I was attacked!!!

[Miss Chicken]

My neighbour's cat came into my yard like it has many times before. I went to pat it, like I have done before but this time it snarled at me and took a swipe at me but missed.

I said to it "If that is the way you feel I will leave you alone" and started to walk away. A few seconds later he lunged at me and dug his claws and his teeth into my bare legs (I was wearing shorts).

That was a couple of days ago. Now he is sitting on the top of his fence and he hisses at me when I go out my back door.

Anyone know a reason why a cat would start behaving like this?

 

[sidious618]

Did you tell your neighbor? You want to make sure the cat doesn't have any infections.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I rarely see my neighbour. I will mention it if I manage to speak to her.

 

[MarianLH]

Anyone know a reason why a cat would start behaving like this?

He's an Azumanga Daioh fan?


Marian

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I rarely see my neighbour. I will mention it if I manage to speak to her.

You might also want to tell her that she's lucky the damn cat's still ALIVE after it dared to take a chunk out of you. If my neighbor's cat attacked me, I'd bash the little fucker's brains out if it came to that.

You have the absolute right not to be attacked. Pets, OTOH, have the right to get the shit kicked out of them if they attack a human. That's just the way it is.

 

[Nick086]

I would sue them for every penny they have! For all you know this cat may have rabies.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Any chance the cat has had kittens recently? Cats become extremely territorial when they have babies around. My mother was similarly attacked by a cat once because of that.

 

[Dream]

You call yourself Miss Chicken. What did you expect?

 

[QCzar]

Any chance the cat has had kittens recently? Cats become extremely territorial when they have babies around. My mother was similarly attacked by a cat once because of that.

Her post implies it was a male:

A few seconds later he lunged at me and dug his claws and his teeth into my bare legs (I was wearing shorts).

That was a couple of days ago. Now he is sitting on the top of his fence and he hisses at me when I go out my back door.

The truth is, Miss Chicken, as with people, without knowing a fair bit more about this cat (age, number of other cats in the neighborhood (esp. important), usual temperament, living arrangement, etc.) we might as well be throwing darts at a dartboard blindfolded. As with a child that acts out, you're only really going to get answers from the parent/owner.

I'll toss in a few just for kicks, though. The possibility of recent trauma comes to mind. Or perhaps a change in social situation or status. Cats, like other sentient animals, can often lash out when under such stresses. More likely with a cat, though, is that he/she views you as a threat to something or some resource.

A few questions:

• What was his behavior like before this?
• Did anything stand out in any of the encounters or sightings you had of him?
• Are there other cats/animals in the household?
• What is the overall cat population in your neighborhood?

 

[Miss Chicken]

The cat was an adult when I moved into this house so I would say it is at very least 3-4 years old.

At first he was wary of me but then he started to allow me to pat him. He seemed to be frightened of my two desexed male cats but now he is aggressive to one of those two cats.

I know he is male because the owner said he was. I do not know if he is desexed or not.

There has been no change in the people in his household though his owner has her house up for sale. Maybe he doesn't like people coming around to view the house? Maybe his owners are packing up?

The cat population has not changed. There are my two male cats and my female cat (she is nearly always inside) and another male cat a few doors down (who I don't think is desexed).

I would sue them for every penny they have! For all you know this cat may have rabies.

There is no rabies in Australia, one of the reasons we have among the strictest quarantine laws in the world.

 

[freak]

Miss Chicken: I am thinking it may be that time of the month for the little puddy tat. And some of the posters are right..this cat could have an illness or rabies so be sure to go to the doc and get vaccinated if you can for that!

I don't personally think it's right to beat a cat simply for scratching you or attacking you. I don't care how aggressive the little fucker is, I'd let the ASPCA handle the situation BEFORE I would even THINK of bashing a kitty's head in! I know the cat was being a little bugger but that doesn't make it right to bash it's head in with a rock. Poor cat might just have kittens running around and is very territorial or she may be in heat. Who knows?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I don't personally think it's right to beat a cat simply for scratching you or attacking you.

