Newly adopted cat (11 years old) lashes out out of nowhere.

[LittleMsDraakje]

This is a long story but I'd like to give as much info as possible so hopefully someone will have an idea on what to do.

So my dad and stepmom adopted a cat from the animal shelter almost two weeks ago. The shelter told us that he did have a bit of a manual as he has been in families previously where he would lash out if he got too much attention or was pet the wrong way. Us, having experience with cats, thought this would be fine.

The first week we didn't notice much of the lashing out, he adored attention and would even playfully paw the backs of our legs if we walked away from him when he wanted attention. He did eat the plants and of course didn't like it very much if we tried to keep him away from the plants. If we gently pushed him away one time too many, he'd lash out with a swipe or a bite. Nothing that surprised us really.

However. My dad and stepmom left for a holiday last monday, 5 days ago, so I'm taking care of the cat on my own. He likes to sit on the table and, as he doesn't even try to get near our food, we are okay with it. On tuesday morning I was having breakfast at the table when he slowly kept getting closer to my food. I gently pushed him away because he shouldn't get near my food; obviously he didn't like that the 3rd time so he lashed out. I told him a stern no and walked away with my food. The table then became his territory as when I tried to clean it up, he didn't want me to get near the table. When I walked past the table, he tried to swipe at me. Later that day, I don't have any food and am just standing near the table with my phone, singing to a tune. He gets on the table and gets closer to me. He stands on the back of the chair with his front paws, making me think that he is trying to get close to me for attention. I put my hand foreward to see if he wants attention and I get another claw coming right at me. Again he does not let me get near the table and walking past it means he follows me from the table and swipes if I get close.

Next scenario is away from this table so I know his behavior doesn't have to do with the table. I'm in my room and he's meowing for attention. I turn around on my chair and let my hand down. He rubs his head against my hand and I pet his head. He bites my hand, but softly so I know it's the okay kind, and continues rubbing his head against my hand. Next thing I know he bites softly again but this time a claw follows right after. I pull my hand back and give him a stern no and then turn back around to ignore him. He, however, keeps meowing and asking for more attention.

Lastly, he will also swipe at me sometimes when I walk beside him at about the same eye-level. For example if he's on top of the stairs and I'm walking down them. At a certain point my lower arm is at the level of his paws and he will swipe.

Now I am getting to the point where I am a little scared to walk past him or give him attention. When he meows so cutely I want to give him attention because I can hear in the meow that he's missing it, but I just feel like I'll get another scratch on my arm. To my knowledge I am not giving him a reason to lash out; it's not like he wants me to stop petting him and that that's why he's lashing out because he asks for attention again immediately after. I have put up Feliway to see if that helps but so far no results. If anyone has any clue why our cat is lashing out, all help would be amazing.

 

[jefferd18]

It seems to me that you are giving him quite a bit of attention and that in turn is rewarding him for bad behavior. Simply walk away and ignore him until he calms down.
Somewhere down the line he got into his head that lashing out will get him what he wants. Don't give it to him.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Are you taking care of the cat in your parent's home or did you move him to your home? If the latter, he has had another upheaval and it would seem he doesn't do well with changes, of any kind. Anyway, he is still new to you and I am guessing you really don't know much about his background, so based on his behavior it wouldn't surprise me that he has been somewhat abused, or at least mistreated, at some point, or he has gone through so many changes in his life that is he untrusting and unsure.

Tbh, with only having been in the home for two weeks, he really should have been given a safe room to adapt to first before being allowed to roam the rest of the house. It adds security while he is trying to grasp that he has yet another new home. That room would have been his safe zone to hide out in when he is feeling insecure or (in his own perception) threatened. If you did this, two weeks just may not have been enough for him.

He is also 11 years old and will take a long time to adapt to his new home, even more so if things haven't been so pleasant for him in the past. If the shelter cannot provide records/data to show he has been through a thorough senior exam (including full scale blood work and a urinalysis), I would seriously consider this as a necessary step. Also, given his age a couple of x-rays may be in order to determine if he is experiencing any discomfort or pain from arthritis.

In the meantime, when he comes to you for pettings, see if you sit on the floor and try laying your arm/hand on the ground so that he can't interpret it as an aggressive move on your part. If he does swipe anyway, then do as suggested above by jefferd18 - as in walk away.

I am not saying he was abused, but maybe there are some tips in this TCS article that you could try anyway. I have also included another one about why cats attack, but given your background you probably already know most of what is in it!
How To Help An Abused Cat Recover – TheCatSite Articles
Why Do Cats Attack? – TheCatSite Articles

 

[LittleMsDraakje]

I still live at my dad's place so I'm taking care of him there. I also suggested to first let him have his own safe room, but my dad and stepmom decided against it, they didn't think it was necessary.

I also think that there might have been some form of abuse; possibly just kids not knowing how to deal with cats and petting/grabbing places that cats don't like. Other than that, I don't have too much info.

My stepmom is contacting the shelter to ask for any advice and/or information on his background, so hopefully that will give some insight in what's going on.

I am very happy with both your and jefferd18 's tips and I'll definitely take those into account. So thanks already!

 

[kakers]

My heart really goes out to this new kitty. There's a couple things I can think of that are going on. First of all, I agree with the other posters that he's still adjusting to the new environment. Then his people who he has been bonding with for over a week up and leave. That can be very jarring for a cat and may be why you're noticing him lashing out more with them gone. And yes absolutely a vet visit for a thorough exam to make sure he's healthy and not in any pain anywhere. And I have also been around cats who approach for pets but are very particular about how, they may approach head on but aren't actually comfortable with a hand coming straight at them or there are particular ways or places they like being touched and we're coming for the wrong spot.

But also, you mention a lot of petting but that may not be what he is asking for at all. Especially when you mention he gently bites and eventually swipes, it sounds to me like he may be wanting to play. We have a new cat ourselves and he can get into moods where he wraps our arms or jumps and bites our legs, and what I have learned is that can be his way of asking to play. Even though yours is 11 and a bit older, he may still just be higher energy and need more interactive play. What we do when our cat goes for us most of the time is we redirect him to an appropriate toy. It's made a big difference but I still have him lash out at me sometimes when he's overstimulated or when he can tell I'm about to leave the room without playing with him. We've only had him 6 weeks though, so we're still working on things too. So get out a few different toys, and see what he likes the best and see if that helps!

With the food, see if you can try having something else to redirect him to. Redirecting to a toy may not work if he wants food, but pulling out a couple treats and placing them away from your food or feeding him right before you eat may be enough so he isn't just getting a "no."

 

[Kflowers]

When you take him in for the vet exam demand a full body x-ray so you will know if he has arthritis any where. The vet may say it's not needed, but it may well be and could be the difference between him being in pain and lashing out or not. There are nice inexpensive joint compounds to help on the market be sure they are for cats, the stuff for dogs can sometimes kill a cat.

I insisted on the full body x-ray for our bite happy agressive cat when she wasn't quite one year old. Yep, arthitist on her spine. the aggression stopped when she got the pain medicine.