I love my cat very much, but he is so aggressive. I have people round and he attacks them. I could understand if you're playing with him. I fell asleep and found him biting my face. He doesn't like being stroked. I've had him since he was a kitten, he is now 2. I wonder if its because he's half bengal? Anyone else had a cat like this?!

Hi Grace

When you say he attacks your visitors, how bad is it? A few years ago one or our neighbours had a cat and he would grab at people's ankles as they walked and nip at you but it wasn't a bad attack, just him trying to play.

Does your cat not like to be stroked at all, or is it just on his terms? Most cats are like that, though some a bit less patient than others!

My cat, Minx, is a ginger and white and quite the most mental cat I've ever had. She doesn't hesitate to give us a slap if we do something she considers out of order, or don't do something she wants us to. A few examples:

She sits by her food cupboard and if I tell her she's had enough she'll bite me.

Tonight when I got home she jumped up on the bed for a fuss and I accidentally caught her nose with my nail, so I got two bites on the arm for that.

She also bites out of affection though, sometimes they're just soft little nips, but the other day she got a bit carried away while she was sitting on my back and bit my shoulder quite hard.

She's really quite bossy, but absolutely hates visitors and hides under the bed or in the garden when they come.

I assume you've had him neutered, tom cats will be more aggressive if they've not been 'done'.

One other thing, does he get to go outside? Sometimes I think aggression can be because they'e bored.

Chi

Like humans, you do get unfriendly cats. I had a cat who was a railway cat and she only liked me. She would attack any one she didn't like and people were wary of visiting.

Grace, don't feel disheartened. Cats are quite independent creatures and have their own personalities just like people. Does he not like being touched at all? Will he let you groom him with a brush, maybe?

I have woken up with scratches before, and occasionally woken up to find my cat clawing my face. That's the only way he knows to get my attention, I'm a very deep sleeper. It isn't a sign of aggression.

My neighbours (who fortunately are cat lovers) said that one of my cats used to bite their ankles when they walked across THEIR patio, which he'd apparently adopted as his territory! We think maybe it was something to do with his teeth causing him pain and making him grumpy, as shortly afterwards he had several teeth out, and he's been a lot better since. Maybe worth looking into.

He never purrs, he attacks people by jumping up at them with his teeth in their arm! I think its because he was taken from his mum too young I've had him since he was 5 weeks old! He does show affection by rubbing his head against me.

I started scruffing my cat when she was agressive. I didn't know her history as she was a stray who chose me, but she was approximately 2 years old. I used to have bites and scratches on my arms. She would sit on my lap for no more than a minute or two. If I stroked her, she bit, if I didn't, she bit. Sometimes she wouldn't let go. I then started grabbing her by the scruff of the neck. As an adult, she is too heavy to lift like a kitten and it hurts, but purely grabbing the scruff helps to kick in the kitten response of going a bit floppy just like when the mother carried them around, and also chastise them. There is a bit about it on the link.
http://cats.about.com/od/behaviortra...ruffingCat.htm
My little Grumps is now way better than she was. If I get scratched, it is usually my fault and I can't remember the last time she bit me for nothing. Her purr motor also started up and running. She managed about 10 seconds before getting exhausted, but now purrs for ages. In the last couple of years I have also been treated to the flop with exposed belly. It took patience, but something I have done seems to have worked. Scruffing might be worth a try next time you find an angry cat's jaws clamped around your arm.

5 weeks is too young for a kitten to be taken from its mother, 7 to 10 weeks is most common, with some breeders even waiting until 12 weeks before letting kittens go.

I doubt the kitten was socialized properly before leaving its mother and it's possibly part of the reason why he's nervous and unsocial now. Like other posters have said, there's quite a bit of info on the internet about cat behaviour and how to socialize nervous cats, there's certainly books by the likes of behavourist Vicky Halls that can offer advice too.

Is he neutered?

