Does my cat have a mental disorder?

Question

I know there have been similar questions to this but my circumstances are different.

My cat Leo, is 5 yrs old, we got him from a friend who had a 3 yr old grand daughter she often, pulled his tail and so forth, (I'm saying this to help you answer)

On with the point, when my cat is in one of the most beautiful affectionate moods, he has a habit, of suddenly turning around and biting or scratching, whom ever he is been nice to, he has also done this to me and my father, (we are his favourites) then ten minutes later he will come back, and be all nice as though nothing happened.

Is my cat emotionally scarred from when he was a kitten, or since he does it to the people he trusts?
Or is it possible he has some sort of mental disorder?

By the way, He is half siamese, and when he bites or scratches it is not playing as he usually always draws quite a bit of blood.

any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

I believe that the owner of the cat is neurotic.

Answer 2

I believe your cat has been seriously tramatized from what happened to it. Also, you said the magic word, the siamese part, you are lucky to get the lovin you get. I do believe the cat is fear of being hurt again. So a little love and let it go off your lap or leave it alone. Maybe in time your baby will calm down and all will be fine. The cat may be in pain in areas if this brat has hurt your cat. Especially the tail, the tail can be broke so easily. Mine just had a broken tail, I don't know how this happened, we don't have kids and nobody else is here but hubby and I. So he just had surgery. I am going to ask a question here to see if anyone else went through this. I think that Leo will lighten up, he don't mean it, just don't hit him when he does this, otherwise he will never get over it. Say, Oweeeee. and leave him alone. Good Luck and God Bless too.

Answer 3

Hi there

I think it is most likely that your cat is acting as he does because of the tail pulling in his earlier years. Sorry, but I'm not sure there is a great deal that you can do about this other than to wait for age to calm him down and to be very careful not to make any sudden movements that might trigger the biting and scratching.

We have a cat, Stanzi, whom we adopted as a stray - she just ran in through out cat flap one evening and has stayed with us ever since. (We advertised in the "Lost and Found" but with no success - guess her previous people can't have loved her that much!)

When she was first with us, at around one year old, she absolutely hated being picked up and would only very rarely come to sit on our laps. We reckon that she had probably run away from a home where there were children who played rough with her.

Now, eight years further on, she will come and lay in our laps for ages and generally loves being stroked. But we always have to be alert to not making her feel enclosed or restricted in any way, as that is bound to bring on a hissy/scratchy fit! And she still loathes being picked up...

I think once cats have been tail-pulled etc by children it is very difficult indeed to help them learn that others aren't going to do the same. I'm afraid all the advice I can give is what I've put in my first paragraph - plus always have antiseptic and bandages to hand! (I have to be very careful as I've had a mastectomy and full axial clearance and therefore have no lymph nodes in my left armpit - so a cat scratch to my left arm means lots and lots of surgical spirit applied immediately!).

Just a thought - I've seen people recommend a product called "SoftPaws" - don't know if this is available where you are but it may be worth trying for one part of the problem, anyway.

Good luck with your cat!

Answer 4

I have a cat who does the same thing.. you can usually only get three or four pets in before she will turn on you..

i just tend to warn people and figure thats just how she is..

she might be a little crazy... but shes still my little kitty...

plus she has a habit of biting and attacking her own tail untill the point she screams cause she's hurting herself

Answer 5

If the child was rough with him for several years, that's what he grew to know. Changing the only known habits of a cat several years later is going to be difficult. This in an instinct that was taught to him. He probably isn't emotionally distroyed, and he probably doesn't know that he's doing anything wrong.

Answer 6

Quite right - the behavior is a carry over from when the 3 yr old use to pull her tail as a kitten.

Answer 7

This is totally normal behavior, esp. for Siamese (I have 3).
Read a cat behavior website to learn the warning signs, such as tail-twitching, to know when to stop petting.

Answer 8

It sounds to me like love bites. they can draw blood because they really don't know how hard they are biting. my cat will bite me a little after i rub his belly or scratch his chest, but i just say hey! and then he starts licking. or maybe that is his way of saying i'm done being petted now...either way i don't think he is mental

Answer 9

I adopted a one eyed stray from a shelter some years ago who did the same type of thing. He would also climb up my legs and knock food out of my hand. Attack the back of my legs when I would walk by. It took A LOT of time with him and patience. You just have to discourage the bad behavior. Push him away when he hurts you. Play games and with toys when he is sweet. It worked with my demon it should work with yours but it will take time. Don't give up on him!

Answer 10

This type of behaviour is quite common in cats who have suffered some sort of ill treatment when they were younger. He may mellow as he gets older or it might be something you have to learn to live with.

Answer 11

It could be from the abuse. I have had to train rescued cats not to do that. What has worked for me is right when he is acting up, grab his scruff firmly, but not roughly, make him look you in the eyes, and say, "NO!" Immediately let him go. Do not pick him up by the scruff and do not hit him. It'll take a few times, but they catch on. When he's lovey, act like nothing happened.