Is your cat mad at you?

About 6 years ago I left home and went to college. After about a year, my cat started peeing on my mom's carpet. My mom always said he did it to spite her and even considered putting the cat to sleep. Eventually I moved off campus and was able to bring my cat to live with me.

I brought him to the vet and it turned out that he had a urinary tract infection.

My cat will run up and nip at my legs. I thought it was for attention, but I've been petting her, she jumps off the couch. I get up and walk across the room and she bites at my leg. (yes - blood scratches sometimes). I scream and yell and she runs. nothing works!!! I've tried to discipline, i've separated her from me for 5 min in a kitty timeout (her meows tear my heart!),....its not that she wasn't getting attention. how do I stop this habit? She does it when I climb into bed too- she attacks my feet and then jumps up to sleep with me.

Yes we took her to the Vet and everything came back free and clear. She is almost 4 years old now, and has been peeing on this same blanket since about 9 months old. On a rare occasion she will do it on our dirty laundry too, but it's almost always this one blanket. She's even done it right in front of us before. The anxiety thing is probably what it is. We have recently taken in a foster cat from a local shelter. When we first got him, she did it two or 3 times within a month, then nothing. He left for 3 weeks while there was an outbreak of ringworm at the shelter, but once he was cleared and our pets were all taken to the vet to ensure they didn't have it... she did it again the next day.

Hitting an animal never works. Period. Anyone who hits their pets should have them taken away.

I have a cat who likes to pee the bed too.
You know what works? A good old fashioned spanking. Never peed my bed again. He did, however go into the next room and peed that bed a few months later but now we just keep the door closed.
Cats do that because they are making it "theirs", or sometimes they are angry and like to get even.
I had gone away on a trip and he trashed my room, pooped my bed and somehow put my pillow into the litter box out of revenge.
He is perfectly healthy and young, but doesn't like to be left alone.
the bottom line is you have to discipline pets like children or they don't respect you.
Rolled up newspapers are a safe way to spank, its mostly the noise that gets them. If you don't, they end up neurotic. My mom's ancient siamese cat likes to bite when he doesn't get his way.
He bites toes, fingers, and other animals when he flies into a rage. Mostly its because he doesn't have any cat companions and thinks he is human. She never spanks him, carries him around like a baby, and lets him get away with jumping on the counter and licking dishes out of the sink.
I've had many cats and they know better than that.
He once bit me hard enough to make me bleed, until I gave him a spanking. Never, ever did it again, tried to tattle by giving me dirty looks and then looking back at my mom, but he still bites other people.
Toys are good for keeping them busy, but I can't tell you how many of those plastic balls with the little bell inside have gone missing. Who knows what happened to Mr. Mouse, he lasted a week and they pulled stuffing out of him,(kept finding tufts everywhere) and I never found him.
What I find works, is keeping them in an enclosed yard during the day. They can hang outside, climb trees and burn off energy, and by evening they are tired out and sleep in the laundry room.
My vet commented that they have solid muscle tone and no fat, because they spend time outside.

I completely understand where you are coming from, but I am 100% sure my cat DOES pee on this 1 blanket I have to show anger or frustration towards a situation. Are you sure this is NEVER the case???

Did I say beat the sht out of your pet on a daily basis.
No.
I said spank with a rolled up newspaper. It doesn't hurt, and yes
they learn.

Appletini, violence is never the way to go with any animals. snow bunny, just because they don't learn quickly doesn't mean they're stupid. Maybe it means they don't want to learn. Maybe it's something else. It doesn't mean they're stupid.

My cat loves paper. I have so many pieces of paper in my office but she really likes it when I throw it in the air. She jumps very high, over 4 feet, and even knows how to open a door with a latch. She loves running up a tree. She's a torty cat. If you pet her for more than 3 minutes, she scratches you. The vet said they're all like that. She's still limber and agile and is 16 years old!

Ashley, it can be due to anxiety or it can also be a self-soothing behavior, of course. Just because I say a cat doesn't behave out of spite or to get back at you doesn't mean there isn't an anxiety-related motivation, emotion, or need to self-soothe by mixing his/her scent with a comforting scent that may be on the blanket.

Also, the cat could have a medical problem. Urination outside of the litter box is commonly due to an underlying medical cause. Have you had your cat checked by the veterinarian to have a urinalysis done?

Cats may eliminate on a blanket or other soft surface because it resembles soft litter substrate. If the litter box conditions aren't appealing (too dirty, bad location, box too small, fear of other cats, or not the right type, etc.) then the cat may determine that the blanket works just as well.

I adopted Lola & Lazarus from a local shelter in Feb. '96, and we're all still healthy and happy together. Lazarus does a curious thing, though - he makes a funny sound whenever I reach over the stove to use the microwave; LOL! Haven't figured that one out yet... He also has a fetish for plastic bags, so I'm careful to keep those away from him. Both cats have enriched my life tremendously, as any cat person will understand...

