Cat likes to attack my legs

[wildeoscar]

Hi everyone, I'm hoping someone might be able to help me gently guide the behaviour of a cat who isn't actually mine.

One of my roommates' cats loves to attack my feet and legs. This is a problem because his owner doesn't trim his claws and the cat also doesn't shy away from biting with some force (it would probably be enough to lightly break the skin if I didn't wear jeans). The cat's about one-and-a-half years old, so he still has some kitten-ish energy.

One obvious solution would be to talk to my roommate and ask them to do something. The problem is that they're so laissez-faire with this cat in general that I don't imagine much would actually change after talking to them. They're often not home and they're already aware that the cat's clawed me a couple of times. On top of that, I've not been living here long enough that I feel comfortable moving beyond just making the owner aware of the issue and actually making a conflict out of it. Not worth it if nothing's likely to change anyway.

So about the cat himself: I have a feeling - though I don't know for sure - that this is an attention-seeking behaviour. As I previously said, his owner isn't home very much. I try to use his toys to play with him sometimes but I'm worried that this might end up making the problem worse if he wants me to play whenever he's lonely.

With that said, can anyone recommend a relatively harmless way of getting this cat to stop clawing and biting me? Tonight I had to retreat back to my room while making dinner because he just wouldn't cut it out.

Just coming back to say, because I imagine I could be asked, that I do believe the cat has been neutered.

 

[Father of furbabies]

I might be wrong but the furkid is bored and trying to get your attention since they have no one else to get their energy out with.

If you have the money to spare, look into an interactive toy that will get their attention. Some people recommend using a squirt gun or spray bottle to make them rethink their choices, others have recommend stomping your foot while hissing to scare him away, but I would think instead of focusing on a negative method, try going constructive. There are several battery powered toys that make motion and sounds to capture his attention and there are a few that will allow him to use some of his energy.

With the actual owner not being that active in the kit's life, you might need to become slightly more pro-active in it's life. Pick up some nail trimmers and learn how to trim them or spend some extra money if you can afford it to take the kitty someplace to get their nails done (while the kitten is having theirs done, treat yourself to something also). Buy them a scratching post if they do not have one. If you can afford it, think about some cat furniture so they have something they can climb on and claw on without worry.

Good luck.

 

[gilmargl]

Rather than spend a lot of money (and effort) on someone else's cat, you could try putting a few cat treats in one of those cheap plastic balls which are sold as intelligent games for cats. Put this on the other side of the room and, if you are lucky, he will be so engrossed in trying to get at a treat that he will leave your legs and feet alone. Unfortunately, not all cats can be bothered with such toys but the treats may keep him away so that you can at least do your cooking. Can you not shut him in another room if he insists on attacking you?

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Hi everyone, I'm hoping someone might be able to help me gently guide the behaviour of a cat who isn't actually mine.

One of my roommates' cats loves to attack my feet and legs. This is a problem because his owner doesn't trim his claws and the cat also doesn't shy away from biting with some force (it would probably be enough to lightly break the skin if I didn't wear jeans). The cat's about one-and-a-half years old, so he still has some kitten-ish energy.

One obvious solution would be to talk to my roommate and ask them to do something. The problem is that they're so laissez-faire with this cat in general that I don't imagine much would actually change after talking to them. They're often not home and they're already aware that the cat's clawed me a couple of times. On top of that, I've not been living here long enough that I feel comfortable moving beyond just making the owner aware of the issue and actually making a conflict out of it. Not worth it if nothing's likely to change anyway.

So about the cat himself: I have a feeling - though I don't know for sure - that this is an attention-seeking behaviour. As I previously said, his owner isn't home very much. I try to use his toys to play with him sometimes but I'm worried that this might end up making the problem worse if he wants me to play whenever he's lonely.

With that said, can anyone recommend a relatively harmless way of getting this cat to stop clawing and biting me? Tonight I had to retreat back to my room while making dinner because he just wouldn't cut it out.

