Please help! My cat is attacking me!

PrissyKrissi

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Ok a little backstory first. My cats name is VuDu. She is about 2-3 yrs old. She was a stray in the neighborhood and we took her in as a kitten maybe a couple months old. We had her fixed about a year ago. She is our only pet and is an inside only cat. She isnt very social. She doesnt care for our visitors much but doesnt show aggression towards strangers. She isn't a very affectionate cat towards anyone besides me & my boyfriend. She absolutely ADORES him. She still sometimes sucks on the collar of his shirt and kneads on him like a kitten. She is more playful with me. I am the one who feeds her, cleans her litterbox, fusses at her, etc. And I play with her cuz I know that she needs some stimulation & exercise. And we play hunting games, and chasing games, and many cat games. But today I'm writing this crying in my bedroom cuz I am trapped in here. Idk what is wrong. The day was like any other and we get back home around5pm. Going about our regular routine. Well I walk back into the extra bedroom we use as a storage/office/studio and VuDu just came out of no where and started attacking me. Now I dont mean playfully attacking me. She was viciously attacking me. She was hissing!,and her fur was all spiked up and she is growling at me. She was cornering me in the room. I screamed, freaked out and jumped up on a chair and tried to protect myself. My BF came back
 
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PrissyKrissi

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And got her leave the room. And now she is fluffing up and hissing a growling at him. Well we got her to calm down for a lil while and bout an hour later she came attack me again and cornered me by the front door. My BF has gotten her away from me but she is wanting to attack him. She has peed and pooped on the floor. And she wont stop attacking me. Help. Me plz
 

rubysmama

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FeebysOwner

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Hi. Those articles above touch on the possibilities behind the attack, including a potential illness. But, if I were you, I would block her access to that room where she attacked you for now, and scour the room for signs of something that could have caused her to freak out. Not only look for 'things', but for noises in that room, even a strange new smell. If you are in an apartment, there might be new neighbors creating some noise, or existing neighbors who have gotten a pet that she can hear/smell/sense. If you're in a home and that room is on an outside wall, there could be something going on outdoors, or perhaps even a cat or other animal lurking about.

Anything change about where you were before you came home? New smells associated to anything you did differently might also be another consideration.

The additional attempt to attack you is likely because she is still 'unsettled', but also because she can sense your fear of her and she is reacting to that.
 
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PrissyKrissi

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So sorry all this is happening to you. Are things any better now?

It's totally impossible to guess what might have caused her aggression, but it's possible that she's ill. Or that she was startled by something and is frightened.

Here's a couple TCS articles on the topic that might be helpful.

Cat Aggression Toward People – TheCatSite Articles
Why Do Cats Attack? – TheCatSite Articles

Thanks so much for the articles. Since I posted last nite this is what has happened. She went into attack mode again this morning when we came out of the bedroom. But she had been at the door all nite crying for us to come out. She seems to react to shoes or feet it feels like. So I locked myself in the bedroom all day while my boyfriend went to work. I tried coming out a few times cuz she would stay at the door and whine for me. And she would arch her back and hiss anytime in would even get close to the door. Well at this very moment I have been out of the room for about twenty minutes. She has let me feed her, pet her, and she is sitting right next to me grooming herself. But I am still kinda scared that she is gonna turn on me again. Also i am wearing no shoes right now. Idk if that has mattered. Do u think i should still bring her to the vet tmrw? It may be possible now to get her in the carrier at some point.
 

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Just curious if you read my earlier post - if there is anything I suggested that you could confirm or deny that might help. In addition to those suggestions, I have another question. Did she try to attack your BF today?
 
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PrissyKrissi

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Just curious if you read my earlier post - if there is anything I suggested that you could confirm or deny that might help. In addition to those suggestions, I have another question. Did she try to attack your BF today?

