# Cat attacked me



## purple tisha (Feb 22, 2014)

My cat attacked me badly last night and I'd be really grateful for any advice. Sorry that this is so long but want to give any possibly relevant info.

We got him 7 years ago from rescue, he was around 16 weeks old. One of his sisters had a fracture and vet thought she may have been kicked. He's always been a bit of a nervous boy, but very affectionate when he gets to know you. He seemed nervous on his own, so a couple months after we got him we rescued another kitten. It took him a week or so to warm up to him, lots of hissing at first, but they're now best of friends. They do fight occasionally, but generally spend their days cuddled up together sleeping, and take turns to groom each other. Second cat is very laid back which I think helps.

Cat is not usually aggressive. He's not a fan of getting in the carrier, and when he knows he's going in and he's cornered he might give you a little swipe or a nip, but really feel it's a warning not that he's trying to hurt you.

Since we got him we've had 2 kids, currently 5 and 2. He tends to avoid the smaller one, and did with our eldest at first, but can be quite affectionate towards her now, giving head rubs and staying with her when he strokes him. He doesn't like being picked up and she's had a couple of warnings from him if she's tried, she's been told not to try. 

I'd say he loves me most of anyone in the house. He'll snuggle up to me, he gives me lots of head rubs, and he's really happy to be stroked by me. He's generally very comfortable around me and will happily sleep by me when I'm working.

I'm the only person he's ever attacked aggressively. He's done it once before, I was lying in bed one morning next to eldest in the cot, who was 3 or 4 at the time. He'd been to see me in bed when he came in. Eldest kicked me or something so I suddenly sat up in bed and shouted out ow. He suddenly launched himself at me from behind, spitting, and sunk his claws into my back and arm hard. I don't know how I kept my composure but I turned around and spoke to him gently. I honestly felt that he hadn't realised it was me and thought I was someone else and a threat to the child, and I just needed to show him it was me and he would be ok. When he settled I got up and left for a bit, then got back into bed. When cat came back in the room he was really nervous and sniffed around the whole bedroom, and looked as if he were looking for someone else. He was ok with me from that point until yesterday.

Yesterday evening I was sat on the sofa in my usual spot, had been there all evening and he knew I was there. He'd been sat on the cat barrel and I spoke to him from my seat. Other cat was cuddled up next to me as usual, I had a blanket over me and other cat saw movement under the blanket and suddenly pounced, as cats do. I sat up and shouted ow, shooed other cat onto the floor and took the blanket off to check the new scratch on my leg. This is thankfully quite a rare occurrence, but has certainly happened numerous times over the years.

Very shortly afterwards, he got up and walked along the back of the sofa towards me, there were 3 seats and a table between us so quite far. He was quiet, and neither me nor husband paid him any attention, so he mustn't have seemed very strange. Suddenly he launched at my head, dug all his claws in and was biting. I think I pushed him off with my arm and he came at me again. I managed to get my head down and pressed my face to the sofa so he couldn't get to it. I'm not sure if he jumped to the floor or husband shooed him down. He was hissing and his tail all bushed, I stayed still and got husband to get him out and shut the door. I'm lucky he didn't get my face, my scalp bled badly and was still oozing by this morning, so I've been to the walk in clinic today and prescribed antibiotics. The wounds are quite bad and cover an area about the side of my hand on one side of my head.

When he came back in, he was really nervous again, sniffing all around. His body was low and his tail was waving. He came up to me and I held my hand down for him to sniff. He did and gave a little head rub. I just sat as still as I could and spoke to him gently, basically too scared to move. I had no idea if he would attack me again. Thankfully he didn't, and he's been his usual self with me all day today, sat on my knee and purring away.

The only other thing I can think to mention, is that where I was sat was where my sister's dog sat for about 2 mins yesterday. We were in the garden the whole visit with cats upstairs, but we're in a terraced so had to bring the dog through the house and he walked in and jumped straight on the sofa. Sister got him off after she had put her bags down, no more than 2 minutes. Husband is convinced he attacked me because he smelled the dog? The attack occurred over 24 hours after the dog was there, I sat there all Saturday night as well, kids have sat there yesterday. I was wearing my dressing gown that I always wear, and that must absolutely stink of me. But maybe there was some lingering dog smell left?

