Hi...
I live in a 3 family house.
My two elderly landlords and their daughter live on the 1st two floors
and I'm on 3rd floor.
In January, their cat (which I had basically adopted out of love/karma)
passed on.
They said they'd never get another cat. Then they started seeing
mice in the basement/kitchen area. So...they decided to get another cat.
They got a 4 week old kitten from 'a lady down the street'.
Probably not the best place to get a cat, but...ok.
So I come home from vacation and they have this tiny, SUPER
cute kitten. But...I can see they really don't know too much about
kittens or a kitten's specific needs.
I think they thought they would just feed it cat food and it would
be like our other beloved cat around the house.
I did EXTENSIVE internet research which I shared
with them both verbally and in writing...The correct food,
vaccinations and most importantly BEHAVIORAL training.
I communicated to them that it is CRUCIAL that a kitten be
socialized correctly and early...before he grows too big and strong.
I was very clear about the dangers of not doing this behavioral
training...but I don't think they were prepared for all that was
involved with a new kitten.
They were letting her bite and scratch and it was all fun and games.
I kept saying...no, no, no...this is not gonna be good. But anyway...
It's not my cat and I'm really not home enough to do this kind
of training myself.
Fast-forward...The kitty's now a big guy...Almost 6 months old.
A beautiful cat!
But...he's freaking nuts. Aggressive. Jumps. Bites. Scratches. etc.
I pet him when I leave the house in the morning...the poor thing's
starved for attention because they've basically banished him to
the basement and hallways.
I can pet him for a minute or two before he rolls on his back
and starts biting and scratching....playfully, but still...not good.
He also leaps and bites people!
The poor thing just doesn't know any better.
Oh...and when they took him to the vet...It took two people
and him wrapped up in blanket in an attempt to take blood.
I think they eventually gave up!
They are at their wits end. They can't let their grand-children around it.
Instead of contributing another cat to the shelter system, I wish
they had rescued a nice, tame 1 or 2 year old cat from there.
But...that's in the past now.
Is all hope lost?
Is he locked in with this aggressive behavior pattern?
Will he mellow out on his own in time?
I wonder if part of his behavior is just his nature?
I've read the STICKY on 'How to stop Cat Aggression'.
Great information...but I don't think these folks are ready
for that kind of training regiment. I've already tried to
communicate these things to them. It's very frustrating.
They are looking to me for advice and I want to say...
I TOLD YOU SO ON MANY OCCASIONS THAT THIS WOULD HAPPEN!
But that's not helpful... :-)
My fear is that he's going to end up being put to sleep
which is very, very sad. It would be hard to give this cat
to someone else because of his aggressive behavior.
Any suggestions? thoughts? advice?
Thanks very much for listening...it feels good to vent!
-todd
I live in a 3 family house.
My two elderly landlords and their daughter live on the 1st two floors
and I'm on 3rd floor.
In January, their cat (which I had basically adopted out of love/karma)
passed on.
They said they'd never get another cat. Then they started seeing
mice in the basement/kitchen area. So...they decided to get another cat.
They got a 4 week old kitten from 'a lady down the street'.
Probably not the best place to get a cat, but...ok.
So I come home from vacation and they have this tiny, SUPER
cute kitten. But...I can see they really don't know too much about
kittens or a kitten's specific needs.
I think they thought they would just feed it cat food and it would
be like our other beloved cat around the house.
I did EXTENSIVE internet research which I shared
with them both verbally and in writing...The correct food,
vaccinations and most importantly BEHAVIORAL training.
I communicated to them that it is CRUCIAL that a kitten be
socialized correctly and early...before he grows too big and strong.
I was very clear about the dangers of not doing this behavioral
training...but I don't think they were prepared for all that was
involved with a new kitten.
They were letting her bite and scratch and it was all fun and games.
I kept saying...no, no, no...this is not gonna be good. But anyway...
It's not my cat and I'm really not home enough to do this kind
of training myself.
Fast-forward...The kitty's now a big guy...Almost 6 months old.
A beautiful cat!
But...he's freaking nuts. Aggressive. Jumps. Bites. Scratches. etc.
I pet him when I leave the house in the morning...the poor thing's
starved for attention because they've basically banished him to
the basement and hallways.
I can pet him for a minute or two before he rolls on his back
and starts biting and scratching....playfully, but still...not good.
He also leaps and bites people!
The poor thing just doesn't know any better.
Oh...and when they took him to the vet...It took two people
and him wrapped up in blanket in an attempt to take blood.
I think they eventually gave up!
They are at their wits end. They can't let their grand-children around it.
Instead of contributing another cat to the shelter system, I wish
they had rescued a nice, tame 1 or 2 year old cat from there.
But...that's in the past now.
Is all hope lost?
Is he locked in with this aggressive behavior pattern?
Will he mellow out on his own in time?
I wonder if part of his behavior is just his nature?
I've read the STICKY on 'How to stop Cat Aggression'.
Great information...but I don't think these folks are ready
for that kind of training regiment. I've already tried to
communicate these things to them. It's very frustrating.
They are looking to me for advice and I want to say...
I TOLD YOU SO ON MANY OCCASIONS THAT THIS WOULD HAPPEN!
But that's not helpful... :-)
My fear is that he's going to end up being put to sleep
which is very, very sad. It would be hard to give this cat
to someone else because of his aggressive behavior.
Any suggestions? thoughts? advice?
Thanks very much for listening...it feels good to vent!
-todd