Crash's Story

January 2005

This is Crash. We call him Crash because of the markings on his head. It
looks like he is wearing a crash helmet.
Crash is an interesting case study on fostering kittens. We've learned a
lot.
We got Crash when he was 3 days old. No siblings and no mama cat.
Someone had dropped him off at a vet's office in a box. We are lucky he
was found as quickly as he was.
We've hand raised lots of kittens but never just one kitten without any
siblings.
Crash wasn't up for adoption for very long. The people who adopted him
had to wait for 6 weeks until Crash was weaned but as soon as he was on
solid food he went to his new home. Since he was still so little Crash
never interacted much with any of our other cats. We noticed that from
about 4 weeks of age he liked to bite when we played with him. When he
would start to bite we would stop the play and offer him a blanket to
bite on thinking he was teething. We never encouraged the biting
behavior (it may be cute when they are young but not as an adult cat).
Crash went to his new home. The people were told of the biting and told
never to encourage it. I think they did follow our advise but the biting
continued. At 6 months of age Crash was returned to us because the
biting continued. Cat bites should always be taken seriously.
When he was returned to us, however, he had an upper respiratory
infection, he had never received the rest of his shots (we got him his
first shots before he was allowed to go to his new home), and he had not
been neutered.
He was also biting. Crash was always affectionate and the biting never
seemed like he was being aggressive... it just seemed like a normal part
of his play. What we soon found out by researching the problem is that
you should never raise a kitten alone. They should either have a mom cat
or siblings. Kittens raised alone are called singletons and biting is
typically a problem. It seems they need the cat interaction to learn
good cat manners. Who knew?
We took Crash to the vet. Crash got a shoot and some pills for his
infection. A couple of weeks later he was neutered and a week or so
after that he got his vaccinations up to date.
Being neutered helped quite a bit with the biting problem. I didn't
think it would make as much difference as it did but it helped a lot.
Once Crash was well again we let him interact with our other cats.
Poor little Crash was in for a real shock when he wanted to play with
the other cats. When Crash would run down the hall to play with the
other cats you would hear a series of thuds. Whenever he would pass
another cat and try to play poor Crash would be hit upside the head by
each cat he passed.
The biting problem became less and less frequent. However, any biting at
all is a serious problem.
Last week little Zsa Zsa came into our lives. She was about 4 months old
and less than half the size of Crash.
The first day I made sure all of the other cats were in the back
bedrooms and I let little Zsa Zsa have the run of the house. I was
especially worried about letting Crash around such a tiny and delicate
little kitten.
The next day when I got home from work I allowed all of the cats out of
the bedrooms, including the Crash Man.
Little Zsa Zsa was playing with a toy mouse when Crash came thundering
into the living room. Immediately Crash bounded toward Zsa Zsa and her
mouse toy. Before Crash could try to snatch the toy away Zsa Zsa let out
a growl like she was a grown lioness. It shocked Crash so much he turned
and walked away. The rest of the night Crash would stay about 5 feet
from Zsa Zsa and just sit and watch her.
By the next day Crash and Zsa Zsa were playing together but Crash was a
changed feline. There was no pouncing directed towards Zsa Zsa and
running after the toys was down right respectful. Crash had meet his match.
Crash's interaction with people has dramatically changed as well. He is
simply a changed cat.
So between the neutering, the whacks upside the head by the other cats,
and little Zsa Zsa's lioness growl Crash has learned his cat manners.
Crash has not bitten since he was neutered over a month ago. His
interaction with both cats and people have calmed down significantly. We
are very optimistic and relieved because if the biting problem were to
continue we would have to put Crash down. Cat bites are serious.
Crash is about 9 months old now. He is a wonderful, funny, affectionate
cat.
Whoever adopts Crash will have our support and promise that if biting
did become a problem again we would take him back and see what else we
could do to extinguish the behavior. He is definitely worth the
effort... He's the Crash Man.

