Cat Chat 2

[Kallisto Moon]

I have a question, don't worry it's not medical.

My grandmothers cat has been increasingly violent over the past few weeks. Today it reached it's peak. He hasn't been using his litter box since september, and will "go" wherever he wants, specifically my room or my reading room. He never did it while I was in there until today, he just waltzed in and went right in front of my bed (which I was in). I got after him and put him in his litter box, but that didn't help since a few hours later he just went in my reading room.
This cat was never aggressive towards other animals, and he always leaves them alone, especially the dogs. Today he viciously attacked my chihuahua for no apparent reason. My chihuahua was just walking to my room, and didn't provoke him in any way. The cat attacked him so viciously he looked like a wild animal. I safely broke up the attack (with a broom so I didn't get hurt as well), and my chihuahua has some scrapes but he is fine. Luckily this cat is declawed (which I am not usually a fan of until now), and it would have been a lot worse if he wasn't. I don't understand why this cat is attacking my dog, and choosing to use my living quarters as a litter box. I have never been mean to this cat, or did anything that I know of to make him aggressive towards me or my dog. He is a healthy 14 year old indoor cat, and he isn't our only cat, we have his sister as well and he has been semi aggressive towards her lately. We haven't changed anything that I can think of, he is still on the same food, same litter, same atmosphere, and nothing in my room or reading room has changed.
I don't understand why he is acting this way, any ideas?

It could actually be a sign of illness or injury! When cats stop using their litterbox, I first want to take them to the vet to cross medical issues off the list.

Aggression could also be a sign of pain as well. I'd recommend taking him to the vet to rule out injury or illness!

I will set an appointment, thanks for the input :)!

[nazuna nito]

I have an orange Tabby, around three years old, he's used to going outside but then I saw this ad and it said something about outside cats only living for 3-5 years and and inside cats 10-13 and my cat's three, so I decided to make him an inside cat. But he begs to go outside (my window, the door) he sometimes escapes through my window. But how long will it take for him to get used to being an inside cat?
cause he get's into a few fights, there was this mark on his skin with no fur and I don't know what happened to him. :C

Cats usually live till 15. My inside cat Gwen is 14 perhaps? maybe younger. She meows a lot and just sits a lot, she isn't sick at all though, so healthy.

[fluffycat6]

If anyone remembers Patches's issue with peeing outside the litter box, its gotten a lot better. We didn't take them to the vet but we bought a new litter thats suppost to attract cats to it. We filled one box with that litter and now we have to buy more to fill the other ones because that's basically the only one they use now haha. We also bought another cat tree so she could feel like she had more space and the other cats always hog the top bed which is her favourite. She hasn't gone outside the litter box in a while now

[Nyxeva]

I'm glad you found something that works!

[ru.]

Thank you for the responses, everyone!:)
I did get my little guy into the vet and the vet says that he seems healthy and seems to be around 6 weeks olds (which is what I suspected). He finally began to eat yesterday. I think that he just wasn't acclimated yet.
After using the carpet as a potty spot once, he seems to be getting the hang of the litterbox. I try to set him in there when he wakes up, after he eats, and after he plays.
Sometimes he starts to squat and then gets distracted by his tail (lol) and I end up having to stick him back in the box a few times before he finally focuses on using the restroom. Any extra tips on this? I don't want him to use the carpet as a litterbox :0


Thank you also @bloodredsheep for the really helpful age link. I checked it out and that does seem accurate as to what the vet said and my own observations. He seems to be around 5-6 weeks old (so young! D; )

Does anyone have any links that I can look to for references on raising a young kitten? I'm afraid that he is going to develop behavioral issues. I also was curious as to if anyone might have tips as to how to keep him from trying to bite and play with my hands? (I never initiate play with my hands. Sometimes he just goes for it by himself)

No, outdoor cats won't only live 3-5 years. If you care for your cat properly he'll have a full, happy life while being an outdoor cat.
My own personal opinion is that ads aren't trustworthy. Before you make such a big lifestyle change like that, do a little research.
(Not to be rude, or to dis you, or anything!)

While I agree that it isn't accurate that the average lifespan of outdoor and indoor/outdoor pet (non-stray) cats is 3-5, I am sure that it is accurate that the average lifespan of indoor/outdoor and outdoor pet cats is less than indoor-only pet cats. I can definitely speak from my own experience.

Growing up, we had almost exclusively outdoor and indoor/outdoor cats (mousers). Almost all of them had their lives taken far before their time by cars, wildlife (coyotes, owls & other birds of prey, weasels, etc.), people who saw cats as pests, and once an entire litter of kittens and an adult cat to feral cats. It was such a problem that we rarely had a cat live past 6 years old and I was used to seeing dead cats a child.
When I was a teenager, my favorite cat lost his life at barely a year old because I made the mistake of allowing him to be indoor/outdoor. One night he just never came home and I'm fairly sure that coyotes were to blame, sadly (I grew up in a very rural area).

