Weird Behaviour is driving us to distraction

Hello fellow MC lovers,

Roxy has started displaying some really weird behaviour recently and we don't know what to do about it. Starting around the beginning of January, she now loves to sit on the headrest of the sofa behind us and pull really hard on our hair, also doing a sort of combing moting with the paws and claws. :suprised:
Initially we thought that she was grooming us as a sign of affection, but it's really painful and we'd rather she didn't. So whenever she does it now, we try to stroke her and gently direct her away from our hair. However, if we do this, she gets VERY angry and aggressive and starts to bite our heads/hands quite forcefully. Not sure what to do about it - if we let her do it as she wants it's so painful to us, but obviously we don't want to offend her and teach her that we don't want her affection. Also unsure why she has started thinking this is a good idea.

Has anybody else encountered this behaviour and how did you cope with it/discourage it? Any advice would be welcome!

Certain MC's are very good hairdressers,our Merlyn RIP was a classic,up behind you on the settee front paw either side on your shoulder & just gentle licks that quite honestly could send you to sleep then came along Shimba & Wellynton Boots,Shimba got the hang of it pretty quickly but WB was really rough he would pad your head with claws out but purring & pull at your hair & make your eyes water so without looking at him we used to move forward & tell him no gently & then sit back again & let him have another go,when he was gentler we just told him he was a good boy & let him carry on,must have been near to six months before he got the hang of doing it nice & gentle but now he is the best punk hair stylist around...... dread the doorbell ringing after he has rearranged it.
As Roxy gets upset & if you really don't want to see if you can get her to be more gentle could you have something close at hand or a mouse in your pocket that you could distract her with straight away rather than having to tell he no,she most probaly is trying to show you affection but hasn't got control of it.....x

Hmm, that sounds like it might work in the long term. We'll try and teach her what feels nice for us - we love her very much and don't want to inhibit her affectionate behaviour towards us. The trick with the mouse sounds like it might work a treat! Thank you very much!

Try to not allow Roxy to begin kneading your head. This may mean not allowing her on the sofa headrest. If you want her on the headrest then as soon as you know Roxy is going to begin kneading your head or hair, pick her up & put her on the floor or change your position or location. If she bits you when you pick her up she is probably trying to show dominance over you. Cats are creatures of habit and love routine. After 1 week or 2 of not being able to knead your heads she should stop. I'd be careful about trowing a toy or giving her a treat to distract her as she may learn that bad behavior rewards her with playtime or a treat.

Our Whiskey loves to give me head massages between 3am & 4am. I'd be in a deep sleep when all of a sudden he'd squish himself between my head & the bed headboard. Then he'd get to work. He'd knead my scalp (using acupuncture when his nails need a trim) and shove his nose into my hair rubbing his face all over my hair. Sometimes he'd lick my hair too. I love when he does this so I let it happen even though I lose sleep. And believe me, this goes on every night. If his nails are trimmed sometimes I don't even wake up. DH will notice & tell me about it as Whiskey walks across him to get to me.

I wouldn't say that distraction from something is a reward for bad behaviour,in fact distraction can overcome a lot of niggly problems,in this case I would read it as Roxy not knowing her own strength in the way she is trying to show affection & do you want to block affection from your furry,don't think so it is something we all luv,don't worry bad behaviour in this household is not treated by treats it is dealt with very firmly & have even resorted to time out in the naughty room although carrying a clawing squiggly yowling cat that was trying to bite as well was no mean feat but she got the idea after a couple of trips but that was because she was attacking & biting badly for no reason when you walked past,when she was let out though she did have a fuss & play time & she did end up a real cuddle bug,there was something there all along though as it was through her we ended up with so many MC's,have not had one that was so naughty since luckily but Welly bless him does everything hard & rough to start with but he is learming.....

I like the "naughty room". :winkwink: Wish I had a room to put Whiskey in for a time-out. The problem is every room in the house is viewed as a playroom to our guy. We close off the rooms we don't want destroyed as he is always able to find something to entertain himself with and break in the process. MC's you gotta love em.

Hmm, after further observation and keeping both your comments in mind I am not so sure anymore about Roxy's motivation behind the hair-pulling. She often seems to do it when either of us are sitting on 'her' corners of the sofa (she seems to think she owns the house, something I am sure you're all too familiar with) and when the person in question gets up she immediately sits in their space. But then again this may be coincidence. Ahh, to be able to look into the furry brain for one day...

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Originally Posted by RoxyKitten

Hmm, after further observation and keeping both your comments in mind I am not so sure anymore about Roxy's motivation behind the hair-pulling. She often seems to do it when either of us are sitting on 'her' corners of the sofa (she seems to think she owns the house, something I am sure you're all too familiar with) and when the person in question gets up she immediately sits in their space. But then again this may be coincidence. Ahh, to be able to look into the furry brain for one day...

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Our oldest boy hasn't a mean bone in his body but he is very good at snucking into hubby's seat when he gets out,Bruce will appear sound asleep on his favourite bed but as soon as he hears the kitchen/bathroom door close he flies over & curls up on the chair & when OH returns a half eye opens as much as to say I have been here allllllll the while daddy..... I think it is one of the charms of this breed,they are not like any other cat,they can stay one step ahead of you & part of the fun is wondering what they are going to beat you to next,having said that they do have to learn boundries especially when its mum's chair that has been taken up instead,of course I am sure it is done mistakenly......!!!!

We are lucky having a chow chow, every times the MC does something annoying we loudly forbid it.The chows comes immediately in the room and shows the MC that he is not "happy"" .Our little monster then stops immediately.
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r.../Photo2978.jpg
He controls him every were .
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r.../Photo2978.jpg

Must.Get.Chow!

today, relaxing in front of the tv - Miss Neevie comes and sits in front of me (blocking the view) and stares and meows at me with a definite annoyed face. I assume she wants a cuddle, and happy to oblige I go to grab her but she escapes. So, not a cuddle, then... mmm
so I resume watching tv... she comes back to the same spot, and starts meowing - so I assume she may not have enough food in her bowl and dutifully pause the recording of Dexter I was watching, and go feed my monster...
she follows me to the kitchen, mewing loudly... but all the plates are full. dry food, check. wet food, check. fresh water, check. even an offering of cooked chicken breast WE're so fond of... So... not hungry either... mmm...
Still followed by an annoying talking Monster Cat, I get back to the TV room and ask if she wants to play. Since - perhaps unsurprisingly - she doesn't respond, I attempt throwing a paper ball. Monster looks at the ball go, looks at me and meows irritatedly. I try the rubber ball. Same result.
I sit back down, determined to watch the end of Dexter, cat still blocking my view - and then out of nowhere she throws herself at my leg and starts ripping it, teeth and claws.
...
Now, after a period of time out in the corridor, she's all cuddly and "oh I don't know what happened, I think another very naughty cat swapped brains with me for a bit there"... sigh...

so yeah, sometimes, a translator would be helpful.

also - I can't help musing - some people keep pet tigers... imagine!?