How do I stop the slasher cat?

[spinbaby]

Our latest cat is a large male named Tennessee. He was a stray when we started feeding last year. We had him fixed in September and, in December when the weather got cold, he moved inside with the rest of the cats. We've had a bit of friction between the cats but nothing major. Tennessee seems reasonably friendly, enjoys being petted, and doesn't mind being being picked up. But he has the bad habit of suddenly slashing legs. If you walk or stand near him, he sometimes, not always, just sometimes, strikes out with his claws. I'm getting really tired of always having claw marks on my legs. He's a big, strong cat and this habit is not in any way cute. Do any of you cat people have any idea why he's doing this and how to get him to stop?

[CatWoman]

1. Squirt his ass!!!

get a spray bottle and squirt him when he does that.

[spinbaby]

7. Not really practical

That would require carrying a squirt bottle at all times just to get him that one time a day when he takes a slice out of my calf. I've tried hissing at him.

[Lars39]

9. Apron with a pocket to hold the water bottle, maybe?

I've also used a shake can with success(coke can with 15 pennies in it, with the top taped over)

[ScreamingMeemie]

15. This is what I have done, and I agree that it works wonders...

although it does make our dog wonder what she has done. :hi:

[CatWoman]

11. I have to do that

I had to train myself to carry the squirt bottle at all times.

Streak and Trinity completey wrecked my house. Completely.

But the squirt bottle is the only thing they fear.

[Skittles]

18. Streak fears you taking away his drug stash

you could use that as leverage

[CatWoman]

19. ROFL

Stop calling my cat an addict!!!!!!!

[SoCalDem]

30. My kitties chewed up the squirt attachment on the bottle.

I picked it up to squirt someone, and instead of running like they usually did, they just sat there mocking me ..:(

My husband put a new squirter on it, and they have chewed it too, but it still works :)

[MercutioATC]

2. A burlap bag, 2 rocks and a river...seriously, though, the squirter should

work wonders..

[Deja Q]

3. Declaw his ass too!

Or is kitty too old? I think the deadline is 1 year after being born, otherwise it's too traumatic...

[twilight]

5. declawing is cruel!

NEVER declaw a cat! If you think he is bad now, declaw him and make him a neurotic sociopath. If he does this, yell NO at him and yes, squirt him with some water and throw his butt outside. He'll get the message real fast if he wants to come back in.

:dem:

[Rick Myers]

10. I used to NEVER declaw cats, but...

if they are really young and you intend on keeping them inside, I think it's ok. But NEVER an adult cat!

Spray bottle!!! But set it to STUN... I mean, stream!!! They really don't care for that...

[CatWoman]

12. Declawing

Male and Female are declawed.

Streak and Trinity has ruined my leather sofa, my plants, my bedroom matress, my speakers, etc.

As soon as I get the money together, those claws are coming off!!

[Bertha Venation]

14. Don't declaw. Trim his claws like you do your own nails or - SOFTPAWS

http://www.softpaws.com

Trimming a cat's nails is relatively easy. Just be sure you don't cut into the quick. You can find many guides to doing this on line.

[WillParkinson]

33. Softpaws - my vet says NO WAY!

My vet says that Softpaws are bad. He says that it makes it harder for cats to retract their claws and, when they do claw something, makes bigger holes.

I don't know for a fact, I'm only passing along what he says.

[Bertha Venation]

34. Didn't know, but it makes sense.

I'll stop recommending them.

Trimming claws, IMO, is the best way to go. Infinitely better than declawing.

[Limbought]

4. I guess drop kicking him across the room is out of the question .......

Just Kidding, Just Kidding!

A spray bottle works wonders on an unruly cat.

[KTM]

6. The water bottle works

Declawing is cruel.

One of my three (who, by the way, oughta be the Panther's mascot - he's a black Manx) used to do that... now he is content to just reach out and tap you on the butt.

When ours are REALLY bad, we chuck them in the shower and turn it on (sliding glass doors helped). Each one of them has only had one or two showers... that really drove our point home.

