[blomhed]

Hi!
My partner and I have a kitten, Muffin, who has just turned 1 year old.
She is an adorable cat, very pretty. A few months back Muffin was hit by a car,
however managed to walk back home and find us. She has a lot of problems and ended up
having her back left leg amputated. She has recovered well!
However that is not the issue. The problem we are having with Muffin is that she is very
rough when it comes to me. Ever since we bought her she liked to scratch and bite my feet, and then moved on the hands, wrists, arms etc etc. Whether I am standing still, lying down or walking - she will attack. It was ok at first at it was playful, but now I am left with scars on my feet and ankles and it really hurts when she bites and scratches me.
We stopped listening to the pet shop people who said 'she will grow out of it' because she clearly hasnt. We used to spray her with water until we discovered she loves water (and loves hopping in the shower!) so we tried a mixture of lemon juice, vinegar and water - still no change.
We noticed different tinned foods made her more hyper than others so have changed her diet. A woman in a pet shop gave some great advice - one piece was to take out tinned food and only offer real chick, beef, mince, rice etc.
This worked well for about a week and now Muffin has decided she doesnt like the chicken and rice any more and refuses to eat it.
She is pretty much an inside cat, but is let outside once a day for a few hours. (Since being hit by the car we are a bit wary of letting her outside)
She loves toys and has heaps, plus a large climbing/scratching play fort and also a smaller scratching post.
We are all out of ideas as to how to stop her attacking me. With my partner and other people, she will still bite and scratch although not nearly as bad as with me.
She has never been very cat-like - eg, we have never been able to hold her, or pat her. and the closest she will get is to fall asleep just next to one of us.
Does any body have an ideas or advice?

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[vengeancethecat]

That's a tough one and I admit I've never had that problem. My boys play fight with me but whenever they get too rough I make a loud sound and then turn away to stop the playing. They don't really play fight with me too much now that they are older though.

I'm sorry, I don't have any suggestions other than a vet visit to see if there is any reason as to why she is acting like this - maybe something medical is going on.

Otherwise maybe try some rescue remedy in her water or a feliway diffuser which apparently helps calm kitties down.

Oh, and btw welcome to CW

[Miss Bronte]

Welcome!

Meat and rice isn't a complete diet - a good quality dry/tinned food with some raw meaty bones may help - check the packaging for artificial colours, flavours & preservatives as they can send some animals and people a bit hyper. There are lots of threads on here about nutrition so have a read and find something that suits her. Even common brands such as Friskies Feast are full of colours so I have now switched to Eagle Pack tinned, Artemis Maximal dry plus raw meaty bones/raw meat.

However, I suspect that her behaviour has more to do with her background than anything else. The critical age for socialisation is between 2 and 7 weeks. It is quite possible that, as you seem to have purchased her from a pet shop (not sure if I've got that right but it's not something I would ever recommend), she missed out on this important time for having lots of positive contact with humans. All the breeders on here and those that foster (like myself) put in a lot of time to ensure kittens are well socialised and happy to be handled. Plus, from the very beginning all my babies are taught that human flesh is NOT for scratching or biting so if you have let her get away with it because it was "play" it's hard now for her to know it's not. It's quite a common mistake so don't feel too bad! So, essentially, there is no going back on what has been done. There are, however, a couple of things you can do to help - firstly, making sure she is fit and healthy and not in pain is a given. When you pat her only pat her on the head between the ears and for a very short period (even for 10 seconds at 1 stroke per second) - this is how friendly and familiar cats groom each other and is quite possibly a reflection of human petting. Always stop petting before she has had enough - the same with picking her up. Play lots of interactive games with her to give her an outlet for her energy - get some glove toys to protect your hand and stop the game if she attacks you instead of the toy. Make her work for her food - throw dry food the length of the hallway for her to chase, put dry food in a treat ball and feed hard to eat foods if you want to feed raw (e.g. chicken wings/necks, large chunks of meat). You need to tire this cat out!!! You could talk to your vet about some medical intervention to manage the behaviour whilst you re-train her - I'm not sure but maybe something like Chlomicalm could help. Rescue Remedy is something you could add to her food and the Feliway diffusers MAY help but I suspect they will not be enough. Her behaviour should hopefully improve with age as well. If she scratches/bites perhaps you need to consider placing in her in another room to calm down for a few minutes - this may or may not work - it really depends on the cat and the relationship you have with her.

