Horrible Attack

[Naturallyhotter]

So last night I was in bed and I rolled over. My cat was on the pillow next to me. He usually sleeps with me. ... we spend a lot of time together.

He suddenly went psycho and screamed and clawed my face. I have a huge cut on my nose gushing blood 🩸 I also have dozens of deep claw marks on my hands. It was the most psychotic and unexpected event ever. Luckily I did not loose an eye.

He went psycho and screamed and clawed my face. I have a huge cut on my nose gushing blood 🩸 I also have dozens of deep claw marks on my hands. It was the most psychotic and unexpected event ever.
Ofcourse as an animal myself my first reaction was to grab the cat and throw him away from me. He was shrieking and in the heat of the moment I just threw him outside. I spent hours cleaning my facial wounds and I truly look really ****ed up. To make matters even more stressful I am a fashion model. My face is very important. I had a break down on the phone with my mom lol

so here’s the deal. The cat might have just been scared or dreaming or something I can’t be sure but I just really don’t trust him anymore now. Super traumatic event for me.... but I feel terrible about throwing him out. I live in a safe neighborhood in Florida with lots of indoor / outdoor cats. He did come back to the door and I let him in after a few hours but then he just screamed again and I got scared so I opened the door for him to go back out.
I really don’t know what to do.
I have had this cat from the time of kitten.
I definitely love him but I’m just scared of him now. I might even need to go see a plastic surgeon for this it’s seriously bad guys....

I am a huge animal lover and I feel like maybe he will enjoy being outside ? Maybe he can be indoor / outdoor? Will he be traumatized for life ?
What would cause this random type of behavior !?

 

[Maria Bayote]

I am very sorry that you have to go through this.

I am not an expert, but a cat won't just attack for any reason. First, is he neutered? Second, is there anything new in the house? Even a new air freshener scent may have scared him off. Did you have recent visitors that may have left a scent in the house?

You also have to check if he is suffering from any medical issues. I kindly suggest that you bring him to the vet.

He may also have picked up scents of cats or other animals passing by, and this were territorial aggression episodes, or even redirected aggression.

He may also be picking up your fears as you say you are already scared of him.

Again I am so sorry that you went through this and I hope you will just be ok. I hope things work out for you both.

 

[rubysmama]

I'm also sorry this happened to you. It must have been a terrifying experience. It's impossible to understand what happened, but it sounds like a type of re-directed aggression, where he became scared and lashed out at you. TCS has this article that explains it: Re-directed Aggression In Cats – TheCatSite Articles

There's also these 2 articles that might be helpful:
Why Do Cats Attack? – TheCatSite Articles
Cat Aggression Toward People – TheCatSite Articles

Do keep an eye on the bites, as cat bites can quickly become infected.
Ouch! More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About Cat Bites – TheCatSite Articles

Hopefully he'll settle down and this will be a one time only incident.

About making him an indoor/outdoor cat, if there's a lot of traffic, or animals that might attack him, I would worry about his safety. Maybe building him a catio would be better, if that's doable. Cat Enclosures – TheCatSite Articles

 

[UnoMama]

I'm no expert either, but from all that I've read/ heard and your account, it does seem like he was scared of something and lashed out - because right before, he was engaging in absolutely normal behaviour i.e. sleeping with you as he normally would.

Sending lots of love and hugs to both of you - I hope your wounds heal at the soonest, and that he's able to calm down as well.

 

[ArtNJ]

Could you have rolled over on him?

He might just need a day by himself to reset, and then maybe not letting him sleep with you would be prudent.

I don't recall another post with random bed attacks, but folks have had trouble for identifiable reasons over the years. For example, one woman was trying to put her cat on the ground and he started to slip out and panicked and she got badly hurt. Years ago I had an adult cat that loved to sleep on me. However when kitten arrived he became hyper-vigilant, and would dig his claws in to spring off at any little noise. I worried he would literally run over my face claws out. So he was barred from the bedroom when it was nap or nighttime.

Since this is an indoor/outdoor, I agree with everyone else that he could be riled up/scared from an outdoor incident. I live in a safe town with few predators and modest traffic in most streets, but once in a while there is a fox, and cats are often jerks to each other, scaring each other badly, and sometimes actually hurting each other badly. Even some indoor cats get crazy just seeing an outdoor cat through a window, and people have been attacked by being close at the wrong time when that happens.