Just coming back to say, because I imagine I could be asked, that I do believe the cat has been neutered.

It could very well be that you are right about the loneliness/attention-seeking behavior. Does the cat have a bunny/kickie toy that you could toss for him when he starts to bite your ankles, for distraction's sake?

The issue could be combination of things, too, though, not just a cat's boredom. How often is the cat fed? Where is the cat fed? If fed in the kitchen, some of the attention-seeking behaviors (or "aggression") directed towards you could be food/hunger related. Is it occurring while you are trying to make meals for yourself? (Sorry to hear that the owners aren't around very much. You may have to end up talking with them, and coming up with a plan together, since you are part of the household.)

Are there other cats there?

 

[tarasgirl06]

Hello, W wildeoscar -- welcome to TCS, and it looks like other posters have already given great suggestions. This young mancat does sound starved for affection, attention, and play. An interactive wand toy such as Cat Dancer, which only costs a few dollars, would probably interest him, stimulate play, and give him some much-needed attention! Some little catnip toys, also very inexpensive, would also probably be of interest, as would some crinkle/twinkle balls, balls with bells in them, etc. Cat-specific toys -- no dog toys! -- and maybe a few treats -- Feline Greenies are popular here, and among the better widely sold treats. He needs love and care!

 

[wildeoscar]

Thank you for your replies everyone!

As Father suggests, I would prefer a 'constructive' approach rather than a disciplinary one. I used to have a cat myself back when I lived with my ex (I actually made a post on here years ago about that little guy), so I know it's generally better to use carrots rather than sticks. (That cat was a lot gentler than this young man, though.)

It's funny that PushPurr mentions food, because the cat has a timed feeder as he's a little chubby. He always races for his food whenever it drops, so maybe there's something to that. That might rule out gilmargl's otherwise good suggestion of a treat puzzle, because I don't want to mess with his diet if it was vet-recommended.

There is another cat in the house - my other roommates got a female kitten about two months ago - but the older cat has most of the house to himself and hasn't seemed to act territorial in any other ways.

Thanks for the toy suggestions, tarasgirl. I remember the Cat Dancer from my old cat, though I might get something even longer as this guy really does love to jump and claw at his toys (I got a nasty hand scratch when trying to play with him once, solely due to his excitement and my lack of reflexes.) Part of the problem is that he'll even try to nip and claw if I'm petting him (even after he's asked for it), otherwise I'd be showing him more love. I probably won't be able to go to the pet store for a few days, but I may take a trip early next week to get something at least to distract the cat with. If there is anything else that might be useful if a long wand toy doesn't work out, let me know!

 

[pmv]

If you want something longer than a cat dancer, I've yet to meet a cat that won't go after "Da Bird", which has a considerably longer pole and string. I definitely agree that this sounds like play aggression - the cat sounds bored and hungry for attention. Lack of exercise could also be exacerbating the weight issues, too.

 

[Father of furbabies]

Thank you for your replies everyone!

Part of the problem is that he'll even try to nip and claw if I'm petting him (even after he's asked for it), otherwise I'd be showing him more love.

This right here shouts out a lack of proper socialization. He probably gets over excited and forgets proper boundaries much like a kitten who is still learning how to interact with others. You might have to an active role, whether you want to or not, in his socialization and teach him how to behave. What that entails varies from cat to cat.

Good luck and let us know how the toys work.

 

[di and bob]

He was most likely taken from his cat family before twelve weeks of age. Between the ages of six and twelve weeks they learn limits and manners from their siblings and mama. if it gets unbearable or a real problem (it may escalate as he gets away with it) there is a real method that really works, but it involves disciplinary action which he didn't get. You must act as the mama cat, or get your roommate to do it. (which is recommended) When the cat attacks you, you take him by the loose skin on the back of the neck, hold him to the ground until he gets still, saying NO loudly. It should be only for a few seconds. If he comes right back at you, do it again, it must be consistent. This teaches him that what he is doing is not acceptable and is done like mama cat would do it, it is called pinning. If you aren't comfortable with this, try saying NO loudly or hiss at him when he is coming for you, or yell loudly "ouch!" to startle him if he latches on. Then leave, showing him it is not acceptable behavior and you won't give him the attention he craves. it is used often as a last resort because it is a shame to rehome a cat or bring them to a shelter just because they never learned manners. all the luck!

