Many cats have aggressive behavior. Today, let’s take a deeper understanding of redirected attacks and solutions for common reasons for cat attacks.
The reason for this attack not only occurs when the cat is attacked, but also when the cat attacks people.
Moreover, in life, very, very many aggressive behaviors are caused by this reason.
If you do not understand the mechanism of this type of attack behavior, you will not be able to resolve this behavior problem from the root, and the wrong way of handling it will even lead to the intensification of this attack behavior.
01 Once again, the redirect attack
cats may be stimulated or frightened at some point elsewhere, but they cannot immediately report it.
After a while, if a clear attackable target appears, the target will be beaten for no reason.
is the easiest to understand by examples.
The following is a few examples to explain the formation principle and harm of this attack.
Example 1. "Hostility outside the window"
If your cat, Gangdan, squatted on the windowsill, saw a wild cat jumping into your courtyard through the glass and provocatively acted against Gangdan.
Even if you don't provoke, Gangdan'er may feel uneasy because she smells strange other cats.
At this time, once Gangdan'er had the intention to attack the other party, he was powerless and could only hold it in and be anxious.
If at this time, Jasmine, another cat in your house, passes by the windowsill where Gangdaner squats, Jasmine will probably be attacked by Gangdaner.
Jasmine may be confused and have no idea what happened.
Jasmine may get along very well with Gangdaner. They are kittens born in the same litter, which is not easy to use.
Moreover, redirected attacks have certain memory and conditional emission principles.
It is very likely that Gangdaner attacked Jasmine once, and Jasmine escaped, but afterwards, even if Gangdaner discovers Jasmine again in another place, Gangdaner may continue to attack Jasmine.
So, as a parent, if you do not discover this problem in time, Jasmine may be depressed and have been inexplicably attacked by Gangdaner when you are not at home.
Jasmine will also cause a series of joint problems if she is not full and drinks.
Example 2. "Ghost in the Kitchen"
Late at night, you are asleep, and suddenly, with a "bang", a crisp sound.
You turned on the light and saw what was going on. You found that if you didn’t know whether it was a steel egg or a jasmine, you jumped onto the dining table and pushed the fruit plate down. The apples and oranges fell all over the floor, and the plates were broken all over the floor.
At this time, you find that the steel egg is hiding under the sofa, curled up, with a defensive posture all over your body, and Jasmine is gone.
You think, don't scare Gangdan'er, comfort this child.
So you tried to go up and hug the steel egg and comfort the little guy, but who would have thought that the steel egg that had not touched its hair and had never stretched its claws to you, was a claw towards your hand.
Yes, Gangdan'er actually attacked you!
This case is a typical case of redirecting attack on the master.
Where did Jasmine go? It is very likely that she was beaten to death by the steel egg.
The above two cases are very typical redirected attacks.
Especially in the case of attacking people, you must not hold grudges with the cat, he is just afraid.
Attacking you is just an instinctive self-protection behavior, not because he has a bad relationship with you.
When you suspect that the attack behavior of two cats is a redirected attack, you must take the correct method to deal with it, otherwise this attack behavior will become a daily routine.
Just like the tragic Jasmine in Case 1, she may have been bullied by Gangdaner.
02 Confinement
So how should we deal with redirected attacks between cats like Steel Egg and Jasmine?
Below, I will discuss the handling method in detail in combination with Case 1.
Found that after Gangdan attacks Jasmine, the first thing you have to do is to isolate Gangdane immediately and put it in a space where Jasmine will not appear, with the purpose of allowing Gangdane to calm down by itself.
Usually, it takes several minutes to calm down, some cats may take several hours, and in rare cases, several days. After the time for
is closed, if the time for
is released and Gangdan continues to attack Jasmine, he needs to continue to be closed.
In the above cases, it is very difficult to control the steel egg. For example, it is difficult to catch him in another room, and he even needs to beat him. At this time, you can consider using blankets and gloves, which can protect your own auxiliary tools to control it.
In this more extreme situation, it is necessary to prepare a darkroom for Gangdaner.
The definition of a dark room is a room with very little light. You can pull the curtains up, preferably a room with blackout blinds.
The darkroom will be more effective than an ordinary room to calm down. If attacks occur frequently after being released, then Gangdan may need to stay in the darkroom for a few more days.
Every day when it’s time to eat, you can enter the darkroom, turn on the lights, and turn on the meal. If you don't eat steel eggs, turn on the light for a while, turn off the light and take the food away.
The whole process, you also need to observe the health of Gangdaner. Generally, if you don’t eat, there will be no problem if you don’t have any meals or more than ten or twenty hours.
Use simple logic to understand it, just let it know: it is wrong to hit Jasmine when you go out, and it is not easy to go on a hunger strike..
In short, in this case, don't want the two cats to meet as soon as possible, otherwise problems will occur. Try to keep the cats who attacked them calm.
03 Some other methods
So when and how should we introduce Gangdaner and Jasmine to meet again?
A principle, everything must be progressive step by step.
If Gangdan'er calms down and has no hostility towards Jasmine, at this time, you can take some rewards and strengthen your impression.
For example, you can play with these two cats with a teasing stick, and after the game, reward them with some snacks they like.
For example, you can use a plate in the same space, and when they are closer to each other, or simply use a plate and feed them both the cans that both like.
If the method of confinement is not good, then some other methods can be taken.
Let me briefly talk about two more. One method is sock trick, and the other is a more common method to deal with male cat attack behavior.
Regarding the following method, you need to prepare a cage. The method is simple, allowing the two cats to live in the same space, but take turns living in a cage. One day, or one half day, go back and forth until they re-familiarize each other's smell.
This method can be used in combination with sock tricks.
In fact, the two methods I introduced later can also be applied to the new cat who came to your home and introduced him to the indigenous people.
can also be applied to the situation where male cats match female cats and hit female cats.
If the above methods are still ineffective, some drug intervention may be required.
If there are no side effects, such as buying pheromones for cats, this kind of thing works very well for some cats.
There are some side effects, such as antidepressants that some people take. For example, mirtazapine, amitriptyline, etc.
If you really use medicine, you must consult the opinions of doctors or professionals. Never use medicine blindly.
04 Regarding the attacker
single cat family, if a redirect attack occurs, then the target of the attack is you.
Then when you encounter this situation, the first thing you have to do is to leave Gangdan'er's sight, rather than scolding or beating him.
You can't win because you will lose his heart.
If your cat's personality is the kind of person who doesn't trust people and has a strong defense mentality, then you have to find ways to block some of the fundamental reasons that may trigger its redirected attack.
For example, add a blind to your house so that he cannot see outside the window.
For example, don't put some messy things on the dining table. (You may be much more diligent after raising a cat, because many cats can't see anything on the table or on the coffee table, you know...)
Or, give cats a limited but fun-filled space, such as a space of seven or eight square meters, but the vertical space and toys are well designed and arranged.
Overall, redirected attacks should not be despised, especially in multi-cat families. If handled improperly, the entire environment may be filled with anxiety and tension.
In cathouse environment, cats with relatively nervous personality are best not to use in breeding programs.
No matter how good its appearance is, remember that personality is the first priority.
