Rescue cat has started biting us all the time

Scarinae · 30-05-2019 8:47pm #1

My fiancé and I adopted a rescue cat at the beginning of May, she was super chilled at first but in the last couple of weeks she has been attacking and biting us.

She is just over a year old and was spayed just before we got her. When she arrived in our house, we thought she would take a while to adjust – maybe hiding or avoiding us – but she was affectionate immediately and liked to jump up on us and nuzzle against us (although she has never liked being picked up). She wanted to be close to us whatever we were doing, whether that was wedging herself between us when we were sitting on the sofa or curling up between us on the bed at night. She loved being petted and would even roll onto her back and let us stroke her chest and belly, although we were careful to avoid her stitches, and she would lick us too. She was also happy to explore the house, and she was eating well from the start. So at first we thought that we had got the easiest, most chilled rescue cat ever.

A few days after we got her we found a worm coming out of her bum

She hated the car journey to the vet but she was pretty good once we got there. It turned out that not only did she have worms but she had an ear infection, so we had to give her 1ml of deworming medicine orally for five days and we also had to put drops in her ears twice a day for 10 days. She was ok with the deworming medicine the first couple of times we gave it to her but got more resistant, and she didn’t like the ear drops either. She would see us getting the medicine out of the cupboard and make herself scarce.

We noticed she was getting more active as well, I don’t know if this was because she was feeling better from the medicine, if she was getting more comfortable in the house or if it was something else. She started using her scratching posts and horizontal scratcher more, as well as attacking the carpets. At first her favourite toy was a paper bag, but she started to really enjoy a rod and feather toy too. The stairs also became a favoured play zone – she likes to run ahead of us to certain steps when we’re using the stairs, and then grabs our feet and ankles with her paws and sometimes bites us.

We tried stepping over her/ignoring her when she’s on the stairs, which sometimes works. However, it has moved beyond the stairs now. She sometimes runs at us and attacks our feet and ankles even when we’re standing still or sitting on the sofa. The biting has become more frequent as well, like every day. A few days ago she leaped onto the sofa and bit my arm. She also doesn’t sit with us on the sofa anymore, and when we try to pet her she often swipes at us or tries to bite. Last night she came into our bedroom during the night and attacked my fiancé’s leg – it was outside the covers – she jumped onto the bed and attacked him with her paws and teeth, biting his leg in several places as well as his arm.

Googling this behaviour suggests this is mostly play biting but it is still really annoying and honestly quite alarming. I haven’t found the advice online particularly helpful – is suggests tiring her out by playing more with her, but we’ve been trying that and if anything it just seems to get her more worked up. It also says not to use your hands or feet while playing with her, and we have never done that (although we don’t know about whoever had her before she went to the shelter – all we know is that she came from a rural area and there were nine cats taken into the shelter from there).

I miss the sweet, affectionate cat that we had at the beginning of the month who seems to have been replaced with a biting tornado of a cat. Is she scared of us because we had to give her the deworming and ear medicine? Are we facing 15+ years of being bitten every day? I’m also worried about what will happen when we have visitors, for example my brother and his family are coming to stay for two weeks in August and my nephews are very young (4 and 1), I don’t want them being bitten.

Thanks to anyone who has read all this and who might have some useful advice!

Arthur Daley · 30-05-2019 8:53pm

It is suggested that you walk out of the room after any attack like that. Certainly never engage or shout at the cat etc. They need to know you are not impressed and they will be on their own if they continue this behaviour.

Nipping at ankles is very common and I think you have to expect some of that. Seems you still have plenty of time to nip any bad behaviour in the bud and move on from here.

Also try leading with one finger and approaching the cats face so they can head but your hand. This is how the cat greet each other. Generally they respond well to this.

Scarinae · 30-05-2019 9:09pm

Thanks Arthur for the quick response! The main floor of our house is open plan though, so the living room, dining room and kitchen lead into each other with no doors - as such we can't really leave the room without going upstairs or downstairs, and when we approach the stairs she races ahead of us, so I'm not sure that the message would come across.

The best we can do in our bedroom at night is to lead her out of the bedroom and then shut her out, I read somewhere that any physical touch like picking her up can reinforce the behaviour.

Catt1tude · 01-06-2019 3:48pm

Hi OP,

It sounds like your cats biting and scratching is playful in nature and to trigger a response from you. Cats around the 1 year age mark can have endless energy and combined with the long summer days she maybe more active. If she is an indoor cat she'll require more mental stimulation.