Another note on smell. We used to be able to take them to the vets separately, he might be a bit off with other cat when he returned but not terrible. Over the last few years he got much worse with that, hissing at him horribly for hours after we get back, to the point that we now take them to the vets together even if only one needs seeing. He's ok if we do this. I looked this up and internet says it's non-recognition aggression.

At this point I'm feeling really upset, and not sure what to do. I love cat, he's been in our family for 7 years. He's usually loving and affectionate, if a little skittish. But he's really injured me badly, and he wasn't cornered or anything. He approached me and attacked me, however unlike the first time I'm sure he must have known it was me. He approached me slowly from the side so had lots of time to see me, and I was talking to husband so he'd have heard my voice. This wasn't a little swipe or a nip, this was the proper damage-causing stuff. I now actually feel a bit scared of him (please don't think I'm pathetic). I feel like he's unpredictable and I'm feeling worried about him around my children. Although to date, the only person he's ever properly attacked in 7 years has been me, twice.

I've booked him in at the vets for a check up, earliest they could do is next week. I've also contacted the rescue where we got him for advice and see if they can perhaps recommend a cat behaviourist or something?

Thank you so much if you've read this far, I hope I've included everything important. I'd be grateful for any advice or input. Please be kind though, I'm feeling a bit shaken up by all this, upset, and my head still hurts. I just can't help thinking that if he'd attacked one of the kids and not me he could have really done a lot of damage, and that thought scares me.


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## Guest (Apr 20, 2021)

Ufff. You poor thing. You’ve been very patient and you’re not being pathetic at all. It actually sounds very frightening. I’m not sure the vet will know the answer to this. This sounds like a job for a feline behavioural therapist. There is one in London who is very good (she’s got a book on Amazon called “Let’s talk about cats”). And she’s doing video consults. I can well imagine your anxiety with the kids around. Maybe for the moment give him something to relax just to minimise the risk of another attack. Have you got Feliway or Zyklene?


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## blackislegirl (Mar 12, 2021)

It sounds to me like something is really scaring your cat. I have only ever seen a cat launch itself at a head. It was my cat attacking an Alsatian dog who had unexpectedly come to the garden. The attack was exactly as you describe - my cat wrapped all four legs round the dog's head and clung on with his tummy flat against the dog's face. I had to peel my cat off, and let the traumatised dog and owner leave immediately. I also more recently saw one of my cats (who usually liked visitors) get really nervous round a visiting tradesman. Tail up, hissing.....the man said there had been a big dog at his previous house call. So what you say about your sister's dog may well be right.


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## LinznMilly (Jun 24, 2011)

purple tisha said:


> My cat attacked me badly last night and I'd be really grateful for any advice. Sorry that this is so long but want to give any possibly relevant info.
> 
> We got him 7 years ago from rescue, he was around 16 weeks old. One of his sisters had a fracture and vet thought she may have been kicked. He's always been a bit of a nervous boy, but very affectionate when he gets to know you. He seemed nervous on his own, so a couple months after we got him we rescued another kitten. It took him a week or so to warm up to him, lots of hissing at first, but they're now best of friends. They do fight occasionally, but generally spend their days cuddled up together sleeping, and take turns to groom each other. Second cat is very laid back which I think helps.
> 
> ...


I don't have cats (my mum does), so I can't advise, but I wanted to say that if a cat launched itself at _my _head like that, enough where it was still oozing blood hours later (although head wounds do bleed a lot more than you might expect) _I'd _be frightened of that cat too, and I'd certainly be worried about that cat around children, so I don't think you're pathetic at all. I think you're justifiably afraid.