Since becoming an adult I have been strongly against allowing my own cats to roam freely outdoors. I am also an advocate for other people to do the same. It just isn't worth the risk to their health or safety. In addition to potential threats to their lives, they can also be exposed to things like FIV.
But, at the end of the day people are allowed to keep their pets however they want to and it is up to them to way the risks and rewards and make the decision on their own.

[Kallisto Moon]

I have a question, don't worry it's not medical.

My grandmothers cat has been increasingly violent over the past few weeks. Today it reached it's peak. He hasn't been using his litter box since september, and will "go" wherever he wants, specifically my room or my reading room. He never did it while I was in there until today, he just waltzed in and went right in front of my bed (which I was in). I got after him and put him in his litter box, but that didn't help since a few hours later he just went in my reading room.
This cat was never aggressive towards other animals, and he always leaves them alone, especially the dogs. Today he viciously attacked my chihuahua for no apparent reason. My chihuahua was just walking to my room, and didn't provoke him in any way. The cat attacked him so viciously he looked like a wild animal. I safely broke up the attack (with a broom so I didn't get hurt as well), and my chihuahua has some scrapes but he is fine. Luckily this cat is declawed (which I am not usually a fan of until now), and it would have been a lot worse if he wasn't. I don't understand why this cat is attacking my dog, and choosing to use my living quarters as a litter box. I have never been mean to this cat, or did anything that I know of to make him aggressive towards me or my dog. He is a healthy 14 year old indoor cat, and he isn't our only cat, we have his sister as well and he has been semi aggressive towards her lately. We haven't changed anything that I can think of, he is still on the same food, same litter, same atmosphere, and nothing in my room or reading room has changed.
I don't understand why he is acting this way, any ideas?

how long has he been declawed? declawing can lead to outbreaks of being aggressive and violent. declawing is still never okay and is probably the cause of your cat being this way.

It's not the reason my grandmothers cat is acting this way. As I said he is 14 years old, and has been declawed since he was very young (not my cat, not my choice.) I am actually very against declawing, but this was one event that it turned out better because he did not have claws.

[atychiphobia]

I have an orange Tabby, around three years old, he's used to going outside but then I saw this ad and it said something about outside cats only living for 3-5 years and and inside cats 10-13 and my cat's three, so I decided to make him an inside cat. But he begs to go outside (my window, the door) he sometimes escapes through my window. But how long will it take for him to get used to being an inside cat?
cause he get's into a few fights, there was this mark on his skin with no fur and I don't know what happened to him. :C

I don't really agree with this (the add). While the outside cats lifespan may be true in some sense I wouldn't completely believe it. If you add up all the outside cats that had lost their lives to cars, wildlife and other things there would be a fair few, and I can image most being young such as kittens. My cat has always been an outside/indoor cat. Sure he comes home with marks every now and then but nothing major. I live in quite a rural part of my town and my specific street isn't too busy or full of cat haters. Before we moved, Wizzy was mainly an inside cat but that's because he liked being inside. We had a 13+ (can't remember specific age) year old cat that was strictly an outside cat because she was scared of being inside, she eventually got cancer but that's not related. So long story short, the add is true but misleading at the same time. I've experienced both long living outside cats and not so lucky inside/outside cats (cars...)

If you feel that keeping your cat inside is the best thing to do though then you can do it, that's up to you not us. And also if you are scared that your cat will attack wildlife I recommend putting on a collar with a bell. Also if you choose to keep him outside I'd still bring him in at night as that's when I notice the fights occur. But this may be different with you.

Whoops I wrote too much...
What I wrote may vary though as I live in Australia and don't have problems with coyotes and stuff.

[Lunarsnow]

Just wanna point out that simply putting a bell on a cat's collar will not keep wildlife from get injured/dying. The sound of a bell does not naturally equal danger to any species and if your cat is dead set on hunting they will find a way to move as silently as possible even with the bell once they get used to what movements make how much noise.

[Thalassic]

Just wanna point out that simply putting a bell on a cat's collar will not keep wildlife from get injured/dying. The sound of a bell does not naturally equal danger to any species and if your cat is dead set on hunting they will find a way to move as silently as possible even with the bell once they get used to what movements make how much noise.

I've seen some bird feeders and wind chimes that actually come with bells, so in a lot of cases it can actually have the opposite effect.

[woospuss]

Our cat Ruff goes outside of a day and has been doing this for the past 6 years. At the start of this year I was home almost every day for the whole or part of the day. Ruff soon discovered that he could come in, hang with me and sleep. As the year has gone on the more and more time he spends inside than outside XD. Every day I can guarantee that he will go out around 6:30am after his breakfast and will be back before lunch and goes to bed! It just amuses me that the cat who once hated being left in for a day because it was raining now wants to be inside regardless of the weather!

He is 6 so he is nearing the senior age in cats, but he still runs around like crazy like a kitten