Biting- Love ones

Hey all,

I have a beautiful little ginger girl cat called Hatter (aka 'Mad' Hatter), she is 4years old and is normally such a good little girl.


History: Miss hatter, was a runt of her litter, the mummy cat got dumped and then abandoned my Hatter, she was given to a family friend who foster kittens and we wanted a kitty and the other cats were bullying her, so we got her when she was 6 weeks old. No problems with her, just a little bit smaller than other 4 year old cats.



Problem: So Miss Hatter in the last year or so has become a bit aggressive, to the point where she will draw blood and leave bruising. It all started with my partner (he has been her 'daddy' ever since she came to us) he would sit on the lounge watching T.V not doing anything, just watching T.V, she came up behind the couch and *bite* and sunk her teeth into his head. So we told her off, then ignored her and she just went too sleep. Then for 3-4 months nothing never did it again. Then I just finished working out and I sat down on the floor and she came purring around (which is normal for her) and she rolled around on the ground and then she went under my legs and then Bite my thigh, drew blood this time. I told her off and ignored her for a bit and then she came back and we kissed and made up. Then wasn't for another month or so, my partner was sitting on the bed and she just came in bit his foot really hard and wouldn't let go, I had to scruff her and left her up and off him. So we told her off and wouldn't let her back into the bedroom.

Now Today I was sitting on the floor with my arms outstretched behind me arm and she came over, gave me kisses and purred around me I patted her and she went off on her merry way, 3 mins later she came back purred around me and then attacked my arms and when I mean attacked, she has taken a small bit out of my arm, left a big bruise and scratches and blood, It scared me so much that I started crying and she knew she done wrong because she went a hid and I found her even seconds and told her off and left her be, she hasn't moved from her bed for about an hour (i think she is sulking)

I don't understand why she is doing this, it's NOT boredom, because we play with her every single day for at least 30-40mins a day, even twice a day if she wants it, there has been no changes in routine, we haven't moved house, no new animals in the house, no one has been sick or any emergencies where it has caused stressed. Miss Hatter is very loved, she DOESN'T show the aggressive signs so the standard ears back, dilated pupils, fur standing up, flicking tail, growling, hissing to even give us a warning sign she is angry or frustrated and plus it is irregular attacks.


Thoughts: We first thought it was territory, trying to work out who is top cat in the household, but it didn't make sense why now...Then we thought it was because i just finished exercising or a piece of hair moved on my partners hair, but I do it every single day and my partner always sits on the lounge....Now we think maybe she is frustrated but we play with her, take her walking in the backyard every Saturday and Sunday for 1-2hrs on a lead to get fresh air, to experience outside, to get Vitamin D rather than thru a glass door, window or screen door.


PLEASE HELP! Any suggestions
p.s sorry it was so long, I just felt that I need to give every single detail, because I feel it doesn't come under the normal aggressive behavior

To try to help I would like to know how many animals you have & if anything unusual has happened lately.

Like I said in my first post, nothing has changed at all and we only have my cat.

Sorry, my brain gets slower as the night goes on.  Will respond tomorrow.  In the mean time you might get better advice from the others on the site.

Definitely, I'd be looking at Hyperaesthesia Syndrome. Usually, cats will attack themselves, but in some cases they've been known to turn suddenly on loved-ones. Certainly I have no qualifications to diagnose, but your description appears to fit very well; sudden, unprovoked attacks completely out of the blue, with no prior warning signs. At the least, it's worth investigating.

Good luck.

Get her to a vet first to rule out any medical issues first. Btw, do you have places for her to climb around and explore the house on a higher ground area?

@ahthongg oh god yes! she has a scratching post that nearly touches the ceiling plus she has a couple of smaller ones around the house, so tones of areas.

@Magister just reading up on it, she has done ever since she was kitten, she will go hypo like most cats do and get random boost of energy and run around the house and then chase her tail and stop, then run around and then chase her tail (like what a dog does) but never bites it or chews it or scratches it, her skin does not do this "rippling or rolling of the skin on an affected cat’s back", the only thing she has in common with it is "brief bursts of odd behavior" but in a sense it isn't odd too us, ever since we got her, she was a little odd ball, it suggest to have a routine which Hatter already has. Me and my Partner get up at 6:30am every single morning, she gets feed dinner at 6pm, her kitty litter gets a full change once a week every Tuesday, So i dunno if it is this Hyperestheisa Syndrome.


Just a heads up i spoke to some of my other friends who have cats around the same age as Hatter and they said their Cat has done it to them before too, very spare of the moment thing and it won't happen for another 3-6 months, it is both male and female cats ranging from 2 years to about 4 years. Maybe having a bad day? Do cats have bad days or a grumpy moments?

Thank you so much for everyone help and suggestions....I will probably have to take her to the vet, she hasn't bitten me or my partner since i put up the status.