Just adopted a cat. Declawed. Lets you pet her than bites HARD?

Question

Magic has been declawed and fixed. She is five years old And lived by herself with an older man that fed her. Never been out but I have had her now since Christmas and the biting is unbelievable
When you walk by her she attacks your feet. Than she comes and rolls over in front of you like she wants you to pet her BUT if you do she will BITE you very hard. Now when I talk to her she swishes her tail. If you go near her she swishes her tail. If I take her back to the humane sociey I believe they will have to put her to sleep. Is she this way because of being declawed? Please help.

Answer 1

I aggree that declawing has nothing to do with it at all. Your cat needs to be disciplined. Every time that she bites you, stop petting her amd push her off of your lap. Tell her no, but when you are scolding her, never say, "No Magic!" Never use the cats name when scolding because then they become accustomed to their name as a bad thing. Another way of disciplining is to use a squirt bottle. Every time that the cat bites you, squirt her with water from the squirt bottle. This also works if your cat gets on the table or somewhere else where sje is not aloud to go.

Good Luck!!!

Answer 2

Having declawed cats my whole life... and working at a veterinary clinic where cats are declawed all the time... I can tell you from experience that biting has nothing to do with declawing. I've noticed that many cats that are mean to start with THEN get declawed (but personality doesn't change at all - neither improves or gets worse). That is probably what happened to your girl and probably where the reputation of declawed bitter cats started.

Swishing the tail means she is telling you to back off, not that she likes to play rough. Do not pet her in the belly when she rolls, start by petting her between the shoulder blades. Put all the food away so she has no free choice food, then call her and give her food only when you are present. Force her to eat when you are next to her, so she starts associating you with good things. After a few days, you may start petting her between the shoulder blades while she is eating. Ignore her when she is swishing her tail or being naughty, don't even establish eye contact. If behavior modification doesn't work, you may try contacting a veterinarian (even better if you can find a veterinarian behaviorist) and they may give you "kitty prozac". NOT sedation! Make sure that they don't give you anything that will sedate her, as she won't learn that way, but antidepresants will make her feel happier and more comfortable in her new place until she gets used to the new life. Good luck!!!

ps. There is a link section in this website and some of the links contains actual studies where they found no correlation with biting and declawing, and my experience has been the same. It also have further information you may want to know.

Answer 3

I have owned several cats, declawed and not declawed. I don't believe your problem has anything to do with being declawed.

Two things: You'll have to learn to speak cat. The tail twitching back and forth quickly is a sign that the cat wants to be left alone. So are having the ears pinned back toward the head instead of being forward. DON'T try to pet when she's acting like this. Also, one of my cats only likes to be petted on the head, and will bite if you pet on her back, especially around her back end.

Also, like someone else suggested - it's really important to NOT jerk your hand away when she bites. Doing this startles her, and makes her clamp down harder. My cats give "love bites" occasionally which don't really hurt, but if I jerk away they will hurt.

I would suggest breaking the habits she has of playing rough by waiting her out, and let her come to you for attention. Pet her just a little, leave her wanting more instead of having enough and biting you to make you quit. When she does bite, slap her on the nose lightly and tell her no. If she is attacking your feet, try having a spray bottle of water handy to spray her with.

Also, just to be sure, I would take her to the vet to make sure that there isn't some physical problem with her. If she's not feeling good, this may be her only way to tell you.

Answer 4

I had a cat like this - part-Siamese that I finally had to put to sleep last year at the age of 16 years. She was definitely a "one-person" cat - she liked me best and would tolerate me more than anyone else in the house, but she still bit me, too. Some things that could be causing this:

1. How long have you had her? It is possible she is grieving the loss of her former owner. When we had to put our dog to sleep, when Sammy (the cat) was about 8, her biting increased noticeably for several months - maybe even a year - afterwards.

2. Sammy was abused as a kitten by teenage boys. She *definitely* had a thing about men, especially young ones. She liked to bite them the most. The only man she ever willingly went to was my grandfather. Since you don't know Magic's history, she could have something like this in her background that is influencing her behavior. It will take a lot of time and patience to "train" her out of this, if so.

