Cat owners will beam about their loving, affectionate and playful felines, and there is a genuine and mutual love for and from their cats. This is often why cat people have multiple kitties – who wouldn’t want to spread that love?! This is also why it can be painful (both physically and emotionally) when cats become aggressive; biting and clawing suddenly when all you’re doing is petting or playing with them, or even just walking past.
What is cat aggression?
Cat aggression is the sudden display of hostility or violence from a cat towards another cat, dog or person. Cats will use their deadly weapons – teeth and claws – to express their aggression through biting, swatting and scratching. This can be accompanied by hissing, growling or yowling. The aggression can be offensive or defensive aggression, which will present differently in his body language:
Offensive aggression
- The cat will make himself look bigger by standing up straight on stiff legs.
- His back legs will be stiff and upright with his rear end raised, but his back will slope down towards his head.
- His tail will be pointed downward (sometimes it will be erect).
- His hackles will be raised (piloerection) while he stares directly at you.
- His ears will be upright and his pupils constricted.
- He will advance on his target – being an offensive position, he will make the first move and be on the attack.
Defensive aggression
- The cat will try to make himself look smaller by crouching down.
- His head and tail will be tucked in.
- His ears will be flattened against his head, but his eyes will be wide with dilated pupils.
- His hackles will be raised.
- His body will be turned sideways, not head-on in a confronting way.
- His claws may be out in case he needs to deliver some swats or strikes.
Causes and types of cat aggression
There are many possible causes of cat aggression. Here, briefly, are the main ones:
Play aggression
If your cat was raised as a kitten without littermates, he would not have learnt appropriate boundaries, such as when to limit biting or when to retract his claws. Also, if you played with your kitten with your bare hands and he became used to biting and attacking your hands and toes instead of focusing his energy on a cat toy, it’s likely that he will continue to direct his aggression at naked hands and feet into adulthood.
Identify the signs of play aggression (a thrashing tail, pinned ears, stalking behaviour) and before your cat has the chance to strike, whip out a cat toy and redirect his attention. He will need to learn that hands, feet and other body parts cannot be ‘play prey’. If you don’t have a toy at hand, you can still distract him with a hissing sound, a blast of compressed air and any other startling noise. Never hit or otherwise punish a cat in the throes of aggression – don’t even touch him. Just walk away to show that play aggression is inappropriate and will not be rewarded with attention.
Pain aggression
Whether the cat has ongoing pain from dental problems, arthritis, infection or trauma, or if the cat is aggressive in order to avoid pain it may have experienced in the past, he can hiss, bite, scratch or growl when touched or in the anticipation of being touched. This display of aggression is a display warning people to Stay away! in an attempt to avoid more pain.
You can counter your cat’s pain aggression by not touching the painful part of his body, or taking your cat to the vet to address and treat the causes of the pain. Ask your vet about how to minimise pain aggression, especially after your cat has healed and is protecting parts of his body that are no longer painful, out of habit.
Petting-induced aggression
This kind of aggression is triggered by repeated petting on the same part of the body. You could lift your cat onto your lap while watching TV or working on the computer, and absently be stroking his body or petting him in a repetitive motion, when suddenly he turns on you and delivers a painful bite or clawing to your hand, then gets up and runs off. This happens more often when you initiated the petting (instead of your cat approaching you) and when he suddenly experiences the repetitive petting as annoying rather than pleasurable.
Watch out for the warning signs that your cat is getting irritated. When you see the twitching tail or the flattened ears, or if your cat suddenly turns his head towards your petting hand or if his pupils are dilated, then STOP. Do not push him to the point of actual aggression. If he needs to leave, don’t try to keep him near you or tease his reactions. Let him run off and simply wait for him to return and initiate petting again.
Fear aggression
This kind of aggression is triggered when the cat feels afraid or threatened by unfamiliar objects, situations, people or other pets. A trip to the vet’s office is a common source of fear or threat. In this situation, the cat may display defensive aggression, but he may change to offensive aggression if he feels trapped.
Trying to console a cat who’s locked in fear aggression may reinforce his behaviour. You might also show fear in return, which is also reinforcing. In this situation, it’s better to try to remove all sources of threat or fear (as well as yourself) from the environment and rather just wait until your cat has calmed down.
Redirected aggression
Have you ever seen your cat staring out through the window with his whiskers twitching and making a weird twittering noise? When he’s like this, he’s aroused by the desire to hunt whatever is triggering him outside – birds, squirrels, even other cats in the garden. He could even be stimulated by loud noises, the odours of other cats on your clothes, or having recently been in an aggression-induced state with a fellow feline. In this hyper-stimulated state, he redirects his aggression at you, suddenly lashing out in an automatic and uninhibited way. This is the typical ‘unprovoked’ attack, but it may seem unprovoked because it’s possible for the stimulation to last for more than 30 minutes (even long after the stimulant is gone) – you were just unlucky to get in the way.
Observe your cat’s behaviour around other cats, at the window, or in the garden. Remove the stimuli either by closing the curtains or blinds, and keeping stray cats out of your cat’s territory by using sprays or deterrents. Manage any territorial aggression between indoor cats as well.
Status aggression
This is basically your cat saying “You’re not the boss of me!” and trying to take over the house by being bossy, getting in the way, and controlling your and other animals’ behaviour. Does your cat block your passage through the house? Does he growl at you when you try to move him? Does he get jealous and attack you when you give attention to other animals?
Tough as it may be, just ignore the domineering cat. Don’t react fearfully or defensively because this will show him that his bossiness is working and he is socially dominant in the house. Any treats or attention should only be lavished on this cat when he’s in a calm, even submissive state. Never reward his dominating behaviour with either positive or negative attention.
It may be difficult to diagnose sudden-onset aggression or to change your cat’s aggressive responses, but if you can find the source of his aggressive behaviour, it’s possible – with a bit of understanding and work – to return him to his friendly, purry self. Speak to your vet or get a referral for a cat expert to help with any behaviour problems.
