Posted on 03/12/2014 12:16:31 PM PDT by EBH
He acknowledges that he hasn’t visited the Palmer home but he deals with aggressive cats on a near-daily basis.
“If you watch my show, you know that within five minutes, the human component is really identified,” Galaxy said during a phone interview.
“We realize this behavior doesn’t occur in a vacuum. That’s really the important thing, is that there’s always a context.”
Lux may have scratched a 7-month-old boy, but the attack began after the boy pulled his tail. When he reacted by scratching the child, owner Lee Palmer kicked the cat. It was at that point that Lux “went over the edge.”
Palmer has said in news stories that the cat “has a history of violence” but that behavior could be due to a physical problem. The first thing the family should do, Galaxy says, is take the cat to a veterinarian.
“It could be anything from an abscessed tooth to a brain tumor and anything in between,” he says, noting that cats in pain may tend to act out...
...Galaxy pointed out that children age 6 or younger should never be left unsupervised with an animal. Cats are prey animals that defend their territory when threatened and may feel the need to put their claws out when provoked.
(Excerpt) Read more at oregonlive.com ...
I’d say its behavior is caused by the lack of buckshot.
It’s a pitcat, a catbull, a cat99.
LOL! “Pitcat.” I like that.
However, the human error component is very strong here. We had twin babies (enough to send any feline over the edge!) and our cats gave them a wide berth for a long time. When the kids got to crawling, some tail-pulling and some swatting did occur (because that’s life) but because we’re actually responsible pet owners, I kept the cats’ claws clipped. So NO actual scratching occurred, the kids got a soft bat that taught them some respect for kitty, and no kicking was involved. (Or ever would have been, here. Kicking teaches a cat NOTHING. If you need to discipline an adult cat, you “scruff” them, which paralyzes them — though don’t ever pick them up, that can cause nerve damage in an adult cat — and basically show them they’re just a kitten to you and you have the upper hand. Then separate the combatants and let everyone cool off.)
Anyway, these idiot owners need a course in how to actually handle cat ownership. You’re dealing with a mini-lion. You need to act like it.
Well said. I feel badly for the poor cat.
This, like the previous posting, is sure to bring out the cat-haters.
The cat was right. The humans wrong.
Me-ow too.
She’s a beautiful kitty.
God; thank you very much for including that - we scruff when a cat goes bad, and I wasn't aware of the fact you listed. Luckily, a little scruffing sure goes a long way, so we don't need to do hardly ever - but now I know better if a next time occurs.
Jackson’s a good guy, and spot on when it comes to cat behavioral problems.
I love that he is able to solve those problems (which are almost always the fault of the humans) and keep the cat from ending up in a shelter. Just a little time and effort makes for a happy family, cat included.
We’ve done a lot of cat rescue over the years, so I’ve picked up a fair amount of useful information. When cats are babies, their light weight allows Mom Cat to pick them up by the neck and move them around. This pinches the nerves in the neck, paralyzing them, which is very convenient for Mom. When they are adults, the same “scruff” neck pinch, used by a human, will paralyze the cat, but because of their much greater weight as an adult, if you pick them up by the neck it can cause damage to those nerves. If you need to move Crazy Cat around (and I’ve needed to! LOL!) then scruff them first and (as gently as possible) pin them down. Then keep them scruffed with one hand and pick them up with your other hand, supporting the weight. That way they’re immobilized (okay, mostly) but it doesn’t hurt them.
As for scruffing as a discipline tool, it works great. I haven’t had to do it in a long time, but if a cat really gets out of line I scruff it, bend down and get close, and sternly (not loudly) just say, “No. No. Not okay.” They really hate this, because they’re essentially reduced to being a kitten, with you as Stern Mom Cat. Then separate it from the other combatant and let everyone chill. If you use the same short verbal phrase every time, eventually you can just use the phrase and they know a scruffing is about to occur. They will usually stop the behavior then.
Everything I know about raising kids, I learned from my cats . . . LOL!
I spent much of my youth on my uncle’s farm. Full of every kind of animal. Including wild. (He was also a taxidermist) He carried a 38 revolver at all times while on his property. One day my cousins and I were playing outside. I tackled my cousin while we were “horsing” around.(typical rough boys play) We were both laughing.
My uncles favorite dog (male Boxer named Duke) didn’t see it that way, broke his tie, and proceeded to come after me and bite me.(I loved the dog and we never had issues) My uncle was luckily right there. He proceeded to run over to the dog, grab it by the collar, haul its big ass up the hill toward the pigsty, and shoot it dead.
That’s why cats come with a handle.
That discipline method sounds about right to me! Loud voices don’t work with a cat; all you do is scare it away. With my cats, all I’ve ever had to do is make eye contact and say firmly, “NO.” I might get a little feline backtalk, and I might have to repeat the “no” a couple of times, but 99% of the time it works.
Your uncle was a fool. The dog was protecting your cousin.
Yep, sad story.
I had an Uncle who said he liked cats. he had cats, but he liked to torment them because he though that was funny. People said his cat was mean. A person tormented wouldn’t be too nice either.
I has a sis in law who said she like cats. Let her cat have babies. Went to visit and watched those kids pick up the kittens and toss them like balls.
The people that have this cat are true idiots. People should think twice about having an animal around with toddlers unless they are super responsible and know that work has to be done to make them respect each other.
A cat gets his tail yanked, he responds as anyone would to an attack. If after getting his tail yanked, a person kicks thew cat, well, he reacts as a person would. The cat only responds to how how is treated, as we do.
Nobody is this stupid tale is “bad”, not even kitty, the pet owners are just not responsible enough to have a pet or a kid!
If this cat is a Maine Coon, those are very swee, smart and docile cats. They would have to be abused to be bad kitties.
I broke up w a girl over a cat once....told her get ridof it when it bit her neck and clawed her eyes.....repeatedly the thing seemed to hate all humans...sneek attacks ,deep bites every day!
Evil thing...like to hide over doors and jump on her head.I decided I could not tolerate her passivity and would not visit with that cat around.
Her father was not happy with me....looking back that was a poor decision .....hmmmmm
oh well
bttt
My grandkids are warned that if they scare my cats they may be scratched. I can report only one very minor injury and no fatalities so far.
Back when I used to date I would invite the guy to my house. If my cat looked at him in disgust and then turned away so he didn’t have to look at him, I knew they guy didn’t have good character. If my cat accepted him, then I would give the guy a chance.
Was I wrong?
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