Why does my cat bite and scratch us? Q My son and I have had our eight-month-old cat, Whisky, since he was seven weeks old. We love him very much but he occasionally bites and scratches us, particularly on our feet and ankles, to such a degree he draws blood. I am diabetic and this could be dangerous. We may have to rehome him, which would break our hearts. Behaviourist Francesca Riccomini says: You are right to take the situation seriously as cat bites can be complicated and, as you say, with diabetes you are at a special risk. Before you rehome Whisky, it would be a good idea to seek advice from a qualified feline behaviourist who could look at your home environment and the style of interaction both you and your son adopt with your pet. It may be that a number of different motivations underlie Whisky’s problem behaviour. It is essential to work out all the factors that contribute to these outbursts before constructing a behaviour programme. In the meantime, it is crucial that you protect yourselves. It sounds ridiculous but sometimes people have to wear boots indoors so that when their pet launches at their feet and ankles, they can remain perfectly calm and still. If we cry out, swiftly withdraw our feet etc, we reward the behaviour with something exciting and tap into the cat’s predatory instinct, which just leads to intensification of the behaviour. If we try punishing the cat, we also set up a vicious cycle whereby a sociable pet is attracted to interact with us, but is then anxious about getting close or having us attempt to pet him. This sort of chronic arousal tends to lower the aggression threshold and makes the whole thing worse. If you are protected when Whisky pounces, you can simply break eye contact, stand absolutely still and silent, and that way he gets no reward. Bear in mind Whisky’s age. He is young with an active mind and loads of energy, which will be especially intense at dawn and dusk. Be particularly careful at these times — avoid physical contact and ensure you have throwing toys and fishing rod-style toys to hand to dangle away from you to distract Whisky into an appropriate activity. A young cat needs plenty of things to investigate and explore: cardboard boxes, tunnels, climbing frames and so on. Move them about and rotate their use to maintain his interest. Use puzzle feeders to engage his foraging instincts. Avoid imposing attention or petting Whisky and keep hands-on contact very brief and controlled. Concentrate more on conversation and throwing and dangling toys as an outlet for his energy.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 12:30:00 +0000