[greenparrot]

Hi!
I stumbled upon this forum while searching for some information on cats aggression.

I am a new cat owned, I've only had Jaxson for about 5 months now and before that I was a dog owner
I LOVE my cat and I am so lucky to have him

I'm hoping I can get some help about my cat's aggression. He is a 13 lb male cat who is about a year and 1/2 old. He is part maine **** and I believe I am his 3rd home in his short life but luckily he will stay with me till the end

I am assuming his other owners got rid of him due to aggression issues that can be quite hard to deal with at times. Usually we are playing and he is having fun. He scratches me but for this I don't get mad because I choose to play with him. But sometimes he can get quite aggressive. I can see the change in is attitude when he is no longer playing. The problem is he is very dominant and revengeful. So when he starts getting to aggressive I "scruff" him (grab his scruff and push his head down) I've learned that most cats will then slink away. Instead, Jaxson will then get even more angry and more aggressive. I don't know how to put him in his place without hurting him but sometimes he latches on to my arm or leg and just sinks his teeth in

Any Suggestions? Any at all would be appreciated because sometimes I feel that I am at my wits end

I should mention that most of the time he is well behaved and lovable with only minor issues that I deal with as they come (sometimes dealing with these minor issues causes him to get mad and bite me)

 

[BotanyBlack]

Welcome and congrats on your cat.

Ok first of all scruffing and "putting him in his place" isn't going to work without eventually making him wary of you. It is actually better when you see him change from playful to not, to say "no" walk away and ignore.. After awhile he will associate getting ignored with no playtime. Just keep an eye on his body language and you both will be happier.

It sounds like he gets over stimulated at times when the play gets going full force. give him time to calm down, he will approach you when he is ready to go again. Some cats can only handle so much stimulation before they have to stop. I have had several like this.

Watch the body language of the cat and always stop petting/playing as soon as you see the signs of over stimulation. Often a cat is content to just stay quietly nearby. By consistently stopping stroking/playing before the cat gets to the overstimulation point, the amount of time it takes to get the point of overstimulation should get longer. Over a period of time some cats will no longer get overstimulated if they are never brought to this point. From this practice, it seems that some cases of overstimulation behavior can be slowly eliminated.

 

[cooncatbob]

I agree with BB, has this cat been neutered?

 

[greenparrot]

Welcome and congrats on your cat.

Ok first of all scruffing and "putting him in his place" isn't going to work without eventually making him wary of you. It is actually better when you see him change from playful to not, to say "no" walk away and ignore.. After awhile he will associate getting ignored with no playtime. Just keep an eye on his body language and you both will be happier.

It sounds like he gets over stimulated at times when the play gets going full force. give him time to calm down, he will approach you when he is ready to go again. Some cats can only handle so much stimulation before they have to stop. I have had several like this.

Watch the body language of the cat and always stop petting/playing as soon as you see the signs of over stimulation. Often a cat is content to just stay quietly nearby. By consistently stopping stroking/playing before the cat gets to the overstimulation point, the amount of time it takes to get the point of overstimulation should get longer. Over a period of time some cats will no longer get overstimulated if they are never brought to this point. From this practice, it seems that some cases of overstimulation behavior can be slowly eliminated.

Thanks I will def try this. I do tend to want to keep playing with him even after he is agitated so I will have to play close attention

 

[greenparrot]

yes he is neutered

 

[Harts]

My cat does the same thing. He will want attention and will be purring, and I will be petting him, and all of a sudden his eyes get huge, and he attacks me and bites me. He doesn't do this to my husband. I usually clap my hands, or walk away from him, but I sometimes have to close the door because he chases me. 5 minutes later he is back to his normal lovable self. It's like he gets possessed for a short time.