I recently read an article about dogs who bite--writer said that most often
its because they are seperated from their mothers too early. Seems that its
mom who teaches them not to bite... my guess is that its the same with
cats....
"Cleo" wrote in message
news:_ngKd.20299$1t.13293@fed1read06...
January 2005

This is Crash. We call him Crash because of the markings on his head. It
looks like he is wearing a crash helmet.
Crash is an interesting case study on fostering kittens. We've learned a
lot.
We got Crash when he was 3 days old. No siblings and no mama cat. Someone
had dropped him off at a vet's office in a box. We are lucky he was found
as quickly as he was.
We've hand raised lots of kittens but never just one kitten without any
siblings.
Crash wasn't up for adoption for very long. The people who adopted him had
to wait for 6 weeks until Crash was weaned but as soon as he was on solid
food he went to his new home. Since he was still so little Crash never
interacted much with any of our other cats. We noticed that from about 4
weeks of age he liked to bite when we played with him. When he would start
to bite we would stop the play and offer him a blanket to bite on thinking
he was teething. We never encouraged the biting behavior (it may be cute
when they are young but not as an adult cat).
Crash went to his new home. The people were told of the biting and told
never to encourage it. I think they did follow our advise but the biting
continued. At 6 months of age Crash was returned to us because the biting
continued. Cat bites should always be taken seriously.
When he was returned to us, however, he had an upper respiratory
infection, he had never received the rest of his shots (we got him his
first shots before he was allowed to go to his new home), and he had not
been neutered.
He was also biting. Crash was always affectionate and the biting never
seemed like he was being aggressive... it just seemed like a normal part
of his play. What we soon found out by researching the problem is that you
should never raise a kitten alone. They should either have a mom cat or
siblings. Kittens raised alone are called singletons and biting is
typically a problem. It seems they need the cat interaction to learn good
cat manners. Who knew?
We took Crash to the vet. Crash got a shoot and some pills for his
infection. A couple of weeks later he was neutered and a week or so after
that he got his vaccinations up to date.
Being neutered helped quite a bit with the biting problem. I didn't think
it would make as much difference as it did but it helped a lot.
Once Crash was well again we let him interact with our other cats.
Poor little Crash was in for a real shock when he wanted to play with the
other cats. When Crash would run down the hall to play with the other cats
you would hear a series of thuds. Whenever he would pass another cat and
try to play poor Crash would be hit upside the head by each cat he passed.
The biting problem became less and less frequent. However, any biting at
all is a serious problem.
Last week little Zsa Zsa came into our lives. She was about 4 months old
and less than half the size of Crash.
The first day I made sure all of the other cats were in the back bedrooms
and I let little Zsa Zsa have the run of the house. I was especially
worried about letting Crash around such a tiny and delicate little kitten.
The next day when I got home from work I allowed all of the cats out of
the bedrooms, including the Crash Man.
Little Zsa Zsa was playing with a toy mouse when Crash came thundering
into the living room. Immediately Crash bounded toward Zsa Zsa and her
mouse toy. Before Crash could try to snatch the toy away Zsa Zsa let out a
growl like she was a grown lioness. It shocked Crash so much he turned and
walked away. The rest of the night Crash would stay about 5 feet from Zsa
Zsa and just sit and watch her.
By the next day Crash and Zsa Zsa were playing together but Crash was a
changed feline. There was no pouncing directed towards Zsa Zsa and running
after the toys was down right respectful. Crash had meet his match.
Crash's interaction with people has dramatically changed as well. He is
simply a changed cat.
So between the neutering, the whacks upside the head by the other cats,
and little Zsa Zsa's lioness growl Crash has learned his cat manners.
Crash has not bitten since he was neutered over a month ago. His
interaction with both cats and people have calmed down significantly. We
are very optimistic and relieved because if the biting problem were to
continue we would have to put Crash down. Cat bites are serious.
Crash is about 9 months old now. He is a wonderful, funny, affectionate
cat.
Whoever adopts Crash will have our support and promise that if biting did
become a problem again we would take him back and see what else we could
do to extinguish the behavior. He is definitely worth the effort... He's
the Crash Man.