I have an indoor male cat who loved biting and scratching around that age. Our vet advised us not to use our hands or feet to play and always have a toy on us to distract him. We got him a cat tree, varied his toys, increased his playtime and built him an outdoor enclosure where he spends most of his summer watching birds. He no longer bites and scratches and is a very affectionate spoilt cat. Training your cat to use a harness is another option if she is indoor only.

The cat behaviourist Jackson Galaxy has great tips on getting cats to stop biting and catifying your home.

Best of luck OP. Well done on giving Kitty a home and hope some of these tips help with the scratching and biting.

Mollyb60 · 03-06-2019 10:35am

Just wanted to also mention Jackson Galaxy for some advice. His show 'My Cat From Hell' is on youtube where you can see full episodes and the sort of advice he gives the people on the show. It might be useful for you to get some tips on how to deal with your new cat. He's a total over the top American with ridiculous facial hair but his advice is pretty good.
Thankfully our rescue is pretty chilled out but I have read that lightly booping the cat on the nose when she does something wrong is how mother cats show their kittens that they shouldn't do something. And using toys as distraction any time she attacks you. I think at just over a year old she's still basically a kitten and hopefully just needs some more time to settle down and relax. Kittens are just balls of energy and are a million miles away from my super relaxed 5 year old cat. Best of luck with her.

I think it's pretty shocking that the shelter let you take the cat when she hadn't been wormed and had an ear infection. I'd not be going back to that rescue centre anyway!

Scarinae · 05-06-2019 5:45pm

Thanks everyone for the advice, we've started doing more structured playtime as well as getting her a few more toys and a cat tree. I've watched a few Jackson Galaxy videos on youtube as well for some ideas.

I really was starting to despair last week but we've definitely seen some improvement. We've noticed that she is the most active and energetic in the morning and at night, so we've been trying to tire her out then before feeding her. She has got more affectionate again and has gone back to cuddles and purring in the afternoons (I work from home so have been trying to bond with her again during my lunchtimes).

She has stopped attacking our feet on the stairs, and while she still bites us occasionally it is more affectionate biting rather than play biting if that makes sense (we still want to discourage it though!)

We also have a sunroom so I've been leaving that open for her in the afternoons, as she likes basking in the sun and watching the birds. I suppose it has been an adjustment for me as well; I grew up with cats but they all spent a lot of time outdoors and I guess they expended a lot of energy climbing trees and hunting, this is my first time having an indoor cat.

Mollyb60 wrote: »

I think it's pretty shocking that the shelter let you take the cat when she hadn't been wormed and had an ear infection. I'd not be going back to that rescue centre anyway!

I was really surprised by this too! They gave us her health record form the shelter and she got various vaccinations and they gave her a flea treatment too. She had an allergic reaction to the first flea treatment (she lost a patch of fur), which apparently treats worms too, so when she went back a month later they gave her a different flea treatment which maybe isn't as strong or something.

It is strange that they didn't notice the ear infection, especially as she was at the vet to be spayed right before we got her. We didn't know the symptoms to look out for, but when we brought her to a different vet to get treatment for worms they noticed it immediately. She'll be well looked after with us at least!

Rechuchote · 06-06-2019 1:07pm

Are you bringing the kitty to a vet now, or still getting treatments from the rescue place? (Sorry, my ability to take in anything more complex than "D'oh" is down today with this nasty cold.)

Scarinae · 06-06-2019 5:15pm

Rechuchote wrote: »

Are you bringing the kitty to a vet now, or still getting treatments from the rescue place? (Sorry, my ability to take in anything more complex than "D'oh" is down today with this nasty cold.)

The rescue gave her vaccinations and had her spayed before we took her. We registered her with a different vet that is closer to where we live; that's where we got the treatment for the worms and the ear infection, which is now finished. We brought her back to our vet for a follow up check up and all is well, so they said we don't need to bring her back for another year (unless she gets sick or injured of course).

....... · 06-06-2019 5:18pm

It sounds like she was unsocialised when you got her and when she got well and happy with you guys she didnt understand that play was not about being bitey!

We get love nibbles from our girl but she has learned over time not to use teeth or claws in play. Touch the belly at your own risk though.

Rechuchote · 06-06-2019 9:47pm

I wonder if Feliway might be useful? This is a plug-in bottle giving off a pheromone that mimics the scent of a nursing mother cat, with a calming effect.

Any time I've had cats that were neurotic (after homes broke up; in one case, according to the vet, after this and also after at least three months in a cage; in another after eight years of abuse followed by a year of kindness but still a poor paranoid little pussycat), the main treatment I've applied is leaving the cat to him- or herself, in a room alone, and then going in with a radio playing softly and sitting down and reading in the room for an hour or so.