I don't mean just for the hell of it. I don't go around beating up animals. I'd prefer not to, if I can avoid it.

But if an animal is attacking, I have the absolute right to defend myself. If it's a question of the cat or me, I vote me!

 

[Miss Chicken]

Miss Chicken: I am thinking it may be that time of the month for the little puddy tat. And some of the posters are right..this cat could have an illness or rabies so be sure to go to the doc and get vaccinated if you can for that!

As I said - rabies does not exist in Australia. We don't even vaccinate our animals against it.

 

[QCzar]

The combination of previous trepidation and aggression and a possible change in social situation may be indicative of an off balance feline. He may very well have suppressed some aggressive or fearful tendencies over time, which may be rising again to the surface because he's unable to deal with sudden changes in his situation. Lots of cats are like that. They get into a routine and don't like when that routine is upset, so they lash out.

Again, just guessing based off the little you've said. Many of the behaviors you've described (wariness, aggressiveness to other cats) are perfectly normal cattitudes, so it might not tell us anything.


As to the rabies thing, I just get a chuckle out of the "you may get rabies" paranoia people have about animal attacks. If the prevalence of rabid animals were anywhere near high enough to justify it, we'd be in a 28 Days Later scenario. You're magnitudes of order more likely to die from an infection from the visit to the hospital to treat the animal bites than catch rabies, even from the usual suspects (usually dogs, almost never cats or rats). Pretty much most of the places people here post from have come close to or completely eliminated common carriers of this disease.

You're about 100,000 times more likely to get struck by lightning just for deigning to type "you might get rabies".

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

Cats are assholes?

 

[RJDiogenes]

Sounds like the Cat may be upset by disruptions caused by packing and moving. Or he may be sick. I'd definitely have those scratches looked at, rabies or no.

 

[cheeseyfatmonkey]

My neighbour's cat came into my yard like it has many times before. I went to pat it, like I have done before but this time it snarled at me and took a swipe at me but missed.

I said to it "If that is the way you feel I will leave you alone" and started to walk away. A few seconds later he lunged at me and dug his claws and his teeth into my bare legs (I was wearing shorts).

That was a couple of days ago. Now he is sitting on the top of his fence and he hisses at me when I go out my back door.

Anyone know a reason why a cat would start behaving like this?

My cat gets a little like this when his urinary bits get blocked. It's fairly common in male cats who eat mainly dried food and causes them quite a lot of pain. It also goes away fairly quickly if you can get liquid down the cat.

Cats are assholes?

This is also a good explanation.

 

[iguana_tonante]

You might also want to tell her that she's lucky the damn cat's still ALIVE after it dared to take a chunk out of you. If my neighbor's cat attacked me, I'd bash the little fucker's brains out if it came to that.

You have the absolute right not to be attacked. Pets, OTOH, have the right to get the shit kicked out of them if they attack a human. That's just the way it is.

I would sue them for every penny they have! For all you know this cat may have rabies.

I think some people are a little over-excitable about this. It's a cat's scratch. It won't kill you.

But if an animal is attacking, I have the absolute right to defend myself. If it's a question of the cat or me, I vote me!

Dude, it's a cat. Not a saber-toothed tiger. It's no danger to your life.

 

[Vendikarr]

Start going into your yard with a tennis racket. If the cat lunges again, serve it over the fence. After a couple of times, the cat will back off.

 

[Q2UnME]

I rarely see my neighbour. I will mention it if I manage to speak to her.

You might also want to tell her that she's lucky the damn cat's still ALIVE after it dared to take a chunk out of you. If my neighbor's cat attacked me, I'd bash the little fucker's brains out if it came to that.

You have the absolute right not to be attacked. Pets, OTOH, have the right to get the shit kicked out of them if they attack a human. That's just the way it is.

I'm with MLB on this one. I also recommend a good pellet gun.

Q2