oh and no my son didn't do anything other than pick him up. Whats the good in having a cat you can't hold.

 

no, this isn't good at all. you put anti-biotic ointment on, I hope? cat claw punctures can get infected easily.

is your cat's claws trimmed well back? I keep my cats' claws trimmed, and I think it would take some force to break the skin if they swiped me.

sorry to hear that. can you keep the cat clear of your son until the cat's behavior is more acceptable?

 

yes, I put him in the garage for tonight. This cat is very mean, and starting to scare me.

I don't have him trimmed. I will pick up some trimmers tomorrow, but I am terrified to trim his claws.

I put antibiotic on it right away.

Thanks.

 

probably you should have a professional trim the claws until he's used to having it done.

 

oh and no my son didn't do anything other than pick him up. Whats the good in having a cat you can't hold.

unfortunaltey, some cat's just dont like to be held, but there is still plenty of good in having them, if you give them love on their terms. Also, punishing with water is not really effective with most cats, as they associate the punishment with YOU, not the bad behaviour. Try interacting with him slowly, like sitting in a room with him, and letting him come to YOU for affection. When he comes to you, pat him gently, but read his body language and let him tell you what he's comfortable with. In the mean time, until you understand what it is he likes, and are comfortable with reading his body language, I wouldn't suggest picking him up.

 

I hear your frustration! I am the Mother of 4...I would not be happy either. Have you tried Da'Bird toy....your son would have alot of fun playing with the cat with it and they could do some bonding.

Some cats just refuse to be held, unless on their terms of course.
Your son, at age 7, should be able to understand that...and if you get Da'Bird toy....he will have just as much fun using it to play with the cat.

 

well, that is like having a baby and not being able to hold or cuddle with it for us. We want to hold our kitty. He does understand that he can't hold him now lol.

 

I know its not as much fun.....
How old is the cat and how long has she lived with you?

I almost re-homed MiMi after she attacked me and I am so happy I stuck with her.....after she was spayed....she is the nicest friendliest cat in the world....the same cat that attacked me.

 

Unfortunately, with a cat who doesn't like to be held or picked up, the more you attempt to pick up and hold him, the more he will dislike it and the "meaner" he will get. I've met a lot of cats who go through a very "untouchable" period between 6-18 months (it's like dealing with a teenager who doesn't want hugs from mom and dad). All touching has to be on their terms or they'll fight it, and will get violent if they have to, just to get their point across. Neutering may well help with this, but it also may just take time for him to get through his adolescent phase. Kids especially can (inadvertantly) be very offensive to cats because of their quick movements, high voices, and exuberant energy....they don't mean to do it, but it happens. My cat, BTW, is downright dangerous around kids (cannot be exposed to them at all, ever, under any circumstances) and unpredictable with strangers (especially women), and was very hard to deal with for about the first year she lived with us, so sometimes these things take quite some time to even begin to resolve. I lost track of how many times in thise first months Assumpta spazzed out and clawed, bit, growled, hissed, and just generally acted like she wanted me dead. All I could do was provide a quiet and predictable enviroment and let her come to me when she decided she wanted to...I think if I had pushed the issue or forced her, she'd be a very different cat today.

 

Some cats don't like to be held; heck, only one of our cats really enjoys it :roll: You can't make them like being held. This is a cat, not a doll. I think he's made it clear he doesn't like it, your son (inadvertantly) pushed the issue, and the cat laid down the law. He's made a boundary and it needs to be respected.

 

Whats the good in having a cat you can't hold.

Thats an interesting comment. I don't know anyone who expects that out of a cat considering they are such independent creatures. I have 3 cats and none of them like to be held, so do many others on this site but we love them for all their other traits. Maybe you should adopt a dog for you son instead.

