Don't you have an elsewhere to be?

Cordelia ,'Lessons'


Spike's Bitches 48: I Say, We Go Out There, and Kick a Little Demon Ass.  

[NAFDA] Spike-centric discussion. Lusty, lewd (only occasionally crude), risqué (and frisqué), bawdy (Oh, lawdy!), flirty ('cuz we're purty), raunchy talk inside. Caveat lector.


Scrappy - Nov 26, 2013 8:16:20 am PST #6599 of 30002
Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

Spray bottle of Water nearby, with a quick srpitz at his head when he gets bitey looking. Plus, if he does bite, a LOUD high-pitched "OOOOOOOOOWWW!" right in his face every single time often does the trick.


WindSparrow - Nov 26, 2013 8:18:41 am PST #6600 of 30002
Love is stronger than death and harder than sorrow. Those who practice it are fierce like the light of stars traveling eons to pierce the night.

That is such a complex question, erika. I would need to know more about the incidents of biting. It would be very useful to know what was going on in and around the house when it happens - and it may well be that there is some antecedent that we paltry humans cannot detect.

Without really knowing the big picture, the first thing that comes to mind is misdirected aggression - there is something that scared him or otherwise made him angry (such as seeing, smelling, or hearing another cat in his territory) that he could not get to, so he sank his teeth into your mom as the nearest available target and now when he gets reminded of that feeling he automatically goes for your mom because of the association in his furry little mind. I don't know that this will be at all useful because it primarily discusses misdirected aggression when another cat is the target. But here is an article on the topic [link]


Hil R. - Nov 26, 2013 8:20:01 am PST #6601 of 30002
Sometimes I think I might just move up to Vermont, open a bookstore or a vegan restaurant. Adam Schlesinger, z''l

Just had to Shop-Vac my parents' basement, because the plumbing started leaking, again. That was not fun. Filled the canister twice, put a garbage can and some towels under the place where the ceiling was still dripping (and where it looks like the ceiling tile is about to collapse), and turned on the dehumidifier. My mom is calling the plumber now.


WindSparrow - Nov 26, 2013 8:22:36 am PST #6602 of 30002
Love is stronger than death and harder than sorrow. Those who practice it are fierce like the light of stars traveling eons to pierce the night.

That's the kind of fun that isn't, Hil. I hope it isn't too horribly spendy.


erikaj - Nov 26, 2013 8:30:00 am PST #6603 of 30002
Always Anti-fascist!

Rocky is...kind of poorly socialized, probably. His mother was feral, and our neighbor took her in to have kittens, but she had a bunch of pets already and so they stayed in the bathroom and probably didn't get exposed to things like he should have been. But he is eight now.


WindSparrow - Nov 26, 2013 8:47:03 am PST #6604 of 30002
Love is stronger than death and harder than sorrow. Those who practice it are fierce like the light of stars traveling eons to pierce the night.

Then Rocky is certainly at high risk for misplaced aggression scenarios. Have you watched any of "My Cat From Hell"? It gives some good ideas for evaluating a cat's habitat from the cat's point of view, and gives a wide variety of suggestions for altering the environment to help the cat feel it has more escape routes and safe places.


beekaytee - Nov 26, 2013 9:40:47 am PST #6605 of 30002
Compassionately intolerant

That is a good suggestion, Andi.

erika, I have precious little experience with cat behavior problems, besides being a victim of them growing up. I did a bunch of research just now but cannot recommend anything that I've read. The one thing I did see...and can attest to, is that punishment or 'aversion therapy' doesn't work effectively in the long run...and especially not with cats.

I have never seen "My Cat From Hell", but will certainly check it out.


erikaj - Nov 26, 2013 9:59:18 am PST #6606 of 30002
Always Anti-fascist!

I watch that show a lot, but, although some of the cats are a lot like my friend, it's hard to know what to do--it is helpful to know there are many strange cats out there.


WindSparrow - Nov 26, 2013 10:02:31 am PST #6607 of 30002
Love is stronger than death and harder than sorrow. Those who practice it are fierce like the light of stars traveling eons to pierce the night.

agreed, bonny. Aversion techniques are useful only insofar as the cat never connects the human with the aversive stimulus - once the cat knows it's your finger on the trigger, all you are doing is teaching the cat to be afraid of you. Some people mistake the use of the spray bottle for a humane form of punishment. Its value as a training aid is not as a kinder, gentler spanking but as a form of operant conditioning. (Side note: I have been way more successful with the shaking a can of pennies to startle a cat away from certain trouble zones than in using a spray bottle, such as keeping them from charging through the front door when it opens - but that is not a fear or aggression-based issue) And in a misplaced aggression scenario, anything that increases the cat's fear will do the opposite of decreasing the aggression.


beekaytee - Nov 26, 2013 10:06:26 am PST #6608 of 30002
Compassionately intolerant

once the cat knows it's your finger on the trigger, all you are doing is teaching the cat to be afraid of you.

ditto for dogs.

Its value as a training aid is not as a kinder, gentler spanking but as a form of operant conditioning.

Sing it!

And in a misplaced aggression scenario, anything that increases the cat's fear will do the opposite of decreasing the aggression.

Amen!