3. You may have "moved into her space" too suddenly. I had to learn to really read Sammy's behavior, and go slowly. I would have to pay attention to her tail, her ears, everything, because she would look relaxed, and then BAM! She'd nail you. Start with short, gentle caresses (if she'll let you) and always leave her wanting more. You may want to pet her more, but the idea is to increase the length of each petting session but always quit while you are ahead! You will have to study her to learn her signs for imminent attack.

Finally, treats pretty much always work, and so does play time. When Magic is eating a treat she likes or playing with a feather on a string or some other kind of toy, and she is otherwise having a good time, that's when you need to initiate contact, so that she begins to associate you and your touch with pleasant things like eating and playing.

Good luck - I hope this helps. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you and Magic!

Answer 5

Biting happens a lot in declawed cats. Also possible she just was never taught differently though; it's not the _only_ cause of biting.
Best thing to train her not to bite is every time she does this sternly say 'no' and at that time stop petting her, ignore her for a while. After a while hopefully she'll learn that if she wants your attention -which she does, if she rolls at your feet like that- she'll figure out that she better stop that biting. Be firm and consistant.

Answer 6

I'm against declawing. I'm not so sure it's a reaction of declawing. I have a part Siamese Part Tiger that does basically the same things. He'll bite quite hard, but I believe he's just playing without realising he's hurting. She might have some Siamese in her. I've heard they have a mean streak. If you do give her away, please find a no-kill shelter or a family member or friend that will take care of her.

Answer 7

try using toys to play with her instead of your hand. My cat bites also but he's just 11/2 years old and still frisky. I think if I'd used my hands for petting, then pulled away when he bit he might learn that biting isn't good. It's worth a try anyway. Might take a while for your cat to learn tho. Don't give up. Cats can be very loving companions. I would hate to see him destroyed because of this.

Answer 8

Eighty percent of the cats that are surrendered that are declawed are euthanized because they have a behavioral problems. Declawed cats frequently become biters and also stop using litter boxes, One or the other, said William Lombardi, shelter director, Gloucester County, New Jersey.
Gloucester County Animal Shelter, says Lombardi, who's been the director for three years and an animal control officer for 25. Cats with claws, he says, are always surrendered for human-related issues, mainly moving and can't take the cat with us. Declawed cats, on the other hand, have behavior problems, and most who come in end up having to be euthanized. Even when Lombardi works with declawed cats and tries to place them in new homes, they often come back to the shelter for not using the litter box. Almost all of our hotline calls are declawed cats with litter box issues, says Pat Rock of the Oshkosh Area Humane Society in Wisconsin. "The Declaw Dilemma", Nancy Lawson

Answer 9

i would say yes, as we have a declawed female who is very old she'll bat at ya if she is a lttle upset but if she is down right mad she'll bite and bite hard with out using her paws as i'm sure she knows they don't really hurt..u know have a queen..lol for the longest time if she was on your lap if u tried to move her she'd bite u. but now as years went on she's not so mean she lets me pick her up she growls about it but don't attack any more..mostly. but she is queen of my parnets house...she is my fathers cat from day one he can do anything to her..even though she was to be mine....she picked him. and let me tell u how sweet she was at the shelterso loving purring and cuddleing then she came home and the B*tch came out...
sit quitely with her w/o touch or talking or really moving as that may cause her to bite...just toss her a few treats....plus she hasn't been there really that long took my last new cat almost a year to really like anyone...and he pick our other cat and our kid...as his favs.

Answer 10

No - it has little if anything to do with being declawed. What she's trying to do is to get you to play! She may have been by herself for a long time before you got her, and may not realize that her biting hurts, so that's something you'll have to teach her. When two cats fight for "fun," they will generally stop when one or the other complains loudly - it's a behavior they learn as kittens, and possibly also something she didn't learn. I know it's not easy, but when she bites, instead of pulling away, make a loud, harsh, unpleasant noise and STOP - just freeze. Make it loud enough to startle her to the point that she stops what she's doing. After a few times, she'll get the picture that what she's doing is unacceptable to you. When she's playing gently, continue to engage her, so that she understand that GENTLE play is ok, but the instant it switches to something painful, make noise and stop playing.