Animal Cruelty!

[grouchyoldcoot]

Annie, recently promoted to Household Problem Cat, has a behavioral problem. She'll purr contentedly when petted, and then suddenly attempt to kill you. When this happened again this evening I threw her in the shower and left her there while I cleaned out the wound in my hand. I doubt she learned anything, but by damn I felt a lot better.

Comments

[bhudson]

I thought that's just what cats did?

[grouchyoldcoot]

Nope- just calicos.

[bhudson]

Oh, that explains it.

[ariannawyn]

I resent your impugning of calicos. My childhood calico was tolerance personified, whereas my tortoiseshell, Grendel, was similarly prone to attacking without warning after reaching his petting limit. Of all people, I would not have expected you to engage in racial stereotyping. ;-)

More seriously, as already mentioned, if you pay attention you can usually see the signs that the cat is reaching her limit before the actual attack. Or you can gauge her general tolerance level and stop petting her after a set amount of time.

[genuinekfc]

Ditto on both counts. The dark-furred male I had in HS was more prone to sudden snapping, although my calico occasionally does it as well. I learned to stop petting when their ears started to turn back and their tails flipped more whip-like than usual. But yeah, some cats don't give much warning.