My spouse's cat attacked me for no reason!!

My spouse is at a friend's house overnight while the friend is on vacation but had been home during the day to spend time with the cat she has had for five years.  I've never really not had issues with this cat, but he has never once attacked me.  Now, all parties involved (including the cat) know that I'm not a cat person, I never have been.  I have a small dog that isn't living with us because the apartments don't allow dogs (or so the spouse says but I've seen people with dogs here).  Tonight, he had been hiding under the bed since she left and hadn't come out to use the litter box, but he had eaten just after his owner left so I knew he had to go potty.  I reached under the bed calmly and attempted to pet him and coax him out, calling his name softly and calmly and overall being super nice to him like I am on a daily basis.  He growled, hissed, spit, scratched and bit me all while taking a stinky "bathroom" on the carpet under the (very very heavy and hard to move) bed.  The bite is pretty deep and considering that the spouse and I are strapped for cash we can't afford to take him to the vet and I can't afford to go get the bite checked out even though I want to because I know the dangers of cat bites due to bacterias in their saliva. 

About four years ago, she had surrendered her cats brother to the shelter for similar reasons.  He began attacking the cat she still has and pooping under a loose corner of the carpet, directly on top of the carpet, in the kitchen, etc and started hissing and growling at me.  This was odd behavior for him because he had taken to me from the moment we were first introduced.  It got to the point where I could not walk through the apartment without him attacking me out of the blue, literally chasing me and attacking me.  Now, the cat she still has (a neutered male) is starting to attack me quite viciously.  I know that she wont get rid of him, but I can't live with him attacking me.  I don't want to end my marriage over this because we have only been married for three months, but I refuse to be forced to live with an animal that attacks me when she isn't home (which is about 90 percent of the day because she works and I've only recently moved back in after a separation, I've been back for three weeks) and I'm still looking for work so I am the only one home the majority of the day.

There is a health issue or not enough clean litter boxes when they poop under bed. You need two boxes cleaned twice a day. I would take to vet for check up.

again, lack of funds means can't afford a vet trip.  we can barely afford rent and have to go without electricity for the month because of it.  Litter boxes are cleaned, freshly cleaned I might add.  There is food, water, treats, everything.  The last vet trip was recent and he had no health issues (as of about two months ago if my memory serves me correctly, maybe sooner).

also, if it helps, he poops when he gets in fights with the stray cats that hop the fence into our back patio and attack him.....so it's not just because he had to defecate.

Is he neutered?

yes he is neutered.  I would suggest my monthly cycle being an underlying cause but because I had lived with my spouse before we were married and while she had the cat before, I doubt that would be the reason.  This is the first time in 5 years that he has randomly attacked me for no reason.  The only other time he had attacked me it wasn't even an attack it was him playing with me I had a feather stick and he scratched me on accident.  But that was four years ago.

we got him neutered when he was a year old.

He sounds terrified to poop under bed. Always let a cat come to you have him come out for a treat or a feather, do not grab for him. The poor guy is probably terrorized between missing his owner and being beat up by outside cats. Can you keep him inside?

I haven't been letting him outside, she lets him out when she's home but I don't because the sound of cats fighting hurts my ears especially in such a close proximity.  Loud scream-ish noises irritate my ears and make my head hurt, have since I was a child. 

Furthermore, I wasn't grabbing for him, I slowly put my hand under the bed and before I was even close to him he lunged and grabbed onto the part of my hand between my thumb and index finger and pierced it deeply (not a small wound either, he tore it because he bit, pulled, and then ran).  I haven't bothered him at all throughout the day because I was giving him his space, but I close the bedroom door when home alone because I live in the city and have a thing about being alone at night...I didn't want him using the bedroom as a bathroom while I was asleep so I was trying to get him out calmly so he could use the "facilities" before I went to bed.  Needless to say, my hand is going numb, itches, burns and I can't sleep....it's after 4am and I have to be up early so I can shower before turning in job applications and continuing my job hunt.

My spouse is already going to blame me even though I did nothing wrong because she has it in her head that I am mean to the cat when I'm not, I simply don't agree with him being allowed on the kitchen counters, on the stove and on my desk.  My desk is my territory and he knows it...as for the countertops and stove....I prepare food on that....it's disgusting.

I'd suggest not reaching towards the cat when he's hiding, since he apparently doesn't like it. As for attacking you "for no reason" - of course he had a reason.  You may not know what it is, since he can't use words to tell you, but animals don't just do things at random.

I'm not really sure what you're looking for though, since you haven't actually asked any questions.