This usually works to calm cats (in my experience) in a couple of weeks; one beloved cat took longer, for the first couple of weeks coming out purring frantically and rubbing against my hand for strokes, then after a couple of strokes biting and slashing and running away, only to repeat this…

They seem to need the long hours of solitude to find their own calm centre, and the non-invasive coming in and spending time in the same room with them, without imposing any attention on them, gives them the chance to make the running and control things.

Worked for me, anyway.

Mollyb60 · 07-06-2019 8:40am

....... wrote: »

Touch the belly at your own risk though.

So true. Even our gentle kitty isn't a fan of the belly rub. It's the only time she's ever took a swipe at me and I learned my lesson pretty quickly.

Graces7 · 07-06-2019 12:40pm

My three "new" rescues" are still going through what I call recovery phases from their lives as young street cats. I documented the wee lass who was traumatised by doors here way back?

She too was over affectionate in those days; would literally take my wrist prisoner with a deafening purr for long periods every day.

That stopped after we had the hour long battle to get her to come in by the door. After that the ongoing door trauma.. she would steel herself, take a deep breath and rush in.

Now when she wants in, she yells outside the door like a "normal " cat! And plays bedmice..

Sometimes she will seek contact, other times not

The wee lad? He rolls over, belly up all the time. Not in affection but as a placatory means to avoid ???violence???

He has the softest, whitest belly I ever saw and loves to be rubbed.. .rolls and wriggles in sheer bliss.

They go through phases these strays and rescues. patience is all we can offer them and acceptance of their stages.. and not taking any of it personally or a s "abnormal"

My three in six months have come on mightily and wondrously but I am always aware of new issues. Many have clearly had to literally had to fight for food and survival.

And their actual interaction with us, even when not fun, is an acceptance of us and a testing.

And so wondrous when I go for an early walk and all five cats tag along. maybe one day I will remember to take the camera out..

....... · 07-06-2019 12:42pm

Mollyb60 wrote: »

So true. Even our gentle kitty isn't a fan of the belly rub. It's the only time she's ever took a swipe at me and I learned my lesson pretty quickly.

We call it Danger Belly - she shows it and we want it but we cant touch it

:D:D

Richard308 · 07-06-2019 12:44pm

Contact Jackson Galaxy and he will make an episode of my cat from hell. And we will all get to see an interesting episode and he’ll get a holiday.

Graces7 · 07-06-2019 3:06pm

....... wrote: »

We call it Danger Belly - she shows it and we want it but we cant touch it :D:D

lol... danger all round as my lad will suddenly roll over and demand a rub right in my path and just a matter of time before he trips me..

....... · 07-06-2019 3:15pm

Graces7 wrote: »

lol... danger all round as my lad will suddenly roll over and demand a rub right in my path and just a matter of time before he trips me..

Thats the Danger Roll, not to be confused with the Danger Trip - which is just when they walk in under your feet while you walk (and look horrified if you trip over them as though you are evil for kicking them!!).

Graces7 · 08-06-2019 6:46am

....... wrote: »

Thats the Danger Roll, not to be confused with the Danger Trip - which is just when they walk in under your feet while you walk (and look horrified if you trip over them as though you are evil for kicking them!!).

lol... this wee lad has now learned how to open the outside door ... wonder how many houses he managed to get into in his street cat days...

Graces7 · 10-06-2019 2:40pm

....... wrote: »

Thats the Danger Roll, not to be confused with the Danger Trip - which is just when they walk in under your feet while you walk (and look horrified if you trip over them as though you are evil for kicking them!!).

Thanks for this as it struck a chord here as it is not what this boy is doing ( If you see what I mean)

Not play etc. but a scared reaction of subjugation,

Last week he had a scratch on his neck and I reached out too swiftly to check it., POW! Over on his back he went.
Last night I moved to pet his head and again his reaction was exaggerated and went on much longer. On his back in the path, utter subjugation for a long while and a look in his eyes I never thought to see. He has been hit. Rolls over in submission to avoid it. ie if I do not react they will not hit me MAKES ME SO ANGRY, but empowers me to move him forward gently. He was the last of the three to encourage physical contact
So thank you.. I understand now.

....... · 10-06-2019 2:44pm

Graces7 wrote: »

Thanks for this as it struck a chord here as it is not what this boy is doing ( If you see what I mean)

Not play etc. but a scared reaction of subjugation,

Last week he had a scratch on his neck and I reached out too swiftly to check it., POW! Over on his back he went.
Last night I moved to pet his head and again his reaction was exaggerated and went on much longer. On his back in the path, utter subjugation for a long while and a look in his eyes I never thought to see. He has been hit. Rolls over in submission to avoid it. ie if I do not react they will not hit me MAKES ME SO ANGRY, but empowers me to move him forward gently. He was the last of the three to encourage physical contact
So thank you.. I understand now.

