Aggressive behaviour - what is going on here?

[InterstellarOverdrive]

Recently our cat has started becoming more aggressive and I'm not sure what her problem is. She was intolerant of my 4 year old when we first got her because she didn't really understand what not to do with a cat (she has learned now!) but she was always pretty happy with me. Now she is becoming more intolerant towards me, particularly if I need to pick her up to take her to a different room. Sometimes she is fine with me doing this but most times she will scratch and bite. Lately it seems like the only time she is actually nice is when she wants food. She tends not to really want a fuss much at all at the moment. We've had her about 6 months now and it's got to the point where my children don't bother with her much because they're worried she'll scratch. They will play with her with wand toys etc but if they ever try and stroke her for more than a few seconds I'm always saying "oh, Lola doesn't seem to be in the mood, probably best to leave her" because she just seems pissed off all the time.
She's been to the vet recently and everything seems fine. She's only 4 and though she hasn't bit me hard she has nipped me several times and has scratched me and my youngest quite a lot. She gave me a really deep scratch the other day that bled for ages. Thankfully it's healing well.
I'm not sure if she is missing having a companion or something (as her previous owner had a dog as well) or if she's just being a "naughty tortie" as the aggression seems to happen particularly when she either doesn't want stroking or doesn't want to be moved from her current position. Or I'm wondering if she just doesn't like our house/children/me for some reason. She will occasionally come and sit on me for warmth but will scratch if I even stroke her in a way that she suddenly decides she doesn't like. She's a bit Jekyll and Hyde! I'm getting worried about having an unpredictable cat around my girls but really don't want to rehome either. We took her in because her previous owner moved to a busy roadand we have the outdoor space that she needs. She also will not go out if it's raining and it's been raining a lot recently so maybe she's fed up? I really don't know. Any ideas?

Cats are strange creatures and can be very territorial too. Perhaps she sees you moving her as you trying to take ‘her’ territory and that’s why she reacts the way she does. I would have suggested it might be she is tender inside when picked up but you’ve had her checked by a vet and no issues there which is good so I can only think it’s a territory issue. Might be worth trying feli-way to see if that calms her behaviour?

Some cats just aren’t very people orientated. I had a tortie who adored being around people but also a ginger male who preferred his own company and tolerated human contact on his terms. Have the previous owners advised if she has always been like this or a new trait?

I do understand you being worried about unpredictability. I once got scratched badly by a cat who came in my cat flap and when I picked him up to get him out he went mental and I still have scars now to prove it. Maybe try the behaviour route first with feli-way or similar and then reassess?

Good luck!

The other morning I was sitting in bed reading and Haribo sat on me to go to sleep. After a while I decided I'd better get up and gently moved him off me. As I was leaving the bedroom, bare legged, he put his teeth on my calf in a "how dare you". When he was younger and was displeased with being turfed out of the bathroom for example he would go all psycho cat and really hurt me with biting my legs. He's a normally sweet, chilled out gentle cat.

You need to stop picking her up to move her and only stroke her when she comes to you and gives the right body language.

As she loves food, use treats to move her and hand feed treats.

Thank you for the advice. I'll invest in some Dreamies and maybe feliway too. Does feliway actually work? I've always be bt skeptical...

Honestly, she sounds totally normal to me.

The reason she scratches and bites is because you're making her uncomfortable by moving her. She can't speak out and say "stop" so she uses her claws and teeth to get her point across. Is there a particular reason you need to pick her up and move her all the time, especially if she's sleeping or settled?

Not all cats like being stroked and fussed - I have three and only one of them is a "cuddly cat". The youngest likes being close to us (curled up next to me, for example) but isn't a fan of being picked up or sitting on us for long. The oldest will only accept me picking him up - he likes a head scratch and a fuss too but only for about 30 seconds before he makes it clear (via body language) that he wants to be left alone. Weirdly enough, he's really tolerant of my 10yo niece fussing all over him though

I don't think her behaviour is anything to worry about, but I do think you maybe need to adjust your expectations slightly and think about how your actions are making her feel.

Are you full body petting her (stroking from head to bum) as most cats (bar one of my naked weirdos) don't like that. You need to read her body language language.

As far as the other thing goes my boy has scratched a couple of times if disturbed from something he wants to do although most of the time I just get a whiney yowl 😂.

I pick her up to move her because she is stubborn and will only move willingly if there's food on offer but I have found other ways such as lifting the quilt/blanket up until she gets the message.

I think she is probably fairly normal, she's just the most reactive cat I've ever had. Most of our previous cats have been reasonably chilled out. Even the ones we've fostered have been less stubborn than she once they settled 😂 Maybe we've just been lucky!

I pick her up to move her because she is stubborn and will only move willingly if there's food on offer but I have found other ways such as lifting the quilt/blanket up until she gets the message.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, why do you need to move her at all? But the blanket moving technique is definitely a much better option than lifting her, that's for sure :)

Ah it's only if she goes on my eldest daughters bed as she has a mild allergy. We try and keep their door shut but inevitably someone always leaves it open and it's obviously her favourite spot because she isn't supposed to sit there 😂 also I move her downstairs at night because there is no way I'm letting her wake me up at 4am for food every morning so she sleeps in the lounge 😄