My lad is very wary of other people. He will hiss and growl then strike out if anyone goes too near him. He was the same with me but it look a lot of love and patience and we now have a very two- way loving relationship. He obv loves my youngest son too. He sleeps with me, lies on my lap, demands to be carried up and down the stairs, sits on the bath while I am having a bath. I never ever thought for a minute we would have a normal loving relationship but was determined he was here to stay. He used to ask for biscuits but then when I used to go into the cupboard for them he would attack me, scratching and biting me really hard. Looking back he was just a very scared young puss. Keep persevering, the rewards are tremendous. x

I got my little kitten when she was around 4 weeks old, and started off by hand rearing her with milk and a syringe. I thought this would make her used to people but like yours, she's the reverse!
She's getting a little better with me (she used to bite me all the time when she didn't get her own way!) but she doesn't like anyone else, especially my little grandchildren who are regular visitors. They are really kind and gentle with her but she attacks them all the time, pouncing on them, biting and scratching, as if they are prey!
She also was going to be an indoor cat but I've started to let her out a little, hoping it'll calm her down.
It must be something to do with being taken from her mother too soon, so I would appreciate any advice on this thread as well!

I have a theory about this (one of many!). Small animals learn from their parents. Their parents teach them how to survive, what's dangerous and how to avoid it, how to deal with other animals, how to get food (whether hunting or smoozing their owner!), and how to behave towards humans. This behaviour is advantageous both to the individual animal, because it helps it to survive, and to the animal group, because animals that jeopardize the group dynamics by behaving differently are dangerous.

If this teaching doesn't take place, either by the animal mother or by a human surrogate, the animal doesn't become properly socialized. I think that it should be possible for a human owner to do the job (provided the animal is young enough), in terms of "punishing" bad behaviour and rewarding good behaviour, but mother cats do it a lot better!

My kitten is now over a year old, i do reward her good behaviour and tell her off when she is naughty, but what do you suggest when she attacks the children? I normally just have to put her in another room because they are getting scared of her! Any ideas?

I think that's really all you can do. She's probably playing cat-fashion, but obviously she doesn't appreciate that cat-play hurts small humans! The alternative would be to ask your vet for a referral to an animal psychologist, who might be able to help, as you don't want to have to resort to physical punishment. I believe that these guys can work miracles with some difficult animals.

My cat has been like that all her life (she is now 13). She is a little bitch at times. One minute she can be all over people (she likes feet and shoes) and they start to stroke her and if they stroke her somewhere she doesn't like or for too long she growls, hisses and lashes out. We actually warn people about her because appearances can be deceptive. I have numerous scars from where she has scratched me over the years. When we lived at my parents she had a habit of sitting under the side board and when someone walked past she lashed out at their ankles.

She is also blind in one eye so if you go up to her quickly on her blind side she gets very defensive. She has calmed down a lot since we moved out, our house is a peaceful, quiet and calm place, as there is only me and my partner it is never very busy. But she wants attention and affection on her terms and if you over step the mark she lets you know.



My parents have a cat that was hand-reared as he was dumped at the rescue centre, we think he was dumped as he wasn't a perfect showable Maine Coon (he has double claws and extra claws on each of his paws) but he is a lovely gentle giant, like a living teddy bear you can just pick him up and cuddle him and he tolerates everything.

My Maine Coon is like that, he's amazing. I've never had such a good-natured cat. I've never heard him hiss or get mad. Sometimes he's a bit boisterous when playing, which is probably my fault because I do rough play with him, but he'll calm down again very quickly. He just loves everyone.

I wonder where your Maine Coon came from? I got mine from a breeder precisely because he wasn't up to being a show cat, and I had to sign papers to say that I wouldn't show him and that I'd have him neutered. You don't usually get Maine Coons from pet shops, except possibly Harrods! Horrible to throw him out, though, they're such gorgeous cats. I'd love to have another one.

He's brilliant, he sits and licks your toes You can play rough with him (not too rough mind) and he just takes it and comes back for more. He loves being brushed as well, he goes and sits by my Dad at the same time every evening waiting for his nightly brush. He is rather big and is scared of heights. He has a habit of lying asleep flat on his back legs in the air right in the middle of the floor, snoring away and he sits out in the rain. But he does have the most pathetic meow for such a big cat, its sort high pitched squeak. Everyone wants one of him, he is such a clown he sits on the chair and when one of the others walk past he flicks their tail.