Was the bitting viscous enough to have possibly had to put the cat down?
This seems crazy to me. Give me more information please. My cat is a
bitter but only because she has no claws. What are the dangers of getting
bitten by a cat? I am sure I need to know.

Tabetha

--
Message posted via http://www.catkb.com

The biting was very bad. The people who adopted him had young children.
They tried for 4 months but decided Crash was too much of a danger. Which
he was.
In cases like this if the behavior cannot be modified one option is to put
the animal down.
We do go to great lengths to see that this does not happen to our rescued
cats.
Crash bit me several times on my face and arms when he first came back but
that did not mean we would just gave up on him.
When he came back to us (he was about 7 months old by this time) we used
the word "no" in a non-friendly... but not yelling voice. He responded to
this by stopping the behavior but he had usually already inflicted a
serious bite.
Using a spay bottle filled with plain water can also be useful.
Never allow a cat to bite you even if it's the "hand under the cover" kind
of play.
Cat bites should be taken seriously. Make sure you wash the wound with soap
and warm water.
Make sure your tetanus shots are current.
Always... if in doubt about the seriousness of the wound see a doctor.
Here are some web sites with information:

Bites - Human and animal
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T084900.asp

Cat Bites
http://animalcontrol.co.la.ca.us/htm...fo/Catbite.htm

Animal Bites
http://www.vetmed.lsu.edu/animal_bit...0worse,%20dog%
20bites%20or%20cat%20bites

Understanding Cat Aggression Towards People
http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/cathumag.htm

--
Message posted via http://www.catkb.com

You're right about distinguishing between playful bites and aggressive
bites. Some people will get a kitten and play rough with it which makes the
kitten think biting is acceptable. When the kitten grows up and is still
biting it is no longer cute or acceptable... but the cat doesn't
understand. This type of situation is the owners fault but the cat is the
one who suffers.
Unfortunately, people are too often ignorant of the consequences of
inappropriate "people behavior".
Unfortunately for Crash he, too, was a victim of inappropriate "people
behavior". However, it wasn't the people who adopted him who were at fault.
It was my fault. My ignorance.
I should have either found a mama cat or some kittens to raise with him. I
don't know if it would have helped to have kept him longer. I allowed him
to go to his new home when he was 6 weeks old, soon after he had been
weaned. If I had kept him a few more weeks and allowed him to interact with
the other cats (our grown cats) maybe he would have learned his cat
manners. I have never been able to find any literature on the subject.
I've hand raised many kittens from just a few days old with no mama cat but
the situation has always been with at least 2 kittens (usually more). It
never occurred to me that there would be a problem with just raising one.
Again, people ignorance, my ignorance is at fault.
Crash's biting was not exactly what I would call aggression but it was
dangerous. When he would bite it always made serious cuts and he would
usually go for the face. It was more like when kittens interact and bite
each other.
Frequently his biting was sudden, kind of out of the blue. He'd be enjoying
being petted when he would suddenly turn, jump for the face, and inflict a
bad bite. It was behavior I had not seen before.
There is good news. It has been almost 2 months since he has bitten at all.
Let me modify that. He still plays with the other cats but if he plays too
rough and bites one of them he gets bitten in return. The bites never cause
wounds (except maybe to Crash's ego). They are very normal cat interactions.
A couple of times Crash has started to bite me but will quickly realize on
his own not to and stops himself before the teeth even touch skin. I find
this amazing.
As far as someone returning a cat or kitten to me, it happens for a variety
of reasons. I would rather the cat or kitten be returned than kept by
someone who doesn't want it.
When we have had a cat or kitten returned it has always had a wonderful
ending to the story. I just look at it as having to find the cat's true and
fated home. The same is true with Crash. We just have to keep looking but
we will find Crash's true and fated home, too.

--
Message posted via http://www.catkb.com