Need help with a sudden fearful and defensive aggressive cat

alenofe

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I adopted this cat about 4 months ago. We've been extra loving with him since he got here, he was perfectly fine until a day when he found a gorilla plush that we had in a closet. He got really scared and started growling and hissing. We took it away and hid it from him hoping he calm down, but now he started showing sudden aggression at us. We've tried to give him space and just let him be and sometimes he comes to us and shows signs of affection but other times he gets scared when we approach and he growls and hisses at us and follow us around in a tense way. We don't know what is triggering this because one minute he is comfortably lying on the bed beside us but next thing you know he shows this aggression. This is the first cat we've had and we need advice on how to proceed and react properly so he returns to be the lovable cat he was and feel comfortable in the house again.

Any advice you could recommend would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. How long ago did this incident happen? How about his age? A lot depends on the answers to these questions.

But, in general, just let him approach you, and if you want to spend time with him, get down on his level before you try to approach him.
There are also noises that might trigger him, another cat that he might sense/see outside, etc. You kind of have to pay close attention to what is going on around him when he goes from affectionate to aggressive, so you can learn what might be setting him off.

Tell us more, and maybe that will help some of us have some ideas for you! You are always welcome to share pics - and, his name of course!! And... First-time Cat Owner’s Guide – TheCatSite Articles
 
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alenofe

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Hi. How long ago did this incident happen? How about his age? A lot depends on the answers to these questions.

But, in general, just let him approach you, and if you want to spend time with him, get down on his level before you try to approach him.
There are also noises that might trigger him, another cat that he might sense/see outside, etc. You kind of have to pay close attention to what is going on around him when he goes from affectionate to aggressive, so you can learn what might be setting him off.

Tell us more, and maybe that will help some of us have some ideas for you! You are always welcome to share pics - and, his name of course!! And... First-time Cat Owner’s Guide – TheCatSite Articles
This happened yesterday, and its been affectionate to aggressive on and off. I know this takes patience and has just been a day but I've been confused with these sudden changes of behavior since he sleeps with us and perfectly fine, we love him but we are scared that he might get scared at night with something and redirect his aggression to us and perhaps this could lead to him attacking us.
He is a male cat, 2 and a half years old and he's been with us about 4 to 5 months ago. We don't know anything of something that might've happened or how he was treated before we got him. The previous owner also had him declawed and as far as I know he was with a good family before. He has never been outside and he is completely and indoor cat.
A day before the incident there were some cats fighting outside our house and he might've heard them, maybe this is something that scared him also? We own a dog and they saw each other once but he never got aggressive like this. (they are on completely different floors of the house and don't interact though)
We've patiently waited for him to approach us and he does, but very anxious and fearful.

His name is Valentino and he is a Persian cat :)

Thank you so much for your reply!
 

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FeebysOwner

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If it has only been one incident and just happened a day ago, I would wait to see if more incidents follow before being concerned that it will become a pattern. It is possible that the cats fighting outside set him on edge and the plush toy put him 'over the edge'.

You could try something like Feliway diffusers to see if that would calm him any, but it doesn't always work on all cats. There is also cat calming music that many cats find relaxing (I've never tried it).

Hopefully, by now, you are already starting to see him being less anxious and fearful. Valentino is a cutie!!
 

es1234567

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Hi

My cat has a similar reaction to things that scare him. With the exception that he usually goes for our other cat. He is about a year and a half and otherwise very sweet, extremely affectionate, and loves to be the center of attention. The phenomenon your cat is most likely experiencing is redirected/misdirected aggression. Your cat is scared and is maybe becoming aggressive towards you guys in confusion. Usually my cat will calm down after being left alone for 1-3 days, although I will say with every incident it does seem to get worse, especially depending on the trigger. Recently my cat saw a fox come very close to our window and he began to scream, howl, and hiss at everyone and our other cat. Once he calmed down the next day, he was asleep on my lap snuggling, when he woke up he hissed at me and attacked me. He did the same thing to me again a couple days later, after someone else stepped on his tail hours before. We've tried him on medication (prozac) with no effect.
I'm sorry I don't have a solution for you, but I hope this helps in some way.
 
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