Sometimes my cat seems perfectly relaxed but then bites or scratches me out of nowhere — and it really hurts! What is that about?
Morrigan Hawke
Taos, New Mexico
Dear Ms. Hawke,
Your cat is not lashing out at you out of nowhere. Cats often use their teeth or claws on people when they are in pain or when they are feeling afraid. If she has arthritis pain, for example, and you stroke or touch a part of her body that’s causing her discomfort, she’s going to tell you in her own cat-like way: Hands off! In fact, if she lashes out predictably every time you go to lightly touch a certain spot on her body, you might want to take her to the veterinarian to check for a medical problem.
As far as fear, a lot of people think feeling afraid translates to the cat running under the bed. But fear can also result in aggression as a way for a cat to protect herself. It can be her way of saying that she’s feeling scared and to keep away from her. Sometimes the fear is not about being touched but about an unpredictable influence, like a loud, startling noise outside the window right as you go to pet her. You just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It’s not always easy to tell when your cat is about to lose it, but if you see her ears pinned, a hard stare, or freezing in place, keep your distance. It means your cat is not feeling calm, and you are not going to be able to soothe her with a gentle touch.
A final note: Some cats are not in pain or afraid but simply don’t like being touched on certain parts of the body; like us, they have their preferences. Avoid those particularly sensitive areas. You’re not going to get her “used” to being stroked in those spots.
My cat attacks out of no where she was sleeping this time and I was on the floor watching TV. There was no loud noises or anything like that. She just woke up and literally turned into a whole Nother cat that seemed like was possessed. She does this all the time and will attack me like full on attack like she’s gonna kill me run up my body scratch me and freak out. She cut one of my veins in my arm this time and it really scared me. She’s never been abused since I’ve had her and I’ve had her since she was very, very young. She’s actually my favorite cat and it sucks because I am literally petrified of her at times like this comes out of nowhere and I don’t know what to do and then all of a sudden actually it’ll take hours though, but then she’ll calm down after a very very long period of time to almost a day. If not days later sometimes a day and a half later actually I have to lock in my kids room or put her in cat carrier if I can that’s how bad she gets any help I need answers.