# Intolerable aggresive behavior from my male ginger. HELP!



## mastersplinter (Jan 5, 2013)

I will start off by saying that I have researched online quite extensively to try and find a solution for my cat's behavior and I can not seem to narrow anything down. I would also like input from very experienced cat owners/experts that can help improve the situation, since I have tried many wild guesses and shots int he dark and random techniques, and random advice from people to no avail. Also please bear with me if this post is a little long, I am only trying to provide useful information.

My cat's name is Master Splinter and he is orange colored (with stripes). I bought him from a pet store when he was about two months old. I know that many people don't agree with buying from a pet store but I fell in love with the little guy through the window so save me that speech. He's now two years old.

I live with my girlfriend, we have moved apartments with him three times. He stays indoors. When he was a kitten in our first apartment I also lived with room mates, there were constantly people around playing with him and he had plenty to do to keep him busy even when I was at work all day. He was pretty crazy and annoyed my room mates but kittens tend to be like that.

When we left that apartment we moved in with my parents for a one month period while searching for our own place (without room mates, just her and I). My parents have an older ginger cat (maybe about 10 or 11 years old) and Splinter did NOT get along with him. We didn't know that there was a certain way to introduce them properly but he got really upset with him. My parent's cat didn't care that he was there and showed no aggression towards him but we could not even have Splinter in the same room as him. As a result, we would always have to have him locked in our bedroom. He then started peeing on the couch in there, and we could not get ANY sleep because he would spend all night anxiously meowing so we had to lock him in a seperate room (with his litter box and all) while we were asleep. He would HOWL all night and literally throw himself (ram) the door the entire night. It was ridiculous and I felt bad but there was nothing else we could do, I couldn't lose my job over getting no sleep because of my cat.

The next apartment we ended up having to lock him out of our bedroom again because he would always wake me up knocking things over, walking on us, or attempting to make noise. The entire night he would meow and pick at the door with his claws. Again, nothing else I could do. I am also a very light sleeper. He started randomly "stalking" me and would launch himself halfway up body and bite me and claw me full force. He never attacked my girlfriend, only me. He also was unfortunately alone all day while we were both at work.

In this apartment we are living at now, he is unbearably aggressive. He still launches at me and gives me painful bites (I can see the imprint of his entire jaw in my skin, those kind of bites) at strategic points like on the inside of my knee. He still is completely nice to my girlfriend, this is specifically towards me. If I am in a bad mood or upset for any reason, he INSTANTLY picks up on this and starts attacking me. Sounds weird, right? Trust me, he does. For example yesterday he was sleeping ontop of the washing machine completely peaceful, I accidentally hit my shoulder on the corner of a cupboard. Within seconds he launched a bite at me like a rattle snack and tried to "take me down". As if he is preying on the weak. This is how he makes me feel. Sometimes out of the complete blue, I will be minding my own business on the couch alone (or maybe with him on the other side of the couch) and he will get up in my face and give me an angry meow and try and swipe at me. Trust me, I am doing nothing to provoke any of this behavior. It is at random.

When people come to our house, he completely freaks. It seems to be if that person owns a cat he can smell it. He will growl, hiss, attack them, I have to lock him out of the room.

I recently took him to a professional, expensive cat specific vet clinic (unrelated issue which is solved) and they were genuinely afraid of handling him, I saw it with my own eyes and they also said it themselves.

I have researched extensively "aggressive behavior" and anything related to this and I literally can not find a solution. None of that bogus "clap your hands and say no" or "make a loud sound" or "don't encourage the behvaior" or "spray him with water" "grab him by the scruff of the neck". All of this advice is completely useless, this cat DOES NOT GET THE MESSAGE that he is misbehaving. I have sprayed him, made loud sounds, played with him, locked him out of the room temporarily, etc. etc. NOTHING WORKS. HOW DO I TRAIN HIM TO SMARTEN UP?

At this point, I completely mind my own business, he randomly attempts to harm me, and I lock him out of the room by holding him by the scruff of the neck and forcing him down on his side and saying "no" or whatever. If I let him back in the room five minutes later he will literally charge at me to do the same thing or give me an even harsher attack. If I lock him out for about twenty minutes to half an hour he will eventually simmer down and (hopefully) not attack me for the next interval of time. We also both play with him, and again, this is directed at me specifically, not my girlfriend. I realize this may sound ridiculous since it is a cat, but it has at this point taken an emotional toll on me and he makes me feel like a victim. I can't handle this kind of negative energy in the house and I have worried many times that there is nothing I can do and I will have to give him away. I love him and I love cats and I don't ever want to give him away but I'm not going to deal with my life being crap at home either because of my cat, and what happens when I have a kid? I'm going to fear for my kids safety all day?

What do I do? I thought about getting another cat so that he wouldn't be bored all day and play with it but judging on his extremely territorial behavior I could also imagine that he would simply try and murder it. I am genuinely asking for help here as I am at the end of my rope and have no idea how to solve this situation.

Thank you!