Does the cat know the dog at all? I'd have thought it would have happened a lot sooner if it were related to the dog. Not 24 hours later? Your scent, and the scent of your kids, would have been much stronger and fresher than that of the dog.



blaclkislegirl said:


> It sounds to me like something is really scaring your cat. I have only ever seen a cat launch itself at a head. It was my cat attacking an Alsatian dog who had unexpectedly come to the garden. The attack was exactly as you describe - my cat wrapped all four legs round the dog's head and clung on with his tummy flat against the dog's face. I had to peel my cat off, and let the traumatised dog and owner leave immediately. I also more recently saw one of my cats (who usually liked visitors) get really nervous round a visiting tradesman. Tail up, hissing.....the man said there had been a big dog at his previous house call. So what you say about your sister's dog may well be right.


Was that previous house call 24 hours before yours though? Or had he just arrived from there?


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## Guest (Apr 20, 2021)

Here's a sticky on this:

https://www.petforums.co.uk/threads/types-of-cat-aggression-the-signs-and-how-to-combat.115412/


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

As you have been bitten you should take yourself to A&E or similar. NICE guidelines are that cat bites should always be treated with antibiotics.


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## Guest (Apr 20, 2021)

Is he eating properly?


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## SusieRainbow (Jan 21, 2013)

OrientalSlave said:


> As you have been bitten you should take yourself to A&E or similar. NICE guidelines are that cat bites should always be treated with antibiotics.


OP has been to the walk-in clinic and has antibiotics.


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## ForestWomble (May 2, 2013)

I don't have cats myself, but I had problems for years with a neighbours cat attacking me and my dog, I was frightened of that cat and as others have said, your fear is perfectly justified. 
I see you have a vet appointment booked in for next week, which would be the only advice I could think of.
I hope you are able to get some answers and can feel safe around your cat again. Hope your wounds heal soon.


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## O2.0 (May 23, 2018)

OrientalSlave said:


> As you have been bitten you should take yourself to A&E or similar. NICE guidelines are that cat bites should always be treated with antibiotics.


Yes, OP did say they got antibiotics, but it's a good idea to emphasize that cat bites and deep scratches should be treated with ABs. I've had cat scratch fever and it was not fun. I've also dealt with cellulitis from a (I thought) mild cat scratch.

@purple tisha I don't blame you at all for being frightened and worried about your young children.
The first order of business is a thorough vet check to make sure there aren't any medical issues going on causing or making this worse.

Unpredictable aggression is very hard to deal with, and I agree, this needs to be addressed with a professional. In the meantime I would also discuss calming supplements/medications with your vet, I'd be careful with plug-ins as some can amp the cat up more.

If there is any way to keep the cat and children separated without causing undue stress on the cat, I would do that too. Certainly I would never leave the cat and children alone together.


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## purple tisha (Feb 22, 2014)

Thank you so much all of you who have taken the time to read and respond, I know that was a long one! Today he's acting completely normally, still nervous of sudden sounds or big objects moving around as he always has been, but appears relaxed at times, and is purring and giving head rubs when I put my hand to him. As far as I can tell he's eating normally, doesn't seem to be in any pain, his fur and eyes look healthy etc so I've no reason to believe he's unwell, but I'm waiting on the vet check to confirm. I've also heard back from the rescue and they've recommended a cat behaviourist who we need to ask the vet to refer us to, so we'll do that when we take him as well. I know it might not be helpful to assign human difficulties to cats, but the more I think about it the more I wonder if he might have a cat-version of PTSD. I've always thought of him as being a nervous boy generally, but think he could be showing signs of hypervigilance as even when he's sitting down and looks quite relaxed, his ears are always moving around listening to all the little sounds, and he startles easily. We know very little about his first 14 weeks before he was taken in by the rescue, but I believe he lived in a house with children and a dog, and as I mentioned his sister had an unexplained fracture.

Thank you for not making me feel pathetic for feeling scared of him! My head is still so sore and the swelling gives me a constant headache so that's a real reminder of it all right now. I definitely feel a lot less trust in him. I've been speaking to him more to try to make sure I don't inadvertently sneak up on him, so he hears me coming. I have been stroking him as usual and he's been lovely with me, it just feels really strange.

A couple of you have asked about the dog. He's only 7 months and it was his first time to my house with the lockdowns and distance. I had met the dog once before so it's possible that he may have smelled him before if I had his scent on me, but never in the house. He was only in the house for such a short time though, just a few minutes in total as he went through the house to/from the garden.

