We took her on from a friend last year and she's never let me near her. She often swipes at my legs as I walk past! My wife can get away with stroking her and she often sits on my wife's lap, although the cat does occasionally show a temper with her. She spends all her time prowling around the house and seems to insist on pooing in the conservatory, despite having a clean litter tray in her own room upstairs. She's great fun at times but really tries our patience when it comes to her temper, especially against me. Could it be a medical issue / her nature / the way we treat her / a power struggle? Her previous owners were a couple and she never got on with the man there either. Any advice would be valued!
2006-07-05 03:47:43 · 19 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Cats
Just your luck - you've adopted a feline radical feminist!!
But joking apart, that's not much fun for you, and could be quite hurtful, emotionally and actually!
How old is the cat? Has she been spayed? I would advise a check up with the vet - make sure there is nothing physiologically wrong. (We do this with stroppy humans, too!)
She needs to be spayed if she hasn't been already.
It sounds more of a behavioural problem. It could be that she has been mistreated by a male, and associates the deeper voice, etc, with being afraid, so she's protecting herself.
She might have bonded well with your wife and be jealous of your wife's attention to you!
Does she go out in the garden? Being kept in can make cats bad tempered. they feel cooped up. That could be why she misbehaves in your conservatory.
My advice is, have a talk with her (don't laugh, it often works!) calmly but firmly. "Now Kitty, this is the deal...."
Make sure that you don't do anything to upset her (I'm sure you wouldn't knowlngly upset her, but, notice what makes her lash out, and try to avoid it, if necessary, stay out of her way for a while.) (I mean, don't get in her face)
Try to make sure that YOU are always the one that feeds her!
Start with one very gentle stroke, with reassuring words, and work up. It might take a while.
Hope this helps!
2006-07-05 05:55:05 · answer #1 · answered by Suzita 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Do you know where your friends originally got her? There's a good chance that she could have been badly treated by a man previously. I got a cat from a no-kill shelter and it was pretty evident that she had had a bad experience with men. She avoided them or would smack their hands away when they tried to pet her.
Another chance could be that her sensitive nose is picking up on something she doesn't like. It could be your cologne or aftershave, or just your human pheromones. Animals tend to pick up on these things.
For example, my male dairy goats tend to be hostile towards my father even though he takes care of them. Since they're scent oriented, they can tell that he's a male and as such is "competition." They can also sense when human females are ovulating by the change in scent of their perspiration.
You may have already tried, but I'd suggest trying to treat her. You might also try not using the same kind of aftershave, or cologne, or deodorant until you find out what exactly is bothering her. Best of luck! But remember that cats are finicky....and she may just be a momma's girl. :)
2006-07-05 03:59:24 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some animals can sense if you don't like them and then they become hostile towards you, but if that is'nt the case then I think that the cat was probably abused by a male sometime in it's life and therefor probably sees males as a threat. Other reasons may be that it's just got an ugly attitude wich could also happen.
2006-07-05 03:54:27 · answer #3 · answered by pete 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When my current cat adopted me, after escaping from the neighbours who neglected her, she was only loyal to me and now 16 years later she has accepted others as her friends. Good luck. :)
But don't be lost. It does take time with some animals. Seems that she's not ready to trust men just yet.
To get on her good side start being the only one that feeds her. That way she should see that the hand the feeds her is trustworthy.
2006-07-07 00:50:14 · answer #4 · answered by buzybee 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cats are very sensitive. My cats like it when I speak to them in a high pitched voice, and we have one who jumps when my husband speaks with his deep voice. She is scared of him, but our other cats are not. Fast movements suprise and scare them sometimes- so be aware of your movements. You could try luring her with some treat like tuna each day and petting her while she's eating it so she associates you with something good. Does she have toys to play with? She might be bored. Also when cats are in pain they do act grumpy, so if she hasn't had a recent visit to the vet you should bring her. Your vet would have the best advice about how to deal with these issues. Also, there is an herbal remededy called rescue remedy that you can buy at a health food store or herbalist. You put a few drops in the cats water and it helps them to relax. I used it with mine during a transition and it seemed to help.
2006-07-05 06:27:19 · answer #5 · answered by JENNIFER 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It seems maybe she had been mistreated by a man in the past so she does not trust them. (I can relate to that!)
I had a dog at one time that was just the opposite. She had been abandoned & we adopted her. She was scared to death of women & would start trembling if one came in the room but was fine with men. When she realized that I was the one that would feed her & take care of her she learned to trust me.
In your case, however you may want to take her to a vet to have her checked out. They may want to put her on an antidepressant or you could try a natural remedy like "Bach's Rescue Remedy".
2006-07-05 04:46:20 · answer #6 · answered by Selkie 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All of these suggestions have been really good (except the dressing up one, I don't think that one's going to help). Sometimes though, pets really don't like a certain sex. My Persian hates males. Before I went to college, she hated my dad so much she used to pee on his clothes. Just his. So it could be worse. Give it time, and ignore her for awhile. Try that one first, it seems to be most effective with my cats when they are acting crappy. I wish you the best of luck.
2006-07-05 04:28:22 · answer #7 · answered by Lisa H 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
we took on a cat that had spent the first year of it's life living in a cattery with minimal human contact, she was very agressive but also very shy. We tried all sorts of coaxing and bribing, but ultimately what worked for us was ignoring her. It took 6 months, but not being confrontational with her, we made progress and now she'll come and sit on our knee and is very affectionate.
Men tend to be more confrontational and your cat might be picking up on this......or she just doesn't like guys :)
2006-07-05 03:57:58 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try dressing up as a woman for a laugh and see if the damn thing is any different to you then. Doesn't sound like much fun for you if you can't even get in your own house without fear of being scratched though.
2006-07-05 03:59:36 · answer #9 · answered by . 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The cats seems to see you as a male as a threat. Must be a guy thing! *L* Not sure there is a lot you can do. Your cat just doesn't like men.
2006-07-05 03:53:33 · answer #10 · answered by K's Mom 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