My Cat Has Become Extremely Aggressive With New People!!!

[OneUpFoster1900]

Hello,




So I need help, my oldest male cat who is unfortunately still intact which means I haven’t got him fixed. But he’s very aggressive towards new people and I was curious if it’s because he’s not fixed and he views them as a threat to his territory. And also do scents within a cats territory determine the cats behaviour towards that person for example with me being his owner my scent that cats can pick up on is always here so he views me as a friend but when other people come over he freaks out luckily he hasn’t become like that to family members yet but if I was to keep something that smelled like my family members in my home would that possibly help him not be so aggressive..



Signed one concerned cat owner

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Scents can absolutely drive behavior in cats. May I ask why your eldest cat is not neutered? That would be first thing on my list of how to help him calm down. The poor guy is at the mercy of his hormones. And more susceptible to certain cancers that are hormone driven.

He does need to be socialized. One way to help with this is to enlist the aid of several very calm friends who can come over at random times, put a treat on the floor without approaching the cat, then sit and talk quietly with you while ignoring the cat totally. He'll get the idea that people coming over brings good stuff, and that he's not in any danger from them.

Your idea of scent-soakers from your family is very good. He'll be accustomed to their scents when they arrive.