Bad Mover?

[Zenith and Aaron]

We've recently moved apartments. Once we got all the big furniture over we brought Z over. The car ride was what you'd expect, lots of crying. When we got to the new place, he explored timidly and cried a bit more, it all seemed normal.

After being here for a couple days he seemed to be adjusting fine, cuddling on the couch, sprawling out over our clean laundry.

Today, after being here for three days, I went back to the old place to grab his favorite place, his Cat Tree.

I brought it up to the new place and placed it right where he was used to it being in relation with the other furniture. He immediately jumped into it and it all seemed so cute! His favorite place!

Suddenly he was a differnet cat, it was instant. I went to say hi and he hissed at me, not normal "bug off!" Hissing. "I WANT TO CLAW OUT YOUR JUGULAR" hissing. He stretched out of the tree and clawed me good. He's clawed me before, but that was all play. He wanted to harm me.

He stayed in there for 10 mins hissing if you looked at him. Finally he came out, somewhat calmed down. He let me pet him, but he still hissed at me.

What is causing his sudden anger?? It's the same tree, there isn't any other cat's scent on it.

 

[Zenith and Aaron]

Update, he's fine when he isn't on the tree. You can pet him like normal and cuddle him, but when he is on the tree and you get close to him, he still violently hisses and tries to kill you.

 

[rubysmama]

Sounds like maybe he's smelling the scent of the old apartment on his cat tree. Wonder if you should put it in another room, till it gets the new apartment smell. Or maybe try Feliway.

Here's a couple TCS articles that may be helpful. Good luck.

Cat Aggression Toward People
Is Your Cat Stressed Out?
Six Surefire Strategies To Reduce Stress In Cats

 

[jinxybean]

Zenith is displaying defensive territorial aggression over his familiar cat tree. It sounds like a combination of stress being in a new place, where he might feel the need to carve a new position for himself, and the introduction of old personal territory - to which he might want to possessively defend. Zenith saw you as a threat to his stake in the tree and he wasn't having any of that.

I wonder if your new apartment's prior resident had cats.

I would just a soon chuck the old cat tree and get him a new tree, one that has no smells or connection to his former home.