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 Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:35 pm
I have a three-year-old tabby, named Octavian, who I love very much and am happy to have had since he was a kitten. He's a wonderful companion who is playful, intelligent, and absolutely hilarious, however... he bites. Where this is normal cat behavior that I've seen in many of the cats I've had over the years, I've never had a cat this aggressive before.
I expect a bit of biting when "rough-housing" and playing with him or when I bother him when he doesn't want to be bothered with, and frankly, I'm okay with that, it's the unprovoked attacks that I'm concerned with.
Like when I'm sitting at my computer and he jumps up onto the desk and bites my arm for no apparent reason. Or when he stalks my sister and I through the house, only to attack us when we come near him. Or when he chases one of us down and leaps to attack our legs (he ripped a hole in a pair of my jeans once). Or when he bit my sister and it resulted in an infection and her getting a tetanus shot this summer... It's very disconcerting that he does this to us, and even more so when he started doing it to guests to our home.
He is not a small cat by any means. He is twelve and a half pounds of muscle and is 33 inches from nose to the tip of his tail. When he stretches he can reach up to 43 inches. When he bites, he does so very hard, has an almost three inch bite, and often drags his teeth so that when he's done, it looks like he scratched us instead.
We've taken him to a vet who after doing some research, believes he may have an anxiety disorder and has prescribed Prozac for him. He has been on the medication for two and a half months now, and although there has been improvements and a decrease in the unprovoked attacks, he does on occasion lapse back into his "old habits". We, my sister, our vet, and myself, eventually would like him to be off the medication and so have started the behavioral modification/training as a result. We've started clicker training him, which he responses well to, and have started a more consistent play/exercise schedule for him as he is an indoor cat.
So I have a couple of questions in regards to my angry (not so) bitty kitty:
1. Does anyone else have a cat on Prozac or similar medication? If so, have you noticed any side effects to the medication?
and
2. Does anyone have any additional tips or training that may be beneficial in calming him down?
Any suggestions would be helpful and appreciated!
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Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:46 am
Well my kitty isn't on prozac but... i do understand what our saying.
My late kittie, princess was the type to hunt you through the house and attack you, she didn't have problems though i was guessing just some anger problems (seeing as how we moved quite a bit) but keeping her locked in a room for all day with her litter and food calmed her down, at the end of the day when i went into the room she was cuddely and it progressivly got better each time i locked her in the room.
My kitten that i am handling right now, loves to bite, like by love i mean he will bite you and then let his tounge flail on your hand, lol! Although he is only a kitten and i know babys must put everything in their mouths, i am somewhat leiniant with him. I just hold him by the nape, it calms cats down, because its what their mother does and stuff.
hope it helpes
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Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:40 am
i've no advice, i'm just here to sympathize. i know what it's like to have a cat who attacks you unprovoked. my friend's cat is like that. oi. it was painful being around him. literally.
one of my cats, grumbles, is very cranky and has quite a temper. but all her attacks are provoked. i can't help it, she's so cute when she's mad. but i'm getting lots of scars on my hands and arms, so i need to lay off bugging her.
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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 7:15 pm
This is a bit late, so I'm not sure if it'll help or not. With any luck your kitty is doing better and is getting off the meds before long. :3
Side effects to Prozac aren't that uncommon in cats, though most of them are relatively minor. Mostly behavioural effects, loss of appetite and the like. Definitely ideal not to have them on the meds long-term, all the same.
I don't know if it would help since the situation isn't identical and the underlying problem may be different, but I had a somewhat similar situation. My eldest cat used to be an absolute terror. I could hardly touch him without him biting me. He did the unprovoked chase-and-attack moves as well. I had to learn to sleep with all my limbs tucked under the covers, wrapped up as if in a sleeping bag, because he would attack any limb that stuck out, or even crawl under the covers and rake my legs to bleeding.
I actually had the most luck using a food-based training system because he was, fortunately, a very food-motivated cat. In short, I avoided the free-choice feeding and fed regular, scheduled meals. Once he got to expect food at a particular time and in a particular location, I was able to set into the training. Initially, I would pet him for about 10 seconds; if he allowed it without biting, I would feed. If not, I'd walk away from the bowl for about five minutes, then try again. Then we gradually worked up over the course of several months to longer and more involved contact. It took a while, but we got to the point where I could lift him, pet him, kiss him on the nose, or what-have-you, all without being bitten.
Luckily, he liked food more than he liked being stubborn about biting, so it never took more than 3-4 tries (15-20 minutes) before he put up with the contact and got his meal.
By teaching him that any biting was unacceptable, we were also able to generalize the lesson out such that he stopped all the other attacks, as well. I noticed that you said in your post that you figured biting during rough play or when you move him were okay, but that may be part of the problem. If your cat thinks biting is acceptable in one situation, it's going to be hard to convince him that it's not okay in another.
Biting a person under any circumstances is not an acceptable response. Rough play, particularly in a cat that's already showing behavioural problems, is definitely out. You shouldn't engage in any games that encourage your cat to bite or play rough, because that's giving him the go-ahead to play rough when he feels like it - which may just be when you're trying to go get a glass of water, or when a guest is walking through the living room.
A great deal of training an animal comes down to training the people. Everyone has to be on the same page and take the same approach, or your cat will always be getting mixed signals about what he can or cannot do.
It took probably six months of working with my cat to get him to the point he's at now. I can scoop him up, cuddle him, and kiss him on the nose to my heart's content. He lets me know when he's done by growling, putting his ears back, or swishing his tail, and that's when I respect his wishes and put him down. We never have to get to the biting point. All unprovoked attacks have stopped -- on people, anyway; the poor dog is sadly on his own. He doesn't like strangers, but if picked up, he won't even think of laying a tooth on one. Of course, now he thinks he gets a treat every time I love on him. xd He's a total ham. But we have a much better relationship for it.
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Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 9:46 am
Hmmm.... -_-
Is it possible there are/were stray cats around your house? I've read about indoor cats being upset about strays around the house and taking it out on their humans. Attacking and what-not.
My cat used to be on prozac because when the birds migrated each year he'd freak out and lick himself bald. o_o;;
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