Split Personality

[NoahsMommy]

I think Noah has a personality disorder....(hee hee, can you tell I'm a psych major??) Anyway, he is as loving as can be with me and my hubby, but when other people come and pet him, he bites and growls at them! When people come to the door, he runs to it and cant wait to see who's there. He weaves in and out of thier legs to the point where even someone who didn't like cats would want to pet him. When they do, he growls and tries to bite them! We think the problem is his bad social skills and that he gets too excited and doesn't know how to handle things.

So, we had our neighbor come over on Saturday night and we watched some DVD's. We told her to ignore him and he was totally fine. He even slept above her head on the couch...when he was little, he'd sleep on people's laps...what happened to him? Do you all have any ideas? I hate that he is a sweet little boy to us and a psychco cat to our guests...

[momoffuzzyfaces]

Originally posted by NoahsMommy
the problem is his bad social skills and that he gets too excited and doesn't know how to handle things.

Noah reminds me of me when I worked for an insurance company. I was always in trouble for my 'attitude'. What they meant was 'she does not play well with others'. LOL!!

[wayne0214]

noah's mommy, all kidding aside, I have noticed that as cats mature their social habits, those associating with people, also change. That these changes are more pronounced with males more so than with females. I have few visitors here, but when they do come, it is necessary to watch which furkid does what to whom. Although my 2 major males (Snow Cat and Jumper) are currently being trained to be primarily house cats, their habits are also changing. Jumper starts yowling (at any hour of the day or night) and climbing things(like drapes), when he wants attention or if he is hungry. As of late Snow Cat is acting fearful -as though I am going to leave him, as he is now getting all excited when I return home from the grocery store. Also that he is becoming more vocal than before. And of course you all know about Tiger, how she has changed. It is assumed that their personality doesn't settle down until they are at least 2 years old. All of the furkids just mentioned are about 9 mos., to 1 year old.

[yorkster]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by wayne0214
[B]noah's mommy, all kidding aside, I have noticed that as cats mature their social habits, those associating with people, also change. That these changes are more pronounced with males more so than with females.

Wayne,
Actually I have had better luck with my male kitties, than the females. (if I am understanding you correctly...........?)

and
Noahs Mommy- I have one cat that is very easy going with us and with visitors (Kedi) - he is just an all around easy going cat.

On the other hand, Wylie, is lovey with us, but runs and hides when people come over. It bothers me because he is sooooo pretty and such a clowny personality, but nobody gets to see all that. I mean, how much can they see when they are crouching-down, looking WAY under the bed??!

My RB kitty (Liza) would answer the door with me, and hang-out with our company.............but she did NOT want anyone to touch her.

I think the more you have your kitty around visitors, the more they will learn to relax (don't force them though, because it could make it worse).
What we did was just let the kitties come out when they wanted to, then offered some treats as a bribe- it worked with some, and not with others.

Sydney acts similar ! Not that heavy though ...
Every guest is welcomed by Sydney ; he rubs against their legs and turns around until they notice him . But as soon as they trie to pet him , he attacks and leaves a mark of his clawn on their hand ...! He stops as soon as he hears my " NOOOOO !!" , but next time , he does it again ....
If anybody has any idea how to handle this , let me know !!
Sydney will be 2 in August (15) .

[yumyum6970]

I am not sure. Dutchess and Yum Yum aren't around other people too much other than myself and my husband. Yum Yum however she will LOVES to go visiting in other people's houses. The only people that come to visit us are my parents and they don't like cats so I am not sure how the kitties act.

http://pepeirce.tripod.com/thekittycorner

[sasvermont]

Sometimes my two cats bite guests. I usually grab their furry little heads and say "NO BITES" and keep it up until they get it. Of course, their short term memory problem doesn't help for the next day! I think everyone needs to remember that it is our constant attention and reminders that keep them on the right track. Well, there is much to be said for predispositions also.

Aren't they just the sweetest guys normally?!!

[Gio]

I had a similar problem with one of my most precious cats (RB now ). When Titti was younger she would sit on anyone's lap, that lasted until she turned one. For her remaining 17 years she was very affectionate with the immediate family but she hated everyone else, to the point of being almost dangerous. She made only a couple of exceptions but that was it. We could only make some vague supposition on what could have caused it.

Sorry if I can't offer any advice!

[NoahsMommy]

Thank goodness I'm not the only one with a cat like this...

I'll keep up with my socializing.... their auntie Kim is coming tomorrow for a visit...

I'll let you know if he is trainable...ha ha

[krazyaboutkatz]

I have three male cats and they are generally friendly around strangers but I have noticed that they prefer women. Storm is the friendliest and loves people to pet him and give him attention. Pepper can be very outgoing on one day and then very cautious and timid on the next day. Sunny is very cautious and will usually hide in my room for a while. If it's a man he'll usually stay hidden. Sometimes all three of them will be very friendly and I think it's because they know that the person likes animals. You just never know what to expect when you have cats.

[wayne0214]

Yorkster, actually, I agree with you when it comes to social acceptance between males and females. It seems as though the males are more gregarious than the females and are more prone to change and also to be trained. I believe that the female personalities are more adopted for kitten rearing and therefore, their personalities are more fixed and less able to be altered with ageing or social exposure. I have one feral cat in my outdoor bunch, Checker is a very pretty tortie, but you cannot get close to her. Even though I have had her for almost 2 years now, I have only touched her once . I can get close to her, but she panics when touched. She eats with the others, but other than that she is a very independant kitty.

.....wayne

[yorkster]

Wayne- you are such a good guy for taking care of all those kitties at your house/property!

[Lachesis]

Max is like this... he does NOT like anyone but us who live here. Something happened at my sister's (she blames the people I adopted them from ) and he just doesnt like anyone but us.
He will hide when the door opens. If it isnt one of us, he is under my bed or as high on the cat tree as he can go....