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This is going to be long.
My cat is going on 10 years old. He's male and has been fixed. We literally got him off the street; he had been separated from his mother and his eyes were crusted shut with dirt. No health problems, according to the vets. He's a tuxedo cat.
In the past year or so, he has gotten very aggressive towards me. I am technically his owner and I think his favorite, but lately I seem to just be his favorite punching bag.
He has very sharp claws. He does NOT react well to attempts to trim them - he can escape even the tightest "burrito", and he wriggles so much that I don't dare try to trim his claws in that state anyway. A vet can manage it, but last time he had to see one, he shat himself out of fear, and he SCREAMS whenever he's inside the carrier. It was so awful I cried after.
So he has very sharp claws, but worse than that, he's a biter. He has the super sharp claws, but he prefers to use his teeth.
He used to bite us all occasionally. If you felt his breath on your arm, it was best to move it, because he'd give you a nip. This was annoying as he was the one going out of his way to stick his face into our arm, back etc. only to bite it, but not unbearable. He never broke the skin.
Lately though, he's decided I am his favorite prey. I know not to act like it - if I see he's stalking my legs I freeze and I make sure to be looking at him so he can't sneak up on me as he would like to. This displeases him. Often, he'll walk up to me and meow angrily at me for it, and then try to attack me anyway. Sometimes he'll insist on me not looking directly at him - he'll do the rubbing against my legs thing but once he gets around to the back of my calf, if I don't turn around quickly enough, he'll bite me - but sometimes he will do it while I am looking at him, too. If I don't notice him stalking me, he'll usually launch himself at my legs from behind and I tend to get scratched but sometimes bitten as well. I've never encouraged him to play with hands or legs/feet. I am the only person in the household he does this to. He draws blood nearly every single time.
I've tried playing with him but no toy holds his interest. He'll bat some things around sometimes, but mostly he actually runs away from his toys. I never poked him in the face with them etc. to cause this. He would play with them when I first got them, but then he'd get bored and never play with them again, at least not more than a couple of seconds (and when he does, he's not too energetic - you don't tire him out doing this). This is true of his wand toys, laser pointer, and the usual balls and things, including fuzzy mice. He likes catnip, but he eats it and it makes him more aggressive.
I can tell that sometimes he's just bored, but I'm tired out trying to find a way to get him to play consistently. He just stops and starts and I swear those attempts at play make him more frustrated and in turn more aggressive. The play aggression is upsetting and I wish he wouldn't do it, but it's not the worst of his behavior.
He just genuinely attacks me. Bear in mind that every time he scratches or bites me, he runs off, which makes me think he's fully aware that this is not a good thing and that doing this isn't going to result in me playing with him or even wanting anything to do with him for a few minutes.
Lately every time I sit on the couch, he "yells" at me and then launches himself at me. I have something like 5 scars just around the wrist area of each arm right now from his recent attacks. When he bites he also drags his teeth, so I end up with bleeding AND bruises.
I thought it might be territorial but he does this whether I sit in "his" favorite spot (where my mom usually sits - he never bothers her over it) or the end of the couch (it's L shaped and there's plenty of room, and he does it even when I set somewhere he never does). Confusingly, he clearly is actually trying to get me to sit down sometimes. He'll purr, and do the slow blink at me and generally indicate that he wants affection. Once he forced his way onto my lap, purring, and then launched his attack. It's not overstimulation - I know his preference is to have his face scratched a little and then for me to act like a human couch and just let him sit/sleep without moving.
He also used to frequently and without warning bite my upper arm and run. The only reason he doesnt do this so much now is because I switched from sitting on (different) couch and using a table to work to sitting at a much smaller desk. He can't sneak up behind me at all. That said, he has actually took a running jump onto the desk, bit me, and ran off before.
This was all really bad, but I knew I couldn't give him up. He's old, he doesn't like strangers, not that I know anybody looking for a pet cat anyway, and the one shelter we have in my area will put down cats that are not adoptable. My options are either to keep him or to put him down, and I wasn't going to do the latter.
But recently he's been attacking my head and face, so you see my problem. I don't want to end up like that poor lady who had her face nearly completely mauled by her dog and needed a transplant. I don't know what to do. It really hurts my feelings when he does this to me, and I don't know why he's doing it, but everyone in the family has noticed that I'm the target of this; he rarely bites anyone else (although, when he does, it's usually my mother, who is his second favorite. My brother, who he doesn't see much and generally avoids, is never bitten).
Something has to change. He's attacking me in my bed, even while I sleep. I'm at my wits end here. I really, really, really don't want to have him put down and I don't know that I could handle doing that, but I can't go on like this. I've tried those pheromones to calm him down and they do nothing. He has outlets for scratching and places to climb so he's not lacking in that department. We keep the blinds shut always, so he's not being taunted by any animals outside.
He attacked my (completely unmoving under the covers) arm twice last week, and one of those times he also went for the face I usually sleep with my arm bent so the forearm is below my face if that makes sense). Today he attacked my face - only my face, he wasn't aiming elsewhere. End result was two puncture marks and some bleeding. His attacks on my head/face/upper body seem to be increasing in frequency.
Why is this happening? What can I do? I love him but I'm really starting to resent him for doing this to me. I don't cringe or show fear but when he comes near me I wonder if he's going to attack.
(Let me know if you need further information.)
