How to Deal with Catty Behavior
Meow! MeeOOOOW!!! A cat will try to let you know what his or her needs are by giving you subtle signals such as meowing, moving back and forth by the door, etc. It’s your job to learn your cat’s normal behavior, so you can tell when something is wrong.
Common Types Of Aggressive Behaviors Between Cats
Territorial Aggression This is usually the aggressive behavior you see when one cat feels that another cat has invaded his personal territory, whether that territory is his food dish, his favorite climbing tree, or even “his” person. It usually includes behavior such as chasing, hissing, swatting and ambushing the intruder. This sort of behavior usually occurs when a new cat is brought into a home with another cat already in residence, but it’s not uncommon for a cat to be territorial with one cat and tolerant of another.
Intermale Aggression This behavior can be deadly among wild cats such as lions, where the need for maximum strength and vitality of the pride depends on the male being powerful enough to keep strange males away from his females. But our domestic cats have their own version. In domestic cats, this sort of aggression usually involves a lot of posturing, stalking, staring, yolwing and howling. Usually one cat will back down, but if an attack does happen, the aggressor usually jumps forward and directs a bite to the nape of the neck, while the opponent falls to the ground on his back and attempts to bite and scratch the attacker’s belly with his hind legs. They may roll around biting and screaming, then suddenly stop and resume posturing, only to jump into another fight or walk away.
Unlike their wild relatives, domestic cats usually don’t inflict severe injuries in such fights, but have your cat looked at by a vet to be sure there are no wounds that might become infected. Neutering will obviously help curb the frequency of this sort of aggression. Defensive Aggression This sort of aggression is quite simply a cat’s last resort if he feels that he is under attack and he believes that he can’t escape. In a home where the cat’s owner inflicts improper punishment on their cat, the animal may respond aggressively in self defense. But most often it’s a defense used against another cat, or even a dog, if the cat is truly cornered and has no other option.
A cat’s defensive posture is crouched down with the legs pulled in under the body, ears laid back, tail tucked, and possibly leaning slightly to the side. If an attacker were to continue to approach a cat crouched in this posture, it is likely that the cat will respond aggressively. Redirected Aggression This sort of aggression is usually directly towards another animal that didn’t actually provoke the behavior. Let’s say you had two pet cats, well adjusted and amiable, sitting in a window shelve watching the world go by outside.
Then one of the cats notices a third, strange cat, walking across the lawn outside. Because he can’t attack the outdoor cat, your pet cat suddenly turns on his companion and attacks him. That’s redirected aggression, and can be either offensive or defensive in nature.
Scratching Post or Cat Tree
Scratching is a normal cat behavior, and one that cats are highly motivated to display, so its unrealistic to try to prevent them from scratching. The best thing you can do is offer your cat a place specifically for scratching, and encourage her to use it.
A good cat scratching post that’s tall enough for your cat to stretch out full length against is a good buy, but make sure that it’s sturdy and doesn’t wobble before making your purchase. If your cat is anything like mine, that post will be well used, and should be capable of supporting the full weight of your cat bouncing off it’s side in pursuit of invisible moths, or racing full tilt up it’s length to sky dive from the pinnacle at maximum speed.
Even better then a post however, is a cat climbing tree. They’ll cost you a little bit more, but they offer your cat a greater range of play and entertainment. A good cat tree will have more than one place to perch or sleep, and maybe a hole or two that she can play hide and seek in. There are also cat houses, hammocks, window shelves and even cat sized indoor gyms!
Discipline
Never, ever strike your cat! Discipline of this kind will only turn your cat aggressively against you. If biting or scratching is a problem, try to use aversive responses to discourage this bad behavior. You can either use a squirt bottle filled with water and a small amount of vinegar or a can of pressurized air to squirt a cat or kitten with when they becomes too rough. To use this technique effectively, youll always need to have the spray bottle or can handy. You can either place one in each room, or carry one with you as you move around the house. In some cases, you may want to apply bad tasting cream or spray to your hands.
If you have sensitive skin you may want to wear gloves and put the aversive on the gloves. The possible disadvantage to this method is that your cat may learn that “hands with gloves taste bad and those without gloves dont.” The best way to help prevent such behavior is to redirect the cat’s attention to something else. If she wants to play rough, give her a cat toy to wrestle or chase. This will encourage her to direct such play onto a toy instead of a person. If she surprises you with a sudden bite, and you don’t have a bottle available, a loud “YOWWW!” may startle her enough to make her think twice about biting again.
Any attempt to physically punish your cat or kitten, by tapping, flicking, or especially hitting WILL NOT WORK! You will only invoke a fear response in your cat and teach it to be afraid of you. In time it may become defensive aggressive just seeing you walk into the room, the same way it would if you were a dog and it thought you were going to attack it.
