Malaise, stress, and personality are some of the reasons why a cat attacks. To avoid aggression, you need to set limits and educate your cat.
In general, cats have a reputation for being quarrelsome and even aggressive. However, under the right conditions, these cats can turn out to be sweet, playful and very loyal pets. For this reason, when a cat attacks it is important to ask oneself what are the factors that stress it and lead it to develop this behavior so that it is possible to correct it.
Reasons why a cat attacks
Generally, a cat, just like most animals, does not show violent behavior if it is not necessary. For this reason, and particularly in this case, when a cat attacks, it does so for certain reasons or situations. In the following lines, we will see some of the most common.
Malaise
One of the main reasons why a cat attacks is because of illness or disease. On numerous occasions, when the animal feels sick, it adopts a defensive attitude to avoid being touched and disturbed. In such cases, of course, it is advisable to take the animal to the vet as soon as possible.
Often a cat attacks because of stress
Several situations can cause stress to a cat:
- among many;
- a move;
- abrupt changes in its daily routine;
- jealousy.
As far as possible, it is recommended to avoid the animal being subjected to these changes and, if they are inevitable, to ensure that it gradually adapts to them.
Personality
Personality is also a determining factor. In this sense, many cats simply don't like physical contact. It usually happens when you adopt adult cats that have had to endure a very hard life on the streets.
Giving your cat a partner can be a measure of how to channel her aggression elsewhere.
In such cases, the most important thing is to respect the limits of the animal. When you feel comfortable and want a caress, you will understand it with different attitudes.
When a cat attacks for fun
It can also happen that during the game the cat hurts without wanting it to its owners or other people. This kind of problem is more common in small cats, which are not yet able to measure their strength well.
The solution is to teach them that a person is not prey, and in particular his hands are not. For this purpose, it is advisable to buy some toys and always respect the personal space of the animal.
Setting limits
When a cat proves to be aggressive, it is essential to determine the cause and, based on this, to take the necessary countermeasures. For example, if your cat behaves inappropriately during the game, it will be necessary to set limits for her: do not allow bites and scratches, especially those directed at the face area.
Educating this animal will not be easy, but with a little patience, it will be possible to succeed. To do so, we can turn to the vet and describe not only the behavior of the cat but also its personality and what we think is making it aggressive.
When a cat attacks frequently, it is important to set limits and educate it.
Other aspects that should be taken into account are the age during which the aggressions began, the situation in which they arise or increase, their intensity, the expression of the cat and the position of the ears at the time of the aggression, the sounds emitted by the cat, etc..
How to help an aggressive cat?
To help your cat overcome these situations, you can make small changes within the house. Of course, in cases where aggression is very intense and does not diminish, the owner must seek help, because the situation could be dangerous for family members.
In the following lines, we will offer you some useful suggestions for dealing with these cases:
When the aggression occurs, react exaggeratedly.
Do not punish your cat. Punishments in general, and particularly corporal punishments, do not have a good effect on cats. On the contrary, they increase their stress and make them even more aggressive.
Avoid aggressive games.
Respect the animal's space at all times.
Learn to read your animal's body language and the sounds it makes, to avoid touching it when it shows that it is not comfortable.
Adopt another cat, preferably of the same age. In this way, hunting games will unite them and the consequences of her instincts will not affect human beings.
When an attack occurs, take the animal to another room and leave it for several minutes.