Has anyone ever had a cat that would get "over-stimulated"?

[Yield]

Backstory
We have had this feral cat roaming around our house for a couple months.. I have befriended her and now she is our "outdoor/garage kitty" because my parents don't want a cat in the house.

Her name is Natasha (after Natasha Romanoff from Marvel/The Avengers). (Yes, we are the ones who got her the collar and tag!)

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She seems fine with that, she doesn't like our dogs, she loves being outside, and she loves the garage. She gets free-roam during the day, garage at night. I believe she is pregnant (she was that way when we befriended her), so she will be spayed and micro-chipped as soon as possible. (Thankfully I already found people interested in a kitten.)

"Over-stimulation"
Apparently over-stimulation is a form of petting-related aggression. If you pet a cat for too long, they will attack you- but (more often than not) there are signs. Tail twitching/lashing, ears going back, fur rippling on the spine, and annoyed meows/growls. In that order (for my cat).

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At first I thought nothing of Natasha's sudden attacking me while petting her. I thought she was just getting feisty and playful. But as those "seemingly" playful attacks became worse each time, and eventually resulting in me having to scruff her and pull her roughly off of me before she seriously harmed me, I knew something was up...

Which is how I came to learn what "over-stimulation" is... in all my years of owning cats (since I was BORN pretty much), I have never run across this. Apparently it is more common in feral cats than others (which is weird because I had a "feral" cat way back when and he never did that)...

From this link, it says: "Accepting human touch is a learned behavior, not a natural one, and some cats may be more naturally reactive than others. Further, Nala may have missed out on vital human interaction during her early socialization period of kittenhood, so slow desensitization toward touch may be in order."

They say if you stop at the first sign of over-stimulation, (for Natasha, the tail twitching/lashing), and leave them wanting more pets, over time the length of time for them to become over-stimulated will become longer and longer until they no longer have these issues...

But say they attack you before you have the chance to stop, from the site above, they say to go limp (instead of fighting to pull away- you will seem like prey) and yell "Ouch!" to distract them verbally.

Not all cats can be rid from their "over-stimulated" behavior, but I am hoping Natasha will be able to. I was a big sobbing mess today before I found out what this was. She's lucky she found a family that can deal with this.

Your stories?
Have any of you had a cat like this?

 

[JennaLynn]

I was unaware that it had a name. About three years ago I found a feral kitten in a tree. He's fat and sassy now but if you pet him for too long he will role over grab your arm with his front paws and kick your forearm with his back paws.

 

[Yield]

Yep! I had to google it because I was seriously a mess. It's not fun when a cat you think loves you decides to randomly attack you :CC

Aww, yeah, so he was a feral too. It's so weird how it is more common with ferals/former ferals.

I took a video of Natasha with me testing how long it would take for her to become over-stimulated. Click [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mk8zxRrWkU]here[/ame] to see it!

 

[MiniLopHop]

Victoria is like that. The first three years of her life she was ferral as well. Her tail will start the twitching, then the ears go back, then all holy heck breaks loose. She is now 11, so we have had her 8 years and it has gotten MUCH better! At first it would take less than 10 seconds and she would go bonkers. Now she climbs all over me crying in the morning for ear rubs.

I have found she can accept rubbing her ears, cheeks, and chin much easier than the full body pet. Even now she only gets about 3 full body strokes per session or she starts to be overwhelmed. However, she will let me rub her ears as much as I have time for.

When we first got her I would pick her up and give her a hug and kiss every day. She hated it! As soon as I picked her up she wanted down. Now when I pick her up she will stay for several minutes of baby talk and petting before she gets squirmy.

Hang in there. Know that working with her will make it better over time. It can be so rewarding to teach a cat the greatness of petting.

 

[fuzz16]

a cat we raised from a day old after her mom abandoned her is like that..i just assumed she was done being pet. shes not exactly "right" in the head though. shes kinda off.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

My Smokey was also abandoned by his mom when tiny... He wound up as an easily overstimulated cat. We learned the same ear and tail signals that you have. I agree, better to leave them wanting more. Smokey would twine between your legs when you returned, but would bite if you didn't stop to pet him... Also, lots of ambushing.One suggestion: if she ambushes/ starts to attavk, have a toy to throw to distract... She needs to redirect her attn.TO something non- human.

