Steven Hunley
11-12-2009, 06:12 PM
Making Your Pet Mad at You
People may call him our pet but Willy is not our “pet.” Not in the classic sense. He is more like a cat we happen to know who lives with us. (feline familiaris) The distinction should, indeed must, be made. It’s two different things, having a cat, and having a pet. If you mess with Willy he’ll bite you. And, just for effect, he’ll hold onto you with his claws before, during, and after the bite. A pet would never do that. But Willy will. That’s how he is.
This behavior on his part can be obtained by rubbing his belly. His ears go back, his claws go out, and his teeth go in.( you) If he doesn’t draw blood, (which he usually does) he does his best to at least bruise. They are small but unusually painful bruises which last 5-7 days. They usually turn four colors before disappearing.
Sometimes he’ll warn you. When he does he uses a kind of aggressive “Meow”. However it is so coincided with his teeth that it usually too late. (for you) By the time you hear it ( the meow) the teeth are in.
I’m trying to train him to do the “Meow” a bit sooner so there’ll be more time to withdraw, which would leave me only the scratches, not scratches and bite-marks both. (there are normally four bite marks, two upper, two lower.) This would be an improvement, and require less Neosporin and bandages, saving me money in the end.
Or, I could try to train myself to leave his belly alone. Perhaps in the long run this would be the wiser course. I’m willing to give anything a try for both our sakes.
People may call him our pet but Willy is not our “pet.” Not in the classic sense. He is more like a cat we happen to know who lives with us. (feline familiaris) The distinction should, indeed must, be made. It’s two different things, having a cat, and having a pet. If you mess with Willy he’ll bite you. And, just for effect, he’ll hold onto you with his claws before, during, and after the bite. A pet would never do that. But Willy will. That’s how he is.
This behavior on his part can be obtained by rubbing his belly. His ears go back, his claws go out, and his teeth go in.( you) If he doesn’t draw blood, (which he usually does) he does his best to at least bruise. They are small but unusually painful bruises which last 5-7 days. They usually turn four colors before disappearing.
Sometimes he’ll warn you. When he does he uses a kind of aggressive “Meow”. However it is so coincided with his teeth that it usually too late. (for you) By the time you hear it ( the meow) the teeth are in.
I’m trying to train him to do the “Meow” a bit sooner so there’ll be more time to withdraw, which would leave me only the scratches, not scratches and bite-marks both. (there are normally four bite marks, two upper, two lower.) This would be an improvement, and require less Neosporin and bandages, saving me money in the end.
Or, I could try to train myself to leave his belly alone. Perhaps in the long run this would be the wiser course. I’m willing to give anything a try for both our sakes.