Kitty Cat was very happy for a while

[ghostjmf]

For a while after I returned, TuckerMonster was in major snuggle mode. Tucker usually requires the snugglee to be sleeping, & presumably exhuding more warmth than the radiator, at least momentarily; else he'd be cuddling up to that instead. This time around, he's all over me.

Wants to sit next to me even when I'm on the floor near the VCR, setting up stuff & checking it, or reading subtitles off the TV screen or whatever.

Then, this morning, after 2 nights interspersed with one day, all of snuggle-itis, he turned on me & I've got new scratches.


A friend of mine was talking to an old, old friend of theirs. You can tell they are no longer on the same political wavelengths, 'cause every so often my friend would grin & give "cool it so we don't fight" hand signals.

But then their friend told the story of the stray cat. Rescued from something awful, like "inside the air conditioner", when it was tiny, raised by them from then on. A lovely cat that would suddenly for no apparent reason turn on them. At age 3, it turned on the talker for the last time; they immediately had it killed. They said they had put up with being scratched (the last one required stitches) for the last time.

I try to tell my cat this chilling story, but he knows I'm too much of a softie for that.

My cat was rescued with mom & siblings, & adopted by me at estimated age 6 weeks, & I thought all that early nurturing would take the "feral onus" off. Apparently not. There's something in his heart that makes him inexplicably lash out at his food source & favorite human radiator. A minute later, he's all purrs again, but I'm not.

[kayrharris]

Ouch! Maybe he just had a delayed reaction to your being gone a few
days. I don't anyone can figure out what goes on in a cat's head.

[ghostjmf]

kayrharris says:

Ouch! Maybe he just had a delayed reaction to your being gone a few
days. I don't anyone can figure out what goes on in a cat's head.

Nah, his response to me being gone longer than I've ever been gone before in his lifetime with no-one else there (I will have to look into getting visits set up over Christmas; I thought about it this trip, but didn't act) was the snugglemania. The "turning evil" is the typical Tucker response. It just means he's "back to normal". Sigh.

If he was that bigger kitty in that youtube clip, I would not be here any more to write these lines. That's why I marvel at but am very afraid for those people in the clip.

[kayrharris]

kayrharris says:

Ouch! Maybe he just had a delayed reaction to your being gone a few
days. I don't anyone can figure out what goes on in a cat's head.

Nah, his response to me being gone longer than I've ever been gone before in his lifetime with no-one else there (I will have to look into getting visits set up over Christmas; I thought about it this trip, but didn't act) was the snugglemania. The "turning evil" is the typical Tucker response. It just means he's "back to normal". Sigh.

If he was that bigger kitty in that youtube clip, I would not be here any more to write these lines. That's why I marvel at but am very afraid for those people in the clip.

I felt the same way about the big cat on You Tube. It is a wild animal.
I couldn't figure out how they knew that was the right big cat running at them full speed
ahead. I would have been terrified!

[secondchance]

Our female black kitty, Zoom (with the eerily precise quirks of her look-alike predecessor, Mouser) loooves to get pets, is very friendly and follows us around like a puppy. But if you pet her for too long, or below the head/neck area, she'll get overstimulated or something, and nip or scratch ya good. It's an odd reaction but we've learned to accept these limits, and have always made sure to warn all potential victims to "ignore the black cat," or pet at their own risk.

[littlebeast13]

Our female black kitty, Zoom (with the eerily precise quirks of her look-alike predecessor, Mouser) loooves to get pets, is very friendly and follows us around like a puppy. But if you pet her for too long, or below the head/neck area, she'll get overstimulated or something, and nip or scratch ya good. It's an odd reaction but we've learned to accept these limits, and have always made sure to warn all potential victims to "ignore the black cat," or pet at their own risk.

Sister #4's black cat is the same way... but at least its nips and scratches don't penetrate the skin....

lb13

[Dead Mouse]

I was very happy. But now I'm dead.

[Evil Blonde Meece]

I was very happy. But now I'm dead.

Aw man! Did you meet death by Go-Go boots?

[secondchance]

Our female black kitty, Zoom (with the eerily precise quirks of her look-alike predecessor, Mouser) loooves to get pets, is very friendly and follows us around like a puppy. But if you pet her for too long, or below the head/neck area, she'll get overstimulated or something, and nip or scratch ya good. It's an odd reaction but we've learned to accept these limits, and have always made sure to warn all potential victims to "ignore the black cat," or pet at their own risk.

Sister #4's black cat is the same way... but at least its nips and scratches don't penetrate the skin....

lb13

How funny! This must be a trait with the "breed." Mouser (also female) used to do the exact same things as Zoom in every way, from the sound of their teeny little "mews" (I call them "beeps,") to the way they stand up tall on their hind legs for pets or treats; they could have been cloned. I'm wondrin', is sis/4's kitty also female?

I've majorly scolded Zoom many times in attempts to dispel this tendancy so the attacks aren't as aggressive as they used to be, and are now more like a display of "HEY bitch- I WARNED you" (she'll give tell-tale signs it's coming, such as a low growl and tail twitching) but she still does it. Of course, we try to just avoid doing what annoys her, but sometimes just can't help wanting to actually give her the affection she seems to be so craving. Plus, I'm stubborn and keep trying to train her out of this pattern, especially since so many guests don't believe us when we warn them about her - as she seems so darned sweet - and go ahead and pet her anyway.

[ghostjmf]

Neither of my girl cats did the bite thing at all.

My previous boy cat did the bite thing a little, but was trained out of it by "he who bites does not get pats 'til he calms down again". This worked in about 2 weeks. Probably 2 days.

Current boy cat is beyond reason or training. Ex-housemate used to claim cat was being trained by refusal-to-pat; yeah, & 5 years later, he's still "being trained". About all you can do, when he gets that killer stare, is get out of the way quickly.

I don't move that quickly early in the morning.

Also, I have to remember to always keep my lovely, bitable ankles encased in socks.

[BigDrawMan]

your cat is annoying

[SportsFan68]

your cat is annoying

I am sure you would love that cat once you got to know him.

[ontellen]

We adopted Eddie from the shelter when he was 8 months old. He came in, got out of the cage, did a tour of the house and then just flopped down on his back. He was home. I came close to calling him Fozzie after the Fosbury flop.

He loves people and is very friendly with everyone. When hubby is away, he sleeps next to his pillow on the bed.

The only problem is at his last weigh-in last week, he was 18 lbs. When we start to go upstairs and he knows he's not going to get fed, he attacks us. He cries and cries because he's so hungry. We will just have to be tough in order to get his weight back down.

I think it's a total crap shoot when picking a pet. We have friends who got a 6 week old kitten who is 1 1/2 now and the most miserable cat I've ever met. She even attacks her owner.

I think we were just lucky.

[Bob Juch]

Neither of my girl cats did the bite thing at all.

My previous boy cat did the bite thing a little, but was trained out of it by "he who bites does not get pats 'til he calms down again". This worked in about 2 weeks. Probably 2 days.

Current boy cat is beyond reason or training. Ex-housemate used to claim cat was being trained by refusal-to-pat; yeah, & 5 years later, he's still "being trained". About all you can do, when he gets that killer stare, is get out of the way quickly.

I don't move that quickly early in the morning.

Also, I have to remember to always keep my lovely, bitable ankles encased in socks.

Have you tried the, "He who bites gets whacked in-between the ears," approach?