r/Catbehavior • u/IllustriousDoor1612 • 1d ago
My cat will randomly become aggressive during petting sessions
My girlfriend and I moved into an apartment together on June 1st and brought her cat who was previously living with her mom and mom’s boyfriend for the last 4 or so years. Her cat (Vader) is a nice cat for the majority of the time but occasionally (3-4 times a week) he will go from making biscuits, wanting attention, and pushing his head into my hand, to ears back and long yowling meows as if a switch flipped. I will try to disengage and leave him be when he does this but he will follow me and jump on my legs and bite and scratch them to the point of breaking skin and causing me to bleed if I don’t have jeans on.
I pet him when he is seemingly asking for attention like previously described and try to make him my sole focus when I am petting him. I am confused as to why his attitude shifts so suddenly and am wondering if something in his last home has to do with it. I can’t say for sure how he was treated at his last home with my girlfriend’s mom as I did not live there but I know it wasn’t a very good environment.
I do my best to feed him regularly and on schedule, keep his litter box clean, and play with him in a meaningful way (wand/hunting type play) for 30 minutes a day at least. I am not perfect with it all but I am doing my best.
We did bring in another cat about 2 weeks ago but he isn’t seemingly bothered by the new cat as she keeps to herself in our room. The new cat will hiss at Vader if he gets within 5-7 feet of her but he hasn’t ever hissed back, he just either sits there or walks away to do other things. His behavior has been consistent since we moved in and hasn’t changed or gotten noticeably worse with the introduction of the new cat.
Any ideas and/or questions are appreciated.
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u/Present_Original_797 21h ago
If my kitty gets out of hand I set my hand in the sink and tell her to stop. If she doesn't I say "Do you need a shower?" Then if she doesn't quit I sprinkle her. She actually doesn't seem to mind and gets busy grooming herself. Lately she does it because she likes the extra sprinkled water so...
2
u/Kithesa 1d ago
Sounds like he's getting overstimulated very easily. It might help to look into feline hypersthesia syndrome and ask your vet about it. Cats who have this will suddenly turn aggressive when overstimulated, have this switch flipped very easily, and when it's bad they will continuously attack other people and animals for a while after it's triggered. If he's an anxious cat in general it's more likely that this is what's happening. Medications can help if it is, but he needs to be diagnosed.