Should I put my cat down?

[Kloubek]

Ok guys - I have two cats. Raised them both from infants. Neither have been abused their entire lives, and have received a ton of attention and love.

My one cat (7 years old) is very docile. I would not think twice about having him snuggle with a newborn. The other (8 years old) is a different story. Since he was a year or two old, he has always been pretty territorial, and slow to warm up to strangers. He never really does completely and always seems apprehensive. This might be because I rarely have too many guests over, and he has not had a lot of public interaction. He has swatted at people before, and hissed a lot. Yet, with me, he is always VERY affectionate, and is almost always by my side at home; or at least in the same room.

So whatever. I have a dickhead of a cat. No problem right?

Well, a month or two ago I had a family look at my home I have for sale. I was not around. My cat was fine at first, but after several minutes he decided to run at, and jump on the back of the child of the prospective buying family. Gave her some pretty good scratches, and then attacked the Realtor who was showing the place, who tried to get the cat off the girl. (Sorry to your friend Jordan!) In the end, I apologized profusely and felt really bad, but that was that. I hoped it was an isolated incident, because someone new was in the house without my presence.

So yesterday, I had another family in my home. The one woman pet this cat, and he was fine. They were in the home for around 20 minutes. While talking to one of the family members, I sensed/heard a scene behind me. My cat had jumped off his chair, and went straight for the woman who pet him earlier. She was holding a child - and I think he wanted at the kid. He attached to her leg, and dug in. I managed to get him off, but he ran around me and went in for another (more fierce) attack. The poor girl had multiple deep punctures all over her leg, and didn't stop bleeding for hours.

She called me later, and I offered to pay for antibiotics she was given by the doctor as a precaution. They called the city, who sent out an officer. He fined me for the bite ($350), but waived a non-registration ticket, as well as did not force me to put him down. Nice guy actually - and he was very understanding.

In a couple of years, I am planning on having kids. There is no way I am risking this happening to them, and know I will have to put him down at that time.

But for now, I love him to death and would hate to give him up. But I cannot have my guests attacked like this, and if I lock him in a room I know he is just going to claw the door apart and whine until I let him out. I should add that he is otherwise completely healthy, and this aggression is not a result of any kind of pain, as far as I know.

I should also add that if I DO put him down, the officer felt the crown might lower the fine because I did something about the situation. Still, this is not about the money - it is about my cat... who has almost been like my kid for many years. I DO love him to death. Plus, he provides company to my other cat - who I fear might be lonely without him.

So what would you do...?

[adidas]

Why not give it up for adoption? No animal deserves to be put down, at least in my opinion. Let the guy live

[Kloubek]

Sorry - that is not an option. He loves me, but dislikes anyone else. Sometimes outright hates anyone else, hence my story. He simply would not adapt to another home and owner - that I can guarantee.

[Boat]

Your poll sucks.. you need to include more fields... Like mentioned - Adoption, I dunno, maybe de claw the feline. As for the teeth...

[LadyLuck]

My cat was pretty psycho, she liked to play rough which always resulted in a bloody gash or two.

We eventually started locking her up in a kennel when we had guests over. At first she hated it, but got used to it pretty quick.

Maybe thats something you could try out and see how he reacts to it.

[xLostx]

eh if he's 8 years old already, ride it out and he'll die in a couple years, hopefully it's before you have kids

[almerick]

I've never had a cat before but can you get him de-clawed? And as mentioned above, don't put him down

[Kloubek]

Originally posted by Boat
Your poll sucks.. you need to include more fields... Like mentioned - Adoption, I dunno, maybe de claw the feline. As for the teeth...

Lol... the poll doesn't suck. Perhaps I did not present enough details.

- already explained that adoption is not an option for this guy.
- I failed to mention that I do not believe in de-clawing; especially at this age. Plus, sometimes it tends to make cats MORE aggressive, since it is unnatural to them.

And teeth - well... I could break out the bench grinder I guess....

[sputnik]

Kennel your cat when others are around.

If your cat is not socialized, it should not be out in social situations.

[cdnsir]

Don't put him down. Have him around as long as you can, then reconsider the whole situation when you finally have kids. Until then, would it be an option to have him stay in a cage when guests are around?

[510-Trevor]

Is he neutered?
Maybe talk to your vet about getting something to calm the cat down for when you have company (valium for cats?)
Cats are hard to adopt out (check how many are at the SPCA), I wouldn't consider it option for a cat like yours.

[89coupe]

Originally posted by Kloubek


Lol... the poll doesn't suck. Perhaps I did not present enough details.

- already explained that adoption is not an option for this guy.
- I failed to mention that I do not believe in de-clawing; especially at this age. Plus, sometimes it tends to make cats MORE aggressive, since it is unnatural to them.

And teeth - well... I could break out the bench grinder I guess....

So you would rather kill your cat then giving him up for adoption?

FYI, I can guarantee you your cat would absolutely love hanging out on a big farm where there are other animals, mice and birds for him/her to interact with, hunt and kill.