 

[Talien]

That was my impression as well, it sounds like he was taken from his mother too early and never learned proper behavior. When he scratches you try shouting "Ow!" in a high pitched voice or hissing, then turning your back to him and walking away if possible.

Since he's really young then it would be better if him and the other Cat were introduced, then they can play with eachother and burn off excess energy.

 

[cataholic07]

He was most likely taken from his cat family before twelve weeks of age. Between the ages of six and twelve weeks they learn limits and manners from their siblings and mama. if it gets unbearable or a real problem (it may escalate as he gets away with it) there is a real method that really works, but it involves disciplinary action which he didn't get. You must act as the mama cat, or get your roommate to do it. (which is recommended) When the cat attacks you, you take him by the loose skin on the back of the neck, hold him to the ground until he gets still, saying NO loudly. It should be only for a few seconds. If he comes right back at you, do it again, it must be consistent. This teaches him that what he is doing is not acceptable and is done like mama cat would do it, it is called pinning. If you aren't comfortable with this, try saying NO loudly or hiss at him when he is coming for you, or yell loudly "ouch!" to startle him if he latches on. Then leave, showing him it is not acceptable behavior and you won't give him the attention he craves. it is used often as a last resort because it is a shame to rehome a cat or bring them to a shelter just because they never learned manners. all the luck!

NO! Do not EVER use punishment on a cat. Your cat will just learn to fear you. A cat is not like a dog, and even dogs should not be pinned. Force free training is the only way to go or at least positive reinforcement. When cats attack usually its a few reasons play aggression or redirected aggression. A bored cat is just sitting there bundling up all that pent up energy until a sudden movement and bam game on. It's not out of spite or evilness a young cat just has a ton of energy. Redirected aggression is a cat getting angry at something and attacking out of frustration of not being able to get what is angering them. Usually its seeing a cat or dog outside. Saying ouch loudly and stop moving will suffice. Having a laser pointer in your pocket to distract the cat and to burn off energy and using dabird is also a great way to burn off energy. People get kittens thinking that they are easier than dogs but they still require training and having their energy burned off daily with a wand toy.Make sure as well that no one is using their hands or feet to play with him. I see way too many people who love to play with their hands and all that teaches the cat is that it's ok to bite people.

Petting induced aggression is also a thing. Petting too long, too hard and all over the body can cause a bite response. It's best to pet behind the head only and to watch body cues. Tail swishing? No more petting. Eyes dilated? Dear God stop petting! Ears to the side? Why are you still petting *chomp*. lol.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Excellent points, cataholic07 and I would also recommend YouTube videos, books, and the My Cat From Hell series featuring "Cat Daddy", cat lover and behaviorist, Jackson Galaxy. He is a definitive expert on cat behavior and also on how humans can become understanding of cats.

 

[daftcat75]

How about a laser pointer to distract him when he attacks you? This is a quick fix but not the best. You don't want him to believe that he needs to attack you to get playtime.

When you're at the pet food store, pick up an obedience clicker from the dog training section. Pick up some meat-based freeze-dried treats too (not the junky Temptations treats.) The freeze dried treats will be much better for him and not likely to contribute much to weight gain. You will need treats to train.

Clicker training is easy. You use the clicker to get his attention and to cue a behavior. Then you reward that behavior. Start small and build on it. So for day 1, you have to introduce him to the clicker. Just walk up to him and click. Here's a treat. Click. Here's a treat. Won't take much more than that for him to know that the click means a treat is coming. Maybe sometime later that first day, you test him. Out of nowhere and preferably while you're not next to him, click and see if he comes running. If he does, give him a treat. Congrats! You just taught your cat how to heel. Take a treat for yourself.

