Cat Suddenly Aggressive?

[Rei's Mom]

My kitty, Soul, is about 6 months old. She can be pretty skittish at times but is really sweet when she comes to you. My boyfriend went to pick her up (normal thing) and she bit him hard enough to draw blood. This is the first time she’s bitten since I brought her home and is not like her. I need answers because he wants me to give her up and I don’t think I can.

 

[sabian]

I had a cat once and she would haul off and bite you out of no where. I just learned to handle her the way she wanted to be handled. I could tell by her body language and facial expression when she was getting ready to snap. I would warn friends that came over to be careful with her that she would bite.

Having said that. How long have you had the cat? Is she use to your boyfriend? Do you live together? She may have just been in a mood. Female cats can be temperamental. With what you've written there isn't a lot to go on.

 

[jcat]

Keep an eye on her to make sure she isn't ill. Sudden aggression might be due to pain/illness, fear (being startled), or redirected aggression. He really has to watch her body language before picking her up, too.

Cat Aggression Toward People

 

[Rei's Mom]

I had a cat once and she would haul off and bite you out of no where. I just learned to handle her the way she wanted to be handled. I could tell by her body language and facial expression when she was getting ready to snap. I would warn friends that came over to be careful with her that she would bite.

Having said that. How long have you had the cat? Is she use to your boyfriend? Do you live together? She may have just been in a mood. Female cats can be temperamental. With what you've written there isn't a lot to go on.

We’ve had he since she was 9wks. Boyfriend and I do live together. This is incredibly out of the ordinary for her

 

[Rei's Mom]

Keep an eye on her to make sure she isn't ill. Sudden aggression might be due to pain/illness, fear (being startled), or redirected aggression. He really has to watch her body language before picking her up, too.

Cat Aggression Toward People

I’ve been watching her. She’s eating and drinking normally. She’s not been spayed yet because I haven’t had the money to do it though

 

[Rei's Mom]

I’m really upset over this because he thinks that the kids will get attacked so he wants both my cats gone (my other one, Rei, was upstairs with me and they just have a mutual dislike for each other). He said that they have to go or he’ll move out. I don’t know what to do

 

[Rei's Mom]

I forgot to add she’s an incredibly timid cat, she’s scared of air. But we’ve never had any issues picking her up before. She’ll usually sleep on my boyfriend or next to me and likes attention when she isn’t startled. She likes to play, as long as she isn’t startled. Once she gets scared she hides for about an hour or until she hears her treat bag open. Whichever comes first

 

[jcat]

I’m really upset over this because he thinks that the kids will get attacked so he wants both my cats gone (my other one, Rei, was upstairs with me and they just have a mutual dislike for each other). He said that they have to go or he’ll move out. I don’t know what to do

Have you seen these threads?
Breaking up over a cat
Painful Journey Ahead

 

[Rei's Mom]

Have you seen these threads?
Breaking up over a cat
Painful Journey Ahead

I have not

 

[Rei's Mom]

Have you seen these threads?
Breaking up over a cat
Painful Journey Ahead

I looked over the threads. The difference with these and my situation is we’ve been together going on 4 years and we’ve only had the cats about 6 months. He’s also the one who got me Rei and we agreed that a second cat would help with her aggression which is how we ended up with Soul (Rei is now the most chilled cat ever).
I think his problem is he doesn’t fully understand the difference between a cat and dog. I just wanna find a solution to keep my love and my Babies in the same house

 

[ArtNJ]

First question that folks have ignored so far is was this a play bite gone wrong? Kittens get riled up and if you try to pick one up when riled a play bite wouldn't be unusual. Blood drawn is very unusual from a play bite but if the bite catches you wrong it can happen. Or was this because the kitten was scared or angry about being picked up? In which case you'd likely hear hissing. If this was a play bite gone wrong, very much excitement over nothing. Don't pick up a riled kitten and say "No" loudly if they spontaneously play bite. If this was something else, might be more of an issue, but with it being a kitten I'd bet good money it was a play bite gone wrong.

If the kitten is in a play biting phase, the kids might scratched a tad until you learn him. But again, blood drawn is very rare from a play bite. Play biting is something we discourage because it can occasionally leave marks, but its not a huge deal.

 

[Rei's Mom]

First question that folks have ignored so far is was this a play bite gone wrong? Kittens get riled up and if you try to pick one up when riled a play bite wouldn't be unusual. Blood drawn is very unusual from a play bite but if the bite catches you wrong it can happen. Or was this because the kitten was scared or angry about being picked up? In which case you'd likely hear hissing. If this was a play bite gone wrong, very much excitement over nothing. Don't pick up a riled kitten and say "No" loudly if they spontaneously play bite. If this was something else, might be more of an issue, but with it being a kitten I'd bet good money it was a play bite gone wrong.

