Cat attacking feet and hissing at others

Leah.J

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My cat has always been a little playful, and she'd occasionally attack your feet if you were walking by, then run away, as play. But since I moved in with new roommates, she's suddenly increased the amount of times she'll attack feet. She never attacks mine, just others. And she's also started hissing sometimes at them, especially if she doesn't get attention while she's attacking the feet. She's only bitten one of them once, so it hasn't been overtly aggressive, just annoyingly aggressive. She doesn't do this to me and if I'm in the room she usually almost always stops. The only day I've been told she hasn't done this is when she had basically an hour and a half worth of play from them. I'm trying to play with her more, once in the morning and once at night, but does anyone have any ideas on what else I can do? I've thought about walking her to get her energy out but I have a broken ankle and it'll be another month and a half at least before I can go walking around outside like that.
 

rubysmama

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Hello and welcome to TCS. Sorry about your broken ankle. :hugs:

About your feisty kitty, did she and you move to a new place? Or did the roommates move in with you? Are there any other pets in the home? Do the roommates like cats?

TCS has several articles that cover various topics, but here's a couple that might be helpful, as a start:

Cat Aggression Toward People | TheCatSite
Why Do Cats Attack? – Cat Articles
 
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Leah.J

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Thank you!

We all moved in to a new place together. Once she got here she was a bit hissy but once she got used to the place she was fine. Then over the last two months this all started up. No there's no other pets. There was another cat at my previous house, and she's been around other cats all her life, so I've been wondering if getting a second cat might help her out but my roommates are concerned that if this issue isn't resolved then a second cat could possibly result in two cats developing the same behavior. And yes they love cats.
Playing with her more seems to resolve the issue for a little bit, but unless it's high-intense play for a decent chunk of time, it just starts back up in a few hours. I don't really know how to play that much, since she isn't usually into her small toy mice and she gets bored of a wand toy after a bit.

Thanks for the links! I'll check them out!
 
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Leah.J

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She also only seems to do it with other people. She's very rarely aggressive with me, only if I brush her too long or if I'm trying to trim her nails. It's literally almost only with other people. We have a joke that maybe she thinks that if I can't walk then nobody should, lol.
 

susanm9006

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I am thinking it is fear and a dislike of people invading her personal space. A new place can increase a cats stress and if there are strange feet coming near her it stresses and she lashes out . I would try having the roomies sit or lay down on the floor with her once a day so she can observe them up close without them feeling so threatening and maybe offer her a treat or a toy. I would also encourage them not to walk near her while they are up until she feels more relaxed with them.
 

rubysmama

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Did anything change with anyone around the time she started getting aggressive? Is that by any chance the same time you broke your ankle?
 
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