If he could only see your hand swiping under the bed he probably thought you were going to attack him, he must also be stressed out by the other cats coming in to his territory! Cats will usually only mess outside their litter box if 1: the litter box is dirty or 2: they are stressed or unwell. I would suggest you ignore the cat, if you stare at him or try to pet him when he doesn't want you too he will see you as a threat! He will come around to you if you just feed him and leave him be! Feliway plug in diffusers may also help with his stress and calm him down. Also you can't stop cats from walking on desks and work tops especially if your partner has always let him him do this, the poor little thing won't understand. As for your partner not wanting to give him up, neither would I, I'd give up my partner first and he knows it lol!

Also you can't catch anything from a cats saliva, and if you take him to the vets every year he should be up to date with his vaccines!

Obviously the cat knows you don't like cats, they can sense this even if you are being 'nice'. As for reaching under the bed for ANY animal, that is NOT the thing to do, ANY animal would think it was being attacked. The cat would have come out to use the litter box when he was ready, there was really no reason for you to get him out when he was obviously under the bed for a reason.  Some cats only use the box once a day. Most animals will poop when they are being attacked by another animal or if they are really scared. Your spouse is a cat lover and you will not change that, true love means accepting things that are not to our own liking and trying to see things through their eyes. You don't have to love the cat, but try to be a little more understanding and maybe read up on felines and what makes them tick. A dog will let you beat it because they are so submissive to the alpha in their lives, a cat will fight till the death, you have to earn their trust and love. Good luck and I hope your hand heals soon, I have been bit really deep too by feral kittens, at least you don't have to worry about rabies like I did! I hope everything works out for you!

I sympathize with your dilemma. It sounds like you think cat attacks for no reason and I can see that point of view. The cat is angry because owner is gone and she is fighting outside. Tell them to stop letting her out. How can the cat not act crazy if she's fighting all day? After that I'd suggest letting kitty be on their own and let the cat approach you. You will need an enzymatic cleaner for poop or pee if you want the cat not to go again but that's only if they're habitually going to potty in the same spot. So basically treat the problems like poop, decrease stress like reaching while cat is hiding and going to fight outside, and be patient. Keep us posted. Also I'd be upset about the dog not being allowed in even though I don't like dogs..

okay I'm going to make this very very clear.....I have reached under the bed and the sofa for this cat before and he has never attacked me in the past.  The owner lets him on the kitchen counters, are you all really going to tell me that you would let an animal walk on top of a counter after taking a huge dump in their litter box and pawing at the feces?  The counters that have food prepared on them?  Or even while you're preparing the food (because he's done that one too, many times)....???

I wouldn't even want my dog's nasty paws on a counter top where my food is being prepared.  It's unsanitary and disgusting.  So as for letting him do as he pleases, I'll take a rain check on that because this is not HIS apartment, the cat doesn't pay the bills.....the cat can't feed itself, can't clean its own litter box, can't give itself tuna and treats......if I have to learn to play nice and share my home with a filthy cat then either the cat learns to play nice, or the cat goes....plain and simple.  I refuse to live with an animal that attacks me for no reason when I haven't attacked it or prompted an attack, especially due to being lied to about not being able to have my dog, who doesn't attack people or animals.

I'm not sure a defenceless animal (dog or cat) will understand your terms of condition, especially as he has already been socialised by your partner! I wish you lots of luck with your job hunt as the sooner you are away from your house for long periods of time the better for the cat and for you!

My cat does go on the kitchen counters unfortunately. I could close the door to the kitchen to keep her out, but she loves looking at the birds from the kitchen window, so I just clean the kitchen work top before I use it, no drama! I can honestly say I never get sick, I'm also an ITU nurse so look after people with all sorts so I must have a very good immune system!

Anyway good luck to you

This little cat sounds to me like an EXTREMELY scared cat!
You said that you were reaching under the bed to try to coax him out to go potty but you also said that you have reached for him under the bed and the sofa before also??
If this poor boy is being attacked by other cats every time he goes out he may be redirecting his aggression on you. There are articles here on TCS on redirected aggression and how to deal with it. http://www.thecatsite.com/a/re-directed-aggression-in-cats
You say that your not a cat person and never have been and all parties involved know this including the cat, that's quite a strong statement. Cats are very receptive and will sense your mood so this might be why he is staying out of your way and hiding under the bed.
You also said that if you have to share your home with a filthy cat then either the cat learns to play nice or the cat goes. What is it that you actually want from this poor cat? I think if you just ignored him and left him alone then he wouldn't attack you.