If the kitten is in a play biting phase, the kids might scratched a tad until you learn him. But again, blood drawn is very rare from a play bite. Play biting is something we discourage because it can occasionally leave marks, but its not a huge deal.

He didn’t mention anything about her hissing. He said he just bent down to pick her up and she just bit him. He showed me his hand and it is literally just one mark. I’ve never encouraged play biting or using hands as toys for that very reason. She learned right away that biting meant playtime was over.
Since it’s only the one mark I can get behind the play bite theory

 

[ArtNJ]

He didn’t mention anything about her hissing. He said he just bent down to pick her up and she just bit him. He showed me his hand and it is literally just one mark. I’ve never encouraged play biting or using hands as toys for that very reason. She learned right away that biting meant playtime was over.
Since it’s only the one mark I can get behind the play bite theory

Yeah, even if you've done a great job discouraging play biting, picking up a riled kitten is a great way to get a play bite. Hopefully that was all it was. And hopefully our BF calms down enough to wait and see whats up. GL

 

[Rei's Mom]

Yeah, even if you've done a great job discouraging play biting, picking up a riled kitten is a great way to get a play bite. Hopefully that was all it was. And hopefully our BF calms down enough to wait and see whats up. GL

I hope so. These girls can be jerks but I love them.

 

[sabian]

I agree with ArtNJ. Now that I've read what you've posted since my last reply, her being a shy cat, kids involved and her not being fixed. Anything could have triggered it. He could have startled her without realizing it. She could be going into heat. If it was just one little mark she wasn't trying to hurt him I don't think. I would try and get her fixed as soon as possible. That may even her temperament out a bit.

In your first post you said she bit hard enough to draw blood so it sounded really bad like, he was dripping blood which is what would have happened if she really meant to hurt him. These cats are still just kittens and they're gonna make mistakes. I would just try and talk to your boyfriend and tell him to be a little more careful dealing with her. Explain to him they're not like dogs and maybe try and educate him. I know that may be easier said than done.

I have a rescue now that's really shy and he's getting much better but he still gets startled from time to time. He's as gentle as can be but he has bit me a couple times in an attempt to play. It drew a little blood but not a big deal. Just a little scratch. I just tell him easy in a firm voice and he backs off. Cats just get worked up and can't help it sometimes.

Keep us posted. Hopefully it all works out for the best!

 

[Rei's Mom]

I agree with ArtNJ. Now that I've read what you've posted since my last reply, her being a shy cat, kids involved and her not being fixed. Anything could have triggered it. He could have startled her without realizing it. She could be going into heat. If it was just one little mark she wasn't trying to hurt him I don't think. I would try and get her fixed as soon as possible. That may even her temperament out a bit.

In your first post you said she bit hard enough to draw blood so it sounded really bad like, he was dripping blood which is what would have happened if she really meant to hurt him. These cats are still just kittens and they're gonna make mistakes. I would just try and talk to your boyfriend and tell him to be a little more careful dealing with her. Explain to him they're not like dogs and maybe try and educate him. I know that may be easier said than done.

I have a rescue now that's really shy and he's getting much better but he still gets startled from time to time. He's as gentle as can be but he has bit me a couple times in an attempt to play. It drew a little blood but not a big deal. Just a little scratch. I just tell him easy in a firm voice and he backs off. Cats just get worked up and can't help it sometimes.

Keep us posted. Hopefully it all works out for the best!

I apologize, I should’ve better described what happened. So far he hasn’t mentioned anything about rehoming. He actually brushed Rei last night (she actually went up to him which shocked us both). However every time he sees Soul he makes eye contact with her and she runs away or hides under my legs (I think she felt bad because she tried to go to him several times last night). He’s very much still upset about it because when I tried to tell him possible reasons why it happened he says “f” her. But, hopefully he’ll forgive her. She is still technically a baby after all. She nipped his nose and made him bleed when we first got her (she was licking him at first) and he didn’t fool with her for a while after that but warmed back up to her. She was very clearly his favorite even though he doesn’t like cats. He’d give her pieces of chicken and salmon, brushed her almost every night and of course let her use him as a pillow as in the pic below. That was almost every night too. A lot of nights he’d actually be cuddling her. I’m just hoping they get back to that place

 

[Rei's Mom]

Plus they’re adorable. I don’t understand how he can stay mad

 

[ArtNJ]

He will get over it with time. Honestly, I get like this a bit with my 16 year old daughter...I can't mentally recenter for a bit after she acts like a hateful shit, and it is not enough just to tell me she is a 16 year old.

Do try to make sure he ain't picking her up and holding her on his lap, or picking/holding her up when she doesn't want to be there. That builds problems. Cats need to come to you on their own, or approached when they are in the mood, not be grabbed and forced.

 

[Rei's Mom]

I’ll remind him. Fingers crossed everything works out