Cat Attacking Me? (feral Cat)

Mabo

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Hi, I rescued a cat a little less than a month ago. I found her sick and close to lifeless outside my door :( - thankfully she is now on the way to health. I am clueless about cats but was told by my vet that she is 4 months old.

She's very friendly and playful but sometimes (usually in the evenings) she will start attacking me out of nowhere. I'll be stroking her and everything seems fine then all of a sudden she will grab my hand and start biting it. When I push away she will attack my feet and leg, until I get out of the room and shut the door on her. I have bloody scratches and teeth marks all over my hand, arms and legs. I read about squirting her with water however I do not want to do this. I don't want her to fear me and I hate hurting her in any way because of her past life. The first few weeks she slept with me and husband in our bed. The past few days I have been to scared to sleep with her incase she scratches me when I am asleep. I adore her to bits and will never give her up but I really want to nip this behaviour out completely. Today she scratched a guests toddler. I was mortified!!

I also want to add, at first she was constantly purring since she has started getting agressive her purring has stopped to? I have no idea why this could be.

Is there anything I can do? Has anyone dealt with anything similar? Any help would be great!
Thanks!:purr:
 

Letta

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Hi,
I am sorry to hear this. Does this happens when you stroke her? Two things come to mind: it is very common that cats after being stroked over and over again get overstimulated: then they will ask you to stop it by moving their tail (and other signals) and if you don't stop they will bite you to tell you "hey I told you stop this, I am not comfortable again". You should research: overstimulation aggression it is very common. The best thing is to stop as soon as they send signals that they are done, if you pet mostly the face you can usually continue longer. But the fact that she makes you bleed makes me think that there is something more going on. Maybe she is in pain and when you stroke her you touch a sensitive area: has she gone to the vet ?
 

duckpond

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i would have her checked by the vet as well. It could be over stimulation, i have an adult cat that bites if he is to happy..lol but some 4 month old kittens just play really rough and tumble, if you have ever watched two or 3 kittens playing together you swear they are killing each other. and when i have kittens in my house my arms are always a mess,lol. try to figure out if she is trying to play, or being aggressive? when she starts try to get her interested in a toy and see if she will play with the toy rather than your arms and lets. anything like Da bird, feathers on a wand is a good start. play hard with her and a toy, about the time she shows this behavior, and see if it helps? Kittens have a ton of energy and they need to burn it off, or they do get into trouble. :)
 
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Mabo

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Hi, i continuously take her to the vet. For now i do not think she is in pain, she loves being stroked.

usually it is when I stroke her. However sometimes it’s when I’m wondering around or if I’m resting. I always let her come to me if she wants to snuggle or be stroked. This morning I was getting ready for work, she was in the living room. I went to say good bye to her. As I bent to kiss her, she jumped out at me. I stepped back and again she jumped out at my leg. I had to run out and close the door behind her.

I have tried distracting her with toys, this always works however I want to know if there is anything I can do to completely stop the aggressive side of her.
 

duckpond

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Hi, i continuously take her to the vet. For now i do not think she is in pain, she loves being stroked.

usually it is when I stroke her. However sometimes it’s when I’m wondering around or if I’m resting. I always let her come to me if she wants to snuggle or be stroked. This morning I was getting ready for work, she was in the living room. I went to say good bye to her. As I bent to kiss her, she jumped out at me. I stepped back and again she jumped out at my leg. I had to run out and close the door behind her.

I have tried distracting her with toys, this always works however I want to know if there is anything I can do to completely stop the aggressive side of her.
it sounds to me like it is play, maybe aggressive play, but kittens of her age do that a lot. they have tons of energy and they need lots of active play time, with their human, or other kittens. maybe get another kitten about the same age for her to play with? that way they can jump each other..lol i have 4 now adult cats and they still run and chase each other through the house, and have their big wrestling matches, then curl up and sleep together..lots of fun for them and us. otherwise play actively with her, really get her running around as much as you can per day, and wait for her to grow up. adult cats still like to play, but not constantly like a kitten does.
 

