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erichw1504's avatar

Is my cat a vampire?

Asked by erichw1504 (26453points) October 3rd, 2011

Can you explain this odd behavior that my cat is exhibiting?

Only at night does he do this. He’ll get this creepy look in him and all of the sudden go up to my other cat and bite onto the back of his neck. My other cat seems to be subdued for a bit, but then doesn’t like it and will cry and try to get him off. He is not biting hard enough to draw blood or anything, so I know he’s not trying to physically harm him. He will then continue to do it a few more times. It’s not every night this happens, but often enough that it is freaking me out. This behavior has been going on for about 2 months now.

So, is my cat a vampire? Have you seen this before? What can I do to stop it?

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29 Answers

CWOTUS's avatar

Just be glad that you don’t have a vampire that’s a cat. Then you’d be having problems.

Seriously, though: it almost seems like mating behavior. I don’t know a thing about cat mating – nor do I want to! – but this behavior is common in other species. I could have you talk to my wife, in fact…

Adirondackwannabe's avatar

The only way to be sure is throw him out in the sunshine and see if he bursts into flames.
Cats do weird things and one is carry other cats by the neck. Anything changed in the household in the past two months?

GabrielsLamb's avatar

So they are both males? Cats do three things during the course of any given day in this order.

They Hunt, they eat and they groom.

Hunting is dependent upon competition as well as motivation. The other male cat is his competitor for survival (Even though in reality there isn’t one) They don’t know that, he is expressing his feeling of dominance over the other cat, that’s all it is.

As for the Vampire Le Chat?

I dunno… I’d call Anne Rice if I were you?

erichw1504's avatar

@CWOTUS So, is my cat gay?

@Adirondackwannabe Not really, but we did just move 2 months ago.

@GabrielsLamb Yes, both males. You could be right about him expressing dominance. Thanks!

CWOTUS's avatar

Didn’t Benjamin Franklin himself say that “All cats are gay in the dark”?

Ah, well… gay, gray… it’s just a single letter. Maybe that’s what he meant.

bkcunningham's avatar

Cats have a nocturnal nature. The behind the neck bite is a method that cats and many other animals use to subdue their prey when hunting. Cats play and live in manners that use their hunting instincts. Like sitting in high places, scanning their surroundings or sudden running spurts. He’s just trying to get his buddy to play.

Adirondackwannabe's avatar

@erichw1504 It could be the stress of a new environment. Give him a little more time to adapt. You could also try a squirt bottle of water and dose him when he does it.

Soupy's avatar

I was under the impression that the neck-biting thing is done by cats to exert dominance, often in sexual situations, but not always. They also do it when hunting to subdue prey, so it could be that your cat is just a little too rough with the play-fighting.

wundayatta's avatar

Your cat is a cat vampire. No, not that one. The other one. It is a communist plot to make you think the wrong cat is the vampire so you will put that cat out and the bitten cat will then be free to lick your toes in the middle of the night!

Mariah's avatar

Sorry to say it, but I kind of have to agree with @CWOTUS that this sounds like mating behavior. Our male cat is always trying to rape his sister….puke. Maybe you have a gay cat!

redfeather's avatar

Is it around the same thing every night? My kitten gets the nightime crazies and waits under my bed around 11 every night to leap out, bite my foot, then runs and jumps in the bathtub. Sounds like your cat is just a silly bastard. Not a vampire. Though that would be cool.

YoBob's avatar

Your cat isn’t a vampire, your cat just has a few latent natural urges to “do the nasty”.

Ayesha's avatar

This is the cutest question ever!!
You’re cat isn’t a vampire! Probably just adapting.
Just give him lots and lots of kisses! And then some more!

WillWorkForChocolate's avatar

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your cat is, in fact, a vampire. Vampires are very adept at shape-shifting, and not all of them choose bat-form. Quite a few of them choose to be seemingly docile house cats, because they subconsciously crave the attention, plus they are capable of grooming in the sunlight in their cat-form.

You do have good reason to be worried, because his biting of the other cat suggests that he is turning his companion, bit by bit, and then you will have two vampire cats on your hands. That is a scary thing indeed, my friend, because when there are two, they are easily capable of forming intricate, diabolical plots to take you over while you’re sleeping.

Go to bed with a flask of holy water on your nightstand, a string of garlic around your neck, and a book of poetry by William Butler Yeats in your lap. If you awaken and see the cats sitting at the foot of your bed, staring steadily at you, immediately open the book of poetry and begin reading. For whatever reason, vampire cats love Yeats, and your reading of his work will lull them into complacency.

Once you have them subdued, shove a full tablespoon of peanut butter into each of their mouths. It will be so sticky that they won’t be able to bite you, and you will be safe long enough to finish your task. You must bury them in separate, silver boxes, precisely 27 feet apart. Surround each of the boxes with sea salt and peppermints. Shovel all the dirt into a giant cauldron and mix it well with five pounds of nutmeg. After it’s been well-mixed, dump the dirt back into the holes, burying the boxes.

Over each of the burial mounds, sprinkle lavender oil and plant a large Venus Flytrap, thus giving you peace of mind that if the vampire cats somehow get through everything else and reach the top, the lavender oil will burn their noses and paralyze their muscles, preventing them from running, and they will be eaten by a ravenous plant. I hope this information helps.

Adirondackwannabe's avatar

Is his name Chet?
(@WillWorkForChocolate That’s what eating chinese for breakfast does to your mind.)

erichw1504's avatar

@WillWorkForChocolate Thanks for all the great tips!

WillWorkForChocolate's avatar

@Adirondackwannabe What are you talking about? That was a perfectly rational comment, and was in no way affected by my consumption of an odd breakfast.

@erichw1504 You’re very welcome. I only hope I told you in time.

CWOTUS's avatar

Do you listen to Dueling Banjos? Watch Deliverance, maybe?

erichw1504's avatar

@WillWorkForChocolate If I come home to this, I will have hoped for your tips sooner…

Londongirl's avatar

My cat sometimes went crazy and bite me too…. but she usually gives some attack signals first…

Hibernate's avatar

I’ve seen this at other cats too. You should try to keep them apart or a few weeks and then your cat will stop.

WillWorkForChocolate's avatar

@erichw1504 Sure, sure… but this or this would be worse…

flutherother's avatar

No, your cat is just playing. But it might be playing at being a vampire.

dappled_leaves's avatar

This is pretty normal cat behaviour. They’re just trying to figure out who’s got the upper hand… er, paw.

Buttonstc's avatar

Just another variant on the usual nighttime cat crazies.

Bellatrix's avatar

It sounds like a dominance thing to me. Mother cats would pick up their kittens by the scruff of the neck. Similarly, (I believe) they discipline them by biting them/grabbing them here. I think because you have moved, the cat is exerting his dominance over the other.

WillWorkForChocolate's avatar

So… did you survive the night? Are you still with us? Please tell me you followed my guidelines and that you didn’t get your face eaten off.

erichw1504's avatar

Um, I believe I did? Is it weird that I have a craving for blood right now?

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