Impulse Adoption Is Biting

[javannalynn]

Thursday we had my amazing rescue cat Theodore put to sleep. He was no longer able to stand for more then a few seconds and was barely able to hold his head up. I'm heartbroken but i know it was the right thing to do. He is the first cat i've ever euthanized and it was the hardest thing i've ever done. I miss him tremendously.
Due to his kidney failure I had some extra bags of fluids and lines and needles I just had to get out of my sight. Friday morning we decided to go donate them to the local shelter and pet some kitties while we were there. We pet all the cats and there is one cat that is huge. 15lbs and in a room for multiple cats by himself. They said he just was the only one left and the rest had found homes. We walked in and he ran to hide. I coxed him over and once i touched him he became the sweetest thing. He rubbed all over climbed right into our laps and tried to climb us when we were standing just to be closer. All he wanted was someone to pet him. We spent a good 15 minutes petting and enjoying him.
We spoke to staff to see what they knew about him. He was found as a stray and the people kept him for about a month and then took him to the shelter after not finding his owners. I was not planning to come home with another cat. Theo hadn't even been gone for 24 hours. While talking to staff they filled out everything and handed me the adoption paperwork. He was so sweet why not bring him home??
We are on day 3. He has been out and met the other cats. (I know this is not recommend but i know my cats and he is not hassling them) the first night my boyfriend picked him up and he hissed in his face and tried to bite him. He said maybe he alarmed him or pinched his tail or something. Since then it has only gotten worse. He came for some attention jumped into boyfriends lap and then while he was purring and enjoying it he decided to start biting him. The shelter cut his claws to nubs otherwise my bf would have probably needed stitches. The craziest part is once the attack happened the cat didn't run off he stayed in his lap and continued to try to attack him. After a hour or 2 he came to sit on my lap and I let him sit for a while. he was sweet and rubbed all over me and wanted to be close. I had to pee so i tried to move him and he attacked me.
I don't know that i want an attack cat at my house. all my other cats are very good with us and not at all vicious. This guy is 15lbs of suddenly snapping for no reason. Am I wrong to want to take him back to the shelter? He is so sweet when he wants to be but he turns to quick and is a big cat. I feel bad even thinking about returning him but he is 4 years old. I dont want to deal with 10+ years of a time bomb kitty. But i feel awful even thinking about returning him I'm still crying about my Theo and trying to deal with this cat has already been a hassle. Everyone keeps telling me he is stressed. Ok maybe if it was us sneaking up on him and scaring him. But he's not stressed in the middle of getting attention. Please help me figure out what to do?

 

[Kflowers]

don't give up yet.

I think the first thing you need to do is take him to YOUR vet for a complete physical to see if he is in pain. That physical should include a full body x-ray (I promise you the shelter didn't do that.) There is a good chance that he has arthritis, probably in his spine. Being picked up or held hurts him and he reacts to the pain.

Age doesn't matter, my cat was less than a year old when we found she had arthritis on several vertebrata.

She takes dasuquin, it's an over the counter joint care product like cosuquin. Within a few days of the first pill, she was nice for the first time in her life. We got her at 5 weeks and found her to be normal kitten with anger issues. Turns out it wasn't anger, it was pain. With the medicine she is a normal cat.

 

[javannalynn]

We are trying to be understanding but we have extremely nice cats and you dont realize how scary they can be til you have one you are afraid to touch. I know its only been a couple days but these attacks were pretty chaotic for us. But when he is in your lap and continues to try to bite and swat at your arms/hands and you can't even try to push him off. I feel like he's holding us hostage....

 

[Kflowers]

I must not have been clear. If he is in pain that is why he is reacting badly to being held, picked up and petted. He obviously wants to be petted and held by you, but then the pain hits and he slaps at whatever might be causing the pain. He's hitting the pain, not you.

THAT is why you need to take him to the vet and get him checked and get the X-RAY. If you skip the x-ray and many vets insist it isn't needed, you'll never know if he had arthritis. You'll never know if one really inexpensive pill a day could have stopped his pain and given you a very nice pet.

Cats who are in pain react when the pain hits. If you have a bruise and you hit that bruise on something, you react. Cats who are not in pain do NOT hit you. If you are really going to save him, take him to the vet. Would you leave one of your other cats in pain?

 

[Kflowers]

I have one I was afraid to touch. She was just 5 weeks old when we got her. She bit, she clawed on top of the amount a normal kitten does. That is why we took her to the vet to see what was wrong with her.

She wasn't the first one we had like that. I'm not talking about ferals but strays. Hve you ever had a broken bone, or arthritis?

Others have had similar experiences, @Jcatbird @FeebysOwner

 

[Kflowers]

You can also try hissing at him when he bites. Do it the instant he bites. It will tell him you don't like what he is doing. If he isn't in pain this will make him stop biting you. If he continues to bite he is in pain.

That he comes to you at all means he really does care for you. many cats are terrified during the first several weeks at a new home. I sincerely hope you will make the effort to help him.

 

[kashmir64]

I must not have been clear. If he is in pain that is why he is reacting badly to being held, picked up and petted. He obviously wants to be petted and held by you, but then the pain hits and he slaps at whatever might be causing the pain. He's hitting the pain, not you.

THAT is why you need to take him to the vet and get him checked and get the X-RAY. If you skip the x-ray and many vets insist it isn't needed, you'll never know if he had arthritis. You'll never know if one really inexpensive pill a day could have stopped his pain and given you a very nice pet.

Cats who are in pain react when the pain hits. If you have a bruise and you hit that bruise on something, you react. Cats who are not in pain do NOT hit you. If you are really going to save him, take him to the vet. Would you leave one of your other cats in pain?[/QUOTE

 

[javannalynn]

i don't think i explained well enough. He is totally the sweetest thing about 90% of the time. He just kinda snaps at very random times. We have been taking note of what causes it but it doesn't seem to be one thing. it is completely random. its doesn't seem to be touching him in a certain spot or moving him in a certain way he just kinda has another cat in there that decides its time to attack.

 

[javannalynn]

I'm not saying it couldn't be pain and we are taking him to the vet anyways because he gets one free visit with the adoption and one of the vets on the list is our vet so all the more reason to go see him. we are going tomorrow. I've seen cats in pain and this seems different...

 

[KarenKat]

Just some random ideas, since it’s hard to know exactly what’s going on:

Is it an actual attack, or could it be play agresssion? Have you tried redirecting with a toy?

Could it be something like overstimulation or Hyperesthesia? Where the petting or contact is fun up to a point but then he gets overstimulated?

Heck, it could just be pure miscommunication and doesn’t know and trust you enough yet after only 3 days to understand that your “sudden” movement is benign and non-threatening.

 

[javannalynn]

Most kitties i have played with will give some warning about over stimulation before going right to the attack. We don't make sudden movements in the house as most of my cats are jumpy. when i was pushing him off me I make sure to do it slowly and tell him I'm moving so he knows. the growling and hissing tell me it is an actual attack. and the fact that he continues to sit on me and try to keep attacking me shows me it is not play.

 

[kashmir64]

There was a cat at the shelter that was bipolar. Vet diagnosed, however, the vet is not a Psychologist, not even for cats.
This cat would curl up in your arms to be petted, then without cause would tear you to pieces. Like something inside her snapped.
I hope your cat doesn't have this. Let us know when what the vet says.

 

[Kflowers]

The only way to tell if it's arthritis is by a full body x-ray. From the people I know who have arthritis sometimes a touch/a bump some distance away from the arthritis can set the pain off. As one says to me frequently, "Everything is connected."