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It does sound like rough kitten play, but if she lacks bite inhibition (she's biting hard enough to break your skin), she was probably an only kitten and/or taken away from her mother and siblings so young that she didn't learn to "play bite" more gently. She should outgrow it as long as you consistently give her a verbal reprimand, then ignore/isolate her for a few minutes after she does it.

I brought home a 4-month feral last February. She still "flips the switch" and goes from purring being petted to grabbing my hand and wrist and biting and bunny thumping. She is playing. If I just leave my hand where it is, but relax and "play dead" and say "Owww, Farrell", she'll start licking instead of biting and kicking. She's always had a very soft bite though, so she did learn bite inhibition. For clawing, I trim her front claws every couple of weeks so the blunted tips can't pierce skin.

If your kitten will allow it, I'd take some clippers and snip the very tips off her claws. That should stop the bleeding. Try when she is very relaxed or sleeping. Sometimes I have to snip one or two claws and come back later (several rounds) to finish all the claws. I don't worry with the back claws; they seem to wear down naturally.
 
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Mabo

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She doesn't allow nail clipping yet. She only just got used to being brushed. Its baby steps for us.

As for getting another cat I really don't think I could :( I've never liked pets in the house to be honest. I am very OCD. I have to always have a spotless clean fresh smelling house. The only reason I have accepted her is because during her treatment I fell in love with her and did not have the heart to put her in the streets again. I am trying to cope with the food spillage, the litter tray, the vomiting and diarrhoea from her past problems :)
 

duckpond

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She doesn't allow nail clipping yet. She only just got used to being brushed. Its baby steps for us.

As for getting another cat I really don't think I could :( I've never liked pets in the house to be honest. I am very OCD. I have to always have a spotless clean fresh smelling house. The only reason I have accepted her is because during her treatment I fell in love with her and did not have the heart to put her in the streets again. I am trying to cope with the food spillage, the litter tray, the vomiting and diarrhoea from her past problems :)
baby steps it shall be then :) keeping a house clean is definitely more work with cats, or any pets, or kids..or my husband.....lol the things we do for love. just give her love, lots of play time and hopefully she will outgrow the aggressive play.
 
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Mabo

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Yes! It's become another chore but she's defo worth it :):):)
 
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Mabo

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Thank you :)

Please please I need help. Today since I've been back from work she has been attacking and scratching me! I leave the room when she does it but the second i return her eyes will go black and the pupils big and she will lounge out at me again! I am slowly starting to fear her :(

I am thinking is it possible that she could be angry at me for abandoning her for work? Could she be hungry? (I feed her wet (home cooked - chicken with broth/lamb with gravy etc) twice a day and keep dry food all day which she doesnt touch) Is she bored from this house? does she miss her past life? I am so so upset.

She is constantly grooming herself? Is this a sign she is stressed? Also last night she pooped outside her litter on the floor (I am so happy it wasn't on the carpet) and just now she did the same thing again.

I am clueless with what to do!
 

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There is a technique I have seen recommended on this site. It is supposed to be what the mother cat would do to discipline a kitten. When she attacks you, pick her up by the scruff, just until her feet are off the floor, and hiss at her a couple of times, then put her back down (gently) and release her.
 

duckpond

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one thing, you may want to try wet cat food, she may not be getting the nutrition she needs if she is not eating her dry food, just human food that you cook? maybe some wet cat food, and try a different dry food, it could make a difference if its a nutrition problem? growing kittens eat a lot, and they need a lot of nutrients, she may not be getting that.
 
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Mabo

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I at times also give her cat food - Whiskas (the only brand here in our town but I have ordered some purina cat food from the UK and am hoping they will arrive quick.

Oh gosh I do not know if I can pick her by the scruff :(:( I sound like a whimp but I don't want to scare her in any way. I guess if this continues I will have to try that too
 
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