My aunt has asked me to housesit for her because she owns two cats, and I’m the only one who lives close enough, is a family member, and have two cats of my own. I stopped by on Sunday to receive my instructions, and so the cats can get familiar with me before the family takes off for their vacation. She has two cats, one purebred siamese, and a persian/siamese mutt. The mutt is terrified of people; she bolts whenever anyone gets near her. I suspect it is because my youngest cousin regularly harasses her. I managed to corner her and then trap her in a bathroom to get to know her. At first, she hissed up a storm, then she wailed. Finally, with enough patience, she quieted down and let me approach her, but would flinch everytime my hand went near her face. I think I made some improvements with her because eventually, she sniffed my hand and arched her back like my cat does when she wants to keep being stroked and petted. When I let her out of the bathroom, she didn’t bolt, just ambled out slowly, and the distance she kept between us was shortened, even though she did not trust me enough to approach her up close again.
The siamese, on the other hand, was a vicious little bastard. I brought some cat treats and catnip over to see what kind of treats the spoiled little buggers enjoyed. He smelled the catnip and persisted in sniffing and pawing at the bag. When I nudged him away, he took a swipe at me; no growling or hissing beforehand - just one quick swipe. Luckily, my reflexes were fast, and I pulled away. But he seems very dominant. At home, when there’s a cat underfoot, they either move out of the way or get punted. The siamese refused to move even when my feet came in contact with his body. Also, my aunt say that he bites people, for no reason. A family member can sit and read the newspaper and he sits and stalks the paper reader, then when he thinks you don’t notice him or have forgotten about him, he attacks. One quick bite to the arm or leg (face if you’re really unlucky), and he runs off before you have a chance to realise what just happened. She told me to look out for that.
I want to work with the other scaredy cat more, because I actually have hope that she might come out of her shell, but the siamese seems to be a bit more than I can handle. I can’t even shoo him out of the kitchen without him snapping at me. I know siamese cats are known for being difficult, but are they REALLY this difficult?!
I don’t think it’s a Siamese thing. I’ve had Siamese cats all my life; all but one were total sweethearts. The one who wasn’t had not been spayed (my parents’ choice) and she was a total bitch. They can be aloof (and LOUD), and they may take some time to get to know, but they’re not usually vicious. Your aunt might just have gotten a winner, so to speak. The crazies come in all breeds. My sister had a kitty mutt who bit people regularly, so she had to give it up (she had small children). You may just want to steer clear of that particular cat.
While it may be possible to correlate aggression levels with coloration to some limited extent ( for example some studies of non-purebred populations in Europe seem to indicate that orange males are statistically larger and more assertive than non-orange males ) I doubt that it is the single major component in temperment.
Anecdotally I’ve run across very assertive Siamese and very shy ones, very annoying ones and total sweethearts. About the only thing that seems constant about them is they’re usually talkative.
I certainly hope that S&D doesn’t mean they intentionally kick cats to get them out of the way, I took it to mean that S&D just keeps walking hoping the cat will get out of the way otherwise they might inadvertently get kicked. I’ve done this accidentally myself a few times when I was sure the cat was going to get out of the way but didn’t.
Punt = scooped with foot and launched about 2-3 feet depending on animal. No harm, but they learn to stay out from underfoot. Pups and kittens are carefully stepped around/over. I’d suggest a small water gun for the brute. It doesn’t sound like you will ever be friends.
One thing about siamese cats is their god-awful voices. If you’re not used to it, it can sound like their either in unbearable pain, having a kitty-gasm, about to fight to the death, or all of the above. It’s just their normal voice, they don’t meow like other cats.
My parents have had three siamese cats over the past twenty years, and they’ve all been prone to going berserk now and then but were generally very sweet natured.
Our first cat did that. She’d come in and sit near your chair, then she’d slowly mover over next to your feet, then she’s put her ears out sideways and S-L-O-W-L-Y lean over and bite your feet. She’d usually do it to my sister, when she was engrossed in something on the TV. Extremely funny, although my sis didn’t think so. Possibly just some misguided ‘hunting’ play.
