Aggressive behavior in cats

Living with a cat that loves nothing better than to ambush your legs or attack you when you try to stroke it can be very unpleasant and often extremely painful! Treatment of aggressive behavior can be very successful; however, it does require understanding of why the cat is motivated to show aggression.

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The two main reasons for aggression to develop in cats are because of fear, or because they have learnt an inappropriate way of interacting with their owner. Fear aggression is a defense strategy, which occurs when the cat is feeling threatened. Play behavior can be termed aggressive when it is directed at an inappropriate target, eg human hands and feet.

In order to learn that different situations are normal and safe, cats have to experience them very early in life. Things that are not encountered early on will be more likely to be scary to a cat when it encounters them later in life. Cats that were not well socialized with people as young kittens (between 2 and 8 weeks of age) will be less likely to approach people and may feel threatened by contact with people. Other cats may become fearful due to a bad experience with people later in life. Individual cats can feel threatened by different ‘levels’ of interaction with people, eg one cat might feel threatened by a person approaching, while another enjoys close contact but feels threatened when picked up. If a cat shows aggression and the person moves away or puts them down, then that aggressive behavior has been successful. Consequently, every time a person approaches, and the cat shows aggression, the aggressive behavior becomes increasingly established as a successful response to this ‘threat’. Removing or minimizing threats and teaching alternate strategies are important to help address this behavior. If your cat is asking for distance with aggressive behavior, give your cat distance.

Aggressive behavior is often sudden and unpredictable and can include attacking people by grabbing them with claws and biting them. Sudden movement, such as passing feet, or occasionally high-pitched sounds may trigger this behavior. Generally, this type of behavior in adult cats develops through inappropriate play behavior in kittens. If owners encourage kittens to play with their fingers or feet; the kittens will grow up thinking that this is the normal way to interact with people. This behavior is further reinforced by the reaction of the ‘victim’, such as running around screaming; the movement and noise reinforces both play and predatory behavior in kittens and adult cats. In addition to the excitement of the play, some cats find this behavior a very successful method of getting attention from their owners – it certainly gets a response every time!

Aggression can also arise from frustration or ‘re-directed’ aggression. The latter occurs when a cat becomes aroused by something, eg another cat, but is unable to attack it and takes this aggression out on the closest moving object; commonly the owner. Rarely aggressive behavior is caused by a medical condition (such as seizure activity), and sometimes an underlying medical condition (such as high thyroid hormone levels) makes aggressive behavior more likely. Cats in pain show a defensive response to being touched which may include aggression.

If your cat is aggressive through fear, you must be careful not to appear threatening to the cat when you interact with it or approach it. Minimize or avoid interactions, eg do not approach your cat, that are likely to induce fear aggression. This will prevent further reinforcement of the aggression so that your cat learns that it can relax around people. It is then possible to start a ‘desensitization and counter-conditioning program’ using food rewards. Place some tasty food next to your cat’s hiding place then sit far enough away that your cat will tolerate your presence and venture out to eat the food. Slowly your cat will learn to associate your presence with something good. In very small stages, the food treat can be moved closer to where you are sitting so that your cat is encouraged to approach. Cats that are poorly socialized to people are unlikely to ever become cuddly lap cats, but by following this program the cat will learn to tolerate the presence of humans instead of being fearful and showing aggression if approached.

When addressing play aggression, first consider prevention and management options for play biting and scratching. Providing environmental enrichment and a set routine for playtime and training can funnel this nature desire to appropriate outlets. Provide opportunities to engage with wand-type toys.

Although not recommended with puppies, obtaining two kittens at the same time is advantageous because it provides an interactive playmate. Kittens are more likely to engage in social play biting and scratching with each other rather than directing it towards people.

Reinforce your cat for playing with toys and allowing petting without mouthing or scratching. Food treats should be associated with gentle petting.

To minimize over-stimulation followed by biting and scratching, provide short petting sessions with touch being centered on the head and ears rather than down the back or topline. Most cats do not like being petted on their bellies. Avoid playing with your cat with your hands, feet, or body parts, only play with toys.

A safe bell collar on the cat can help prevent surprise attacks or ambushes.

If preventive measures fail and your cat is play biting or scratching, the recommended course of action involves a combination of ignoring to prevent reinforcing the behavior and redirecting your cat to an alternate behavior.

Ignore or calmly withdraw from the social interaction, if possible. To avoid initiating the reaction further and reinforcing it with a reaction, try to freeze when you see or hear your cat coming for you. This might stop a predatory chase-grab-bite sequence. Sometimes lack of engagement will cause the cat to become uninterested.

When it is not possible to ignore, freeze for a moment, slowly move the hand away or stand still, redirect your cat to perform a known alternate behavior (sit, go to place, retrieve a toy, chase a wand toy), and reinforce that behavior by playing with a toy or giving a small food treat. Teaching your cat to station on a cat tree for a treat is a great skill to teach early on to allow for positive redirection.

Avoid any form of punishment. Punishment does not teach your cat an appropriate way to interact with you and can frighten the cat, damaging the human-animal relationship and leading to more serious fear- or conflict-related aggression toward family members.