For now both kids have been warned to give him space, and we will be doing our best not to leave him alone with them. Our house isn't that big and obviously both kids and cats move around, but we're aware of it and will be looking out for him. I'm fully ready to medicate him with whatever if it will help, and I can feel more confident that he's more relaxed and less likely to attack anyone. My mum has been very vocal in her opinion that we should re-home him so he can't attack the kids. The thought of it makes me feel so sad, I'm just holding out for the vet check next week.


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## Guest (Apr 20, 2021)

purple tisha said:


> I know it might not be helpful to assign human difficulties to cats, but the more I think about it the more I wonder if he might have a cat-version of PTSD.


No, this is definitely a thing. A cat's earlier exposure in life to stress (it can date back to a stressful pregnancy of the mother) can affect and impair his ability to withstand stressful situations in later life - just like humans. 
This is well understood. See attached.


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## TTouch (Apr 20, 2021)

Oh poor you it is a shock when your pet does something like that.......... I can understand why you are concerned about your children however his energy is directed at you and has been both times it might be fear, excitement, the urge to defend territory, redirected aggression, pain/illness, or the desire to chase prey. 

First I would be to make sure he is healthy and there is no illness/pain reason as if that is the case without resolving that nothing will change however reading through your story I would say it is redirected aggression plus anxiety ( for whatever reason) maybe the 'dog smell' being the latest issue... 

I use bach flower ( 5 drops in the cats drinking water) and I would also drop some on his bed and/or climbing tree... the herb valerian is safe for cats and can be affective as a calmer, grow some catmint/catnip that for many cats is another great calmer ( my cat will have nothing to do with it at all despite me planting seeds and growing some for her) and the leaves can be dried and used in toys ( or you can buy toys with catmint/catnip already in them)


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## Pepperpots (Apr 3, 2016)

I’d definitely recommend trying Zylkene (a natural,calming supplement). I take in a lot of scared/traumatised fosters and it works really well for some. 

They definitely remember bad things and he could have been triggered by something. I wonder if it was the combination of you making a sudden loud noise and standing up, the other cat moving away at speed and the potential smell of dog that created a situation that blew his brain. 

Poor boy, but also, poor you. Not easy to deal with and I think it’s great that you’re going to talk to a behaviourist.


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## Guest (Apr 21, 2021)

My cat used to be triggered by workmen in boots. It’s obvious they can recall bad memories. Something is re-stimulating him.


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## purple tisha (Feb 22, 2014)

I think you guys could be right, it was potentially a 'perfect storm' of the combination of factors that just triggered the attack. I'm still completely convinced that the first time he didn't know it was me. I was trying to explain it to my mum before, I guess humans are animals with instincts too, and I just instinctively knew that if I stayed completely calm and just showed him that it's me, he would be ok, and I was right. I turned around and spoke gently, and he seemed to see, hear and smell me all at the same time, and the look on his face was just so perfectly 'where on earth did you come from!?' that I feel so strongly that he didn't realise it was me until that moment.This time my instinct was to protect my face, I guess because his claws were so near it, so I didn't look at him and I don't think I spoke until after he was down off the sofa either. I felt really scared of him when he came back in, but he was fine with me right away, but seemed nervous in the room. I don't know if his instinct to attack with that combination of factors has just taken over and he's got confused. Either way it's still worrying, as you can imagine with a 5 and 2 year old, people jump around suddenly and yell in this house all the time! Maybe we're just lucky that this hasn't happened before.


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## kittih (Jan 19, 2014)

I agree with others. It sounds like your boy is very stressed. It also sounds like there has been some trigger stacking with your reaction in bed scaring him and then several other stressors. It's also possible there are other stressors you are unaware of like neighbourhood cats or even some subtle stress from his cat companion. Two of mine generally got on well but sometimes went through patches of subtle bullying. Cats are masters of silent aggression and can control resources without humans even being aware through subtle body postures. It doesn't mean that they don't get on but sometimes there is a bit of underlying stress that isn't obvious.

Cats are also well known for redirected aggression. When something stresses them and triggers the fight or flight response they can sometimes attack a person or other animal that is close by even if they are not the cause of their stress.

