Cat hitting our hand with his paw - is this aggression or something else?

[ireneh]

Hi again!

I'm posting about a recent behaviour our cat is doing that we're not sure what to do with other than the hissing.

For the last few times recently, he has been hitting my boyfriend's hand with his paw in fairly hard way (I heard an actual "thump" sound). My boyfriend just fed him and wasn't even trying to pet him when he just went and "hit" his hand with his paw. There were no claws out and he never used to do this with him. My bf was even able to pet him before but now, he's afraid to even touch him which is a shame because I don't want him to dislike or be frustrated with our new cat. 

Is this normal? What can we do to make him stop? I've suggested to my bf to give our cat treats so that maybe the cat will trust him but that didn't seem to work. 

Any advice? Thanks!

 

[fhicat]

How was the cat's body language when he swats? Cats do that to each other sometimes during play -- it may be just swatting which is a type of play, or it may be accompanied by hissing which is a warning to back off or tone down.

Does kitty run off with ears flat after doing that? Does he swat and stare or swat and act like nothing happened? Does he do it to an outstretched hand, or not? 

Since you've gotten him for just a couple of weeks, he may still be in that untrusting mode. Perhaps he thinks your boyfriend's hand is scary -- the same reason he hisses in a hallway. 

I would offer your hand to kitty every time you see him, let him sniff your hand, but don't try to pet him. Just let him sniff and regardless of his reaction, don't go further. We must take it slow. Think of your hand as something new to introduce to him.

 

[ireneh]

Hi FhiCat! Thanks for responding.

His body language seems normal. He didn't run away nor was he hissing. He also only does this to my bf but not with me. 

His hand was not outstretched...he actually just fed him with some treats but after he was done eating them, the swatting began. He did it three times consecutively but all without any claws nor aggressive body language.

The thing we noticed that accompanied this new behavior is that the cat has started to become more active. After bringing him home from the shelter, he was very withdrawn (although not hiding) but was never really into any toys or any type of play. The shelter emailed me to say that even there, he was not that into toys as well (but that he was indeed a pretty vocal guy like he is now with us with constantly meowing for attention). 

I've done the suggestion of putting some along the hallway for him to jump on as we're passing through to prevent the hissing but this morning as I was spending time with him, he hissed at me a few times which he never used to do unless we were walking past. I was sitting on the floor and talking to him when this happened. 

Thanks again!

 

[Draco]

Does your boyfriend wear any colonge or after shave or have an unusual scent? My cat usually hits me if I am wearing perfume or have another cats' scent on me. There are some scents they don't like

 

[artiemom]

Artie has a habit of either tapping me on the shoulder to get out of bed, or tapping on the shoulder or arm when he wants attention..

It could be that..  Actually it is really cute....

Wait and see...It may be his way of wanting attention or just saying, enough is enough--leave me alone..

Body language is very important..

If his ears are bad, and eyes squinty, tail swishing fast...then just stay away.

They also have control of their nails...if claws are out---leave alone...

 

[Kat0121]

 
Artie has a habit of either tapping me on the shoulder to get out of bed, or tapping on the shoulder or arm when he wants attention..

It could be that..  Actually it is really cute....

Wait and see...It may be his way of wanting attention or just saying, enough is enough--leave me alone..

Body language is very important..

If his ears are bad, and eyes squinty, tail swishing fast...then just stay away.

They also have control of their nails...if claws are out---leave alone...

Sophie does this too. When she wants attention, she wants it now and if sitting by my feet doesn't result in attention fast enough, she will smack my knee with her paw. I agree it is cute but if the claws come out, give them some space but if they don't bring them out, chances are it's a "love tap"

 

[fhicat]

 
Hi FhiCat! Thanks for responding.

His body language seems normal. He didn't run away nor was he hissing. He also only does this to my bf but not with me. 

His hand was not outstretched...he actually just fed him with some treats but after he was done eating them, the swatting began. He did it three times consecutively but all without any claws nor aggressive body language.

Could also be a learned behavior. A little like, "if I swat, more treats come my way". Does kitty stare expectantly after swatting? That could be a clue.

It sounds like he still seems unsure of you both. If it's just the occasional hissing and clawless swatting, I'd give it a wait-and-see.