Don't be so narrow minded.

[FraserB]

Declaw him if he lives indoors. Our cat is declawed and she has no issues when shes out in the yard by herself. Explain why declawing a cat would make it more aggressive.

If not, the kennel it when people are coming over and dont give in to the whining, he`ll stop once he realizes you are not going to let him out.

[Mibz]

Originally posted by 510-Trevor
Maybe talk to your vet about getting something to calm the cat down for when you have company (valium for cats?)

This is what I was going to suggest.

[urban.one]

Dont de-claw him. Its inhumane. Do a search and youll see it is not recommded.

Lock the cat in a room or in a kennel when you have guests. The cat will learn to settle down.

Id take the cat to the vet and get a check up. There might be something wrong. However, its likely the cat just doesnt like little kids because they are small and move quickly.

The other option is to find someone to take the cat. Maybe an older person who doesnt have many visitors and no children are ever around.

Best option is just to keep the cat and lock it up when kids come over. Id reassess the situation if you decide to have kids but it sounds like you dont know when that will be.

I never knew youd get a ticket for a cat biting someone in your own house. What did the lady want to accomplish by calling bylaw?

[Kloubek]

89coupe: I'm not being narrow-minded. It's just that you aren't being realistic.
1) I don't believe once someone gives a cat up for adoption that they can control who it goes to
2) It is highly likely the cat will NOT be moved to a farm, as we happen to live in a CITY of a million people.
3) Cats are rarely adopted. Usually, they are put down after a period of time. People seldom want full-grown cats - especially those who have an aggressive nature.

Fraser: I dont know - that is just what I've heard. Maybe because they get frustrated that their natural defenses no longer exist? I've also heard cats can turn into biters instead if they have no claws, but still wish to act aggressive.

Urban: I agree - I'm not a big fan of declawing.

The cat is healthy. I brought him in a couple of years ago for a urinary issue, and they looked him over at that time. Totally healthy otherwise. And plus, his aggression has been ongoing for many years. But I MAY want to take him anyway, since it looks like he broke/bent a toe during the skirmish.

I don't think he dislikes children because they move quick - though that doesn't help. This woman was holding a baby - and I think he just views small humans as "lesser" on the alpha scale.

Again, I must stress that giving him away is not an option. He doesn't take any ANYONE else. He is *just* warming to my girlfriend of 2 1/2 years, and even that adjustment is slight.

From the sounds of it, most are suggesting locking him up when I have guests. He isn't going to like it, but if that is what I need to do from keeping from putting him down, I can live with that - and he would have to as well.

I'm not really sure why she called the city. Guess they just wanted to follow what they felt was the proper process.

Had the city been called the first time he attacked someone too, I believe they might have forced me to put him down. Thank god the first family was so understanding....

[BokCh0y]

don't put him down man.....

Sounds like he's aggressive cuz he's protective towards you and the property. Would you seriously go out and take something out cuz it was protecting you?

Like the peeps above said...kennel and declaw. But let it ride out its life man.

[89coupe]

Originally posted by Kloubek
89coupe: I'm not being narrow-minded. It's just that you aren't being realistic.
1) I don't believe once someone gives a cat up for adoption that they can control who it goes to
2) It is highly likely the cat will NOT be moved to a farm, as we happen to live in a CITY of a million people.
3) Cats are rarely adopted. Usually, they are put down after a period of time. People seldom want full-grown cats - especially those who have an aggressive nature.

Fraser: I dont know - that is just what I've heard. Maybe because they get frustrated that their natural defenses no longer exist? I've also heard cats can turn into biters instead if they have no claws, but still wish to act aggressive.

What does you living in a city have anything to do with you giving your cat to a family who lives on a farm???

Farms love having cats because it keeps the mice and birds away from barns where they store feed, and farm equipment.

I can guarantee you if you drove out to any local farm, they would be happy to have your cat.

[UndrgroundRider]

First, lock the cat up when people are going to be around. Human safety must come first. That seems like common sense after the first incident. What you're really worried about here is some kid catching a claw in the eye. Already the two incidents you have mentioned could've been much worse than they were. Deep puncture wounds by cats can often lead to tetanus infections as a result of the type of wound, and the high availability of tetanus causing bacteria in soil.

Next, look for an obedience class. There's no need to jump to extremes and put the cat down. Animals are quite capable of learning and changing their behaviour. It's not easy, especially as a loving pet owner, but it's key to making sure your cats can integrate well with your kids.

Cats are instinctually territorial, and will act on those instincts unless trained otherwise. Blaming the cat for these incidents shows a fundamental lack of understanding about your pet. As you have already alluded to in your post, the problem is not the cat, it's you. By failing to socialize the cat at a young age you never gave the cat an opportunity to be told what is acceptable and what is not when around strangers. In fact, you have done the opposite, by reinforcing the cat's natural instinct to be isolate.

[Lex350]

let the cat go out and play with the coyotes