My cat just attacked my face and bit me right between my eyes!

My cat just attacked my face and bit me between the eyes on the bridge of my nose. I didn't see it coming and right now I'm stitting here with a spray bottle of water. He had jumped up on a small table and was trying to knock a picture off the wall. I firmly said "no" and then "get down". When he didn't, I picked him up and put him down on the floor and again said "no". He seemed okay and started walking away. I sat back down in my chair when all of a sudden he flew at my face and bit me! Not hard enough to draw blood, but hard enough that it hurts like hell and scared the @$&! out of me. Some background: I've had him since he was 7 weeks old (he's nearly 2 years old now), neutered at 4 mos, healthy, high energy, very vocal, several play sessions daily, and he's an only cat. He' s never scratched me, but he's always been a cat that nips, to play, get food, get attention, wake me up ...but nothing like this. I've always had cats. Some from the time they were kittens, some from older. Sometimes two at a time and a couple that were "only" cats and none of them ever bit me. I don't know what to do. At the moment, he's curled up on my lap, purring away. Sorry, this is so long winded, but I'm so upset about this, I'm wondering if he's just plain "nuts" and I should get rid of him. He seems to me, that he doesn't like to be told "no". Has anybody been through this and if so, were you able to stop this behavior? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I can totally relate to just how very unsettling an incident such as yours can be. I'm very sorry you had to go through it. I have three cats, and one of them has attacked me on multiple occasions. Several of my friends have suggested everything from opening the door and letting him go outside permanently to putting him to sleep. I can't bring myself to do either one of those sad ideas. I think it's some sort of communication gap between my cat and myself and you and yours? Although we may not see what triggers them, clearly something is there. I think perhaps cats are getting wound up about an event which may seem unforeseen to human eyes. And when they lash out, are we being treated like a sibling? Getting back to my biting cat chopper, I do not like it when he jumps up and attacks my legs. I'm not crazy about arming myself with a squirt gun to go about my house all of the time. I've noticed that he plays with the other cats by jumping at them the same way. He also is very very rough playing and sometimes downright aggressive with the cats. I sense his threshold and try not to cross by combing him for too long. He has a rather strong predatory play drive, I think. I'm not sure if I'm being helpful at all except to type from over here that I can relate. I thought I was going to have to go on a round of anabiotics from his attack mode about a year ago. If you find any solutions please let me know. I believe that playing with him more often seems to help but he does not take well to corrections either, and has walked away as your cat did, only to return and attack me full force.

Thanks for your reply. I'm not crazy about carrying a water bottle around either and never felt the need to until now, but I actually feel afraid of my own cat. And the thought of putting him down just saddens me to no end. I've always had my cats and a few dogs throughout their whole lives. it this what they mean by the term alpha cat? Maybe mine and yours are alphas and therefore feel they are above us and are incable of being corrected due to their sheer attitude. I toyed with the idea of getting another cat for him to play with, but in my gut, i don't think that would solve the problem. I think my cat would just terrorize a another one, like yours does with your other cats. Hopefully we both can find suggestions on this forum.

How scary! I haven't ever had one of my own cats attack me, but I have been attacked by a cat that I sometimes take care of. That cat is acting out because he is an only cat whose owner sometimes is working out of the area for weeks at a time; it happens only after the cat has been living alone for a few weeks (the owner will be retiring in a few months so this wont be an issue anymore).

If you haven't already, please watch "My Cat From Hell" with Jackson Galaxy - you may find some awesome tips to try. I am hoping that your cat just needs more exercise, and is acting out from pent up energy.

And welcome to TCS!

Could be something about the geometry of your face combined with a particular head movement and light.

Cats have some instinctive triggers in order to hunt effectively. So, if the shadow of your nose combined with a sort of movement you did looks like such a trigger, cat may attack. That is normal. I have seen it on  my tomcat: he attacks only some drawings/patterns of the blanket, not all of them and not always, very much depending on the movement and light, also depending on the time of the day (dusk and dawn = hunting time).

Try to avoid a certain position of head or try modifying the house light spots.

There is also a matter of mood, sort of speaking.

I have read vets opinion that aggressive behavior cannot be 100% related to intact hormonal equipment, so don't assume that a neutered cat is an angel cat.

But I dare to say that is a difference between one attach per month and one per hour. I would not care to much if my cat attacks me once in a month.

The nature of the attack also matters: mine bite me quite frequently, but is a sort of clamping, it does not hurt. Sometimes is just a quick way to tell me: "Leave me alone, human! Life sucks!" :-) 

Has he done this more than once? I'd be willing to sign it off as a one off random attack. If that is the case it probably won't help to spray him with water, it will aggravate him more.  It's probably better to address the aggression with play instead, get him to focus on a toy and redirect his energy there. 

imaginewizard said:

 
Has he done this more than once? I'd be willing to sign it off as a one off random attack. If that is the case it probably won't help to spray him with water, it will aggravate him more.  It's probably better to address the aggression with play instead, get him to focus on a toy and redirect his energy there. 

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Fully agree.

Water spraying could be ok to attach a negative value to a place (e.g. kitchen table, but I dare to say that not 100% effective). And only if the cat does not notice the one who spray is You. Otherwise, it may turn into an aggression play cat-human that may aggravate the situation. 

Can you take him to the vet for a full check up?  A major behavior change always warrants a vet visit.

I read here I am not alone with the problem of a cat that bites and uses nails to attack. I have had my cat since he was 9 weeks old and he is around 8 months old. He attacks my my feet and sometimes growls. He bites anywhere he can and if his dish doesn't have food in it he bites until I put more food out. I am facing surgery soon and almost ready to call a vet to see is he can find someone for him. I posted a request to an animal welfare group to see if someone would foster home him until I feel better. There is just no answer. I took him for his shots and to have him neutered. He does not purr but tries to make human noises. No one seems to have an answer