Oh - my cat does a full submission roll in the vets. It is full submission, its different to Danger Roll which is playful.

Im sure my girl had bad experiences before I got to her but I dont think she was hit, just scared and unsure when we first got her.

Graces7 · 10-06-2019 2:51pm

OP, I reread your post and it is early days with your little one. with rescues it can take months as it is doing with my three new ones who came in early November.

The small fluffy girl was just like yours in commandeering my wrist with a deafening purr for hours a day. When she felt safer, she progressed to being terrified of the door. and even now she sometimes prefrs not to be petted so I ask "permission" every time by holding out my hand and if she touches it, fine. The day she started playing bedmice was a landmark!

and you mean nipped not a bite that breaks the skin? Cat contact when they have still to learn our skin is not like theirs. I used to say OUCH! loudly immediately. One of ,my Siamese was a nipper,, hurts!

She will go through many stages in her settling with you. My oldest, 15 hates a raised voice as he clearly got shouted at as a kitten. Some things stay with them .

It is a huge change coming to a loving new home; sounds healthy and normal,

I am now trying to stop the wee boy from degrading himslef for fear of violence he will never encounter here and learning the triggers ..

Graces7 · 10-06-2019 2:55pm

....... wrote: »

Oh - my cat does a full submission roll in the vets. It is full submission, its different to Danger Roll which is playful.

Im sure my girl had bad experiences before I got to her but I dont think she was hit, just scared and unsure when we first got her.

I hope the vet appreciates it.. It has taken six months for this lad to let me see what he has been through. I am honoured. he is the one asleep in that photo. He is a happy lad and a keen hunter.. they had takeaway hare yesterday. :eek: Just that one gesture does it though.

wonderful critters!

Pythagorean · 12-06-2019 10:37am

I have seen that programme "Cats from Hell", and while it is of interest, I believe a more appropriate title would be "Cat owners from Hell" Most of the owners haven't a clue about feline nature, behaviour, etc, they are usually their own worst enemy.

Graces7 · 12-06-2019 12:18pm

Pythagorean wrote: »

I have seen that programme "Cats from Hell", and while it is of interest, I believe a more appropriate title would be "Cat owners from Hell" Most of the owners haven't a clue about feline nature, behaviour, etc, they are usually their own worst enemy.

I only watched one episode..:eek: There are problem cats though . But as you say rightly, they are cats with their own natures and needs.

Scarinae · 12-06-2019 4:55pm

OP again here - while there's definitely been improvement with her, she's still so energetic and wants to play all the time. If we don't play with her enough she gets bitey, attacks cables or cardboard boxes, jumps on my desk and starts knocking stuff like pens off to bat around on the floor etc. There have been some days we've played with her for over an hour in total and it still doesn't seem to be enough. We have had to shut her out of our room at night because she'll curl up at first, but start biting our feet at night (probably when we move in our sleep).

I'm travelling for work at the moment and my fiancé is having trouble keeping her occupied by himself. We're starting to wonder if we should transition her to being an outdoor cat as this will give her more mental stimulation and she can burn off some energy running around. Despite the fact that both of us grew up with semi-outdoor cats, I'm nervous about something happening to her, like getting hit by a car or getting into fights with other cats while trying to establish her territory. My fiancé reckons she'll be fine standing up for herself with other cats, but is more worried about cars. Would this be a good idea?

....... · 12-06-2019 5:18pm

If you live near a road then no.

The main cause of death in suburban cats is being hit by a car. They dont have road sense.

We had an indoor/outdoor cat when we lived in an apartment that had extensive grounds and the cat was quite a homebird and would wander the gardens a bit but never went any further.

So if you live somewhere where there is no nearby road or a quiet road then maybe but otherwise, no.

Graces7 · 13-06-2019 6:32am

Maybe add a second cat? They will keep each other entertained and nip each other rather than you...it is jus t play-nips , accepting you as a fellow cat, not aggression.

She is just playing and needs to do that. My three young ones play together a lot.

"Bedmice" is a great game... My three youngsters sleep in the kitchen and just the sedate older two on my bed

Also toys with catnip are good play aids and will distract her from you

Also what are you feeding? Maybe hyper due to food? Mine get raw chicken, bones and all and are out like lights.

