Cat Attacked

i was in bed with my cat who was asleep on my arm like always when suddenly she woke up bite me hard then ran but there was no noises, I didn’t move or anything. Is this violent or a dream? She sometimes scratches but has never ever bitten me hard another to draw blood

She also hissed and looked scared as she woke up but it was so quick

So sorry that happened to you. How is your arm? Since she drew blood, please keep an eye on the bite, and get it checked out if you suspect any infection setting in.

About your cat, how old is she? Is she an only pet? Does she ever bite when you play with her?

Not sure if it would be considered an "attack" but here's a TCS article that might be helpful: Why Do Cats Attack?

Plus Cat Aggression Toward People

one of my cats who was clearly near sighted tended to wake up in attack mode. We were careful to call his name rather that touch him to wake him up. He had spent all but his first two days with us. He'd never been attacked with intent.

I have noticed others who start awake and look around as though surprised to discover where they are. I take this to mean they were dreaming.

since your cat hasn't attacked you before, I'd lean toward suspecting she was dreaming. If she's sleeping next to you, you might speak to her, or jiggle her from time to time to prevent her going into deep REM sleep, where dreaming occurs. Of course, I could be wrong.

As others have said it may have been a dream or a one off, but you might consider other possibilities too.
Might you have held her too tight in bed or hurt her accidently?
Do you suffer from sleep apnoea? I do, and one of my cats comes over and checks my breathing with her nose andstrokes my face with her paw until I wake up, then she runs away.
If you can't find a reason, put it down to a one off, bad dream or something, but if it happens again it might be worth discovering if you're suffering any sleep problems such as snoring, sleep apnoea or some other sleep related disorder.

rubysmama said:

So sorry that happened to you. How is your arm? Since she drew blood, please keep an eye on the bite, and get it checked out if you suspect any infection setting in.

About your cat, how old is she? Is she an only pet? Does she ever bite when you play with her?

Not sure if it would be considered an "attack" but here's a TCS article that might be helpful: Why Do Cats Attack?

Plus Cat Aggression Toward People

Click to expand...

She is nearly 5, yes she’s an only pet and no when she plays she doesn’t bite but if she wants attention she sometimes pinches your skin with her teath

Furensics said:

As others have said it may have been a dream or a one off, but you might consider other possibilities too.
Might you have held her too tight in bed or hurt her accidently?
Do you suffer from sleep apnoea? I do, and one of my cats comes over and checks my breathing with her nose andstrokes my face with her paw until I wake up, then she runs away.
If you can't find a reason, put it down to a one off, bad dream or something, but if it happens again it might be worth discovering if you're suffering any sleep problems such as snoring, sleep apnoea or some other sleep related disorder.

Click to expand...

I was awake when it happened and no I didn’t hold her too tightly as I wasn’t holding her she was just laying her head on my arm

Kflowers said:

one of my cats who was clearly near sighted tended to wake up in attack mode. We were careful to call his name rather that touch him to wake him up. He had spent all but his first two days with us. He'd never been attacked with intent.

I have noticed others who start awake and look around as though surprised to discover where they are. I take this to mean they were dreaming.

since your cat hasn't attacked you before, I'd lean toward suspecting she was dreaming. If she's sleeping next to you, you might speak to her, or jiggle her from time to time to prevent her going into deep REM sleep, where dreaming occurs. Of course, I could be wrong.

Click to expand...

Thank you, yeah I suspect it was a dream as it has never happened before

Katieannee said:

She is nearly 5, yes she’s an only pet and no when she plays she doesn’t bite but if she wants attention she sometimes pinches your skin with her teath

Click to expand...

It probably was a dream. And hopefully it won't happen again. However, unless her bites when she wants attention are love bites (How To Deal With Cat "love Bites"? ) maybe try saying "owwwww" when she pinches your skin, just to let her know she's hurting you.

Sometimes cats have overstimulation syndrome, where they get overstimulated and attack. She may have this, have you noticed she gets edgy after so many strokes, hisses, growls or leaves? Or she may be developing it. It usually happens with females, I have had several, and they attack seemingly without warning until you know what their limits are. You may have been slightly twitching or moving and she reached her limit, or possibly even just having contact with your arm for a length of time may initiate the attack. She also may have been awoken from her sleep hearing a outside cat attack that you couldn't even hear, or remembering something very upsetting to her that happened earlier in the day and dreamt about. Anything unusual happen? Company? hopefully it won't happen again, I have had cats do this and never do it again. I would recommend not letting her lay on your arm anymore, she can find a new way to sleep next to you, and will. If you like her like that, lay a small towel over your arm first. All the luck!

One of my cats has done this a few times. She likes to get under the covers with me, but if she gets too hot she wakes up in "Panic mode" and claws her way out.

I guess your cat was either having a bad dream or got over heated.

If this happens repeatedly it can indicate neurological problems, but if it was just a one off there is no need to worry about it.

Take care of that bite! If it starts to look infected get some antibiotics straight away as even indoor cats have a lot of bacteria in their saliva.

Hi she seems fine today, wants a lot of love and the bite is fine got sent to the doctors and they gave the okay! Thanks for all the responses

I know I'm posting a bit late but wanted to tell you that it really was probably a bad dream. My cat dreamed all the time and although it did not progress to a full out attack often, it did happen a few times. There was one time that I was able to watch the whole progression. It started with leg and face twitching then he chirped and growled a few times, then all of a sudden he jumped up turned and let out a huge hiss and tried to attack whatever he was mad at. He almost fell off his cat tree with that one! Once he fully "came to", he managed to calm down a bit, thankfully no one was ever in his way when the bad dreams really hit.