Does anyone have a book or other recommendation to help me deal with an asshole cat that bites people?
(Disposal of avoidance of the cat in question does not appear to be an option)
Discussion
Remind the human that it is about 20x larger and could easily exert dominance 😂
I had a squirmy kitten and picked it up, squeezed it VERY firmly for about 3 seconds.
To this day, I pick up this cat and it goes limp in my arms. Dominance is most definitely a thing
Bite it back 🤭
But in clarity, some form of conditioning when you notice the behaviour works fairly well.
Is this your cat / can you train it or help change its environment? Or it’s just one you visit?
Ideally you fix the “asshole” part at the root
A cat that I visit. I'm not sure where to even start
Bring a spray bottle
“Total cat mojo” was a helpful book for me but it’s more relevant to owners.
Does the cat seem threatened as soon as you walk in and come attack unprovoked? Or when does it happen
I haven't experienced it yet, but the girl I'm dating has warned me and sent me pictures of bite marks.
I may check that book out. Thanks for the recommendation 🤙
Squirt bottles around the house always worked for me. I haven’t had a cat in decades but it definitely works.
(Keeping them off of the counters etc)
I have a concern that cats are vindictive and that they strategically seek revenge against things like this. Am I being paranoid?
Try feeding it raw meat instead of kibble and its blood sugar and overall mental health should improve after a couple weeks.
But also some cats just don't get how easy they have it.
My advice:
Eh, cats need to go outside. They wander! They’re “independent”. And sometimes, sometimes stuff happens.
Hey, look, I dunno where the cat is. I’m sorry. They can handle themselves.
But I can see this causes distress. So I made you a nice rabbit stew.
Patience, mostly. I had a cat like that, once. He was rescued from a litter in which his siblings were slaughted by a farm dog. As a result, he was constantly on edge, mostly around strangers. Poor bastard. Over time, the tension and stress waned, particularly around us (context dependent). He was shown lots of love and care and became a core member of the family (and I'm not generally known as a 'cat person', whatever that is).
Give the cat patience and love and time, mate.
Good kitty
A 2nd cat is your only chance in my experience. I only adopt siblings at this point
Oh interesting. Okay I'll keep that in consideration 🤙
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Cf2xxC3Yx9g6w7yXN/notes-from-don-t-shoot-the-dog
Good short book that gets to the first principles of animal training