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

Yea.. i never knew that had a name.

My aunts cat would do that to me all the time. She would run up on me, force me to pet her pretty much and then attack the living crap out of me.

I'm just not a cat person, never have been. All bad experiences with them....
This probably isnt the nicest thing, but I would leave her outside, feed her, give her water and be done with her...

 

[BunMommaD]

I just thought that was a characteristic of a cat! Lol very interesting! I've never met a cat that didn't act that way to one point or another...

 

[SApple]

I had a maine coon cat that would walk up bite you and walk away. The worse part was he would do it in the middle of night too. You'd be lying in bed sleeping and all of a sudden you've got a bleeding arm.:shock: As he got elderly and started loosing his teeth it became kinda humorous. I adopted him as an older cat and didn't know his background.

 

[Yield]

Brandy, Yeah, I was upset at first, but once I learned it was not just her being awful, I grew more understanding. When the behavior (hopefully) lessens, it will be very rewarding!

Autumn, Thanks for the tip! I will definitely keep that in mind. Hopefully that does not happen though!

Maria, I'm actually quite put off by what you said... Just because you have had bad experiences with cats does not mean you should not say something like that :C I love animals- cats, rabbits, dogs, doesn't matter. And if I can help that animal have a better life like we are with Natasha, I will do it, despite those "flaws." Now, if she was aggressive all the time, it would be different. She ONLY gets aggressive after a while of petting (especially body-pets)... and it is easily avoided. There is no need to leave her outside. She only comes in the garage though, and she stays in there at night- free roam during the day. My parents don't want a cat in the house.

Liz, I thought so too until it got worse and worse!

Sharon, Oh wow! O_O I have heard things like that too but I'm not sure if that is "over-stimulation" as well.. hmm O:

 

[MagPie]

BunMommaD wrote:

I just thought that was a characteristic of a cat! Lol very interesting! I've never met a cat that didn't act that way to one point or another...

It's not a characteristic of all cats. Some yes but not all. I have a siamese that never bites, never claws. Basically the sweetest cat ever. My other cat gives love bites, which are never hard enough to break skin.

Now I've been around cats all my life and I have done volunteer work for my spca (dealt with one there that started going after a volunteer seemingly out of no where, but thats a tough situation for cats). I've had a few cats that get over stimulated. Like my Junior my kitten from childhood. He only liked to be petted on his head. It got better as he got older. My friend has a rather agressive cat. Tried to bite me. And I know how to behave around cats even agressive ones.

Part of the problem with cats is people play with them like you play with a dog. So my friend with the agressive cat would rough house with his cat like he would with a dog. It is his first cat, he's only had dogs. Part of his agression can be linked to that and his territorial nature. And he didn't have many, if any, places to get up high. On animal plant there's a show called My Cat From Hell that's a good show on how to deal with difficult cats.

Personally I love cats and they get a bum wrap some times.

 

[MiniLopHop]

I love My Cat from Hell! It shows what a difference environment and correct human interaction can make. It shows that cats who attack people aren't bad cats, they have problems and are trying to communicate the only way they can, on instinct. Jackson (the cat behaviorist) has some really cool solutions. I have used some of his ideas to make my cats even happier.

My other cat, Andre is such a love bug that he will cry to get petted and force himself onto your lap. I can hold him like a baby and nuzzel his fluffy tummy. He's also the one that loves to play with the rabbits. He grooms them too, which is too cute.

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

Bailee! See.. i took what you said and thought about it. I said, darn, you know she's right I do love animals but my experiences with cats is just wrong.

