My cat bit my mum, no clue what to do

[Biteycat]

My cat is about 6 years old, he lives with my mum (large grounds) and has always been a bit grumpy but he's, unfortunately, crossed a line now.

I think in general he likes to be left alone, however, he has a habit of seeking out cuddles/strokes and then will almost immediately attack you as soon as you touch him. He'll come to sit on your lap and (sometimes) if you move your hand (to pick up the remote/scratch your nose etc) he'll attack. He definitely loves tolerates my husband and me the most as he's always been ours, and in general is ok with us but still does the above on occasion.

Anyway, the other night he was sitting on my mum's lap, begging for strokes, she went to tickle his head and he properly bit her. She didn't think much of it but woke in the night in a lot of pain and in the morning needed to go to the hospital. Her hand is really swollen, she can't use it.

I'm really pissed off and have no clue what to do. What if he's like this around kids when we eventually have them? Is there anything at all I can do?

@AllThingsServeTheBeam I wasn't laughing at the cat I was amused by the reaction relating having kids as relevant to disliking cats.
As I said yes, a biting cat would not be in my space for long (not that I would invite one to be in the first place, they aren't great pets imo).
So yes, each to their own

No. You're backtracking. There is disliking cats and then there is wanting them killed for being a cat. Difference right there.

So again. Not each to their own at all. Because no one would allow it.

No they wouldn't. People are disturbing. This poster especially as they own poor cats

🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️good lord

i think your being a bit dramatic on this one. Cats do things like this without warning. If you know he doesn’t like fuss, just leave him be or be prepared for the odd scratch and bite every now and then.

Cats are sometimes like that - they want to be stroked, but then after a while, they become hyper-sensitive and don't like it. That's what's happened. You mum will need antibiotics, for Cat Scratch Fever, and possibly a Tetanus injection (if the skin was broken)

Good lord indeed.

This.

It's an animal and will always be unpredictable

@justgettingthroughtheday in 18 years on my current ward. I have only known 1 child admitted with a cat bite. I've lost count of how many dog bites and at least 3 of them were life threatening. And needing PICU, leaving the child with life changing injuries.

Dont worry about justgettingthroughtheday's strange comments, shes on other threads thinking dogs should not be pts after killing people.

Nothing to do with cats or this thread just her own personal delusions that dogs are saints. 🙄

My old (sadly missed) cat was a semi feral rescue. She was very feisty.
She attacked my mum several times!! And me of course. And the vet... and my neighbours cats.., etc
I would never leave her alone with kids but to be fair I don't think children should be left alone with animals until they're old enough to know when to leave them alone.

Some cats just are quite aggressive & can turn nasty.
There can be small warning signs to look out for in their body language.
If you are interested look at cat books or speak to the vet as they may know of a feline behaviourist.

I did actually get a tetanus booster just to be on the safe side. I got scratched & bit multiple times so I learnt to wear long sleeves, jeans & Ugg boots round the home.

But she was actually worth it as she turned into a very affectionate lovely cat.

It's called petting aggression and quite common in cats. Although the speed of the reaction is at the extreme end

spca.bc.ca/news/ask-spca-cat-petting-aggression/

Jackson Galaxy has a video on cats that suddenly bite . Maybe that explains your cats behaviour?

Some cats are just pricks. Dont let it jump onto the settee, stand up and move. If he follows, grab and stick outside.

I would get a vet check up though and assume he's up to date with worm/flea and the other parasite treatment they need.

My cat was like this. According to the vet if they are not socialised around people properly (so lots of handling, cuddles) in the first 10 weeks of life, they revert to aggressive predatory norms. So they want cuddles but then when touched the instinctively react the way a predator would which is attack.
Rescue cats and ones from negligent homes at birth suffer this.

My cat only went for me. Very painful. I don't think there's a way to fix it.

I was going to suggest Jackson Galaxy as well:

I was wonder if it's over stimulation

It is worth getting the cat checked with the vey to rule out anything else- and in future cat bites usually need antibiotics as cat mouths contain a lot of bacteria.

My 4 and three quarter year old cat Harry hissed and growled at me this morning for the first time ever. We had serious words. He was in the understairs cupboard which I am in the process of sorting out. This is also where the cat food is hence one of his favourite places. He growled and hissed at me when I tried to get him to come out. On reflection he was on top of a seagrass basket and I think his claws were in it, so I may have pulled his claws when I tried to pick him up. He got a light tap on the nose and a firm No when he hissed at me. But he wanted cuddles later, so I think he was sorry! Or maybe he just wanted Dreamies!

@AnuSTart yes my rescue wasn't socialised at all that's why she could be so aggressive but I just put up with it.
She also had some weird behaviours which I tried hard to stop like sucking on the sleeve of my jumper; basically she'd obviously been taken away from her (probably feral) mother too soon.
She was a pretty cat so I forgave her though! She died young of a tumour sadly. Pic below.

My old cat did this. I got sick of telling friends not to touch her which of course they ignored and were then pissed off when they got bitten.
She lived until she was 21 and I adored her but you had to watch it.
I knew she was dying when she she stopped biting me.

My cat is like this, the only people that can stroke him are those that can read his body language. DH is not capable of this, so has to steer clear