I've had my cat for 4 years and she has been of the sweetest cats ever. She loves kisses and getting hugged when she's on my lap. She's never been violent towards me or another person/cat. Yesterday she sat on my lap like she usually does when I sit in the dining room doing my homework and when I patted her like I usually do, she viciously attacked my hand biting and scratching not letting go. I have two big gushes and it hurts to use my hand. I am heartbroken and feel betrayed at her attack. I cannot trust her anymore unfortunately, but I can't imagine leaving her with someone else that isn't me because I know that no one will care for her just like I do. What should I do? I want to take her to the vet but it'll cost a lot for just a visit I think. What should I do about her behavior other than taking her to the vet?
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My sweet cat attacked me!
- Thread starter Rosaa87
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I'm sorry she went after your hand! I have a very sweet kitty who does this sometimes and there's always a moment of betrayal like "I love you and feed you, why do you bite me?"
But unless there is something wrong with her medically, cats don't attack unprovoked like that. There is almost always a reason, and they almost always warn you first, but it's not always easy to see.
The first reason is that you're doing something she doesn't like and she doesn't know how else to tell you. My cat that "randomly" bites like that is for this reason - she doesn't like being touched on her stomach or legs, she doesn't like being touched anywhere too long, and sometimes she's just had enough of being petted even in places she does like. If I don't pay attention to her signals (tail twitching, looking irritated, fake-nipping my hand, turning her head towards my hand, stiffening up) she will bite me. I have learned to just pay attention her body language when I pet her, and it doesn't happen anymore. When it does, it's my own fault for not listening to her. Consider whether she likes being kissed and hugged - some people think that their cats enjoy it, when really, the cat is just too small and placid to do anything about it other than sit there and take it. Maybe a take step back on the kinds of affection you offer her and let her initiate what kind of affection she wants - like if she puts her face on yours or tilts her head towards you, give her a kiss, but don't come at her face with yours without her invitation. Offer your hand to her for pets, and let her decide where on her body she wants to be petted. If you want to hug her, do it gently and lightly so she knows she has the option to back away.
The second possible reason is play aggression. Certain touches or hand movements can make them think "play time!" and they'll go after your hand. For some cats, that's not painful and they just gently paw at your fingers with claws sheathed. For other cats, they go in full hunt mode and will latch on, bite, and kick. If she was holding onto your hand with her front paws and kicking at it, I would guess it's play aggression. To address this, never use your hands as a toy, play with her more so she can get out her play energy on toys, and watch her when you pet her to learn what triggers her hunting behaviour.
The other reason could be that something scared her, like a noise or a trick of the light or just the way your hand moved, and out of fear she attacked the closest thing nearby, which was your hand. If this were the case, you might have observed a flurry of claws and teeth, followed by her running away. In this case, all you can do is try to identify what spooked her and try to avoid it, and keep an eye on her otherwise. It was likely a one-off, but if you find the behaviour continues and she's always scared, a vet may be able to help with a course of medications to help her calm. You can also try methods that make her feel comfortable in your home (google "catifying your home" for ideas.)
Another possibility if that she's in pain somewhere, and when you touched it, she attacked. It might be worth tempting the jaws of fate and pet her all over, seeing if there's any spot you touch that makes her react. In which case, I'd definitely see a vet to address what the pain is caused by.
But, overall, don't stop trusting her. It's very, very rare that cats just turn nasty and aggressive like that out of the blue. Most likely, she was trying to communicate something to you, and you didn't understand her quickly enough. She has no other way to tell you things, so your task now is to figure out what she's trying to say, and address it. And if you can't find any rhyme or reason to it and the aggression persists, then yes, see a vet in case it's something that needs medical attention.
But unless there is something wrong with her medically, cats don't attack unprovoked like that. There is almost always a reason, and they almost always warn you first, but it's not always easy to see.
The first reason is that you're doing something she doesn't like and she doesn't know how else to tell you. My cat that "randomly" bites like that is for this reason - she doesn't like being touched on her stomach or legs, she doesn't like being touched anywhere too long, and sometimes she's just had enough of being petted even in places she does like. If I don't pay attention to her signals (tail twitching, looking irritated, fake-nipping my hand, turning her head towards my hand, stiffening up) she will bite me. I have learned to just pay attention her body language when I pet her, and it doesn't happen anymore. When it does, it's my own fault for not listening to her. Consider whether she likes being kissed and hugged - some people think that their cats enjoy it, when really, the cat is just too small and placid to do anything about it other than sit there and take it. Maybe a take step back on the kinds of affection you offer her and let her initiate what kind of affection she wants - like if she puts her face on yours or tilts her head towards you, give her a kiss, but don't come at her face with yours without her invitation. Offer your hand to her for pets, and let her decide where on her body she wants to be petted. If you want to hug her, do it gently and lightly so she knows she has the option to back away.