My cat is going on 10 years old. He's male and has been fixed. We literally got him off the street; he had been separated from his mother and his eyes were crusted shut with dirt. No health problems, according to the vets. He's a tuxedo cat.
In the past year or so, he has gotten very aggressive towards me. I am technically his owner and I think his favorite, but lately I seem to just be his favorite punching bag.
He has very sharp claws. He does NOT react well to attempts to trim them - he can escape even the tightest "burrito", and he wriggles so much that I don't dare try to trim his claws in that state anyway. A vet can manage it, but last time he had to see one, he shat himself out of fear, and he SCREAMS whenever he's inside the carrier. It was so awful I cried after.
So he has very sharp claws, but worse than that, he's a biter. He has the super sharp claws, but he prefers to use his teeth.
He used to bite us all occasionally. If you felt his breath on your arm, it was best to move it, because he'd give you a nip. This was annoying as he was the one going out of his way to stick his face into our arm, back etc. only to bite it, but not unbearable. He never broke the skin.
Lately though, he's decided I am his favorite prey. I know not to act like it - if I see he's stalking my legs I freeze and I make sure to be looking at him so he can't sneak up on me as he would like to. This displeases him. Often, he'll walk up to me and meow angrily at me for it, and then try to attack me anyway. Sometimes he'll insist on me not looking directly at him - he'll do the rubbing against my legs thing but once he gets around to the back of my calf, if I don't turn around quickly enough, he'll bite me - but sometimes he will do it while I am looking at him, too. If I don't notice him stalking me, he'll usually launch himself at my legs from behind and I tend to get scratched but sometimes bitten as well. I've never encouraged him to play with hands or legs/feet. I am the only person in the household he does this to. He draws blood nearly every single time.
I've tried playing with him but no toy holds his interest. He'll bat some things around sometimes, but mostly he actually runs away from his toys. I never poked him in the face with them etc. to cause this. He would play with them when I first got them, but then he'd get bored and never play with them again, at least not more than a couple of seconds (and when he does, he's not too energetic - you don't tire him out doing this). This is true of his wand toys, laser pointer, and the usual balls and things, including fuzzy mice. He likes catnip, but he eats it and it makes him more aggressive.
I can tell that sometimes he's just bored, but I'm tired out trying to find a way to get him to play consistently. He just stops and starts and I swear those attempts at play make him more frustrated and in turn more aggressive. The play aggression is upsetting and I wish he wouldn't do it, but it's not the worst of his behavior.
He just genuinely attacks me. Bear in mind that every time he scratches or bites me, he runs off, which makes me think he's fully aware that this is not a good thing and that doing this isn't going to result in me playing with him or even wanting anything to do with him for a few minutes.
Lately every time I sit on the couch, he "yells" at me and then launches himself at me. I have something like 5 scars just around the wrist area of each arm right now from his recent attacks. When he bites he also drags his teeth, so I end up with bleeding AND bruises.
I thought it might be territorial but he does this whether I sit in "his" favorite spot (where my mom usually sits - he never bothers her over it) or the end of the couch (it's L shaped and there's plenty of room, and he does it even when I set somewhere he never does). Confusingly, he clearly is actually trying to get me to sit down sometimes. He'll purr, and do the slow blink at me and generally indicate that he wants affection. Once he forced his way onto my lap, purring, and then launched his attack. It's not overstimulation - I know his preference is to have his face scratched a little and then for me to act like a human couch and just let him sit/sleep without moving.
He also used to frequently and without warning bite my upper arm and run. The only reason he doesnt do this so much now is because I switched from sitting on (different) couch and using a table to work to sitting at a much smaller desk. He can't sneak up behind me at all. That said, he has actually took a running jump onto the desk, bit me, and ran off before.
This was all really bad, but I knew I couldn't give him up. He's old, he doesn't like strangers, not that I know anybody looking for a pet cat anyway, and the one shelter we have in my area will put down cats that are not adoptable. My options are either to keep him or to put him down, and I wasn't going to do the latter.
But recently he's been attacking my head and face, so you see my problem. I don't want to end up like that poor lady who had her face nearly completely mauled by her dog and needed a transplant. I don't know what to do. It really hurts my feelings when he does this to me, and I don't know why he's doing it, but everyone in the family has noticed that I'm the target of this; he rarely bites anyone else (although, when he does, it's usually my mother, who is his second favorite. My brother, who he doesn't see much and generally avoids, is never bitten).
Something has to change. He's attacking me in my bed, even while I sleep. I'm at my wits end here. I really, really, really don't want to have him put down and I don't know that I could handle doing that, but I can't go on like this. I've tried those pheromones to calm him down and they do nothing. He has outlets for scratching and places to climb so he's not lacking in that department. We keep the blinds shut always, so he's not being taunted by any animals outside.
He attacked my (completely unmoving under the covers) arm twice last week, and one of those times he also went for the face I usually sleep with my arm bent so the forearm is below my face if that makes sense). Today he attacked my face - only my face, he wasn't aiming elsewhere. End result was two puncture marks and some bleeding. His attacks on my head/face/upper body seem to be increasing in frequency.
Why is this happening? What can I do? I love him but I'm really starting to resent him for doing this to me. I don't cringe or show fear but when he comes near me I wonder if he's going to attack.
(Let me know if you need further information.)
No. I don't know, but that's pretty disappointing to hear.
