Adopted Outdoor Cat Pushing The Limits

[JoannaKS]

Hi. My name is Joanna. I adopted the 4th cat into my household a few months ago. He was an outdoor sweetie who I fed and attempted to find a home for for 8 weeks, until he was about 3 months old. During that time, he essentially lived in my backyard, got fed, played with my indoor-only cats through the glass doors, etc. He actually came in and was adopted because he showed absolutely no aggression towards the other cats or people. He would greet us at the door for pets, etc.

He was adopted a little over 3 months ago and he went from the sweetest thing ever while outside to a hellion inside. I dont mind him rough-housing with the other Male cats. It can sound horrific, but I've always had cats and know it is normal.

But tonight, for the third time, he went from absolutely placid to attacking my face and drawing blood. Tonight, he had played in the sink (he loves water) and then was wrapped in a towel, like he always is when wet. In fact, he purposely jumps into the sink for water time whenever we go in to use the bathroom and then edits by the towel rack for it. He went from completely lax and purring and slow blinks to claws in my skin - which took over an hour to stop bleeding. He has done the same to my sister. He also jumps up and randomly bites at feet, knees, etc. And chases and beats on the 17 year 4 lb ball of fluff female.

He has not been neutered yet. A week after we adopted him, we temporarily transplanted to another part of the state. Neutering will happen - soon - at our regular vet once we go home.

... I'm hoping for some advice. I've tried scuffing him, I've tried time-outs for 2-3 minutes, I've tried a firm "no!" .... I'm honestly close to either having him declawed (trims only last a week max and we can't do them ourselves) or putting him back out on the street or taking him to a shelter.

So.... advice/thoughts? (Pictured is a very spoiled hellion named Sclaimy)

 

[ArtNJ]

It sounds like he is currently over 6 months of age. So hormones is almost certainly a big part of this. A medical checkup could rule out other medical causes of irritability.

Are you sure he likes the towel wrapping? If you are doing something the cat doesn't like, and only your face is in range, that is not entirely the cat's fault. My cats are indoor/outdoor, and even if they get soaked/rained on, they don't love it when I try to help with a paper towel. Mostly I just let them lick/dry. It is something cats do naturally, and not a great problem to wait for -- they will do it almost immediately.

While I totally agree that face attacks are not ok and cannot be tolerated, it is not clear to me that these are out-of-the-blue attacks that can't be prevented by neutering and better respecting boundaries (i.e. no towel drying). (The attacking feet thing is more normal, if it is done in play. For that I would pick one accepted method of training and stick with it -- for example, a loud "no" coupled with ignoring the cat.)

Some people are going to go off because you mentioned declawing. Its considered inhumane, and most vets won't even do it anymore. It would be kinder to find the cat a new home if it comes to that.

 

[JoannaKS]

As I mentioned, I transplanted temporarily soon after adopting him. We're heading home in a week and I fully intend to have him checked out (and neutered!) by my regular vet after I have a few paychecks under my belt. Unfortunately, I've been without pay for 3 months, but the delay should only be a few weeks.

Yes, he likes the towel wrapping. He actually goes to them and waits. If I recently showered and havent hung my towels yet, he wraps himself in them. One of his "safe places" is under a shawl on my lap. As I said, I have 4 cats. 3 cat stand it and it doesn't happen to them except when the vet/groomer absolutely needs tonforntheir own safety. I'll definitely stick to 1 form for the rest though, thanks.

Honestly? If people want to ignore the fact that I joined this site and posted in an effort to NOT end up declawing, then that's not my problem. I dont want to do it. I'm just not seeing an alternative on my own and wanted to get some outside advice.

Thanks!

 

[Norachan]

I've got a big male cat that loves showering and towel drying, so you're not alone there.



I think getting him neutered is going to calm him down a lot. It's really difficult to address behavior problems in unfixed cats because almost of the problems lessen or disappear after spaying/neutering.

Scruffing is something male cats do to each other to assert dominance, so I think you should stop doing that. He's seeing it as an invitation to a power struggle with you. Once cats are more than a few weeks old it's no longer something mother cats do to control kittens, it has all kinds of other meanings that make the cat more likely to lash out.

Getting him declawed (I'm sure you know there are sooo many reasons not to declaw a cat) is going to make things a lot worse. If cats don't have their claws as their first line of defense they resort to biting which is much worse.

Just get him neutered as soon as you can. It can take a couple of weeks for their hormones to settle down, but you should see some improvement after that.

 

[KarenKat]

Our girl Olive loves towels. She lays on them and writhes around, plays with them and wraps herself up. But at the same time she also gets a little wild and overstimulated so when she asks for pets I need to be calm and careful or she might take a playful swipe at me.

Could it be possible that he loves the towel but gets overstimulated/ charged up (combined with the hormones) which causes these attacks? Maybe pausing towel time until after the nueter would be safest.

 

[war&wisdom]

The alternative to declawing (which will almost certainly make things worse because of the pain and insecurity that result) is neutering. He's most likely being aggressive because he's hormonal.

Neutering is also a simpler and cheaper surgery, so I'm not sure why you would consider declawing before neutering.

Also, do you hiss at him when he uses his claws?

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

... He was adopted a little over 3 months ago and he went from the sweetest thing ever while outside to a hellion inside. I dont mind him rough-housing with the other Male cats. ... But tonight, ... then was wrapped in a towel, ... He went from completely lax and purring and slow blinks to claws in my skin - which took over an hour to stop bleeding. He has done the same to my sister. He also jumps up and randomly bites at feet, knees, etc. And chases and beats on the 17 year 4 lb ball of fluff female.

He has not been neutered yet. A week after we adopted him, we temporarily transplanted to another part of the state. Neutering will happen - soon - at our regular vet once we go home.

... I'm hoping for some advice. I've tried scuffing him, I've tried time-outs for 2-3 minutes, I've tried a firm "no!" .... I'm honestly close to either having him declawed (trims only last a week max and we can't do them ourselves) or putting him back out on the street or taking him to a shelter.

So.... advice/thoughts?...

^(highlighted points in blue)

He just sounds like a normal, unneutered teenage, playful cat learning his hierarchy in your household. Until you get him neutered and then he has another few months to get those hormones and habits out of his system, you will have your hands full. He needs to play, play, play, at his age -- are you playing with him a lot? With DaBird toys and the like? Redirecting his attention to playing might help with the hormones and social fighting w/ the other cats a little -- but he does need to be fixed. (Are your other cats spayed/neutered?)


Please do not let one of the options you suggested happen --of letting him back out on the street. He is not neutered and you do not want to increase the outdoor population of cats. (Others have addressed the declawing, so I won't go into that.)

 

[FeebysOwner]

In the meantime, until you can get him neutered, can you try different calming products to see if any of those might help at least some?

Courtesy of @Furballsmom:

"Richard's Organics Pet Calm-those are drops that you put on the tip of their tongue. Quiet Moments Cat treats, there is Calming Care, Calm-o-mile, Sentry, Natures Miracle calming spray, Vetri-Science's Composure is another item to look at, Pet Remedy (it has valerian) is yet another, as is Essential Pet Pet-ease, Only Natural Pet (brand and website) has a calming product, Pet Naturals also has one I believe.
Also Thunderease has diffusers as does Sentry.

Lambert Vet Supply is a website to look at, and of course chewy, also there's Petwishpros, drsfostersmith, animaleo.

There is also a product called a lickimat. You can put spreadable foods on it, even unflavored yogurt, even freeze it--licking can help calm a cat as well .
Lickimat™ Soother"