I say filthy cat because he's dirty he doesn't clean himself like other cats do, my spouse actually has to bathe the cat and he doesn't do well with baths so the combination of dirt, dander, kitty litter and whatever is in the litter box at the time he's using it (urine or feces) is what makes me say filthy.  I want the cat to not attack me, that's quite clear and very simple.  As far as for saying I've reached under the sofa for him before, I have but it was with a toy or treat, playing with him.  I may not like cats but I'm not heartless.

I've made attempts to be more receptive to cats for the last five years, progress has been made and has (as of now) also been washed away. 

A cat who does not groom itself may be sick: grooming is an instinctive behavior in cats. Grooming removes smells that predator can smell. Yes even if the cat is indoors. That lack of grooming combined by an unusual attack could be a sign that the cat is sick. Cats hide illness, sickness, which is perceived as weakness. I would ask your partner if he thinks a vet visit is indicated, or if he / you have noticed any other unusual behavior.

We understand your frustration with this situation, especially with the inclusion of physical pain and mess, but please understand that from an outsider's point of view, this cat's behaviour says he's terrified. I doubt he hiss, spat, attacked, and defecated all at once and there were likely signs that may have been difficult to see while he was under the bed. Things like growls, ears back, eyes wide - cats have very distinct ways of warning us that we're doing something that is NOT cool with them.

None of us are saying you're a bad person for doing what you do, and for liking what you do or don't. From the picture we get, what sounds wrong is the approach taken. If "his" person is gone for an extended period of time and you acknowledge that he gets a vibe that you're not enthralled with cats in general (note the above posts about how cats can sense our moods around them - I find this to be true of all animals), he's not going to go out of his way to be near a person who doesn't want to be near him, especially if he feels he's going to be dragged out from his sense of security kicking and screaming. If he's nervous or scared with her absence and prefers to hide, in the future, just let him. If he hasn't been to the litter box, put the litter box in the same room and stay out of the room for a while.

Cats won't hiss, spit, attack, and defecate themselves "for no reason". Frankly, that's what a cat scared poopless (quite literally) does. It doesn't matter if you've done that kind of stuff before. Perhaps the circumstances were very different (your SO was around, or wasn't gone as long, or you had treats or toys), and that makes ALL the difference for him. I think if this were your dog in the situation, you would do your best to understand why your dog would suddenly bite - you should do the same for the cat. Let the anger subside and really analyze why he would act out like that. From his perspective, imagine the person who depended on up and left you and all you wanted to do was sit alone and compose yourself before mustering up the courage to make a mad dash to the bathroom when someone you feel has strong disdain for you starts reaching a hand out to you when you JUST want to be left alone.

Take some time, calm yourself down, let the cat calm down, address your wound and the cleaning and you and the cat do your separate things until he approaches you on his terms. The best things you can do now are keep the wound clean (even if the cat is up to date on vaccinations, pasteurella bacteria in cat saliva is VERY dicey and people have been hospitalized for rapid infections as a result of cat bites). Are you insured? I'm not sure how much these may cost in your area, but you may want to head to a walk-in clinic just in case. As it is, numbness, itchiness, redness are not good. Quite a large number of cat bites can get infected quite badly.

I do agree with the above that the behaviour this and the previous cat are displaying do sound indicative of something with their health. Maybe you and your SO can look into something like CareCredit or a low-cost clinic if need be. The longer something like this goes untreated, the harder and more expensive it will be to address as the issue becomes exacerbated.

Kimmie88 said:

I haven't been letting him outside, she lets him out when she's home but I don't because the sound of cats fighting hurts my ears especially in such a close proximity.  Loud scream-ish noises irritate my ears and make my head hurt, have since I was a child. 

Furthermore, I wasn't grabbing for him, I slowly put my hand under the bed and before I was even close to him he lunged and grabbed onto the part of my hand between my thumb and index finger and pierced it deeply (not a small wound either, he tore it because he bit, pulled, and then ran).  I haven't bothered him at all throughout the day because I was giving him his space, but I close the bedroom door when home alone because I live in the city and have a thing about being alone at night...I didn't want him using the bedroom as a bathroom while I was asleep so I was trying to get him out calmly so he could use the "facilities" before I went to bed.  Needless to say, my hand is going numb, itches, burns and I can't sleep....it's after 4am and I have to be up early so I can shower before turning in job applications and continuing my job hunt.

My spouse is already going to blame me even though I did nothing wrong because she has it in her head that I am mean to the cat when I'm not, I simply don't agree with him being allowed on the kitchen counters, on the stove and on my desk.  My desk is my territory and he knows it...as for the countertops and stove....I prepare food on that....it's disgusting.

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Are you saying his litterbox is in your room? You shut the door to keep him out of your room where he is unable to use his litter box?