do not want kitty on your kitchen counters, you might try one of the following:

Bubble wrap. Tape it to the counter. When the cat jumps up onto the coutner and hears the 'pop pop pop' noise it wil scare her a little, enough that she will think twice before jumping up again.

Fly paper. Put something really sticky like flypaper on the counter. Cats HATE it when their paws stick to what they are trying to walk on.


Along these same lines ... another good one is to get several baking sheets & place them along the edge enough so they'll tip off if stepped on. Put penny or rock cans on the back of the trays so they'll make an outrageous racket when they come tumbling down.

[MoJo]

THANK YOU!!!! Ohh how I love you guys! Lol! I really badly need to get this cat under control, she is driving us INSANE with her antics! We love her to death, but we always joke: " I dont like her at all-- but I love her to bits!" I know I know it sounds harsh, but it is just a joke. The other day she jumped on to the counter (last night actually) and helped herself to the food I JUST finished baking- as I was standing just feet away, reaching for plates in the cupboard. I turned around and caught her eye and she ran -across- the casserole and ran away. But in the few seconds she had, she made ate an entire serving! Some all over the counter. She just made a mess because she was in such a hurry. She knows that she is bad, but she is just addicted to being a little jerk! Lol!

[KatzNK9]

LOL, just makes them all the more loveable! If they didn't get into any trouble, what fun would their stories be? Hehehehe ... but you can find a happy medium in there someplace.

[MoJo]

But is was disgusting at the moment.. because I know where those paws had been just minutes before- Can anyone say Kitty Litter? SO from a 2.5HR casserole supper, we got a few minutes of hot dogs on the BBQ. Lol. Hey- at least Mojo got what we wanted, right?

[golden-lover]

Sounds like she's playful.

If shes overly aggressive, it might just be her personality? Our cookie is aggresive if anyone but my mom and dad try to pet her - but Tafi and Cougar love cuddles.