The second possible reason is play aggression. Certain touches or hand movements can make them think "play time!" and they'll go after your hand. For some cats, that's not painful and they just gently paw at your fingers with claws sheathed. For other cats, they go in full hunt mode and will latch on, bite, and kick. If she was holding onto your hand with her front paws and kicking at it, I would guess it's play aggression. To address this, never use your hands as a toy, play with her more so she can get out her play energy on toys, and watch her when you pet her to learn what triggers her hunting behaviour.
The other reason could be that something scared her, like a noise or a trick of the light or just the way your hand moved, and out of fear she attacked the closest thing nearby, which was your hand. If this were the case, you might have observed a flurry of claws and teeth, followed by her running away. In this case, all you can do is try to identify what spooked her and try to avoid it, and keep an eye on her otherwise. It was likely a one-off, but if you find the behaviour continues and she's always scared, a vet may be able to help with a course of medications to help her calm. You can also try methods that make her feel comfortable in your home (google "catifying your home" for ideas.)
Another possibility if that she's in pain somewhere, and when you touched it, she attacked. It might be worth tempting the jaws of fate and pet her all over, seeing if there's any spot you touch that makes her react. In which case, I'd definitely see a vet to address what the pain is caused by.
But, overall, don't stop trusting her. It's very, very rare that cats just turn nasty and aggressive like that out of the blue. Most likely, she was trying to communicate something to you, and you didn't understand her quickly enough. She has no other way to tell you things, so your task now is to figure out what she's trying to say, and address it. And if you can't find any rhyme or reason to it and the aggression persists, then yes, see a vet in case it's something that needs medical attention.
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I also wanted to add, check out Jackson Galaxy's YouTube channel. He does a lot of videos on cat "aggression" and describes what to look for to identify why, and then how you can address the root cause.
Great and thoughtful reply! I agree with all of it and the important quoted part above.
Part of the cat's makeup being highly intelligent and still retaining many instinctive /wild characteristics includes their finicky side and unpredictability. It's what makes them what they are in essence. And as with all Earth mammals, marsupials and even reptiles, capable of giving and receiving a lot of love.
That would have been a huge shock for you after those years. As I mentioned in the reply above, part of a cat being what it is, is unpredictability and instinctive behaviour. My cat of four and a half years (he's 8+) acted strangely last night (which is why I joined this forum). All I can offer is to talk to her more and accept, forgive and consciously send her love. Don't forget, unlike humans, animals live in the Moment. They don't dwell in the past like us and don't think about the future. What she did to your hand is now long forgotten. But you still have to be careful and aware of doing the same movements that triggered it. So try not to change your behaviour towards her, although of course it will be difficult at first especially kissing and hugging knowing what she did to your hand.
As Zoes said, it was probably most likely something unusual or a combination of things that triggered the instinctive reaction / attack on your hand.
Talk to her more, make sure she is listening, send her love and understanding. She forgot about it after just 15 minutes I'd
say. As for your question, "What should I do about her behaviour?" I'd recommend doing nothing for her ... but maybe modify your own behaviour -- just be aware now that she has that unpredictability and can revert to instinctual reactions. Try wearing a thin leather glove or gardening glove a few times and patting her normally and wearing safety goggles when kissing and hugging. So you can get your confidence back quickly and not worry about bad injuries. She won't worry about those things after a little while.
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I watched a video just last night called "8 Types of Cat Aggression Explained! by Jackson Galaxy. Very helpful, I'd recommend checking that particular video out, he really goes into detail and gives good examples to really understand.
Don't start thinking that your cat "hates" you because of one bad incident.
She's an animal. No matter what human qualities we imagine our pets to have, they are still animals and we have to remember that they THINK like animals, not humans.
Animals don't have hands. Instead they use their mouths in place of hands. What you might think of as "biting" could be just the human equivalent of giving somebody a slap on the back of the hand. Their paws are armed with sharp needles. They need their claws to hunt and interact with the world because they don't have opposable thumbs like humans do. So, yes, when cats use their paws they often scratch the $#!T out of us humans with our thin skin.