 

PearlJAtlanta: Here is a thread that I posted last year about my viscious cat that displays pics of some of the stuff he did to my sister.

http://www.catforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=8568

The thread offers some advice...not sure what advice you are looking for though because it was mainly a debate about declawing...even though my cats problem wasn't really his claws. In a nutshell, I got him declawed and it TOTALLY calmed him down and he doesn't attack and bite us NEARLY as much. Read that thread though, if nothing else, I at least know how you feel being the owner of such a viscious cat. Mine was so bad that the vet called me and told me to pick him up a day early because even they couldn't handle his violent behavior!

Good luck and definently keep us posted!!

 

Hey Thanks everybody. I would like a dog and so would my son, but we want to wait until we are able to have a fence out back.

I do understand that cat's do not like to be held a lot. I've had cats all my life. Most of the one's that I have had tho, did want to be held. I've had a couple that didn't, but , they didnt scratch us up each day, and bite us just because they wanted to. I had one that scratched my sons arm once when he was holding him, and the cat was startled by a bus coming by. He scratched him real good. I've been scratched when a cat I was holding was outside and wanted down, and I Kept holding him.

But just not for anything. This cat will come up while we are sitting down and just scratch us.

He bit me and left his teeth prints a few weeks back. I love Simba. I've had him for only 8 months now. But, he has been with me that long every minute of the day. He, only in the last month to two months has been this way. I know it is possibly our fault. I have learned to not treat cats like we are cats when we play with them as kittens.

Anyway, I have a girlfriend that knows a vet, and the vet knew someone who wanted a good clean healthy cat, and I decided to give Simba to them, because I know these people will be able to care for him. They have no children, and love animals.

In return, my friends vet friend found us this sweet little girl cat. She is 5 months old. Very sweet. Simba was sweet also. He was just a little too aggressive for us. He will make someone an awesome pet.
I cried so much when we were leaving him. He watched us and watched as we walked away. He knew we were leaving him. You could see it in his eyes. It was not easy. I hope he likes his new home.

 

Well, it sounds like you made a tough decision, but the best one for everybody. What's most important is that he still has a great home where he is loved, just as he was with you. Sometimes certain cats don't mesh with certain environments, and it could be that Simba needed a quieter house with no kids and more space to himself.

*hugs*

I can't imagine how frustrating and difficult these past few days and weeks must have been. Keep us posted (no pun intended ) on the new kitty girl and how it all goes with her

 

Thank you very much. It has been hard, and was a tough decision, but I had to do it while I had the chance to put him into a good home.

Simba will be missed. He was a very special cat, and I will never forget him. I know we did the right thing also, and I am proud we were able to find someone who wanted him. We wanted him, but he was just too aggressive with us and we didn't know how to handle him.

Our new kitten is 5 months old. She looks like a baby up to Simba who was only 8 months old. She is very sweet and loving. We clipped her paws. I went by pet smart and got a clipper, and let my husband clip them down. Then we bathed her. She stays right at my feet as if she doesn't want us to leave her alone. She doesn't like us to hold or restrain her, but jumps up in our lap and lays down. She is so precious. I will take a picture of her and post it.

She is a blackish Gray cat with a white spot on her face and under her chin is white all the way down her tummy. She has white back legs and feet, and her from legs are blackish gray and her feet are white. She is so cute.

 

this has been a tough time for you. you did your best, and in the end, Simba has a new home, so it works out for him, too. sorry he couldn't stay, but sometimes things don't work out the way we'd like. let us know when you get your new kitty home and how things work out.

 

Thank you

 

I'm glad you found a solution that works for you. You don't mention anything about this, which I'm concerned about, if the new people are aware that he has a biting/scratching issue from inappropriate kitten training. I'd hate to hear down the road that he was surrendered again because the people didn't have the patience and know-how to retrain him properly.

I hope Simba's happy at his new home.

 

I am glad you were able to find a solution; I think it's wonderful that you took it upon yourself to find Simba a family and not just dump him in a shelter.

Congratulations on your new kitty! Can't wait to see pictures! She sounds like a doll.