Hi,
I love cats, I grew up around cats and used to volunteer rehoming stray cats when I went through university. As soon as I had stable accommodation going through university I got a kitten from the vet. We jokingly called her Siri because she never did what we expected. She was found on the street and wasn't interacting with the other kittens but played with the toy I got. I remember when we chose her one of the vet assistants said "she might miss the other kittens", but the vet assistant was like "I don't think she will even notice".
She has always been aggressive cat. Scratching, getting angry, whenever she wants something she tends to scratch. The vet initially blamed it on not being desexed, but getting her desexed didn't help the problem. We tried to make her an inside cat for the first 6 months of her life but she kept escaping into our little yard. She now goes outside, but she doesn't go very far. She doesn't like being petted from the front but happy to accept pets when she can't see the hand. She also struggles with other cats++ We once had a ragdoll kitten in the house and Siri hid in a corner even though the kitten was locked in the laundry. The whole time the kitten was in the house, Siri was in the corner and only came out to scratch us.
There are a few strange things about this cat which we have regarded as quirks, but some are more worrying then others.
- she repeatedly asks for food, but then doesn't eat it, even if its food she usually really likes
- if you give her food she doesn't like, she can get aggressive. We have spent many years figuring out what she likes but obviously its hard to know what she wants
- sometimes she asks for food when there is already food in her bowl. We pick her up and put her in front of the bowl and then she will start eating it
- if it rains she can get aggressive
- we have tried to discipline her with spraying her with water - she likes the spray bottle
- she has had problems when going to a kennel, sometimes she is fine, but other times the kennel has had to isolate her for being "anti social"
- if she sits on you, or near you, and you move, she scratches
- I come from a family that loves cats, but I can't leave her with any of my family. Basically my cat scares them so much that they have gone from adopting strays to exclusively getting ragdolls
- often she acts friendly with complete strangers, (brushing up against them) and lures them in for pets but will scratch them if they try. Happens a lot with kids who see her on my front porch
- she knows she is in the wrong when she scratches, because she scratches and then runs away
- i have looked after much friendlier stray cats in the past
We very much get the feeling sometimes that when she gets angry it is because she cannot control us. We think that she thinks that we cause the rain for example. Getting angry when the food we have put out is the not the one she likes. I have read many blogs on cat aggression. Sometimes we can see she is getting worked up, but other times it is completely out of the blue. A lot of the triggers are not within our control.
I am really upset right now because I was exercising outside under shelter (and it is raining) and she seemed super happy and was sitting near me as I was exercising as a source of heat. Purring etc. Then I started stretching as I finished. However as I moved she attacked my head with multiple claws. I am bleeding on the inner side of my nose, my forehead and my scalp. She came very close to my eye. The only thing I did was move as I was stretching.
She likes spending time around us. We do enjoy her quirks most of the time. Its just that when she lashes out it can be kinda dangerous for us. I am super worried because I want to have a baby. I also don't want to have to worry about a cat scratching my eye.
I am really upset right now. I am worried that because one day she might really hurt us or our baby.
Others in the family have said that we should put her down. I very much disagree with the idea of ever putting down a cat. To date I have taken the approach of not investing in preventative care for her and overfeeding her in the hope that it leads to chronic disease in her, but as a stray cat she is also incredibly healthy as per the vet.
Any suggestions would be appreciated
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/i6eu9o/struggling_with_cat_aggression/
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