I don’t know what this behaviour means

[Anicanis]

Hi everyone,

Can anyone please help me with a new behaviour from my cat that finding a bit alarming? My cat was recently adopted by me but he’s an adult cat. He is usually very quiet, sweet and docile (apart from the day I tried to cut his nails!). He’s also surprisingly obedient when we say no. He’s an indoor car who has never been outside, but he’s surrounded by toys, cat trees, outside views and I play with him daily. He sits by my side when I’m working from home. And when I wake up or come home he greets me with a high pitched sound and rubs against my legs.

So, a bit of context: today he’s making this sound a lot more. I don’t know why and assumed it was just for attention as there is no other visible reason. Then later in the day something happened - right after I used a treatment product in my hair with an extremely strong smell btw. He attacked me out of the blue and worryingly chased me, even when I’m I told him to stop, which is very, very usual. It wasn’t a very playful chase, it was a more serious one. I had to lock myself in the bathroom for a bit. I came out trying to act normally and redirect his attention to something else. I thought he could be puzzled / feel threatened by the smell, so I covered my hair. He got a bit more normal but late at night he repeated the whole thing. He made this high pitched sound very intensively, rubbed a lot against myself and everything in sight, and moved on to chase me as a proper pray. I rushed to the bedroom and closed the door, where I am right now.

Can someone please help me figure this out? Its just the two of us here for the moment. I know this cold here considered normal behaviour for some cats but it’s very usual for him… Could he be intoxicated/ sick? Could it be all due to my weird smell? Is it mating season or something? Or perhaps it’s the catnip toy I give him much earlier in the day (though it never caused this)? Or the fact that I’m always very available for him at home/ playing with him (though never with my hands/ body) is leading to this behaviour? Please help!

 

[Anicanis]

*very unusual

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
Is he neutered? I'm suggesting that if he hasn't been, it might calm him down.
Can you yell, clap your hands, stamp your feet, to get him to stop?

 

[Margot Lane]

Have you also tried not using the treatment product, just to see if it makes a difference?

 

[Anicanis]

Have you also tried not using the treatment product, just to see if it makes a difference?

Yes, it was just something I had to leave on for a couple of hours and it was just a guess… I don’t know if this caused the issue :/ he still seems over stimulated today

 

[di and bob]

Your smell might have drastically changed and he didn't recognize you and got scared into attacking. This might change as he is with you longer. I would only apply the product in a closed room from now on or don't use that one anymore. at least for a while. cats recognize each other mostly by smell. If you smell different, they freak out. He also could have seen another cat out a window and is redirecting his aggression onto you, that happens often with cats too, you might want to watch him to see what he is looking at for a while. definitely get him neutered to decrease his aggression, or get a calming treat on Amazon to give him a while. I think he is still extremely scared and unsure of himself from being in a new environment, even if he doesn't appear to be so. Give him time, this will change as he figures out he has a home. If he ever gets at you make sure you grab him by the skin on the back of his neck and pull him off you, hold him to the ground and say NO loudly. Never lift a cat completely off the ground this way it can hurt them. It is an effective way of stopping an attack though. If he starts stalking you, go slowly to another room, shut the door, and give him time. Never stare into his eyes, that is aggressive to a cat. This will all stop when he gets comfortable. Redirected aggression can take days to resolve, but it will!

 

[Anicanis]

Hi
Is he neutered? I'm suggesting that if he hasn't been, it might calm him down.
Can you yell, clap your hands, stamp your feet, to get him to stop?

He isn’t! We had decided not to neuter him because he was already so quiet

 

[Anicanis]

Your smell might have drastically changed and he didn't recognize you and got scared into attacking. This might change as he is with you longer. I would only apply the product in a closed room from now on or don't use that one anymore. at least for a while. cats recognize each other mostly by smell. If you smell different, they freak out. He also could have seen another cat out a window and is redirecting his aggression onto you, that happens often with cats too, you might want to watch him to see what he is looking at for a while. definitely get him neutered to decrease his aggression, or get a calming treat on Amazon to give him a while. I think he is still extremely scared and unsure of himself from being in a new environment, even if he doesn't appear to be so. Give him time, this will change as he figures out he has a home. If he ever gets at you make sure you grab him by the skin on the back of his neck and pull him off you, hold him to the ground and say NO loudly. Never lift a cat completely off the ground this way it can hurt them. It is an effective way of stopping an attack though. If he starts stalking you, go slowly to another room, shut the door, and give him time. Never stare into his eyes, that is aggressive to a cat. This will all stop when he gets comfortable. Redirected aggression can take days to resolve, but it will!