Well I have investigated everything in that room and all I can think of is that I must have frightened her or stepped on her with my shoes. Nothing else in that room has changed. No one around us has gotten a new pet cuz TBH we arent sposed to have pets here. Since I have been out of the room and she hasnt attacked that she is now smelling my feet alot. And I made my BF take off his shoes and socks when he got home from work. And she hasnt attacked him either. And she does keep smelling his feet. So at this moment everything seems to be normal. Do u think I should still bring her by the vet just to make sure nothing is wrong?
 

FeebysOwner

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So, maybe there is something to the 'shoe' thing, and maybe it is because you unknowingly did happen to step on her - just enough to freak her out. Keep with the idea of not having shoes on (and, socks if you think it is necessary) anywhere near her. I would try to act as normal as possible around her, let her do the feet sniffing, but be careful not to startle her, especially with your feet.

See what happens over the next couple of days, before you rush her to the vet. From what you are saying, everything else is normal with her - eating/drinking/using the litter box - yes? So, what are you going to have the vet check for right now until you see more odd behavior?

She is young, and unless you think there is a medical issue, I would wait it out for a few days. But, please don't lock yourself in a room away from her all day - that is only adding to her stress level. And, while it is difficult I know, try not to act stressed out around her - that just elevates whatever stress she is feeling.
 

susanm9006

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Something is obviously frightening her and I suspect it may be a scent you are bringing in on your shoes. Are there other pets in your building or that you might have been near? You could try taking off your shoes and begging them when you come in to see if that settles her down.
 

rubysmama

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Hope things are going better today. Please give us another update when you can.
 
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PrissyKrissi

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So, maybe there is something to the 'shoe' thing, and maybe it is because you unknowingly did happen to step on her - just enough to freak her out. Keep with the idea of not having shoes on (and, socks if you think it is necessary) anywhere near her. I would try to act as normal as possible around her, let her do the feet sniffing, but be careful not to startle her, especially with your feet.

See what happens over the next couple of days, before you rush her to the vet. From what you are saying, everything else is normal with her - eating/drinking/using the litter box - yes? So, what are you going to have the vet check for right now until you see more odd behavior?

She is young, and unless you think there is a medical issue, I would wait it out for a few days. But, please don't lock yourself in a room away from her all day - that is only adding to her stress level. And, while it is difficult I know, try not to act stressed out around her - that just elevates whatever stress she is feeling.

Ok this is day 2 and she is mostly back to her normal self. Mostly as I she hasnt been eating as much as she usually does and she isnt as snuggly and cuddly and affectionate as she usually is. I'm sure it will maybe take a couple days for the "trauma" to wear off. But she hasnt attacked me and that's awesome. She has been wanting more "playtime" than usual. We play with a cat wand and a laser pointer. She has lost interest in one of her favorite toys which is the cap to my nasal spray. I know sounds weird but she usually beats it around and picks it up and throws it with her mouth. And will play with that cap by herself for a while. I have tried to get her to play with it and she just seems uninterested. She has been getting the "zoomies" a lil more than usual. So when she does that I pick up our cat wand or laser pointer and play with her. All in all I think we are getting back to normal. We still arent wearing shoes in the house and I'm not having any company over for the time being just to be on the safe side. I really appreciate everyone's help and concern. I'll keep yall updated if anything changes. Thanks again
 

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Well that is good news. I'm very pleased for both of you.
I had a nerve wracking experience with one of my cats while trying to get her into her carrier. When I did eventually get her to the vet (I was allowed into the surgery but 2 meters away from the examination), I was told not to talk to her. "She knows that you are nervous and it frightens her. When she allows it, just pet her gently, but don't speak to her until you're sure that both of you have calmed down". We are now on speaking terms - she's still frightened of me, when I'm standing up, but is now insisting on sleeping on me at night. To keep me lying down?
 

Katy Perkins

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If an adult cat and has just started to attack you, then it either sick or in pain (take it to the vet right away).

