# cat attacks after rubbing on us?



## cateyes1981 (Sep 11, 2005)

our new cat will rub on us and pur in the morning when we feed it but then while we are trying to walk to her food she will grab my shoes and bite down and then hiss and swat then she will go back to rubbing me and then repeat?? I am not petting her or anything i am trying to walk to her food to feed her yet she is acting like this 

i can hear her purring then she will howl and grab my feet and fight 


can anyone tell me how to stop this so i can feed her in peace?


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

Shes only excited and trying to get you playing.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

My neighbor's cat was like that. She *wanted* to be love-y and get petted, but I think the physical attention over-stimulated her and she would swipe/hiss at our legs/hands. Way back then, I didn't know about over-stimulation so I didn't learn how to counteract it. Back then, I just stamped my feet to let her know I didn't want her near my legs. IMO, this really isn't a behavioral issue, it is more of a medical one, because her skin is hyper-sensitive and she just doesn't know how to behave when her skin is all touchy. 
Do you ever notice her slinking and sinking her body away from your hand when it is reaching to pet her?
Do you ever notice her fur rippling after she has been petted?
Does she ever randomly leap up, run a few steps, stop and immediately groom her back or tail or shake her feet or ripple her fur after suddenly leaping up?
How about little signals like her tail twitching or flipping, posture changing, ears flattening, eyes dilating, vocal sounds and/or any changes in vocal sounds, like going from purring to silent?
...those are all signs the cat is giving you to stop whatever you are doing with her. Now in your case, she wants to eat, you are trying to walk across the room to feed her and you really can't just 'stop' feeding her. I think you'll have to encourage her to give you some personal space so you can walk unmolested. 
Maybe just stop when she rubs on you. Tell her "No!" if she swipes/bites. When she moves away, change your voice to a sweet praise of "Good kitty!" and sort of give her a waving-ish 'go on' or 'shoo' gesture with your hand while also telling her to "move on" to signal you want her to precede you. When she steps away from your legs, walk forward. When she approaches or grabs at you, stop and again use the No!/Good-kitty! command/praise combo and work your way towards the bowl in that manner. Eventually she will learn to "lead" you to her bowls and possibly stand waiting at her bowls instead of impeding your progress by winding around your legs.

Some articles:
Little Big Cat ~ http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?a ... aggression
Suite 101 ~ http://cats.suite101.com/article.cfm/wh ... ing_petted


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## cateyes1981 (Sep 11, 2005)

hey s he has free run of the house now she gets along with the animals the dogs are scared of her and the resident cat pumpkin has her respect some how and they all get along 

but sometimes nilla will trap me and my roomates from comming upstairs or comming in the house lol it sounds funny but she will block a door way and stop us from passing her by growling and hissing she NEVER Does this to the cat cause if she does the cat will jump her 


she will growl and smack my roomates if they get near her but shes totally fearless 

so my roomates are trying to hiss like a cat at her anytime she trys to block them from going up stairs or in the bathroom what u guys think? sometimes she will out of the blue just start taking swipes at one of us


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## cateyes1981 (Sep 11, 2005)

i also want to say i know she is happy because she will eat anything i give her and seems to constantly go into my bedroom and just walk around for fun i think her growling and swatting people is not from fear but more from dominance or maybe its her way of playing since she never learned how to play probably is it ok to let the house cat play police man and stop nala when nala trys to bully us? lol 


the 2 cats get along good though and only a problem reuupts when nala will try to beat on one of us for no reason after pumpkin stops nala nala quickly forgets about what happens and they go about their business

i think the cats have some wierd crazy bond


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Well, it is either over-stimulation or she is behaving in a little bit of a 'redirected aggression' issue, smelling other scents on the clothing of everyone in the house and those odors are causing her reaction. The hissing and swiping. 
What do you think? 
When she does that, have you or the others been around any other animals that day?


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