I went to my husbands job yesterday. Saw 3 cats, he swore all 3 were friendly. So I said, let me give this a shot. The big fluffy gorgeous cat came running to me when I did the "pssst pssst" noise.. So I started petting him and talking to him. I can take a picture of where that **** cat bit me!!! I have a scratch now!
Me and cats dont get along. I dont like them, they dont like me.. NOW, i would never ever ever HURT one, NEVER! but i dont like them and I think I have the right to not like them :\

 

[Yield]

Maria, I love that you gave the cats a chance yesterday. I'm sorry that the one you petted bit you! I wonder if he is an easily over stimulated cat too.. or just mean.

I do know some cats can be awful- like, my Aunt had a Bengal who would be so friendly to her husband, but would bite and scratch and REALLY harm her... he ended up running away (it sounds awful but we were glad he ran away because my poor Aunt was so upset with him hurting her and she is such a good person.)..

There was also a stray cat that I befriended a while back, and for some reason she attacked my hand.. I couldn't push her away or anything because I was barefoot so I had like, no protection, so I started walking away, and the little b*tch latched on to the back of my leg and scratched me all up!

Then there was a feral kitten my Great Grandma took in that was the sweetest little thing as a kitten... but then we played rough with her (had no idea it could turn a cat aggressive) and she became REALLY mean.

So I have had bad experiences with them, but I've actually had more bad experiences with dogs and rabbits... but no matter how many bad experiences I have I could never not love them all <3 (But not everyone is like me when it comes to that and I understand that XD)

Buuut yes, I understand you not liking them for sure, as long as you don't do anything to hurt one c; (Well unless you have to defend yourself from one attacking you O_O I think that is a viable excuse.)

But for me, I enjoy giving animals that I can be wary of a chance! Because when they go against what you usually experience, it is a great feeling! : ) (Not saying you have to, just saying I enjoy it xD)

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

I would never hurt any animal! Never ever ever. If I saw a cat that was hurt I would do everything I could to help it.. I'd load up with a thick jacket and pray I didnt get hurt LOL! I cant see an animal suffering no matter what!

I bet its a great feeling! Maybe one day me and cats can be friends lol, until then, its me, my doggy and my buns!

 

[MagPie]

AAaw I'm sorry Maria. If you were closer I'd let you meet Merlin. Merlin loves! everyone haha. He doesn't quite get that not everyone wants to be his friend.

Brandi, I loved that show too That guy was awesome with cats. I used to watch it when I had cable. Azrael lets me snuggle with him too. Plus his got a great big belly that I love hhaha.

 

[MLS]

Our current cat gets mildy "over-stimulated". Though, in her case, it seems to be a more " Okay, I'm done with pets now, thank you very much, goodbye," reaction. She is a very sweet cat, lets you pick her up at any time and carry her anywhere, accepts pets from almost any stranger. But after awhile of full-body petting she'll start to swing her tail and fold her ears, very clear signs of being done with petting in her case and if you just ease off on the petting for even a minute or two her mood resets or she just starts grooming. Even when someone doesn't stop when she wants them to, the worst she deals out is opening her mouth and giving a small nip. She's never done more than pinch. Interestingly, she will tolerate just head pets forever and only really seems to get bothered by full body strokes. She's very well socialized, been surrounded by loving humans since day one. She's a proper lady, can't just allow the lowly humans to walk all over her with their affections

Also, echoing the Cat From Hell love. One of the few shows Animal Planet has added in recent years that I can tolerate ( the other being Victoria Stilwell's program ). Though sometimes it makes me laugh. Just watching people not understand how to interact with cats at all almost baffles me, but I guess that's what you get when you're so used to being around a certain type of animal a lot. You learn how to interact with and "read" them and it almost seems odd that other people don't "get" them after that. At least for me.

 

[fantaysah]

A lot of the time a cat is sensitive to a specific area esp. Their belly. A dog ways its tail in happiness a cat in anger. If a cat whips its tail and you walk away it will end right there. Cats aren't wired like dogs and some really don't enjoy the touching just like buns don't like being picked up. Even though we see some cats who love it we really have to watch what they're trying to tell us with the tail.

 

[MagPie]

Hmmm yes that is very true. I have Merlin who loves attention from everyone all the time and then Azrael loves attention from me but is wary of strangers especially guys. Normally tho he'll hide and then come out to watch from a distance with big buggy eyes.