If you possibly can, I would not let her out as she would have trouble getting away from a threat such as an aggressive dog. An enclosure would be a great option

I don't feel as though I've helped that much but hopefully it's a start.

Good luck and best wishes!

This post has been edited by Miss Bronte: 13 September 2009 - 07:02 PM

[Roland Deschain]

Welcome to CW

[blomhed]

we have tried nearly all brands of tinned food, 90% of them making muffin more hyper.
i am trying to introduce raw food, however she is not keen. the chicken wings and necks seemed to disgust her- she was not happy with me at all for serving them up! i tried some mince, she ate a little but then left it. she has acccess to dry kitten bickies however im concerned she is going hungry. she is extremely fussy and isnt the type to get so hungry she will eat whatevers going.

[vengeancethecat]

From my experience with fussy eaters, is that they will always eventually eat. Not saying that you should let her starve until she eats, but do as you are doing and always let her have access to biccies as she will definitely eat them if she is hungry (even if its after a day or so).

[Winscar]

Some cats actually prefer dry for their food intake.
Get good quality dry food like Hills, Royal Canin, Iams and maybe mix some together. There are indoor, hairball and oral care ones.
Then everynow and then when you are cooking something give her a try .... human grade is always better.

Cats dont go hungry unless there is a medical reason attached.

[blomhed]

we will definitly be trying muffin on a different dry food.
does anybody think her diet has anything to do with her behaviour?

[fleabag]

Hmm I think you need to be tougher on her ..I know she's had a rough time of it ..but when she starts to bite or scratch ..you say firmly NO!!! squeal as if you're mortally wounded and ignore her ..if she continues ..put her on the floor ..if she STILL carries on ..and she may ..then a short time out in the bathroom or a spare room with the door closed. This wont make her think better like a kid might but gives her time to calm down.
I think ..and shoot me if you must...... grin ..she is spoilt rotten and is playing you BIG time ...lol...
I'd get a good quality dry food ..perhaps one of the foods for cats with allergies ar first ..and leave it out for her during the day. Remove over night and offer a main meal ..of raw or canned..like Fancy Feast in the morning ..
See how she goes...
I'd also get some Rescue Remedy and put a few drops in her waterbowl.
And no more going out ..she cant defend herself or run fast enough.

[blomhed]

thanks for your advice.
i have tried the 'time out' with muffin, and find being locked up makes her more jumpy and hyper and more inclined to have a go at me.
the more i ignore her, or push her away or make noise - the more she thinks its a game and bites harder.
what makes you think she is spoilt?
and i refuse to make her 24/7 indoor cat. my mums cat lost his same back leg around the same age as muffin, and he is an outdoor cat and has survived just fine. i dont think it is fair on muffin to be locked inside all the time when there is fun to be had in the backyard.

[vengeancethecat]

I guess the RR is the best thing to try and then go from there.

As to, not making her an indoor cat that is your decision. But plenty of cats live happily indoors. My 6 live indoors only but I have provided plenty of entertainment for them (hole house is pretty much a cat enclosure that my cats have permitted me to share!) They have an abundance of climbing frames, toys, boxes, bags etc.

I only have 2 cats that are interested in going outside: Vengeance I take out on the harness and Paddy-Lim I let come outside when I hang out the washing. He is never outside unsupervised. I am slowly enclosing my yard so that they can go outside but I won't let them outside when I am not home as I fear them somehow escaping and I won't be there to save them!

Do you own your house? Is there any possiblity for you to enclose your yard so that Muffin will be free to enjoy your backyard but not able to venture out on to the road or anything?

This post has been edited by vengeancethecat: 13 September 2009 - 09:49 PM

[blomhed]

muffin is fully entertained inside, she has more stuff than i do!
we are renting so are unable to enclose the yard, however we are way back off the street.
muffin never ventures further than the house in front of us, the one time she went a bit further she got hit by a car, so i doubt she will be doing that again.
i only let her out in the daylight, and always leave the door open so she can come back in when she wants. she seems calmer after a good run outside

[Inca]

i only let her out in the daylight, and always leave the door open so she can come back in when she wants. she seems calmer after a good run outside

with respect and welcome to C-W there are many many dangers outside for cats ( as you have discovered with her being hit by a car) ..she is also a danger to native wildlife and birds. You will find that most of us here have indoor only cats or those with access to completely safe outdoor areas.

not wandering 'far' does not make her safer.........please reconsider for her health and safety