Ripley just attacked me!

[Karen]

I grew up with a lot of older relatives around. (Three of my grandparents were from families of 8, the other was from a family of 6 - I had tons of great aunts and uncles.) We also would go and sing at various area nursing homes. By the time I was a teenager, even though I had been told that "age brings wisdom," and "old people are nice," I decided that getting old, with its accompanying illnesses and infirmities, doesn't change a person, really. It just distills one into the core being he or she has always been. So the nice people get nicer, the cranky ones get crankier, etc. No one has proved me wrong yet.

I bet it is the same for cats. Just because Ripley is old and unwell, he's still Ripley! Bare feet beware!

[ShylanHal]

My mom's cat, Fritty, would always wait for me to get up and start getting ready for school, for, beign a gray cat in a house that's full of gray carpet, when the lights are off in the morning (as they usually are, since I was always the first up) you could NEVER see him.
At least, not until he was latched to your ankle biting and tearing off your flesh.

But he really was a violent kitty, though that was because he was a bottle baby. And he dun wrestle, he fights... I have scars all along my arms because we played. But boy, he sure enjoyed it. o.O'

Hope your hand gets better soon, though it seems like things are better now ^_^

[shais_mom]

aawww
hugs to you

[catfamily]

When I first read this I said oh geez...sounds like my Penny.I have turned my Ferral Penny into a love bug you would not believe,In Fact she's does cutsie things all the time with me every day.But every few months.Wham!!! I get a good swipe or 2 from her just from patting her for even just a second!And she even wanted me to pat her at that second too which is so crazy.But I know she loves me and she just can't help herself sometimes.In fact...she tried to slap me the other day and in mid air...stopped herself...looked at her hand and tucked it under her.I could NOT believe it.She accually THOUGHT about what she was doing.I was SOOO proud of her that I cried for hours after.It just made me realize how much they really do know.Weird huh?
But with Rip,it was a lot worse.I'm sure before you got him that this was what he was use to and it his age he may of had a senior moment not remembering his loved ones.Who knows though what goes on in their minds.Especially ones that you didn't have since they were kittens.Those ones you can predict easy because you yourself brought them up and know that they'll always be the same.
I hope you keep dabbing that alcahol on your wound.I feel bad for you because you were hurt AND your feelings hurt.I'm sure it won't happen again.At least I hope.Poor Rip too...I bet he felt bad.Time out was good idea.
He's lucky to have you and your family and your lucky to have him.I doubt he'll do it again.But be on guard anyway and be quick to move your hand away...like me with Penny.

[Sonia59]

Oh poor you, I hope you will be OK.

And poor Ripley. I always think that when cats do this it is because they have a stress that they can't handle anymore, it's too much and they become overexcited. It may not be true for all kitties of course, but this sometimes happens with Peppito.

It's good that Ripley has a good meowmie who can understand him

[jazzcat]

Thanks everyone.

My hand looks fine today. The whelps have gone down and the one scratch that broke the skin looks good and healing well.

Ripley is acting like his normal self as if nothing happened but that is how it always was in the past.

Carla - I got Ripley at 7 weeks of age so I don't think he was taught anything from anyone else but my husband was bad about wrestling with him which didn't help. Ripley was so wild as a kitten and young cat that the vet wanted to put him on female hormones to calm him. I wouldn't do that. He got a big red sticker on his chart at the vet's office because he slashed someone badly when he was in to be neutered at 5 months old. The worse part is he's a big boy so can could always inflict a lot of pain.

[catfamily]

Oh I'm sorry Lori.I must of got him mixed up with another kitty you have?Gosh..I'm losing my mind.lol.I apologize.But I have to tell you that my dear BooBoo that was put down a couple months ago at 17 years old was my soulmate kitty and the vet put a big red sticker on HIS chart too.BooBoo was the gentlest cat I ever knew.So naturally I got mad at the vet. But BooBoo was a different cat at the vet it turned out.
But I know that there are cats that are born with wilder personalitys and there's nothing we can do to change it.
My Greta is feral and she's been with me since 7 weeks old.Her brothers and sister are fine.So who knows why this happens.
I've been doing everything to try to tame Greta and she won't budge.But...she's good with the other cats so right now that's all I care.
I know RIP is a Gentle cat but maybe he just had a thought or a pain somewhere.Who knows.But he knows that you love him more than anything.14 is old in cat years.I hated to see BooBoo age.He use to get mad at me sometimes and I swear I thought he was saying"can't you help me?I want to be like the other younger cats that are here."