If it is an indoor cat, it may just require some stimulation. Get it a new toy. It doesn't have to cost you anything, as even a free cardboard box could help.

Or maybe it is just really really angry with you. It’s important to read your cat’s body language. It will tell you if you are doing something to piss it off.
 

lollie

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Definitely wash those shoes, or the soles, you were wearing when you came in that first time. It sounds like you brought a smell back with you, possibly of another animal. Glad she’s better.
 

cynthia1966

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Ok a little backstory first. My cats name is VuDu. She is about 2-3 yrs old. She was a stray in the neighborhood and we took her in as a kitten maybe a couple months old. We had her fixed about a year ago. She is our only pet and is an inside only cat. She isnt very social. She doesnt care for our visitors much but doesnt show aggression towards strangers. She isn't a very affectionate cat towards anyone besides me & my boyfriend. She absolutely ADORES him. She still sometimes sucks on the collar of his shirt and kneads on him like a kitten. She is more playful with me. I am the one who feeds her, cleans her litterbox, fusses at her, etc. And I play with her cuz I know that she needs some stimulation & exercise. And we play hunting games, and chasing games, and many cat games. But today I'm writing this crying in my bedroom cuz I am trapped in here. Idk what is wrong. The day was like any other and we get back home around5pm. Going about our regular routine. Well I walk back into the extra bedroom we use as a storage/office/studio and VuDu just came out of no where and started attacking me. Now I dont mean playfully attacking me. She was viciously attacking me. She was hissing!,and her fur was all spiked up and she is growling at me. She was cornering me in the room. I screamed, freaked out and jumped up on a chair and tried to protect myself. My BF came back
So, I had a situation where my indoor cat out of nowhere was just freaked out. She didn't attack us but she wouldn't sit on the bed or under anything, let us hold her. If we tried she would freak out. The day before she was fine. She would just sit out in the middle of the hallway as if she was afraid that something was going to jump at her any moment. She loved to play on the porch and I thought that maybe a snake got in or a possom outside. She would not let us pick her up, and would run for the hallway. I did take her to the vet, and she was physically fine. But the vet said that it could be a cat scoping the outside of our house. She can smell the other cat, but doesn't realize it is outside. So, she was reacting as though it could jump out at any moment. It might be another cat or pet outside or in the other apartment. I bought some plug in pheromones, cat nip, and this salmon flavor calming goo in a tube. The vet actually put her on kitty version of anti-anxiety meds. We just let her do her thing until she eventually felt better. I don't know if the animal left or she just felt safe at last! But it did come on suddenly! So, like others said, I would go to vet to be sure she is not sick. But giving it some time and space, also.
 

cynthia1966

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Ok a little backstory first. My cats name is VuDu. She is about 2-3 yrs old. She was a stray in the neighborhood and we took her in as a kitten maybe a couple months old. We had her fixed about a year ago. She is our only pet and is an inside only cat. She isnt very social. She doesnt care for our visitors much but doesnt show aggression towards strangers. She isn't a very affectionate cat towards anyone besides me & my boyfriend. She absolutely ADORES him. She still sometimes sucks on the collar of his shirt and kneads on him like a kitten. She is more playful with me. I am the one who feeds her, cleans her litterbox, fusses at her, etc. And I play with her cuz I know that she needs some stimulation & exercise. And we play hunting games, and chasing games, and many cat games. But today I'm writing this crying in my bedroom cuz I am trapped in here. Idk what is wrong. The day was like any other and we get back home around5pm. Going about our regular routine. Well I walk back into the extra bedroom we use as a storage/office/studio and VuDu just came out of no where and started attacking me. Now I dont mean playfully attacking me. She was viciously attacking me. She was hissing!,and her fur was all spiked up and she is growling at me. She was cornering me in the room. I screamed, freaked out and jumped up on a chair and tried to protect myself. My BF came back
Did you read the article posted on this site? - Re-directed Aggression In Cats.
 
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