My cat bites and scratches. How can I stop him from being rehomed?

Question

My friend's cat, Tater, has been misbehaving since her family adopted him as a kitten. He knocks over water-filled glasses, scratches/bites their ankles/furniture, etc. My friend has bonded the most with Tater and it breaks her heart whenever her mom talks about giving him away. My friend thinks her mom is finally serious about giving away Tater after he scratched her in the face. My friend really doesn't want to see him go. What can she do to change his behavior and keep him? Pet's info: Cat | American Shorthair | Male | neutered | 1 year and 6 months old | 5 lbs

Rodrigo Roca, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hello, poor Tater. I think a behaviorist specialist may be the best suit for your friends family. However, they may start by ensuring he has adequate amounts of toys and scratch pads to reduce his stress behavior. Also make sure he has places to climb and be up high (cats like to look down on the world) and also places where he can comfortable hide. Feline aggression is a complex issue. Ruling out a medical cause for your cat’s aggressive behavior should always be your first step. What if your best friend has a painful mass in his stomach? That could be why your belly rubs make him defend himself and bite your hand. Aggression due to medical causes can be related to pain, neurological disorders, anxiety, or medications. A trip to the vet will rule out medical causes for aggression. Once a behavioral diagnosis of aggression has been made, sometimes simple techniques will improve or stop the behavior. In other situations it may be only the first step in treatment. In addition to designing a treatment plan, your veterinarian can help you with your conditioning goals and assist in realistic expectations of your pet. There are several categories of aggressive feline behavior: play aggression, fear- based aggression, redirected aggression, petting-induced aggression. Hope this helps!

My cat bites and scratches. How can I stop him from being rehomed?

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