Sunday, May 9, 2010

5 Steps to Tame an Aggressive Cat


When the fur of your cat spikes up, his claws come out, and ears go flat, you are sure you have an angry cat on your lap. Whether your cat is prone to occasional anger fit or is chronically aggressive, taming an aggressive cat seems like a daunting task. However, there are sure ways to make your cat tamer and calmer. Follow the steps below:

Step 1: Determine the reason why your aggressive cat is acting that way. Is it because of another pet in your household or is his aggressiveness triggered by certain situations or people? Generally, aggression and strange behavior is very common in rescued cats since they'd been through certain conditions that occurred before the cat was adopted. For instance, cat often kicked by his previous owner may suddenly lash out and get angry at the sight of approaching feet. Another example is a cat neglected by its owner may show mistrust to other unfamiliar men. It may hard to know why your aggressive cat is acting this way; however, there is a pattern of behavior that you can look for to determine the cause.

Step 2: Talk to people your cat has contact with. Inform them of your cat's aggression problems and that you are finding ways to tame and calm your cat down. Explain to them what you think is triggering your cat's aggression and make a plan with your family, close friends, and roommates to keep your cat from getting aggressive.

Step 3: Don't take your aggressive cat into a situation that may exhibit his aggression. Put your cat in a bathroom or bedroom and leave him there for a few minutes. Sometimes, without any obvious reason, a change in environment may be enough to calm your aggressive cat down.

Step 4: If your aggressive cat is lashing out at the sight of other pets in the household, try calming him down and easing his aggression and anger by trying the Feliway Comfort Zone. Feliway Comfort Zone is an artificial cat pheromone, designed to mimic the friendly and light facial pheromones produced by cats in their facial glands. For unknown reasons, this method calms down most unbalanced aggressive cats.

Step 5: Keep yourself calm and make your cat feel that you are a loving and safe human. If you can prevent and avoid it, never introduce any noticeable changes to your cat's environment. For instance, if your cat is exhibiting chronic aggression, do not get a new roommate or a new puppy for a few months.

Additional Tips and Warnings
  1. If you are having a hard time finding out the cause of your cat's aggression, seek the help of a veterinarian. Explain the problem about your cat in detail and make sure to mention all noticeable changes in the normal routine of your cat. Your veterinarian may help you determine the cause of this or may even figure out underlying health problem that is not manifested by other obvious symptoms.
  2. When you decide to take your cat to the veterinarian, you have to inform the vet as well as other people in the clinic that your aggressive cat may bite. Don't worry because your cat's behavior will not classify you as a poor and bad owner and for sure, your veterinarian has enough experience taking safety precautions with any animal that suddenly becomes aggressive when they are in pain or frightened.

Follow the steps given above and for sure, your aggressive cat will be a newer, tamer, and nicer cat, one that you have really wanted when you decided to take him home.

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