# Cats have feelings



## OldFatJoe (Apr 1, 2021)

Cats (at least mine) have feelings and I've learned you *can* hurt them. I had to spend most of the day today in Phoenix with doctor appointments etc. and Roxi was alone all day. I got home and she was her normal loving self and so happy to see me and then.........She attacked and bit my left leg hard, twice! That was completely out of the blue. I usually let her lick and gently gnaw on my fingers all the time as I've read that it's a sign of affection. It's never painful. She is normally so loving and glued to me at all times. She knows that a thumbs up means "good girl" and a thumbs down means "BAD girl". It really upset me that she bit me so hard and drew blood twice for no reason that I've been constantly calling her bad girl and won't let her into my man cave and onto my desk like I usually do. Now she sits just outside the man cave and cries constantly. I won't pet her or even acknowledge her other than to say bad girl and a thumbs down. She knows she did bad wrong and hurt me and she's smart enough that I think she'll learn from it. I hope..... I may not let her sleep in the bed with me tonight as that is her greatest pleasure. That may be going too far though and be kinda cruel to her.

I'm starting to think she was just showing her displeasure that I left her alone today for so long. Still, attacking and biting me like she did is unacceptable and I won't allow it. I feel like I'm dealing with an unruly 5 year old at times but she is SO smart and learns SO fast that it's OK. I challenge her constantly to learn new commands and I think she actually enjoys it. She's learned to say "no" to things she doesn't want to do. We'll go back and forth with her saying no and me saying yes. It's quite comical.

Joe


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## MistWolf (Mar 30, 2005)

Your cat bit you because she was stressed out by something, possibly your absence. But she doesn't know she did something wrong, she only knows the most important person in best life is treating her poorly, which stresses her out. Cats have a short term memory of about three seconds and do not connect punishment to what they did.

I know you mean well, but you need to put what happened behind you because- as you noted- cats have feelings. Keep treating her like this and it will erode the trust she has for you. She'll stay feeling insecure and start acting out.


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## OldFatJoe (Apr 1, 2021)

She has calmed down now and keeps trying her best to snuggle with me now. I'll go ahead and let her sleep with me tonight and I'm sure she will have learned that biting isn't acceptable. I'll go back to spoiling her rotten and playing fetch etc. and we'll be back to being bestest buddies. She truly does learn from her "mistakes". I've never had an animal as smart as this little girl. She seems to absolutely love to learn. I think I'm going to try to teach her to "say" more than *NO*. She seems to understand a lot of what I say to her as evidenced by how torn up she is by "bad girl". She is SO vocal. She keeps crying because I won't touch her. I'll reassure her before bedtime though. 

Sheesh, it's like having yet another psycho girlfriend. LOL.......

Joe


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## OldFatJoe (Apr 1, 2021)

@ Kiki's Mom

Thanks for yet another insightful post. Hmm.. *anthropomorphize*. I had to look that one up. You're absolutely correct and I'm 100% guilty of expecting her to respond like a human. I'll keep this in mind from now on. In her defense when we're playing and she's swatting at me she seems to understand "paws, NO claws" and seldom draws blood unless she gets mad. Your "blowing a fuse" seems fitting for her as it does for your cat and I'm now inclined to believe that's what happened yesterday. I was gone for most of the day and when I got out of the car I could see her in the front door sidelight window pacing back and forth in anticipation. I'm now thinking her bites were punishment for leaving her alone for far too long. Kind of like the teacher learning from the student. LOL 

Everything is back to normal now. Both of us have learned a lot. She is getting her treats and attention just like before. I now know not to leave her alone for so long as I now think that's what caused her "fuse to blow".

Joe


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## OldFatJoe (Apr 1, 2021)

Kiki's Mom said:


> Joe, were Roxy's pupils dilated when she bit you?



I don't know about the pupils. I was stretched out in the recliner with my feet on the coffee table when Roxi attacked me twice after I got home yesterday and kicked off my shoes. All is great today. My arm hurts from throwing toys for her to fetch to me to throw again. She rubs against my legs constantly and as soon as she sees me her tail shoots straight up. Sometimes there is a curl at the end and from what I've been able to gather that means playfulness. With all her warts (and mine) I wouldn't trade her for the world. I'll try to do my best to stop making her behave as a human would. It's pretty obvious who is the smart one in this pairing and it's obviously NOT me! LOL

I've been 3D printing various items for her to play with and it seems a 20x20x20mm block is her favorite so far. I plan to look this weekend for a plush toy that she might take a shine to. If she doesn't like it my daughters dog will have fun shredding it in mere minutes.

Joe


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## OldFatJoe (Apr 1, 2021)

I'm looking forward to your list of toys. 

