Cat attacks when I raise my voice

[cheerup0424]

My cat Willow is the sweetest and calmest cat in the world, unless I raise my voice for any reason. The first time this happened I was laying on my bed and the board underneath shifted and the whole bed dropped down, which startled me. I yelled when it hit the floor and she immediately ran over hissing and latched onto my leg and bit and scratched me.

This same scenario has occurred at least a dozen times in the last three years. Today I was joking around and imitating the coocoo clock when she again latched onto my leg and bit and scratched me. These aren't love bites, these are full on sinking the teeth in bites.

It's beginning to get to the point where it's affecting my relationship with Willow. I'm definitely her favorite person in the house, she sleeps with me and follows me around all the time. I was joking with my family the other day that if someone broke into our home and I started to yell for help, Willow would attack me and not the intruder.

I realize that a simple solution would be to not raise my voice, but at times that's easier said than done. When she does attack me, I look at her and tell her very firmly NO!! She usually backs off then and just looks at me like "what the hell just happened?" Any advise would be welcome

Thanks

 

[oneandahalfcats]

My little female, Maggie, is very sensitive to sound, raised voices. She becomes very protective, depending on who it is that is causing the commotion. This is perfectly normal behavior for a cat as their sense of hearing is far superior to our own. A cat's ears are uniquely designed to draw sound into the ear canal, which enables them to hear things that we might not, at the same time, really loud noises and sudden outbursts can cause them to react as its basically too much noise all at once which can be a very shocking experience for them.

Your kitty isn't attacking as a sign of aggression, but as a reaction of fear and self-protection. Its important for you to protect yourself from getting bit and scratched, but at the same time, you need to help her to understand and deal with loud, sudden noises by reassuring and comforting her. What you don't want to do is punish her as she is only reacting instinctively. Spending some quality time with her, especially after these episodes, can go a long way in lessening her fear.

 

[stephenq]

Hi @cheerup0424

You might want to try desensitizing her by raising your voice just enough to get her slightly aroused, and then give her a treat and calm petting when she's ready for that.  If she gets a treat each time, and calm petting, and you slowly raise the voice level one step at a time, perhaps you can turn her around on this.  Tricky but possible.

I also know how you can get a phone consult with a behaviorist at the Cornell School of Vet Medicine for a reasonable fee, if you're interested please let me know.