[niceypoo]

8. My mom always relied on a rolled up newspaper

Just bang it on the floor next to him....cats hate it.....he'll get the message

[moof]

13. aaaaa " Duct Tape "

first as booties, if that fails tape the feline down to the floor then

push the food bowl up to the front end & the litter tray up to it's

tail end.

[Fridays Child]

16. When I was little, we had a dog that would jump at our car...

...as it pulled into the carport. We were afraid that she might get run over. So my mom put a squirt gun filled with water and ammonia in the glove compartment. And, when the dog jumped at the car, she'd squirt her in the face. Cured her in about two days.

Another idea: my cat hates the canned air that I use to clean my keyboard. When she gets too bold in her investigation of the printer (she loves that thing), I give her a little blast. Seems to do the trick, and she's slowly losing interest in the printer.

[Skittles]

17. does he do this when you are walking away from him?

my mum has a cat like that and she has learned to back away from him. He's not vicious, just playful with his claws.

[pansypoo53219]

20. radical-declaw

trimming is probably not an option and nothing is sadder than an elderly cat stuck by its nails in a carpet. and declawed cats don't destroy anything and it is much easy to pet the shit out of em.
and no ugly scratching post.
and they still can 'scratch'.

oh, and i practically emersed my male SH kitten and he did NOTHING. except look at me and say'why did you do that? and then he kept on being bad.

[aquart]

29. Disgusting, cruel, and unnecessary.

Declaw only when the choice is between declawing and death. And I agree that a declawed cat can become psychotic and do more damage.

Have you had the cat checked for say, stud tail?

[ornotna]

21. A bar of soap in a sock

twirl it really fast and.......

[Mikimouse]

22. It is a sign of affection, or so our Vet. told us years ago...

All of ours do it, but the neutered Toms seem to do it more. Pooky does it at predictable times. When I get out of the shower in the morning, he does it all the while I am walking from the bathroom to the bedroom to get dressed. He grabs with both of his front paws and nips at my ankles as well. He is very gentle and never does any damage, but it is clear that he knows that I'm going out, and is not very happy about it.

[Cleita]

23. My Benny does that when he's being playful, but

if he scratches my husband it's twice the trauma than on an ordinary person because of my husband's condition, so I have developed a disapproving voice that I use on him. It takes a little while to accustom them to the disapproving voice, but they do eventually get the picture that you are pissed.

As a matter of fact, I used the disapproving voice on Benny in front of one of my daughter's cats the other day and I was amazed to see that my daughter's cat knew exactly what the voice meant too.

[Lostmessage]

24. I have scars

You have a couple of choices you can either declaw or buy tons of neosporin for the wounds.

[neebob]

25. I don't know!

I'm always covered with scratches and stab wounds, if not inflicted by my own crazed and unpredictable attack cat, then inflicted accidentally by whichever cat happened to be on or near me when one or both of the others started the freakout.

Just today I was injured more severely than usual when the attack cat - who is also a clumsy fatass - knocked a bunch of stuff off of my dresser and startled the one who was standing in my lap trying to get my attention. He certainly got my attention.

I swear by the squirt bottle myself that I use for general naughtiness, and it works well. The only problem is it's rarely within reach.

[tinrobot]

26. Chloroform...

Cats really hate that...

Ok, ok... if all he claws is your lower legs, maybe you should just wear long pants or thick socks.... or electic socks! Yes, electricity... that's it... mwah-ha-ha...

[Lostmessage]

28. Cat's nails can cut through steel

At least I think that they can. My three boys are declawed and two of them came that way.

[grasswire]

27. a shoulder holster?

would that work for the squirt gun?

Or how about a piercing whistle that you could wear around your neck?

[ulysses]

31. garden hose?

Mr. Kitty used to do that, and encroaching middle age has been the only thing that's stopped it.

[LynneSin]

32. My sister-in-law swears by these: Soft Paws

Essentially, they are advertised as an alternative for declawing. Sorta like "Lee Press-On-Nails" for cats.

I've never used them and yes, my cat can be a slasher from time to time (I have a scar under my eye from an accidental swipe).

http://www.softpaws.com/