My male cat has developed a habit of often becoming VERY aggressive when i use the computer. at any given moment he will jump on to the desk and physically block my view of the monitor and will often lay down in front of it glaring at me. The noise or the action of typing seems to provoke him and he often attacks me pretty viciously when i am doing it. using claws and teeth and sometimes even vocalizing. when he isn't doing that he is either standing or lying in front of me with his tail thrasing angrily. he also won't back down unless i physically stand up out of the chair, the hissing at him thing fails to impress. This is the only thing that ever prompts this kind of REAL aggression from him though. occasionally he plays rough but i can tell the difference between that and what he does when i'm using the PC. he becomes a very angry angry cat when i type.
his sister will often jump up and interfere with my pc usage too but usually with affectionate behavior or by simply laying down in the way, never with aggression.
a bit of background on the cat. he's almost 16 months old, fixed (since 6 months), 12.5 pounds, and a very active and athletic cat. also very vocal. he has figured out how to open cabinets, and understands the concept behind unlatching the front door (though he can't quite turn the latch) He responds to his name although i've never made any real effort to teach it to him. jumps up and runs UPSIDE down up the underside of my carpeted steel frame staircase. he started playing fetch entirely on his own and sometimes rather then just ripping into my hand he will jump onto the desk with a toy to throw for him so he can retrieve it several times . i mentioned his strong prey drive in another thread too. he wakes me up to be fed on mornings when i'm home by meowing and knocking things off the nightstand (usually my glasses and a water bottle) and also by chewing on books (which he doesn't do when i'm awake, and never seen any indication that he does it while i am not at home) so i think these are clearly intentional acts. i once remarked to somebody that it is like having a toddler with claws and fangs in the house
the aggression around the computer is a fairly recent develoipment, maybe it stems from my tendency to nudge him out of the way when he would come up here when he was younger? and he's resentful? is this the cat equivalent of a tantrum?
Is he just a really smart spoiled brat who wants to be the center of attention all the time? or could there really be something about the computer that irritates him? while i'm tired of my hand being mauled he's in no danger of being given away for this behavioral issue since it seems to be limited to these certain circumstances, but i would like to get to the bottom of it.
his sister will often jump up and interfere with my pc usage too but usually with affectionate behavior or by simply laying down in the way, never with aggression.
a bit of background on the cat. he's almost 16 months old, fixed (since 6 months), 12.5 pounds, and a very active and athletic cat. also very vocal. he has figured out how to open cabinets, and understands the concept behind unlatching the front door (though he can't quite turn the latch) He responds to his name although i've never made any real effort to teach it to him. jumps up and runs UPSIDE down up the underside of my carpeted steel frame staircase. he started playing fetch entirely on his own and sometimes rather then just ripping into my hand he will jump onto the desk with a toy to throw for him so he can retrieve it several times . i mentioned his strong prey drive in another thread too. he wakes me up to be fed on mornings when i'm home by meowing and knocking things off the nightstand (usually my glasses and a water bottle) and also by chewing on books (which he doesn't do when i'm awake, and never seen any indication that he does it while i am not at home) so i think these are clearly intentional acts. i once remarked to somebody that it is like having a toddler with claws and fangs in the house
the aggression around the computer is a fairly recent develoipment, maybe it stems from my tendency to nudge him out of the way when he would come up here when he was younger? and he's resentful? is this the cat equivalent of a tantrum?
Is he just a really smart spoiled brat who wants to be the center of attention all the time? or could there really be something about the computer that irritates him? while i'm tired of my hand being mauled he's in no danger of being given away for this behavioral issue since it seems to be limited to these certain circumstances, but i would like to get to the bottom of it.