Roxi's previous life was as a stray (feral?) for at least her first 6 months (vets age guess at time of spaying) then after rescue living with us and two other domesticated cats and a very cat friendly dog for about 5 months while I was looking for a house to buy. All of those animals loved chasing each other through my daughters house with no fighting or aggression whatsoever. It was hilarious entertainment! Roxi took to me and slept with me every night even at my daughters house so she became "mine". I spent over $500.00 for spay, vet visit, shots etc. Now that I have my own house she's on her own with me with 3 times the space to explore. She just seems to be quite happy all the time. I'll forget about the biting yesterday as that was so far out of character for her and likely a one time thing. I'll be certain to change my approach to her as well. A learning experience for both of us.

Joe


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## OldFatJoe (Apr 1, 2021)

Just saw your toy post. I have a few Dollar Store laser pointers that she loves but they quit working even with new batteries. They're dirt cheap and I might buy some more.

I bought a Zebco short rod and reel combo from Amazon a while back that I can launch a catnip mouse all the way across the house with. She's ambivalent with this one. She prefers that I just throw the mice for her so she can drop them at my feet. Fetching is so much fun with her. I'll look into your other two suggestions too.

Joe


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## OldFatJoe (Apr 1, 2021)

I almost forgot to add that brushing with *THIS* cheap brush from Walmart is another very enjoyable pastime for her. She loves both sides of the brush. The metal side has balls on the end of the spikes so causes no pain at all. Roxi just loves it!

Joe


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## OldFatJoe (Apr 1, 2021)

Roxi has always licked and playfully gnawed on my fingers, hands and arms without causing any pain and if she did all I had to do is say ouch and she would let up before continuing. The bites and claws to my leg yesterday were quite painful and *WAY* out of character for her and have never ever happened before. It's over, done with and I won't dwell on it. If she keeps it up and I doubt she will I'll know it's a problem to deal with but for now I think it was just that she was alone for too long and she let me know her displeasure with me "abandoning" her as she was abandoned very early in her life by whatever low life tossed her out on the I-10 Freeway miles from anywhere.. 

Joe


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## MistWolf (Mar 30, 2005)

Roxie is a very blessed kitty. Did you find her? If I may ask, are you in California? That's where I grew up. We're now in Utah.


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## OldFatJoe (Apr 1, 2021)

Some friends saw her walking on the I-10 East freeway between Casa Grande and Tucson were there is nothing for miles. She was nothing but skin and bones from being out there for so long. We're certain she was dumped out there to get eaten by coyotes. My friends had cat hating dogs and couldn't keep her. They asked us to take her until they could find a home for her. For some reason she took a liking to me and me to her. The rest is history.

Joe


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## OldFatJoe (Apr 1, 2021)

@MistWolf:

I was born in San Diego 1956. Left that wretched state for Phoenix in 2002. Only returned once in 2006 for my son's wedding. I have no plans to ever return to that miserable state. Arizona is now my forever home. I absolutely LOVE it here. Heat and all.

Joe


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## MistWolf (Mar 30, 2005)

I had a feeling that was your story. We lived in Tusayan for a couple of years, which a little village just outside the south gate of the Grand Canyon. 

That stretch of the I-10 is brutal, especially in the summer. Roxi is a tough cat to have survived there.


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## OldFatJoe (Apr 1, 2021)

Roxi is a tough cat period. I sure hope I pass before she does. At this point I'd be absolutely devastated without her. I've had lots of different pets in the past but she is just "special" in so many ways. Only my 3rd cat and I'm hooked and I don't think she could be replaced. I really got lucky that she adopted me.

Joe


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## Janis (Aug 26, 2010)

The bite sounds bad. Cat bites are particularly bad and apt to get infected according to my doctor. I had one become infected and took a while on antibiotics to get it under control. Kerp a close eye on the bite areas, and contact the doc if it begins to look suspicious. My current cat is an ex- feral 3 days out of a colony (was a kitten at the time). He has really mellowed but for a long time would reprimand me with an attack.. I could tell he was going to attack because hed sit in front of me, his eyes looked intense and he would creep forward while still sitting, giving soft little chirpy meows before he began his attack. Just be careful about the bite areas.


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## OldFatJoe (Apr 1, 2021)

For my situation I think the "blew a fuse" fits. If Roxi is laying down and I walk past her she always playfully attacks my legs with paws only and claws retracted never drawing blood. She can and has drawn blood on many occasions but it was always 100% my fault for playing a little too hard with her and I've never reprimanded her for my mistakes. This incident was not my fault and came out of the blue. TWICE in a row. She must have been unhappy with something, the fuse blew and she clawed and bit my leg twice. Normally she loves to lick my fingers/hand and bite gently. If she bites a little too hard all I have to do is say OUCH and she stops. I then give her back my fingers or whatever she was gnawing on and she's much more gentle. I seriously doubt her normal intentions are to ever hurt me. Now where do I insert that new fuse in her. LOL.

Joe


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