Expert: Kate Tilmouth - 9/12/2009

Question
Hi. About two months ago, I took in a very sweet and loving 1yr/8mo old stray unneutered male kitty (Smokey) that had been fending for himself in my apartment complex. My ex-boyfriend and I had been feeding him and giving him attention but were reluctant to bring him in since we already had four kitties and lived in a one-bedroom apartment.

However, one day as we were getting in the car we saw Smokey limping on three legs, and holding his right paw up off the ground. We took a look at his paw and saw that he had a really bad abscess above his paw that was bleeding and very swollen. We brought him in and kept him separated from our other kitties until we could try to get him some help the next day. We went to the local SPCA, hoping they would fix him up and find him a home, but we were told to go to a different organization due to the jurisdiction we lived in. When we arrived at the other shelter, I told the receptionist Smokey's name, history, and how sweet he is. She did not seem to care about this stuff, and I was confused and didn't know what was going on. Another lady came out and took Smokey in his carrier and said she'd be back with the carrier. My ex-boyfriend and I asked where she was taking Smokey, and the lady at the desk said she was taking him to be euthanized since they did not have the resources to treat his abscess. We were shocked and told her to bring Smokey back out to us immediately, and luckily the lady brought him back out.

Anyway, we ended up taking him back home, making an appointment with the vet, and getting him all fixed up--abscess treated, shots, tests, treated for worms, and neutered. Two months and $500 later =), he is now doing very well and is not interested at all in going outdoors. My boyfriend and I broke up, and I moved out of state with Smokey and one of our female cats, who I have always been very close to.

Both cats are adjusting very well to their new environment overall, and as I said Smokey is happy being an indoor kitty. He has stopped spraying and has slowly gotten used to using the litter box on a consistent basis.

This is a big relief to me because they've both been through so much recently, and I was worried about how they would both adjust.

The question I have is regarding some behaviors Smokey has picked up in just the last couple of weeks. Every single morning these days, Smokey wakes me up at 7am on the dot by attacking my feet, grabbing on to them with his front and back paws, kicking and biting. If I move my feet, he holds on and moves with them, and if I hold still he just keeps going. He's so relentless. He'll do this when I want to sleep in, but after awhile I give up on that idea and just get up, regardless of what time I went to bed or how little sleep I have gotten. Once I get up, he seems very satisfied and follows me around for awhile while I make my coffee. Then he settles down and lays down to relax. The nerve of him! I am so tired because he woke me up, then he gets to go back to sleep =). My thinking when I get up is that I'll just take a nap later if I get tired.

I love this kitty so much, and his hard life outdoors and close call at the animal shelter makes me want to spoil him and do whatever makes him happy. But I do wish I could sleep in on the weekends at least every now and then. I also have noticed that Smokey has started to get a little bit pushy with my female kitty when I am giving her a lot of attention, maybe like he is jelous. She sleeps on my stomach at night, and sometimes in the morning I wake up to a cat fight going on right on my stomach because Smokey has pounced on her while she was asleep. The fights aren't serious; usually the girl kitty runs away, then Smokey lays next to me and meows for me to give him attention. He's such a man kitty! I totally accept him and all his quirks and respect his unique personality--he is a kitty after all, and a very special one at that, but I don't want to reinforce any behaviors that might become problems.

I have to give him a lot of credit though. I'm amazed at how good he is at getting his way!  

I have to tell you that both of my cats like a lot of attention and are very close to me (right now both of them are meowing at me for attention; they don't like my laptop because it takes attention away from them=), which works for me because I count on them too.

But any advice about how to react to Smokey or even any insight as to where these behaviors are coming from would help a lot.

Thank you.

Best,
Courtney


Answer
Hi
what a fantastic story. I live in the Uk and I am often shocked at some of the stories I hear about some of the animal shaelters in the US. I don't know why this should be as i would have thought that if you were in the business of protecting animals you would be a little more caring etc. Anyway....


As for Smoky's behaviours. He has simply learnt that if he attacks your feet that eventually you will get up and feed him. You have only had to do this once or twice and then this becomes a learned behaviour. The first time he was just probably a little frustrated at you being asleep and so went for your feet, but hey it got him what he wanted. :) Sadly once this behaviour starts it can be very tricky to stop. You have two choices, you either grit your teeth and don't get up or talk to him or react to him at all when he does this (hard I know) but this way he will eventually realise that this behaviour no longer gets him what he wants or you will have to shut him out of your room. I'm afraid these are the only options, I know I have been there.

As for the behaviour regarding your other cat well this just sounds like a cat who is stamping his authority on the home and letting your other cat know who's boss. this is a natural behaviour between cats and is mainly all show etc and rarely do real nasty fights break out.

I wish you every happiness with your two cats in your new home.

best wishes Kate
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