You can further build on this by palming a treat and when you click, instead of giving him the treat directly, let him smell the treat in your closed palm. If you can, try to rub that closed palm across his cheek or give him a friendly pet or scratch on the head with the other hand while the treat has his attention. If he allows a little affection without biting or other inappropriate behavior, give him the treat. If he pulls away, that's his choice and freedom. You can give him the treat anyway because he didn't claw or bite you. If he does claw or bite you, say "ow!", pull your hand away, and don't give him the treat. You can try again with the click and a rub/pet. But if he isn't learning this time, say "ow!" and walk away. No treats for naughty cats. Try that lesson another time or another day. Keep at it and I'm sure he'll eventually learn that gentle gets treats and mean does not.

Once he's got his lessons down, you can practice intermittent rewarding and jackpotting. Intermittent rewarding means he doesn't get rewarded with a treat every time he performs the behavior. This actually keeps him interested because he'll perform the behavior more often wondering where the treats went. Jackpotting is every once in a very rare while, one of the rewards will be significantly larger or more special than what he's been getting. If he usually gets one treat, you give him four. Or you give him something he adores but rarely gets. The more special and rare the jackpot, the harder he will work on his lessons trying to hit that jackpot again. You want it to be just often enough that he remembers there is a jackpot. But obviously, if you give it too often, it loses the appeal. And he gets fat.

You can use clicker training for all sorts of things. Practice daily and be patient. I don't think he's too old to be trained or corrected. You just need to let him know what's not acceptable ("Ow!" or walk away) and reward the behaviors you want. Don't be surprised if you create a love monster once he learns that affection gets him more treats than aggression. Once he's learned a lesson, you probably won't have to work on that same lesson daily. But you will want to check in on him regularly and make sure he still knows what's expected. This will spare him all those extra daily treats while still keeping his training up-to-date.

 

[Xraystyle]

I can almost guarantee you it's attention seeking. I am unfortunately out of the house for a long time each day, and so when I get home, there's like a solid hour where my cat won't take no for an answer. I spend at least 15 minutes petting and brushing him and If I turn my back on him and ignore him before he's satisfied, he will resort to attacking my legs. I either step away, throw the stuffed fish toy at him so he can kick and chew on that, or redirect him with the feather wand. As a last resort, I will just decide that it's time to use the vacuum cleaner. He only really misbehaves when I'm home, which is my other clue that it's all for attention.

The other potential source of the behavior is that this cat just thinks you're a threat, this could simply be because of your size, how deep or high your voice is, volume/rate of speaking, etc. My parents' last cat would always attack the ankles of my older brother because he was 6' tall and had a deep voice and smelled like dogs. My brother was ambivalent towards this cat, so it wasn't that he was being mean to it at all. The cat just wanted to protect the rest of us from this big dog guy. In which case the only solution would be being around the cat more, talking in a quiet soothing voice, etc.

 

[KittyCatCove]

My boy Teddy grabs my feet and legs, but only when I'm walking away from him. He wraps his paws around my ankles, but never extends his claws. He also goes crazy when I am on the phone... it's all for attention.

 

[tarasgirl06]

How about a laser pointer to distract him when he attacks you? This is a quick fix but not the best. You don't want him to believe that he needs to attack you to get playtime.

When you're at the pet food store, pick up an obedience clicker from the dog training section. Pick up some meat-based freeze-dried treats too (not the junky Temptations treats.) The freeze dried treats will be much better for him and not likely to contribute much to weight gain. You will need treats to train.

