# Aggressive British Shorthair



## doffcocker (Sep 28, 2021)

Approaching two years ago, my sister's male and female British Shorthairs produced a litter of four, the single female of which we adopted.

She has always seemed very happy here, the main thing we have struggled with is quite regular angry, aggressive outbursts, mainly biting and clawing.

A lot of it we put down to playfulness, like there are times where she chases people around the house to give them a clout on the back of the leg then runs off. But there have been occasions where this has turned more aggressive, to the point that she is climbing up legs and biting.

More bizarrely though, she takes a particular dislike to my nieces and nephews when they come round weekly - the same children that is who nurtured her during her first few months on earth and ultimately persuaded us to choose her over the other kittens as she was their favourite. With them she doesn't just bite and scratch, she growls and hisses.

I was just wondering if this can behaviour could be explained and/or remedied somehow.

Thanks for reading and for any advice you can offer.


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## Maurey (Nov 18, 2019)

Has she been to a vet to rule out a medical cause? There are a number of health issues that can cause cats to lash out, primarily out of pain.


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## Yoninah (Sep 24, 2021)

I agree with Maurey about the first course of action - but you haven't said (forgive me if I missed it) if the cat is breaking the skin with the biting and clawing. Would you expand on that?


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

Is she spayed?


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## doffcocker (Sep 28, 2021)

Thanks for getting back to me all.

She has been spayed but never examined for medical problems as such. 

I think we have always put this sort of behaviour down to perhaps people such as the kids trying to be too playful and giving her too much attention which I'm told British Shorthairs don't generally appreciate, but the mother and father are both very much accustomed to being excessively picked up, cuddled etc and never so much as hiss or growl.

In terms of the actual biting and clawing, we do see a mixture of intent, often there's no sign of actual claws out, but occasionally there have been bites and scratches that have broken skin.


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## Yoninah (Sep 24, 2021)

doffcocker said:


> often there's no sign of actual claws out, but occasionally there have been bites and scratches that have broken skin.


Thanks for the info. popcornsmum and I were talking a few days ago about a cat that each of us has that swipes and mock bites. We couldn't attribute it to a specific action that had brought it about so it may be something that certain cats do. However, this doesn't sound like the same sort of thing that yours is doing as our cats aren't breaking the skin.


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## Maurey (Nov 18, 2019)

Sounds like the cat is giving clear signals, and the kids are just ignoring her, so she resorts to something physical. That’s on the kids, not the cat. You need to teach the children to not touch the cat.

For the rest, I still think it’s worth mentioning the behavior to the vet and having a full health check, including bloods, especially if she’s not had her health checked out in the past year. Overall, sounds like she’s bored and understimulated, and needs more interactive play.


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## Guest (Sep 29, 2021)

@doffcocker 
I think the kids possibly pestering her in a way that is uncomfortable to her is one issue as @Maurey said. Not all cats like to be picked up and treated as dolls or toys.
Best to tell the kids hands off for a period and then try to reintroduce interaction of a different sort such as with long wand toys with the children to play with her.

Do you play with her? If indoor only cats they do need interactive play as they can easily get bored indoors. My cats play together and we also use wand toys, ball chasing, hide the toy under the mat etc games.


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