sweet cat attacked me

[tewing84]

We have had our 10 month old cat Anna now for 4 months and she is super sweet. She was really skiddish at first and would hide all the time. Especially if she heard a loud noise or something she wasnt sure of. We believe she may have been a stray, however adoption place has a DOB on her. Anyways she has never attacked any of us or our other cats. Only thing she has done has scratched our 7 year old daughter a few times, which was only because she wouldnt leave her alone and kept trying to pick her up or drag her out from under something. Anna is still not too sure of her. But other than that she is super sweet, and I am definitely her favorite person. Well last night she was sleeping in her bed and as I was walking past her I went down to pet her, and as soon as I touched her she jumped out of her sleep and attacked my hand. It only lasted for about 1 or 2 seconds until she realized it was me, then she was sweet again. I picked her up and she was purring and cuddling on me, but her little heart was racing. Has this ever happened to anyone or why do you think she would do this? Is she maybe not comfortable enough here yet?

Like I said this is just not like her, she is probably the sweetest of the 3. I dont know if she just thought that I was our 7 year old or if something spooked her in the house earlier before.

 

[epimeliade]

If your daughter is tormenting her then it's possible that she's getting more reactive because someone is grabbing her all the time when she doesn't want to be grabbed. She might have thought you were your daughter. Cats are defenseless when they're asleep, and sleeping out in the open with you shows they trust you. Your daughter constantly dragging her out is probably making her pretty stressed. Generally I don't bother sleeping cats (especially my cat, who is deaf). You might want to put pressure on an area near what she's sleeping on to wake her up instead of just touching her in case this becomes a bigger issue. 

It's also hard, but you're going to need to teach your daughter to be gentle with the kitty and teach her that the cat isn't a toy, and doesn't always want to be grabbed. 

 

[tewing84]

If your daughter is tormenting her then it's possible that she's getting more reactive because someone is grabbing her all the time when she doesn't want to be grabbed. She might have thought you were your daughter. Cats are defenseless when they're asleep, and sleeping out in the open with you shows they trust you. Your daughter constantly dragging her out is probably making her pretty stressed. Generally I don't bother sleeping cats (especially my cat, who is deaf). You might want to put pressure on an area near what she's sleeping on to wake her up instead of just touching her in case this becomes a bigger issue. 

It's also hard, but you're going to need to teach your daughter to be gentle with the kitty and teach her that the cat isn't a toy, and doesn't always want to be grabbed. 

Yeah that's what we have tried to teach her, but being a 7 year old she doesnt always listen which is why she gets in trouble. She has quite a few scratches on her hand because of this too. But I do think Anna thought I was our 7 year old, because she usually gets really excited when Im coming up.

Usually when I walk up to them when they are sleeping they hear me, and sometimes I'll even make a noise to let them know I'm there, but not always. One of our other cats gets so scared when she is woken up but doesnt bite, she just meows for attention lol.

Ive always wondered if our older one is hard of hearing, I couldnt imagine have a fully deaf cat. I always feel so bad when I see a cat who is deaf, or even more when they are blind

 

[epimeliade]

As your daughter and your cat grow together I'm sure they'll start to get along. I know when I was little I chased one of my family cats until I realized he really didn't like it, haha. Hopefully it doesn't stress out your kitty too much. But yeah, I really think she assumed you were your daughter because she was startled. Does she have good places to jump up high where your daughter can't reach her? 

My deaf cat is really sensitive to vibrations, but he's still pretty skittish if you don't let him know where you are. He's in a calm household though, so he's pretty happy. It's all about not surprising him. If you wonder if your cat can't hear, there are tests you can do. For example, when my cat is sleeping, if I clap REALLY loud he doesn't respond at all. But if I do something that makes a vibration he wakes up. 

 

[tewing84]

As your daughter and your cat grow together I'm sure they'll start to get along. I know when I was little I chased one of my family cats until I realized he really didn't like it, haha. Hopefully it doesn't stress out your kitty too much. But yeah, I really think she assumed you were your daughter because she was startled. Does she have good places to jump up high where your daughter can't reach her? 

My deaf cat is really sensitive to vibrations, but he's still pretty skittish if you don't let him know where you are. He's in a calm household though, so he's pretty happy. It's all about not surprising him. If you wonder if your cat can't hear, there are tests you can do. For example, when my cat is sleeping, if I clap REALLY loud he doesn't respond at all. But if I do something that makes a vibration he wakes up. 

Thats what Im hoping, as she maybe gets older she will learn to respect them a bit more and only pet and pick up on their time and not when they are sleeping or hiding. I guess that's why I'm so lenient because I'm sure I did the same to my family pets when I was a kid. I should also point out though that she is just a step daughter, she is my girlfriends kid. The father is not in the picture at all so I've taken on the dad role, but Im sure that is another big factor why she doesnt listen to me always lol.

We are sitting her down tonight to go over some ground rules for the cats. After this incident with Anna I don't want things progressing and getting worse, I don't want to be the next one on My Cat From Hell lol.