My cat has bitten and scratched me too many times

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

We’re thinking that we have to rehome our cat, and I’m really upset. He’s the handsome ginger tabby in my avatar, adopted as a 3-week-old kitten from the animal shelter in 2016. At that point we had fostered over a dozen shelter kittens, and always took them back to the shelter when they were old enough to be spayed/neutered and adopted out. But this guy was very cute and cuddly and purry, so we decided to keep him, and I’m very fond of him.

Fast forward to July 3, when I went to the bathroom at 6 AM and when I climbed back into bed he grabbed my ankle, bit me and clawed me deeply. It didn’t swell up but was bad enough that I went to the Urgent Care clinic the next day and they gave me a tetanus shot and antibiotics. He had bitten and scratched me a number of times before that, but never that badly, and I kept thinking he would give up on it.

But the last straw was tonight. We were away for 9 days, with our adult kids in the house on and off, around 5 days out of the 9. He was happy to see us, especially my husband, who’s his favorite person, and when he saw me, he gave me a couple of greeting meows too. We spent time feeding and brushing him and playing with him. But when I was lying in bed a while ago, with my laptop, he pounced at me, bit me and clawed my arm and chest, near my armpit. My husband was right next to me and pushed him off quickly, so the scratches aren’t deep, but it scares me that now it’s not just arms or legs that he’s attacking.

I realize that the attacks have been building up. After a couple of years in our household, he decided that I was the person to attack the most; at first it was just jumping at my legs and scratching, but it progressed to latching on tight to an arm and biting and scratching. We’ve tried to keep him busy with toys and a cat wheel, which he hasn’t really taken to, and in the past year he’s started trying to pounce at and scratch my husband too, but he’s never scratched him badly. But after seeing two attacks in 2 weeks, my husband says that he refuses to have the cat in the house any longer.

So I’m looking at the website for the shelter that he came from and looking to see if they’ll take him back, wondering about other options, and feeling really sad.

2

Have you tried a spray bottle of water?

I don’t like them, but in your extreme case it seems you need a defense mechanism.
If you can see the attack coming it may work.

He will be hard to re-adopt out if he’s a biter. Some shelters have a place for those non-adoptable animals.

Let us know what happens.

3

Being shelter-adopted i presume he’s been neutered. But i have heard of cases where neutered male cats caught hormones again when an unspayed female moved into the neighborhood. Is it something that comes in waves? If so, the vet might be able to give him some balancing hormones to calm him

Just a thought. You don’t mention a vet trip but i’d definitely try that first.

4

Or check for an extra gonad. I saw a vet on TV have to remove a third one.

5

He was neutered at the shelter when he was around 10 weeks old; they had me bring him in. Maybe he does have an extra gonad, but I haven’t seen any male signs like spraying or the thick jowls.
He’s up to date on all his shots but according to this thread, bites and and scratches from vaccinated cats can be dangerous too: Bitten and scratched by a cat. What to do? - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board

We do have feral and/or stray cats in the neighborhood, not sure if any of them are female. I know that I’ve been attacked in the dead of winter when all the windows are closed.

I hadn’t thought about a vet visit, but I don’t think that my husband is willing to give it another chance anyway. The cat usually sleeps at our feet, or cuddled up to my husband, but he won’t even let him in our room now.

Yes, I know that being a biter will make him unadoptable, which makes me really upset.

6

My sympathies - that sounds sad and traumatic.

A few years agoI adopted an adult male cat that bit and scratched (one wound from his bit on my ankle left a mark that took two years to go away) and I told the vet that to my chagrin I was going to have to take him to the no-kill shelter. She implored me not to do that. (At that time I’d I’d never visited the no-kill shelter; when I finally saw it I understood her alarm. It has since shut down but it was a terrible place, overcrowded with an insane number of unhappy cats sharing runny eyes and sneezes.)

My cats were 100% indoor at that time, and she said it would be better to make him an outdoor cat than take him to the shelter. She also prescribed him gabapentin to make him calmer.

I wasn’t keen on kicking him outside but given that I live in a rural area in Hawai’i, it wasn’t out of the question.

