[~~HappyMummy~~]

I am torn. I have a gorgeous nearly 5yo ragdoll. He is gorgeous, affectionate and mostly very laid back.

Problem is he attacked my dad - hissing, scratching, latched onto his arm, blood, pus, swelling, serious bruising - a full on attack.

He hasn't ever done this before. Has only hissed twice that I know of - once as a kitten to the vet after shots and once when he was getting his hair cut. No attack though as he was then left alone.

He gives off clear signs when he doesn't want to be touched or picked up, which my dad says he saw but ignored...... He kind of twists away when he doesn't want to be picked up.

Anyway, I know my dad misread the cats signals... Dad arrogantly thought he could control cat. But I have two little kids who love to pat the cat, pull his tail, etc. obviously I try and stop the tail pulling... But I'm worried now he's attacked once he might do again. He has always been great w the kids though to date.

What do you think? Sorry for the ramble.

[*Lib*]

I wouldn't. You're father should have read the signs. Cats aren't really that subtle with their messages.

[Missy Shelby]

Maybe get him checked out by the vet?

Sometimes when animals are sick/in pain they will act out. From what I have heard about rag dolls this sounds to me like very unusual behaviour.

[daisyt]

I would.
Kids can't necessarily read the 'signs'.

This post has been edited by daisyt: 06/11/2012, 09:42 PM

[Sunnycat]

No I wouldn't give the cat away. It sounds like your dad provoked the cat.

FWIW one of my cats attacked me and it was horrid. I still have the scars from it and I ended up getting blood poisoning.

This post has been edited by Sunnycat: 06/11/2012, 09:45 PM

[Luxe]

I agree with *Lib*. When my cats want to cause harm, they send off a lot of signs. I suspect the kids will be ok because they are smaller and less of a threat. I guess you just have to monitor the situation.

My dad and great uncle taught my older cat to bite. They would rough house him like he was a dog and now he likes to bite as a defense or when he's grumpy. So not happy about that. Men!!

This post has been edited by Luxe: 06/11/2012, 09:42 PM

[~~HappyMummy~~]

I wouldn't. You're father should have read the signs. Cats aren't really that subtle with their messages.

Sorry, do you mean you wouldn't keep him?

I fully agree my dad should have read the cats signals :-(

[2puzzled]

If your dad was winding the cat up and didn't heed warning signals, then your dad is to blame and not the cat. Cats generally warn before attacking so your children should be able to learn the signs of when the cat means enough is enough. It sounds as though your cat really meant business when he attacked your dad, so you'll need to work out whether your dad really provoked him or whether the cat went a bit OTT.

I have a cat which was aggressive with very little warning and it turns out he has a shallow hip and suffers neuralgia, which was causing him pain and making him become aggressive quickly. He is now on meds and is a lovely cat, but of course will still let us know when he is sick of being pestered.

If your dad was just petting your cat and your cat attacked without warning then perhaps a vet visit may be in order to see if anything is wrong. If he was harassing your cat and ignored the warnings then I would suggest your dad learn not to do it again! Cats, like any animal, will only tolerate so much before doing the only thing they can to retaliate (scratch and bite). If he hasn't attacked your kids badly then I would assume they realise when your cat is cranky and back off.

good luck - I would say assume your cat and kids will be OK together and just remind your kids that cats can be mean sometimes and what the signals are.

[mustangshelly]

I wouldn't. Poor cat was just defending himself.

We used to have an attack cat her name was Minnie. She used to hide under my parents bed and wait for Uncle Norman to come up the hallway and she would fly out from under the bed and dig her claws and teeth into his leg and fly off and hide again. She absolutely hated him. She never bit or attacked anyone else except for him. She was such a placid cat. She was a good judge of character in my book. He was a very mean person. I still laugh about it to this day and I was a little kid.

Cheers,
Michelle

[bakesgirls]

I wouldn't get rid of him.

I would take him to the vet though, to check he isn't sick or has some sort of injury that could make him react that way. If all is OK, I think your dad has learnt to not ignore your cats signals.

This post has been edited by bakesgirls: 06/11/2012, 09:48 PM