- Joined
- Mar 27, 2013
- Messages
- 89
- Purraise
- 43
Okay, so to kick off, I began cat-sitting for a friend and now that cat has been with me a few months and lowkey is something of a weirdo.
I know cats get overstimulated and the like, but I've never had a cat quite like this. Like, I don't understand her behavior at all anymore. The owner says she has always been this way, and she is 8 years old. I know if I pet her more than a couple times or like initiate things myself instead of letting her come to me, I will 100% get scratched, but lately I get scratched no matter what.
Here are some recent situations in which I got scratched and bitten, going by the most recent.
-She came to me, meowing, not long after being fed. I offered her my hand and she rubbed her face on it then sat down at the corner of my desk and did not initiate further contact. I took this as her not wanting more pets and left her alone. She was purring loudly, blinking and visibly just looked very "Happy cat". She then proceeds to like REALLY scratch me, like not a quick whack type of scratch but like I was typing on the keyboard and she scratched my hand so deeply, her claws became stuck in that stretched tissue between my forefinger and thumb, I had to hold her paw and "unhook" them (Which, like, really freaked her out and she started hissing and clawed my other hand) and the cuts swelled after.
-She jumps onto the desk and meows, is purring and seemingly happy. I say hello and I put some treats down on the desk for her because, frankly, I did not feel like getting scratched in that moment, and she eats them then sits, back to me, facing the wall. Like literally the wall, a couple inches away from it. Still purring, but I can see her tail is wagging and her back fur is twitching. Mind you, I am NOT touching her, and I hadn't touched her at that point so I was confused why her back was twitching. She then, after some 4 or 5 minutes, turns, scratches me, hisses and leaves.
-She saw me pick up the brush and came to me meowing to get brushed. I gave her a light brush, only a few strokes because, well, she seems sensitive in general, and again she was purring and happy, blinking, kneading with her paws. I noticed her tail was lashing, though, so I stopped immediately. She went into a "loaf", again perched on the corner of my desk. I was watching a video while texting someone, just trying not to make eye contact in case it started something. After a few minutes, she stands, leans forward on the edge of the desk and chomps down on my forearm before hopping off my desk to go sleep on the bed.
Those are just the past two days, but at this point I have been scratched and bitten so many times, sometimes because I tried a different method of interacting with her when she approaches, and sometimes because I didn't interact with her upon her approach at all.
My usual reaction to being bitten/scratched is to flinch back and say "No" in as level a voice as I can. I DO gasp if it comes as a complete surprise.
Typically when I flinch back she'll flatten her ears and lift one of her paws as if to hit, but when I say "No" she'll usually just go away without any further strikes.
I am currently trying to save up to take her to the vet, as neither myself nor my owner have much because the whole covid situation has eaten our savings and work hours, but I don't know... Is this even something that realistically a vet could help or would I be wasting time and money?
I know cats get overstimulated and the like, but I've never had a cat quite like this. Like, I don't understand her behavior at all anymore. The owner says she has always been this way, and she is 8 years old. I know if I pet her more than a couple times or like initiate things myself instead of letting her come to me, I will 100% get scratched, but lately I get scratched no matter what.
Here are some recent situations in which I got scratched and bitten, going by the most recent.
-She came to me, meowing, not long after being fed. I offered her my hand and she rubbed her face on it then sat down at the corner of my desk and did not initiate further contact. I took this as her not wanting more pets and left her alone. She was purring loudly, blinking and visibly just looked very "Happy cat". She then proceeds to like REALLY scratch me, like not a quick whack type of scratch but like I was typing on the keyboard and she scratched my hand so deeply, her claws became stuck in that stretched tissue between my forefinger and thumb, I had to hold her paw and "unhook" them (Which, like, really freaked her out and she started hissing and clawed my other hand) and the cuts swelled after.
-She jumps onto the desk and meows, is purring and seemingly happy. I say hello and I put some treats down on the desk for her because, frankly, I did not feel like getting scratched in that moment, and she eats them then sits, back to me, facing the wall. Like literally the wall, a couple inches away from it. Still purring, but I can see her tail is wagging and her back fur is twitching. Mind you, I am NOT touching her, and I hadn't touched her at that point so I was confused why her back was twitching. She then, after some 4 or 5 minutes, turns, scratches me, hisses and leaves.
-She saw me pick up the brush and came to me meowing to get brushed. I gave her a light brush, only a few strokes because, well, she seems sensitive in general, and again she was purring and happy, blinking, kneading with her paws. I noticed her tail was lashing, though, so I stopped immediately. She went into a "loaf", again perched on the corner of my desk. I was watching a video while texting someone, just trying not to make eye contact in case it started something. After a few minutes, she stands, leans forward on the edge of the desk and chomps down on my forearm before hopping off my desk to go sleep on the bed.
Those are just the past two days, but at this point I have been scratched and bitten so many times, sometimes because I tried a different method of interacting with her when she approaches, and sometimes because I didn't interact with her upon her approach at all.
My usual reaction to being bitten/scratched is to flinch back and say "No" in as level a voice as I can. I DO gasp if it comes as a complete surprise.
Typically when I flinch back she'll flatten her ears and lift one of her paws as if to hit, but when I say "No" she'll usually just go away without any further strikes.
I am currently trying to save up to take her to the vet, as neither myself nor my owner have much because the whole covid situation has eaten our savings and work hours, but I don't know... Is this even something that realistically a vet could help or would I be wasting time and money?