Pet care: Cat attack? Don’t fight back

Q: I hope you can help me and my cat Lucky, who I adopted eight months ago. He is 5 years old and weighs 16 pounds. He hides under the furniture and attacks my feet and tries to bite my ankles as I walk by. If I ignore his screams for food, he’ll sit on the back of the sofa and hit my head with his paws. If I ignore that, he will bite my head. He never cuddles or sits in my lap. I have thought of declawing and maybe having his teeth filed down. If I get another cat, I’m afraid he’ll be mean to it. I am 75 years old and have multiple orthopedic replacement parts.

Dr. Nichol: I agree that Lucky may treat another cat shabbily, much like his predatory behavior toward you. You could escape his crosshairs by importing a mischief of mice.

Does serving up unsuspecting prey animals for Lucky’s amusement seem heartless? Mice are prey by design. They survive on their wits, moving quickly and furtively to avoid becoming a menu item. Their predators lurk under cover, strike fast and may get lucky by dinnertime. Very few of their snacks on legs reach retirement age. You don’t scurry along the baseboards, but you are warm-blooded, you have a pulse and you move. You need to stop being the resident rodent.

Rather than having Lucky’s anatomy mutilated, you can provide him with feline-specific opportunities to engage his natural aggression. Stalk and pounce toys like feathers-on-a-stick, especially used later in the day when cats normally hunt, can scratch that itch. Visit my website, drjeffnichol.com, for a full list of feline environmental enrichments.

Lucky’s behavior certainly qualifies as mischief. Interestingly, this is also the name for a group of mice. I was joking about inviting helpless plague and hantavirus reservoirs into your home. Consider allowing your chunky monkey outside to prowl while sporting a cat bib to alert birds of his nefarious intentions. Savor an iced tea while managing your savage with a long, lightweight cord attached to his harness.

For help with behavior problems, you can sign up for a Zoom group conference at drjeffnichol.com

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