Ok that might have been the case… perhaps it triggered something. And he started to get bored with his toys, that also seems to be happening. Unfortunately I can’t play with him with a wand all day to redirect this energy. it’s sad this is happening as he was already calm and well adjusted :/ today he does recognise me, asked me to pet him and has his confident tail up but he does seem very over stimulated. And he keeps making that sound and scrubbing in me but this doesn’t seem to mean he wants me to pet him…

 

[di and bob]

He may have the 'urge' to go out and mate. This can make them very aggressive. He may have seen another tom cat outside too. Getting him neutered takes away all those 'urges', and aggression, it makes them very content to be a house cat. He may start spraying too, even if he hasn't started yet, they always do, and their urine really stinks. Most cats don't fully mature until they are two years old. Please get him neutered and you all will be happier!

 

[Anicanis]

Ok that might have been the case… perhaps it triggered something. And he started to get bored with his toys, that also seems to be happening. Unfortunately I can’t play with him with a wand all day to redirect this energy. it’s sad this is happening as he was already calm and well adjusted :/ today he does recognise me, asked me to pet him and has his confident tail up but he does seem very over stimulated. And he keeps making that sound and scrubbing in me but this doesn’t seem to mean he wants me to pet him…

I mean, not that confident, just for some moments. The rest of the day he is keeping the tail down and swinging

 

[Anicanis]

Here’s a video of the noise I mentioned. Is the same he does too greet me in general, but now he does it all day long

 

[Anicanis]

He may have the 'urge' to go out and mate. This can make them very aggressive. He may have seen another tom cat outside too. Getting him neutered takes away all those 'urges', and aggression, it makes them very content to be a house cat. He may start spraying too, even if he hasn't started yet, they always do, and their urine really stinks. Most cats don't fully mature until they are two years old. Please get him neutered and you all will be happier!

Oh really? I didn’t know they always did sprayed. He is 1.5 years old and never left a house, even before I got him. This makes sense…. All this rubbing, meowing and attacking seems like a mating behaviour. I was afraid of neutering him and making him too quiet but that might be the best solution. We just had an intensive session of play and he was extremely active. Hopefully this will calm him down for the moment. I’ll have a look in neutering him

 

[Furballsmom]

Thanks for the video. He's a talker which might change, or might not after the neuter.

 

[Anicanis]

Thanks for the video. He's a talker which might change, or might not after the neuter.

It’s cute!! But that’s the thing, he is no a talker usually… so I don’t know what’s going on. Another thing that I didn’t mention is that I’m going away for a while and yesterday I started packing. Perhaps he knows what this means

 

[Anicanis]

The meowing used to be just to greet and ask for me to pet him but these days he is meowing, rubbing himself at everything and attacking me basically. Happened again just now…

 

[di and bob]

I would bet those noises are frustration at not getting outside to mate, even though he doesnt know what he wants when he gets there. He is just now ' coming of age' and instinct is driving him. Neutering is very simple on the boys. They are back to normal usually in a day. I have never used a cone either. Spraying usually starts around 2 years of age, some are earlier, some are even later. I had a 10 year old that never sprayed in his life and started when we moved. Too much stress.

 

[di and bob]

Still sounds like a hormone thing. The behaviors you are describing are normal in an intact tom. They get frustrated!

 

[Cat McCannon]

Get your cat neutered as soon as possible. Count yourself lucky he hasn’t yet started spraying and aggressively trying to get outside. The mating drive in cats is powerful. When it kicks in, his instincts take over. It’s not going to be much longer before he stops being that sweet kitty you so love.

Don’t ever run from your cat. Never show fear. Remain calm and remember you love your cat. When you run or show fear, you become prey and prey is to be hunted and attacked, not respected or trusted. When he attacks, scruff him and pin him down. Or place a pillow, cardboard or other object between you and your cat out throw a towel or blanket over him. Block off his line of sight.

Best thing to do is get him fixed. Do Not Pass Go. Do Not Collect $200. Go Straight To The Vet’s. Before things get worse.

 

[Anicanis]

Thanks, everyone. It's really helpful to get advice here. It's now clear to me that this is a coming-of-age thing. He does seem frustrated. And seems really mad at some point today for not going out. I will try to get him neutered asap. The only issue is that I'm going away for quite a while and some friends will be home to care for him... perhaps it's too much to ask them to take care of a pos-neutered cat? I'll ask around anyway. Thank you.

 

[di and bob]

How long are you talking? Or can you get him in first? Males only need a day or two to heal pretty good, my ferals are released right away. Maybe since they wont have a lot of contact with him it will be ok. Or tell them not to anyway. Just make SURE they know he will try to get out most likely. Strange people may scare him, he may mostly hide anyway from them.