Aggressive cat

Dr. Marie replied:

Wow...that sounds like a scary situation!

It is not common for a cat to suddenly attack repeatedly like this. At first when I read your question I thought that perhaps this was a little play aggression. Sometimes if we are playing or petting with a cat they will get overstimulated and then bite. But, the fact that he came back at you again afterwards is not normal.

It is possible that he has some pain somewhere. If this continues then I would have the vet examine him to determine if there is a pain issue. But, cats with pain usually tend to be withdrawn and avoid people.

One possibility for an animal that suddenly turn aggressive is rabies. In my area rabies is very uncommon. I think the chances of this being rabies are extremely small, but it is worth mentioning. Animals with rabies will get progressively more and more aggressive very quickly. They will often have neurological symptoms as well such as wobbliness and seizures. Animals with rabies get sick very quickly and will die within 10 days of being infected. They would get rabies from a bite from a wild animal. Again, I don't want to frighten you because this is extremely unlikely but if Charlie is getting much worse with his aggression over the next couple of days or if you are seeing neurological signs then he needs to see a vet right away and you need to see a doctor right away. But again...this is probably not what is going on.

Is Charlie neutered? If not, then he needs to be. This is the number one cause for aggression issues in animals.

If this continues, then your vet can talk to you about putting him on some behavior modification medication which may help.

Another thing that can help is to purchase some feliway which you can read about in this article here: Feliway for cats.

If any of your wounds are looking infected or swollen then don't wait too long to see the doctor. Cat scratches and bites can become very serious infections and sometimes need to be treated with strong antibiotics.

I really hope things are better soon!

Dr. Marie


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