Dear Appletini, punishment, especially in the form of physically hitting the cat is counter-productive. What happens is that the cat can then become afraid of the owner. Also, despite how frustrated you may be at a particular behavior cats don't misbehave to tick you off. Behaviors are repeated because they serve a function. The cat who bites isn't doing it because he doesn't get his way, he does it as a form of communication because he feels he has no other choice. Biting is usually a last resort behavior when the cat feels all his other communication methods have been ignored. The cat may also bite because he feels threatened. Biting also occurs because owners have actually reinforced it.

The reason you may feel that your cat is better behaved because he no longer bites you is actually because he probably has a fear of you.

Cats also do need indoor toys. Just because you think they're burning up energy while outdoors doesn't mean they're having a good time.

I hope you will refrain from using any physical punishment. The big mistake many humans make is to assume an animal is being spiteful and as a result should be "punished." As a result, too many pets become fearful, depressed or alienated from their owners.

Dera snow bunny, cats either have the gene to reactive to catnip or they don't. About 1/3 of the cats don't have the gene. What you're feeling is a "fear" of catnip may actually just be confusion because the scent is intense and they don't like it.

Tedster, my cats are afraid of catnip. Literally terrified of it. I've never seen the like of it. I've had a lot of cats & this is the first time I've seen one that didn't like catnip. It must be why they turned to meth.

My cats only get mad at me if they sneak under the footrest of my recliner. I don't know they're there & put the footrest down (gently, after the first episode) They hiss and bare their teeth, then go hide. I always search them out, coaxing with soothing words. Afer some snuggle time, they start purring again. Stupid kitties, they usually learn quicker than that!

My cat has a thing for plastic bags, too. What is up with that? As soon as I come home with groceries, he starts licking the bags. I find the waste baskets turned over and emptied so he can lick the bag inside. I am afraid he will get in one and suffocate when I am not around.

This cat is actually my daughter's. I am watching him for her. First cat I have ever had. She used to let him out at night (she lived in South Korea) so he expected to be let out at night when I have him (here in Phoenix). I did for awhile, but he got run over last year. It cost about $2,500 to fix his leg. Now he goes to the door all day, wanting to go out. He is so miserable he can't go out. Sometimes I think I should not have saved his life. He seems like a prisoner. I bought a female cat (rescue cat at Pet's Mart) to keep him company, but they don't really get along (they chase each other around the apartment). Any suggestions (about the going out, or how to get the cats to like each other more, or the plasic bag thing)?
Jo Ann
P.S. I have always heard cats should not be hit--that they don't understand why you are hurting them. I would appreciate the vet's comments on that.

I have had several cats in my life time. My cats are allowed to go anywhere in my house except the dining room table and my kitchen counter tops. It takes a while to train them. You have to stay on top of it at all times. All you do is pick the cat up and set him back on the floor. Eventually they will get the idea.

After the death of my last cat, for the first time in my life, I adopted TWO cats. I don't know how I ever managed with only one. They were kittens when I got them and also litter mates. They love each other. They run, play and groom each other. I was letting them outside a couple of hours a day until the male (a maine coon) learned how to jump the chain link fence. Having already introduced them to the out doors, I could not force myself to keep them in doors all the time so we built a cat enclosure in our back yard and inserted a pet door off of our screened room. They are two happy cats. It's not the same as beong allowed to climb the trees but they seem to love it. I have two bird feeders in the back yard and they watch the birds and the squirrels play all day.

Unfortunately, I am having a problem getting close to them. They seem to shy away and run if I try to show them any affection. The little female doesn't like to be touched or handled unless I am sitting in my computer chair. Then, at that time she will curl up in my lap and go to sleep. The male maine coon is the same way, but that is just his nature. I have never yelled at or physically punished my cats. I speak to them in normal tones.

If your cat is urinating or pooping in your house, I would suggest that you put the litter box in that spot. If it is on your bed, put the litter box close to your bed. It doesn't have to be there forever, just until they learn what the pan is for. Don't forget to reward them when they do good. Just and pet and a soft word is normally enough.

My eldest cat (male, fixed, about 11 years old, no medical problems) will get behind our TV to pee. I should say, he sits beside the tv (it sits at an angle) and looks back at my husband and I 2-3 times as if to say "look I am going to do it, you better catch me before I jump back there to pee."
Yes this is the look we get from him before he bolts back there to pee. This has been going on for 6 years. Any thoughts? Oh and he loves to knock over glasses of water (thankfully it is only water), pees in the tub (which we aren't happy about that fact we have to scrub the tub before every time we use it but we call it "family pee time" and is easier to clean then the carpet), will pee in boxes if he thinks it is time for the box to go (that's what we have concluded anyway) and has recently decided to start peeing in the kitchen sink when it is empty. The vet says it behavioral but does not give any suggestions to fix it, do you have any suggestions? By the way, we do not have room for any more litter boxes and we already use 31 quart containers for their litter boxes, we also put in all new fresh litter at the start of the month and refill half way through the month and scoop it every time we walk by. Any suggestions at all, even if it is just to stop the carpet and box peeing is progress enough.

Ooooh, I'm sending my sister this article, thanks!

to Giselle : try putting tin foil on the places you do not want them, this does not always work if they like that type of crinkly noise. but at least you know when they get up there and you can remove them and tell them no every time they do it.