Long story short, that cat transformed into a gentle, affectionate critter. I’m no longer afraid of him and he hasn’t hurt me in years. I stopped giving him the gabapentin after a couple of weeks and have never felt the need for more.

I doubt that transformation would occur in most situations. My personal theory is that he had some kind of pain from his neutering (he wasn’t neutered until I selected him for adoption) and that as that pain subsidized as he healed, he calmed down. But, who knows?

7

Also realize that taking him back to the shelter may well put you on a list of people ineligible for future adoptions.

I love pets, but I feel they have to meet me partway. And not repeatedly biting/clawing me (or others), or shitting/pissing inside, are pretty much the bare minimum I demand.

Yes, it is tough that your cat started acting in this manner, but IMO a pet is supposed to enhance your life, not detract from it.

8

If you take him to the vets they can examine his penis for the presence of barbs. In the absence of testosterone, penile barbs disappear, leaving a smooth penis.

There are medications that can help modify aggressive behavior. I’d look into that.

9

You might consider vinegar or sour apple spray.

10

It’s not worth the risk of infection from scratchs and bites. Especially since the attacks are escalating.

I wouldn’t keep the cat.

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I would very definitely schedule a vet visit first. There may well be something treatable going on.

If your husband’s afraid of him, shut the cat up in a room of his own until the vet visit.

His chances in a shelter at his age and with that history are not good at all. If he really can’t be stopped from attacking people, it might be kinder to euthanize him. But it doesn’t seem to me that you’ve tried anywhere near everything yet.

In addition to scheduling the vet visit: if he scratches or bites anyone in the meantime, even slightly, grab him very firmly by the back of the neck, lift him partially off the ground (don’t lift a grown cat all the way off his feet this way, let him hold part of his weight), and hold him like that for a minute or so.

I have kept bitey-scratchy cats, have had occasional cat scratches and more rarely occasional bites all of my life, and have never had any serious consequences from them, or needed any treatment other than washing and bandaging; and for minor ones don’t even bandage. I’m 72. The status of various people’s immune systems varies, of course.

12

When we first started allowing cats to rule our world, Mr VOW appointed himself “claw clipper.” After the first 50 times being clipped, the cats generally settled down and grudgingly accepted his ministrations.

My boy Zircon was the meanest cat I’ve ever known. I carried his scars for years. I warned people away from him. Those who didn’t heed my warnings deserved what they got. After a few years, he settled down. But he was MY cat. He was so mean to everyone else, my kids called him “Shithead.”

He slept at my feet. Just before we both fell asleep, he would tiptoe up to me and we would have our lovies. He’d give me a zillion kisses, and he’d purr loud enough to set up waves in the waterbed.* Then, when he had enough of the mushy stuff, he’d bite the shit out of me and go down to my feet to sleep.

Oh God, I loved that cat! To this day, I still miss him.

~ VOW

  • I’m kidding about the waves in the waterbed. But he was a very enthusiastic purrer!
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To elaborate: this re-creates the sensation of being picked up by Momma Cat. Kittens with the scruff of their neck in Mom’s jaws instinctively go limp (it would not do to get squirmy with that many pointy teeth holding your skin) so - most carnivores, really - retain that instinct to be calm & hold still when held by their scruff.

I said “most carnivores” because, well, that’s how they carry their young. Canids, felids … hell, I can personally vouch that the scruff thing works miracles on rowdy ferrets.

Obviously, since horses and cows don’t carry their babies, this doesn’t work on foals & calves.

What IS it with cats and sleeping by feet?

O.P. adding my voice to the “vet if at all possible” chorus. If you do eventually wind up going the euthanasia route, you’ll know you did all you could.

Your husband is being protective of you, and that’s both sweet, and commendable. But don’t let him talk you into doing anything before you’re comfortable with it.

14

That includes treatable behavior problems.

I had friends who had a cat whose behavior was even worse than this-- stranger, if that makes sense. They tried behavior intervention, like spray bottles, and they clipped his claws (back, too), until he bit one of their other cats.

They told the vet they needed a radical solution, or they would have to consider putting him down. They were already doing Soft Paws on him so he couldn’t claw anyone. They discussed declawing, but they vet said he might be even more likely to bite if declawed.