Agree re not out if near roads. She may also be miserable out there; maybe just one of those cats who has to be with her people ?

Catt1tude · 13-06-2019 1:22pm

Hi OP,

Glad to hear her biting has decreased with all the playtime. Was she an outdoor cat before you gave her a home and she became indoor, if so it make take a little longer for her to adjust?

There are always risks in letting a cat outdoors but it really depends on the cat. Some can be streetwise. If you are worried about the risks here are are a few options to try before making her an indoor/outdoor cat

1) Building her an outdoor enclosure. We build one for less than E200 which is accessed through a window and can be easily dismantled. If you know someone handy they make be able to help.

2) As Graces7 mentioned getting her a playmate. They would tire each other out.

3) Getting her a harness so she can safely access outdoors and burn off energy. My cat took to it quickly.

4) Interactive toys for feeding and playing.

You also have the option of cat proofing your garden if you do decide to leave her out.
Best of luck OP. It is still early days and you've all made great progress considering she is only with you since early May.

New Home · 13-06-2019 11:13pm

Re 3) above, watch out, because determined cats CAN slip out of them, even though they seem well-secured. And I am speaking from experience.

Graces7 · 14-06-2019 8:10am

New Home wrote: »

Re 3) above, watch out, because determined cats CAN slip out of them, even though they seem well-secured. And I am speaking from experience.

yep; their front legs are kind of double jointed and very supple

Hope you caught the escapee

Graces7 · 14-06-2019 8:20am

Forgive my enthusiasm please...

The two small black cats in the centre are two of the yearlings i took in from rescue last winter. They had not known each other until then but as you see, they play-fight together with great glee, race about, and are to be found curled up together on their rug. I have no doubt teeth are in good form...

NB I live on a very small island with almost no road traffic so they are free to roam and are safe here.

Someone I knew used to speak of "skin hunger"; cats are very tactile and have a higher body temp than we have. As you have found they need body contact. I have only once kept a single cat in my forty plus years of cats.

It took mine a few months to settle in fully but I am sure that having a feline companion helped greatly.

Scarinae · 14-06-2019 8:13pm

Thanks again for all the suggestions, I really appreciate it! I don't want to let her outside, it was almost a last resort idea because I'm not sure how to burn off all her energy. We live in a suburban area, out the front our road is basically a cul-de-sac but there is a busier road two streets over out the back and I know cats can roam pretty far.

We don't know a huge amount about her background but we think she was an outdoor cat - she was taken to the shelter from a rural area, there were nine cats taken in at the same time. That's about all we know.

Can food really be a factor in making her hyper? We feed her wet and dry food twice a day - we give her a quarter of a small can each mealtime, and we premeasure out the dry food for each day so she always gets the same amount as we figured it would be really easy to overfeed her if we were doing it by sight. I don't think we're overfeeding her, if anything she meows for food all the time. I've read it is common for Russian Blues to overeat though (she is not a pure Russian Blue but we think she is at least partly of this breed - she has the colour and the body type, but her eyes are yellow rather than green)
We have tried not to give her any human food as we don't want her begging while we're eating our meals, although one time she did shove her face into a pot of yoghurt that my fiancé left unattended

I don't know if an outdoor enclosure would make a huge difference, we already have a sunroom and we open the windows for her when we're at home (there are screens so she can't get out) This way she gets the fresh air, garden smells, watches birds etc.

I would consider another cat but my fiancé is less sure, he is worried that it will just double our problem if the cats don't like each other. If we did go down this route we would need another young cat with lots of energy, but how would we know if they would get on? I couldn't adopt a second cat and then give them back

I don't think there was another cat at the shelter she was bonded with, she hadn't been spayed until just before we got her so they kept her separate from the others.

Would a kitten be a good way to go maybe? They'd have lots of energy too, but she wouldn't feel as threatened by them coming into her space?

She clearly craves affection and wants to be near us but just does it in a biting, nipping way a lot of the time. We got a toy that moves by itself (like this one) and she likes playing with it for a short time, but then comes and looks at us as if to say "Why aren't you playing with me instead of this thing?"

She likes to groom my fiancé's hair, she'll often sit on the back of the sofa and lick his head or she'll sit beside him and lick his arm hair - but then if he tries to pet her she'll swipe at him. He's been finding it hard to keep her occupied while I've been away this week. We have these sort of rubber things on the wall that you can clip cables into and keep things tidy, he told me she chewed one of those the other day until she actually bled :eek: She is a sweet cat and I want her to be happy with us, but it worries me that she seems stressed out and is chewing things (including us!)

Rescue cat has started biting us all the time

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