Angry Tom Cat???

My tom cat, who is 18 months old, has been behaving very strangely today. It started this morning when he hissed at our other cat (she was just walking by him) and now he growls whenever myself or my husband pick him up, and a few minutes ago he hissed at me. You need to understand, in the year and a half we've had him we may have heard him hiss 3 times up unit today, and we have never ever heard him growl. He seems very irritated in general. Wondering what in the world could be causing this behaviour? He's been bordering on aggressive, he almost bit me and has been giving our other cat a pretty hard time for no reason that we can see. Don't want this behaviour to continue- we have children who regularly visit our home, and he has always been very tolerant of them and their antics. Thanks in advance... hoping to be able to figure this out! 

Tiffany

Is he neutered?

If not, he needs to be, and ASAP.

If he is, I would get a vet appt as soon as it's possible, as cats, we all know how fab they are at masking pain and discomfort, and it sounds like he does have some kind of issue he might be going through.

Especially if he has never acted this way before when being picked up, etc.

Hi Tiffany. A few questions. Is he neutered? That is going to be most everyone's first question. Unneutered males can become very aggressive and territorial once they reach sexual maturity. Very common. If he is neutered, then I am suggesting you get him to the vet for a check-up right away. Usually aggression and crankiness such as this for really no reason means something is going on inside that is bothering him or hurting him. and keep us posted.

He has been neutered since six months of age. 

So I just felt him all over- he's definitely sore, seems like around one of his front legs? He moaned when I rubbed them (and not in a good way, it clearly hurt.) He doesn't seem to be limping or anything, but he's not running around playing like he usually does either. Should I make a vet appointment, or wait a day or two and see how he gets on? He tends to play roughly with lots of climbing and jumping around, so it's very possible he fell or twisted it. 

Hmmm...... If it was me I would get him checked out sooner rather than later
Cats are really good at hiding/covering up that they are in pain, so with you boy showing symptoms of being in pain. This tells you it's not hurting him just a little, it's hurting him a lot

Also it's normally cheaper to sort out any problems early as soon as you notice them, rather than waiting till they get worse ( and then more expensive to sort out ) before seeing a vet

True. I'll call in the morning to get an appointment, usually takes a couple days to get in to see a vet anyway... if he's feeling better by then I can always cancel it, rather than have him be worse and have to wait to get him seen. Anything I can do to help him out in the mean time? He's really out of sorts. 

In the meantime, I would just try to keep him quiet, inside and comfortable. Usually, with cats, by the time they are showing signs of outwardly pain (unless it IS a sudden injury) then they have been having an issue for sometime. Cats are masters at hiding their pain - so stoic that way. Keep us posted and good luck at the vet with your boy.

So I called the vet, can't get an appointment until Monday. On the up side, he seems to be a bit better. Yesterday, he was limping, but not nearly as upset as he was the day before- now he still wasn't his usual playful self. Today, he seemed to be walking fine this morning, but now he's starting to limp again (I guess it's painful after being up on the go all day?) He's playing a little, and was up on the window ledge looking out... so he's more like himself. Still won't let me touch the leg though. He hasn't hissed or growled today, which is an improvement. Our other cat seems very hurt and sad by his rejection (they're usually very close and play all the time) but at least she's leaving him be for the most part- she seems to know that his warning growls are serious. I guess for now I just monitor and see how he gets on- at least it's not getting any worse!