Siamese are definitely talkers! I have also discovered that Cornish Rex are worse than Siamese. I got a Rex when the mother of his original owner decided he was too noisy and threw him outside. Magic never shuts up.
I wonder if the Siamese was hand-raised or taken away from his mom and litter mates too soon. It sounds like a cat that didn’t get socialized right as a kitten, as in what is acceptable play and what is not.
Is this Siamese spayed or neutered? Intact cats, especially males, can be more aggressive than spayed or neutered ones.
I read somewhere that Siamese cats, left to their own devices, will nurse their kittens longer than other breeds will, so maybe this is more of a problem with Siamese cats than with others. I have heard that sucking on wool or other items, thought to be an imitation of nursing, is more common in Siamese and Siamese mixes than in other breeds.
Taking the cat away from the mother too early isn’t the only way they get poorly socialized as to what is acceptable play. If humans tolerate or encourage inappropriate play in a kitten (like pouncing on people’s hands or feet, or biting), that kitten will grow up thinking those things are OK to do, and it’s hard to re-train a cat that a behavior that used to be OK isn’t anymore. It’s a bad idea to let a kitten or puppy get away with behavior you wouldn’t want in the adult cat or dog it will eventually become.
I have a Siamese mix who is a very sweet kitty, though she will nip you a little if you pet her for longer than she would like, or if you try to pet her with your foot. She doesn’t bite hard- just enough to tell you “that’s enough of that”. If you came to visit us, she might hiss at you at first if you smell of other cats, but she comes around and starts begging you for treats pretty fast.
Some cats will get more aggressive under the influence of catnip. Some of them (like my Katya) limit that aggression to their toys (and it’s very cute- she gets this crazed look in her eyes, and goes after the toy with her back kicker feet). Some will take it out on other cats, so it’s not too surprising that some might become aggressive toward people. Catnip lowers cats’ inhibitions, so it’s a somewhat dangerous thing to give to a cat you don’t know.
To be honest, I don’t think my aunt’s family should have cats. My aunt, my uncle and my older cousin treat the cats just fine, but my younger cousin seems to have no idea how to treat the cats properly, and his mother never corrects his misbehaviours. I don’t know the specific details, but in a conversation with my dad yesterday (aunt is his sister) he revealed to me he witnessed the younger cousin take a combination lock (the kind used for high school lockers) and locked the Siamese’s hind legs together. Then when he tried to free the cat, he was swiped at and bitten (not surprised at all). I’ve seen him get spun on chairs, but that was years ago, and I thought he would outgrow the whole “Wheee, look at the kitty get dizzy!!” phase. The cousin is 17 years old now. It’s horrifying.
What is interesting is that I am pretty sure he does this kind of thing to the persian/siamese too, but instead of turning to aggression, I think her main form of defense is RUN AWAY!!!
The Siamese wasn’t even on catnip when I tried to play with him. He smelled the catnip pillow in my bag, and maybe the (sealed) catnip jar, but I nudged him away before he could dive in. Maybe just having the scent in the air is enough to drive him nuts? The mutt did receive some catnip, and if I’m reading your post correctly, Anne Neville, it helped with lowering her inhibitions and that is why she let me approach her? She seemed to really enjoy munching on the loose stuff, although not too fond of the pillow. Maybe I should get her some cat grass because I’ve also been informed she likes “herby things” - like the herbal coughdrop my uncle leaves lying around. Apparently, the mutt will fish a candy out of the bag, tear the wrapper off and go to town.
The spray bottle idea is good if the Siamese wasn’t such a hellion. I sprayed him in the face yesterday when I made another visit, and he just looked at me, hissed, then ran off.
Siamese cats can be vicious?? I thought the worst they would do to you is gently bruise you when they love-rub you with their faces to mark you as “theirs”.
Poor cats I agree, that family should not have cats, or any pets at all (especially not a dog that is big enough to do some serious harm to somebody). No wonder their meezer is vicious, and it’s equally unsurprising that their other cat runs away from everybody.
