The OOC Hangout Thread (New people introduce yourself here!)

[DarkScarlettVixen]

cat_surprised  

[Magni Prime]

hey, Scarlett. *waves*  

[Cobalt]

My roommate and I adopted two kitties over the weekend :3 WHEEEE they are adorbz <3 3 months old, brother and sister. Named Captain Jack Harkness and Inara Serra. Pictures if I can finagle uploading them.  

[Disturbing Tale Teller]

cat_whee  

[Electric Kool-Aid]

Nice Cobalt! We also recently adopted a kitty. We think he's a little past a year old. He's a fine handsome all black gentleman who we've named Edgar Underfoot (for Edgar Allen Poe and an unfortunate tendency to trip people).  

[Alexander Magnus]

Been a while since we adopted a new cat . . . we have all we can handle here.  

[Panpear]

We got a cat from a friend's cat's kittens back in April (they got her spayed after that; in fact, they didn't even own that cat until after she got preggers). We named out cat Xena because she can jump really high and meows a lot. XD  

[Magni Prime]

Rescues are awesome. ^_^  

[Cobalt]

I had originally wanted to adopt from a shelter, but our roommate knew the owners of the mother and they would have gone to a pound otherwise (all the non-kill shelters were full, they had already checked). So we took them home with us instead, guess we just skipped the middle man so to speak.  

[Electric Kool-Aid]

Truth. There is currently some question as to whether Edgar can stay here or not. He bit both the boy and me at the shelter but we were assured that it was a shelter specific behavior. We've had him for a month and corrected him every time he nips or bites. I've been bitten the most often because I hold him/pet him more often. Last night at around 8:00 he bit me in a big way. He didn't break the skin but he latched on and it took me two tries to get him off. I know the "I don't want to be pet anymore" signs and I was watching for them. I stopped petting him when he signaled "No more." but I left my hand near his face too long I guess. I still have marks on my hand this morning. Needless to say I am not happy. We've tried everything: tsking at him, booping his nose gently, "scruffing" him, time outs alone in the bathroom for a few minutes...Nothing seems to have gotten through and having a cat is a 15 year commitment (at least). What if we have kids? Do we keep a cat and just have the caveat "Never touch him."? We got him from a no-kill shelter, I'll be calling them today to see what can be done since this is not a shelter specific behavior. Sorry for the rant guys, I'm just really frustrated and/or guilty feeling. I've never had a cat behave this way and I've never felt like I had an animal I couldn't handle.  

[Alexander Magnus]

Awww . . . I'm sorry. Sounds like your cat at best needs time to acclimate to being in a good home. At worst . . . well, I'd rather not think of that.  

[Panpear]

Have you tried the spray bottle with water thing? We've trained our cat to not go through the front door with that one, and she does know that 'water bottle shaking' means she's doing a bad. Then again, she's been trained with that since she was a kitten.

Xena's a bit of a nipper too, but it doesn't seem as bad as Edgar. I've heard you should keep a toy nearby so if they start biting you, you introduce the toy to gnaw on instead.  

[Alexander Magnus]

n**.
nom.  

[Electric Kool-Aid]

He will n** in the context of play but he won't Bite with a capital "B". We will nonetheless invest in a spray bottle. The behavioral specialist from the shelter was supposed to call but never did sad . I will have to call again.  

[Magni Prime]

with a No-Kill shelter, I am not surprised. Likely they deal with many behavioral issues. With cats, you often have to shock them to break a habit. A loud noise or a squirt of water often are enough to break the behavior in the moment- and repeated breaks diminishes the habit. I suggest the water bottle, and perhaps an old soda can with a few pennies in it to make a loud rattle sound.

Both should get his attention.