Animals can't talk. Instead they growl, meow, bark, whine or caterwaul. If they could talk, they might say, "Hey! Buzz off!" or "Feed me, I'm hungry!" They might use the position of their ears, their tails, their body posture or a look in the eyes as signals instead of vocalizing.
When an animal lashes out the way your cat did, they don't do it with the same sense of emotion that humans have. They just react to situations and there is often little emotion behind those reactions. We don't know what our animals think and we probably never will. Scientists aren't even sure whether our pets actually have emotions at all. They probably do but, chances are, we'll never know for sure.
We love our cat, Casper. We like to think that he loves us, too. I'm pretty sure that he does in his own, special "cat way" but, to be truthful, I can't be sure that he loves us in the same way that I think he does. It's impossible for me to know the truth. Instead, I just imagine what Casper thinks of us. I anthropomorphize him. I pretend that he has human-like feelings and I take it on faith that he does.
Yes, when a cat lashes out at a human like the way your cat did to you, it's not very nice. I hope your wounds heal soon and I hope you feel better but remember that one bad incident doesn't mean that she hates you.
Maybe she wasn't feeling well. Maybe she had a sour stomach from eating something she shouldn't have. Maybe she was just tired. Maybe she was just in a bad mood. Does your cat think that you hate her when YOU are having a bad day? Certainly not! How do you react to other people when they are having a bad day? Do you think, "Aw, they are having a bad day," and just leave them alone until they cool down?
That's probably a better way to think about what happened between you and your cat. She was just having a bad day.
One bad day doesn't mean that she hates you. One bad day shouldn't upset the good relationship that you have with your cat.
If this kind of behavior continues and you can't figure out why, yes, that's a problem.
If you think she does this because she's sick, it's advisable to call a vet.
If she just lashes out at you once, just remember what I said, above... She's just having a bad day. Leave her alone for a while and let her cool down.
She's an animal. No matter what human qualities we imagine our pets to have, they are still animals and we have to remember that they THINK like animals, not humans.
Animals don't have hands. Instead they use their mouths in place of hands. What you might think of as "biting" could be just the human equivalent of giving somebody a slap on the back of the hand. Their paws are armed with sharp needles. They need their claws to hunt and interact with the world because they don't have opposable thumbs like humans do. So, yes, when cats use their paws they often scratch the $#!T out of us humans with our thin skin.
Animals can't talk. Instead they growl, meow, bark, whine or caterwaul. If they could talk, they might say, "Hey! Buzz off!" or "Feed me, I'm hungry!" They might use the position of their ears, their tails, their body posture or a look in the eyes as signals instead of vocalizing.
When an animal lashes out the way your cat did, they don't do it with the same sense of emotion that humans have. They just react to situations and there is often little emotion behind those reactions. We don't know what our animals think and we probably never will. Scientists aren't even sure whether our pets actually have emotions at all. They probably do but, chances are, we'll never know for sure.
We love our cat, Casper. We like to think that he loves us, too. I'm pretty sure that he does in his own, special "cat way" but, to be truthful, I can't be sure that he loves us in the same way that I think he does. It's impossible for me to know the truth. Instead, I just imagine what Casper thinks of us. I anthropomorphize him. I pretend that he has human-like feelings and I take it on faith that he does.
Yes, when a cat lashes out at a human like the way your cat did to you, it's not very nice. I hope your wounds heal soon and I hope you feel better but remember that one bad incident doesn't mean that she hates you.
Maybe she wasn't feeling well. Maybe she had a sour stomach from eating something she shouldn't have. Maybe she was just tired. Maybe she was just in a bad mood. Does your cat think that you hate her when YOU are having a bad day? Certainly not! How do you react to other people when they are having a bad day? Do you think, "Aw, they are having a bad day," and just leave them alone until they cool down?
That's probably a better way to think about what happened between you and your cat. She was just having a bad day.
One bad day doesn't mean that she hates you. One bad day shouldn't upset the good relationship that you have with your cat.
If this kind of behavior continues and you can't figure out why, yes, that's a problem.
If you think she does this because she's sick, it's advisable to call a vet.
If she just lashes out at you once, just remember what I said, above... She's just having a bad day. Leave her alone for a while and let her cool down.