Clicker training is easy. You use the clicker to get his attention and to cue a behavior. Then you reward that behavior. Start small and build on it. So for day 1, you have to introduce him to the clicker. Just walk up to him and click. Here's a treat. Click. Here's a treat. Won't take much more than that for him to know that the click means a treat is coming. Maybe sometime later that first day, you test him. Out of nowhere and preferably while you're not next to him, click and see if he comes running. If he does, give him a treat. Congrats! You just taught your cat how to heel. Take a treat for yourself.

You can further build on this by palming a treat and when you click, instead of giving him the treat directly, let him smell the treat in your closed palm. If you can, try to rub that closed palm across his cheek or give him a friendly pet or scratch on the head with the other hand while the treat has his attention. If he allows a little affection without biting or other inappropriate behavior, give him the treat. If he pulls away, that's his choice and freedom. You can give him the treat anyway because he didn't claw or bite you. If he does claw or bite you, say "ow!", pull your hand away, and don't give him the treat. You can try again with the click and a rub/pet. But if he isn't learning this time, say "ow!" and walk away. No treats for naughty cats. Try that lesson another time or another day. Keep at it and I'm sure he'll eventually learn that gentle gets treats and mean does not.

Once he's got his lessons down, you can practice intermittent rewarding and jackpotting. Intermittent rewarding means he doesn't get rewarded with a treat every time he performs the behavior. This actually keeps him interested because he'll perform the behavior more often wondering where the treats went. Jackpotting is every once in a very rare while, one of the rewards will be significantly larger or more special than what he's been getting. If he usually gets one treat, you give him four. Or you give him something he adores but rarely gets. The more special and rare the jackpot, the harder he will work on his lessons trying to hit that jackpot again. You want it to be just often enough that he remembers there is a jackpot. But obviously, if you give it too often, it loses the appeal. And he gets fat.

You can use clicker training for all sorts of things. Practice daily and be patient. I don't think he's too old to be trained or corrected. You just need to let him know what's not acceptable ("Ow!" or walk away) and reward the behaviors you want. Don't be surprised if you create a love monster once he learns that affection gets him more treats than aggression. Once he's learned a lesson, you probably won't have to work on that same lesson daily. But you will want to check in on him regularly and make sure he still knows what's expected. This will spare him all those extra daily treats while still keeping his training up-to-date.

*Great suggestions!*

 

[wildeoscar]

Whoa, this got more attention than I expected! Sorry that I won't be able to reply to everyone individually, but I've read everything you've all written and appreciate the suggestions.

I don't think he sees me as a threat, since he'll walk up to me all lovingly and ask for pets before getting aggressive. I do agree it sounds like the cat didn't learn proper norms and hasn't been taught since. It does seem like he gets overexcited, or even perhaps like he's punishing me for not petting him sooner.

I do confess I've have to lightly pin him a couple of times (without the "no!"), though this was less to discipline him and was more of a simple reaction to quite literally save my skin. Simply walking away was a strategy that worked well on my old cat, but it works less well with this guy because he's inclined to take a moving sock for a mouse when he's feeling antsy. I'm intrigued by the clicker method, though.

I'm also now getting a vague feeling that he wants cuddles more than playtime. I've made an effort to play with his existing toys a bit more, and he'll sort of half-heartedly engage and then follow me around again when I stop. A brand new toy might help here perhaps. Otherwise it seems to be that he wants to get close, but can't stop himself from attacking me, which pushes me away. It's like the plot of a cheesy romance novel, this.

 

[walli]

Ha ha your going to get attached!!!
My Joey did the same thing but way worst, yes he wants attention.
that's good that he wants cuddles! My Joey never wants cuddles
No worries no response needed!!
your nice!

 

[35 year catdad]

This Calico was rescued at 4 weeks from a bad situation and it took about 18 months for her to finally stop shredding my legs and attempting to climb up my body, and also biting for no reason...just her being onry... and shes from two semi ferals They get scolded from their Momma cat as youngsters to learn limits. I would scream NO very loudly every time it happens. Cats don't like loud noises and need to know we feel pain from their needle claws. Make sounds like you are crying when scratched and they seem to know what that means.