They vet prescribed Valium (generic). It worked. They got the lowest dose available, and broke it into 8 pieces. He got two little pieces a day, with a little bit of canned cat tuna.

Completely different cat. And not a dopey, sleepy one. Just a more normal one-- his personality seemed intact, just without the disturbing behaviors.

I’m not saying this will be your solution, but vets have seen most problems before, or studied them in school. Never give up on one before talking to the vet.

My current dog I adopted from a shelter after she been relinquished, and had one failed attempt at an adoption. She had EXTREME separation anxiety, and was not fully housebroken. I consulted a wonderful trainer, and the vet gave her some meds to help her behavior-- Prozac, and trazodone until the Prozac kicked in.

She is almost 8 now, and was 2 & 1/2 when I got her. She has energy like I’ve never seen in a dog this age, but is just a wonderful pet, and I can leave her in the house alone, or drop her at a daycare she loves. If I board her, I take her to the same daycare where she loves everybody, and I still need to get the vet to give me enough trazodone for her to have 1/2 a pill each night. But, she does great, and they love to have her.

I really hope you find a solution.

15

Thanks everyone! I’m feeling far more hopeful after reading these posts. And my husband spent some time reading up about cat issues and agrees that we can try and find a solution. He’s wondering whether separation anxiety could be a factor since the last 2 bites both happened hours after we came back from days away. He’s thinking that it could help for me to do more of the feeding and cat treat distribution.

I hadn’t thought about a vet visit as an option so that gives me some hope as well. There’s a veterinary practice a few miles from us that specializes in cats and small animals (no dogs) and their website says that they do behavioral consultations. Services — Catnip and Carrots Veterinary Hospital We’ve never taken him to the vet (he’s always been healthy and had his shots and boosters done at the shelter and at Petco); would anyone familiar with veterinary practices care to look at the link and give an opinion?
And I wonder about their fee policy:
New client deposit policy
First time clients booking an appointment will need to leave a deposit of $90 to cover the exam fee. It will hold your spot. If for any reason you no show or cancel same day it will not be refundable.
Catnip and Carrots Veterinary Hospital Policies — Catnip and Carrots Veterinary Hospital

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Presumably they’ve had some bad experiences with new clients no-showing or no-paying.

17

This could back-fire if that cat ever puts 2 and 2 together.

18

Yeah, I’ve been given this same advice for correcting a dog’s behavior. I’m surprised so many people have bitey**/scratchy cats. We’ve always had dachshunds, who are statistically the bitingest dog breed, and I’ve never been seriously bitten by any of them. I did have one dog who’d put her mouth on my hand with no pressure at all…just to let me know she wasn’t happy with me.

** bitey made me think of Penelope Wilton in Shaun of the Dead. LOL.

19

That may well have had something to do with it – he might be expressing anger that you left him alone for so long.

– I haven’t run into a required-deposit policy at a veterinary before; but I know some do have problems with no shows. And I’ll add that in my area it’s been very difficult, for the last year or two, to find any veterinary practice accepting new patients; because there just aren’t enough vets – not a local problem, but a national one. What used to be a 3-veterinary practice at my local vet’s is down to one who wanted to retire two years ago – one did retire, another moved elsewhere to set up her own practice, and the remaining and originator of the practice can’t find anyone else to join. So if you have found a place accepting new patients – I’d say better grab a spot while you’ve got the chance.

And ETA: I’m very glad to hear your husband’s reconsidering and that you will try taking him to a vet. I’ve been worrying about the cat, and about you.

20

My Siamese male can be bitey and mean. But he’s not one for the stealth attack.
He’s definitely not a lap sitter or bed sleeper. Not cuddly. At all.
He likes to be in the same room as me. That’s how I know he ‘loves’ me best.

I leave him be. The only time I’ve been bitten or scratched is in the process of administration of meds or boxing up for vet visits. It’s never been vicious. Sounds like the end of the world, at the time. 'Cause he’s very loud. But, so far I’ve lived with all my fingers intact.

I do hope the vet can help you. And I am glad husband is in board. Good luck.