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## mastersplinter (Jan 5, 2013)

I would also like to mention that he is extremely vocal and "anxious". Always mumbling to himself. What can I do to make him understand he is miss behaving? Sorry for the lengthy post but I would really appreciate it if someone can help. You'd be helping to save a cat from maybe eventually going to the SPCA. Thank you.


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## Moofin (May 16, 2012)

I'm no expert (whatsoever!) but is he neutered? If he isn't perhaps that might help?


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## RabbitMonster (Mar 20, 2012)

First off, welcome to the forum.

Secondly, as Moofin has asked, is he neutered? This is often a significant cause of aggression in males who are unneutered.

Thirdly, it seems that there are a number of reason why he's being aggressive. If he is neutered, it is likely that he is acting out due to either:


Separation anxiety --- you said you bought him from a pet shop when he was 2 months old. He was far, _far_ too young to be separated from his mother, and it seems like he was taken from her even earlier than that, if he was in a pet shop. This sort of early separation is bad for kittens - it can lead to aggressiveness or separation anxiety as the cat gets older. It seems the former has manifested itself here, possibly due in part to the fact he is an only cat (see below).
Lack of socialisation --- as he was taken from his mother at such a young age, he hasn't learnt the correct socialisation skills a cat needs, such as retract claws when playing, don't bite, etc. Had you known about this when he was younger, it would've been much easier for you to socialise him from a kitten. As it is, you will need to socialise him now. It will be difficult and frustrating, but it is possible and very rewarding. 
The frequent moving --- cats thrive on routine and stability. That you moved so frequently would have a detrimental affect on him. Whether you needed to move or not is neither here nor there as far as he was concerned. There were things you could've, and really should've, done to help with the transitions from house to house, in particular with your parents' place.
Left over dominance issues from your parents' cat --- as you've said, your boy wasn't happy with the resident cat at your parents place and you weren't aware at the time how to do any proper introductions. Cats live under a hierarchy system, every cat has his or her place. This is so they can at least tolerably live together with as few arguments and fights as possible. This hierarchy was not established, leaving him confused and unsure of himself. That you locked him up in rooms on his own was _*not*_ the greatest idea in the world. I understand things were difficult but they could've been dealt with had you done your research correctly. It also seems like he was suffered from some form of separation anxiety being locked in rooms on his own - he wasn't able to be with you and your girlfriend, nor was he able to explore.

All in all, it sounds like you have a very unhappy little chappy, and in all honesty, I don't blame him. I think you've been rather thoughtless in regards his basic needs as an animal and it comes across as though you've tried to treat him like a dog and 'teach him a lesson'. This is your first, and biggest, mistake.

I apologise if I'm coming across as rather stern, I do understand your frustration, but cats take time and patience to come around, there is no waving a magic wand.

The chances are if he's attacking you like this, he's bored and he wants to play. What sort of toys do you have for him? Things like cat danglers, Da Bird and even laser pens are great for keeping cats exercised and stimulated. Does he have a cat tree and various mouse/ball toys to bat around? Does he have a decent sized scratch post? All these things help prevent boredom, which leads to aggression.

I know you have tried behavioural techniques, but how long and with how much consistency have you tried them? To put into perspective how long it takes, I got my Molly at 4-5 months and she was feral. It took 4 long months of aloofness and aggression, I was covered in nicks and scratches, but I finally got her mostly tame. She still bit when playing, and she'd often forget to retract her claws, but for the most part she was _much_ better. Now bear in mind that, while Molly wasn't human socialised, she was cat socialised, so she had some notion of when she was being too rough. Unfortunately your boy hasn't had that, so it will be an uphill climb for you but it's _so_ worth it in the end, it's such a rewarding feeling!

I do sincerely hope your post was made in anger and annoyance, as it comes across as very rude and blunt. The tone with which it reads may put peoples' backs up, and you may get advice which you think you've already tried, but the advice is given with the best of intentions.

I wish you all the best with improving his behaviour!

EDIT --- please don't pick him up by the scruff of the neck, it can hurt them if you don't know what you're doing and will just cause him to lash out, backtracking you considerably.

EDIT --- how old is he now?


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

Have you considered consulting a cat shrink - a behaviourist? It strikes me there is an awful lot going on, and whilst there are lots of people here with lots of experience of cats, not many of us have had these sorts of problems or anything like them.


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

OrientalSlave said:


> Have you considered consulting a cat shrink - a behaviourist? It strikes me there is an awful lot going on, and whilst there are lots of people here with lots of experience of cats, not many of us have had these sorts of problems or anything like them.


Totally agree with OrientalSlave on this .
My Ragdoll had some very serious behaviour issues as a kitten.Like you tried all the tips recommended and nothing worked,I gave in and sought the help of a pet behaviourist and it made such a difference.
To sort out behaviour issues you need to have the proper "tools",not all methods will work on all cats so they have to be tailored to the individual.
I had a 90 minute home consult where Meeko's behaviour was observed and a detailed plan made of the methods needed to turn him around.Most of the well intentioned advice I was given had infact been making him worse.
It was hard work but in the end I have a much happier ,less confused and angry cat,it was worth every penny I reckon


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