can a person change a grown cat from being evil to good?

Question

I have a grown male cat black cat an he is very mean .he attacks you while your sleeping an if you are standing doing dishes or something he will attack your legs an tear them all up.im affraid he will get my eyes while im sleeping..i dont want to get rid of him had him to long ..so Help!

this cat was neuter at kitten,hes 6 yrs old an has always been mean,he has never been mistreated.he dont like people, you cant pet him, an he will bite anyone.he has his shots.I dont want to declaw him in case he happen to get outside .thanks everyone great answers!

Answer 1

You might not be able, but there are some things worth trying:

1. Has he been neutered? if not, neuter him

2. Talk to your vet. There is a "thing" you can get over the counter at Petsmart, and other pet supply places -- it's a plug-in thing, like one of those bathroom-deoderizer plug-ins -- except that this plug-in diffuses some kind of kitty pheromones that have a calming effect. People cannot smell it. A relative of mine has a cat who is not "evil" but is very moody and cranky and easily stressed-out. Her vet told her about the pheromone thing, and it seems to help Cranky Kitty.

3. In a really extreme case the vet might prescribe something like Prozac, I think.

4. You're sure he's really mean, and not just playing very hard? Some will attack your legs just to play; neutering and maybe declawing would deal with that...

5. But sometimes you can't do anything. I had a truly mean cat once, whom I adopted as a kitten -- but an older, half-grown kitten, who had either been feral or perhaps abused. He would curl up with you, purr, then his eyes would dilate, nostrils would flare, ears would flatten and he'd bite you HARD -- it would draw blood and if you didn't watch out, he'd bite your FACE. I'd had him neutered; it didn't help. I don't believe in declawing but I had him declawed because he was DANGEROUS; it didn't stop him biting me HARD in the FACE and drawing blood with his teeth. The ideal place for him to live, I think, would have been on a farm or ranch where he could have been a barn cat, not a house cat -- he wasn't really a pet. I was really starting to wonder if I'd have to have him put down, but he got sick with kidney disease and died before I had to face any really awful choices.

Answer 2

I have seen cats like this that are usually tramatized by something like being declawed. He might have a fear of you or could he just be playing? Close the bedroom door at night so you can sleep and try to figure out the stress in his life. Has he always been this way? Neutering calms males too. Good luck.

Answer 3

The first question you have to ask is if he has been neutered. Neutering takes care of all or most of this activity. I have had 5 male cats and only one of them remained somewhat mean after neutering. Also, be aware that even after neutering, it takes a couple of months for the male hormones to level out and make him calmer. If he has been neutered and this is the way he is still acting, I don't know if he can be trained in "niceness" or not.

Answer 4

Yes you can - there are things like Bach's rescue remedy and Feliway spray to help calm them while you figure things out. I had problem like this w/ my 7 yr old male "mean' tabby - he's ok now. Spend more time w/ him and try and find out why he is exhibiting this behavior.....he also see's you as a "toy" or play thing. And a trip to the vet will probably resolve if this behavior is due to an health issue or pain - especially if this is something new he is doing...see the article below w/ very good info that helped me and my "bad" kitty. Good luck and don't give up it will get better


read this article it is very informative and will help you

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20837

Answer 5

Is he neutered? If not then get him fixed as soon as possible. An un-neuter male cat can be mean. I have a registered Siamese I was using as stud. He got so mean and nasty I had to take him in and get him fixed. When he woke up he was the sweetest little boy. It was a total personality change.

Answer 6

An evil cat is a great cat. He sounds like a real character. He wont get you eyes.
I have a cat that like to nibble on my face when I sleep, its breath is far worse than its bite.

Try clipping his claws(not declawing) so he can´t scratch you.

Good luck

Answer 7

usually grown cats are set in their ways and unpredictable no matter how old they are. If you scruff him and hiss in his face like a cat does then he might think twice before attacking you, but it will take a few tries to get him to stop. just be sure you hiss at him while catching him in the act, not after the fact.

Answer 8

I would definitely get him declawed if he's an indoor cat, talk to your vet about some possible solutions. I know in order to calm my cat by putting some sort of lavender stuff on her that I bought from the vet and it calmed her down.

Answer 9

I don’t think so….my very first cat was like that ..she was very mean… she didn't’t want you to touch her…sit by her….if she decided to climb on your lap ….you couldn't touch her because she would try to bite….I tried several things to get her use to people but the only one she let touch her was me…and even then it was like if she wanted ….I never took her to a Vet…for being mean....mostly because her wrath was towards me…I never gave her up…..I stuck with her…even though she was mean I loved her so much…..and cried like a baby when she died ….but that was back then and I was like 15…I think If one of my kitties were like that now I would defiantly seek some kind of help …..because that cant be good for them...hope you get the help you need...

Answer 10

Was your cat abused? Since it's already an adult, I highly doubt you could change its personality. Neutering helps too. Try talking to him soothingly but be stern with him.