Claws to the face, what gives?

Ok, bear with me. Might be long.

We have strays outside, who are all listed in my cat pages above. Rocky, the black and white unneutered male, has been around the longest. Before the other three came along he was very sweet and nice, but the last four or five months (Since Boo was sick, so back in May) he has been nasty. Not just to the other cats, but to me, too.

He bounces between my house and a neighbor directly across the street (Teenage boys) Who call him "Oreo", he doesn't seem to be suffering any wounds, but I am noticing something seriously off:

The first incident occured when he came up for food and I sat it on the porch railing for him to eat. I leaned down to brush off some leaves from the porch (Leaning down in front of him) and he swatted me hard across the top of my head, making it bleed. I was just shocked. I didn't see any notice of that coming, and I know usually they give some kind of notice.

This morning, instead of coming to the front porch (To keep him separate from the others) he came to the back. The other cats ignore him until he tries to leave, then Bobbie Jo and Boca go after him. Bobbie Jo seriously hates him (Mississippi ignores him completely) and Boca scares him off.

I said fine, I'll put his food out here and I was rushing as I was kind of worried he hadn't had food in a couple days (I don't know if the neighbors feed him or what they do to him) He jumped onto the railing and seriously faltered on it. His balance was very poor. I sat the bowl down and he lifted his nose up to smell my face. Then WHAM. I got smacked in the cheek and here I am bleeding again. I yelled in shock and he tumbled off the railing and was hanging upside down for awhile, and very slowly made his way onto the porch. Then he was jumping up and down like the cats in Aristocats hissing "Pff! Pff! Pff!"

I swear I've never seen rabies but I'm scared he could have it. I don't know the signs that well. He has turned into a mean and scared cat. I'm afraid if I call Animal Control that a whole host of other problems will pop up and I don't want him hurt. He terrorizes the other strays, especially Bobbie Jo, and this doesn't appear to be a mating thing. Bobbie Jo and Miss have hole punches in their ear, matching, from an apparent trap and spay program the county was/is doing.

I tried to run him off, but he kept coming back to go after Bobbie jo. He wasn't vicious like this before, he was very submissive, and now he's all claws and teeth. I'm so confused and scared for the other cats. I put his bowl out in the yard far away from the other cats. He sat out there and was eating. I haven't seen him drink any water from anywhere yet. He is so unlike himself.

Any advice here? I don't know if the neighbor kids are torturing him, but he willfully goes over there by himself after he leaves here, or he goes to the woods. No obvious wounds and no limps. Just odd balance and the jumping around in front of other cats with no apparent aim. Just Pff! Pff! Pff!

... Thanks for any help. I am going to tend to my cheek.

If you have not recently had a tetanus shot, you might want to consider getting one. If you are sure the cat is okay, then be discrete when you tell them what happened to you.

If you suspect rabies you need to get this cat to a vet ASAP so he can be observed for a couple of weeks to see if he has the disease. Rabies is always fatal in both animals and people, and I might be wrong, but as far as I know the only way it can be definitely diagnosed is to examine the brain after the animal has died. If this happens, you will definitely need shots.

Rabies isn't spread through scratches...

And that's a completely normal reaction for a cat that is unsure of himself. Never put your face down near a strange cat. Cats know that faces mean mouths and mouths mean teeth, and we also rarely follow proper body language for cats. You likely made a little eye contact or moved wrong.

Your cats are upsetting him plus he's used to fighting and full of hormones, that's why he now acts the way he does. When younger they don't have the aggressive urge, but it comes after the urge to mate comes and they've had to fight a few times.
If you feel you have to feed him don't do it right up within your cats' territory - go to the edge of your yard closet to his home territory. They tolerate him because of you, but just barely.

Get him neutered and get his shots if you're going to keep him around. He's a risk (because he fights for territory) to all the cats in the area, even altered ones.

I still think the cat should be observed for possible rabies. Even if the disease isn't a danger to Snickerdoodle, the cat is terrorizing the others. If it turns out that he is rabid, and the other cats were't immunized, the disease will spread, and the problem will be worse.

I was concerned that perhaps he was being terrorized himself by someone, because he does act very unsure and skittish around me. I have told my mother to feed him outside far away in the yard and to keep her face away from him (He was high up on a railing and I didn't bend down to his face, he reached up) Mom says he's fine when she pets him but she doesn't snuggle him or anything like that.

Boca chases him off but they've not got close enough to fight yet, but I will look into getting Boca a rabies shot, or if I can manage it, get the vet mobile to come out and give Boca and one of the girls the shot. Miss refuses to get close enough to be petted whatsoever.

Thanks guys. I had read that it's spread through saliva but wasn't sure about the claws. He gave me a good swat! I know better now to leave him be and I'll feed him away from the house now. Everyone pretty much left him alone after I moved the bowl out there. I tried not to get mad at him because he's just a cat, who knows what he's been through. I know he may be ticked because these three other cats have "taken his spot" ... aaaaaah. Always something I suppose.

Thank you for all your help guys

He's pretty much just being an intact stray tom cat. Toms can get a bit rough even if they don't mean actual harm - as can any cat that doesn't know how to behave with people.

There are still several bacteria that can be spread through scratches so keep a close eye on them and if you start feeling unwell or get a fever see a doctor.