I noticed with one of my foster boys that my upset and surprised reaction to my neighbour drilling unexpectedly on the party wall just behind where I was sitting raised his anxiety levels considerably for several weeks and he was a lot more hypervigilant and wary of me and any sound. Usually he was a confident and calm boy in all situations.

Cats also live in a world where scent is very significant to them. The presence of a dog in the house and garden would have been stressful. As likely would having human visitors, especially if visitors have been a rare thing over the last year due to lockdown ( different scents, noise levels and changes in behaviour by his people, increased energy levels of his people, laughing, chatting and some stress/excitement of owners anticipating the visit).

The fact that your cat is stressed when your other cat comes back from the vet shows that he is very responsive to unusual scents in his territory. It's a good idea to scent swap when the other cat comes back from the vets. Get a clean cloth and stroke the cat who went to the vet with it then rub the cloth on the cat who stayed behind. Then rub the vet cat with the cloth again rinse and repeat. Do this where they don't have sight of each other and let them settle down separately for a while. This should allow everyone to get used to each other again.

Things you can do:

Start him on Zylkene. Although this doesn't work on all cats, if it does then it can really reduce anxiety levels. It's just a natural protein found in milk but can have soothing effects. It does take a few days to a week to kick in though. Buy the capsules for dogs and divide up the portions in the twist apart capsules into 75mg doses. Dosage isn't critical but you will save a lot of money this way.

Reduce stress for your boy by giving him lots of safe spaces he can hide away and get away from the kids, the other cat and any other stressors. High up spaces can be helpful if your cat likes that.

Provide lots of resources: food litter trays resting places, water and food stations and anything else you cat considers valuable. Space them out so that your other cat can't control all of the resources in case this is the cause of some subtle stress.

Play can be helpful. It can use up some of the energy and anxious feelings your cat is experiencing.

If your cat has access to outdoors or can see outdoors then it may be other cats are encroaching on his territory and making him feel insecure. You can buy semi opaque window sheets which you can stick to the bottom of your window so he can't see other cats if you think that may be an issue.

If you have visitors then be aware that your increased stress levels ( and stress is excitement too) or just a change in your energy levels and normal habits can add to his stress. Try and keep things low key if possible and ahead of visitors settle him into a safe room with lots of secure spaces for him to hide. If there is lots of noise some back ground noise like classic FM on the radio etc may help.

Don't approach your boy for interaction. Let him come to you. Don't allow your kids to to initiate an interaction either. If he does approach you then hold out your fingers and let him dictate where he wants to be touched by where he rubs you. A few small strokes and then stop. If he asks for more attention then repeat a few more times but don't over do it. You want to keep his arousal levels low and all your behaviour calm.

Definitely get him checked by the vet. Sometimes anxiety can be a sign of pain or discomfort. Cats as small prey animals are masters at hiding illness or pain and often the only sign is a behavioural change. I suggest he has some Zylkene before his vets visit so it doesn't add to anxiety.

It may be also a good idea to get the advice if a cat behaviourist. Often they can provide suggestions and make observations about your cat which are not obvious to you his owner.

This is an article by Vicki Halls a cat behaviourist about cat aggression you may find useful:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...FjAEegQIBBAC&usg=AOvVaw1eCPYJ3l4hGtjUGvqLW-eh


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## Guest (Apr 21, 2021)

A wonderfully informative post from @kittih - this is what makes PF so amazing.
I've cross posted it to the sticky on cat agression so it is saved for future reference.


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## purple tisha (Feb 22, 2014)

Thank you for your informative post @kittih. I feel bad that he was probably so stressed by the dog smell, and of course we've not had visitors for several months so that will have seemed really strange as well hearing somebody else coming through the house. I'm definitely going to ask the vet about possible medication and will mention Zylkene, as a few people have recommended this. He's got access to all of his favourite places in the house, but chose to spend most of the day curled up next to me whilst I was working from home. I'm definitely still his favourite person, and as far as he's concerned everything is back to normal. I'm happy to go along with this for now whilst we're waiting to get him checked out, even if I am a bit scared of him now!


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