My cat attacked me now I'm scared

[Elfontheshelfs]

My cat is 5 he has never even scratched me before viscously attacked me as I went to feed him I ended up needing 9 staples in my head. I love him so much but I'm terrified to even be in the same room as him. I've taken him to the vets nothing is wrong he is a indoor cat and I stupidly didn't get him done as he was such a good boy. He is booked in for next week. I really want to keep him but how can I not be so scared of him even just seeing him sends me into a panic my partner has been looking after him and I've kept him separate from me since and has been about a week now.

I'm really hoping that the OP doesn't need to PTS her pet.

It's possible the cat would be happier in a rural home, as a barn cat or similar, or just somewhere with free access to the outside if that's not something OP can provide.

I know of many indoor cats who are re-homed for aggression or behavioural issues only for them to be absolutely fine when they can go out.

Maybe cat was just playing with you?

I know that's becoming increasingly controversial on here though!

Actually, it's just getting more in line with many other countries. My cats have been very content as being indoor only, with no particular behaviour issues apart from those they arrived with after their traumatic pasts as feral or abandoned to stray. They do like looking out of the windows, and having a good sniff at the breeze when I have those or the patio door open with Flatcats/netting protecting them, but apart from Girlcat's very occasional exploring moments when she was young they've not tried to break out.

DBro & DSil once tried to offer their Burmese time in their garden, and the cats refused point blank to cross the threshold. When they carried them out there, they both fled in the second they could.

The overall view on how cats need to be looked after has changed an awful lot over the last 30-40 years. Wasn't that long ago that "posh" cat food was laughed at, you got the cheapest tins & kibble you found in the shops. It was still thought that you should put the cat out at night & shut them out. There wasn't much consideration about bothering to neuter pet cats. Collars were recommended, and not the quick release kind. Cheapo de-flea and de worm treatments (which we've since found some of can be deadly). Insuring cats was unheard of and a waste of money (I mean they were only cats!). All the above were the perceived wisdom of the times, that have since been shown to not be in the best interests of cats.

I've seen or heard of too many cats who were let out to roam dying from so many different causes. Run over. Antifreeze poisoning. Intentional poisoning. Caught by their collar & strangled. Caught with a leg in their collar & crippled (if they live at all). Attacked by loose dogs. Attacked by wild animals. Tortured and killed by people for "fun". Trapped in a shed & starved. Trapped by an accident & starved or bled to death.

My view is better a content life indoors than dying by any of these methods.

Irresponsible not to have had him neutered as a kitten.

I agree, my cat is definitely happier being outside he doesn't go to far now after getting lost at 6 months for a week and came home terrified. My friend has an indoor cat it's female and a rescue she needs a lot of play and stimulation. However going back to the OP's original post needing 9 staples in your head us definitely traumatising. I'm hoping the neutering calms her boy down eventually so they can bond. It's a rocky road owning any pet my boy scratched my back to ribbons one night but now he sleeps silently (apart from purring) on my side. I'm definitely in the get the cat neutered and let him out camp.

@Allergictoironing it's not something I'm going to get into a long debate about as it's a topic that gets hashed out on here constantly.

But I used to keep my cats indoors until one of them developed severe stress-related health and behavioural issues that nearly cost him his life. Our vet basically told us "if you don't let him out, he'll be back here every few months until it becomes too much for him". So, we let him out.

His health and behavioural issues have vanished. Completely. He's not been back to the vets since (apart from for his boosters) and he's like a different animal.

I'm sure there are some cats who are happy indoors but you only need to watch Jackson Galaxy (and other similar people) to know that many cats struggle massively when they're locked up inside.

@faerietales agreed, not the time or place. OPs cat has been fine for 5 years, so clearly not that relevant to out conversation - more importantly that she gets him neutered which she has said is already booked in and holds her hands up that she should have done earlier.

But good call mentioning Jackson Galaxy. Always worth watching for indoor cats especially for suggestions on catification of homes and entertainment/stimulation for cats 😀

Hey OP,

I’ve worked in animal rescue for over a decade and I’ve experienced this exact thing with my own cat.

A possibility is that your house cat has seen/been antagonised by another cat he’s seen outside. As he can’t confront that cat he’s taken it out on the next living thing he’s seen, which has been you. Sounds a bit insane but is incredibly common and it isn’t a conscious choice your cats made, it’s a base instinct. Especially if he’s not neutered!

I sought help from a behaviourist. The one I used is https://cat-astrophes.com/ and she was absolutely fantastic. This was even covered by my pet insurance! Worth a shout if you’d like to give your cat other chance and you’ve already checked for a medical explanation.

I have 3 indoor male cats. They are perfectly behaved and really happy. They have never shown signs of aggression and they run away from the front door when it's opened.

I do however do things to ensure they are happy and enriched. They are also all neutered.

Feliway Optimum Plugins are really good for getting through a stressful time (I don't find the other versions effective).

I also really recommend Feliway Cystease Capsules. You just open them up and sprinkle into their wet food. It has a calming effect and helps with any urinary issues.

Scatching posts, cat trees and toys are important. And it's good to get new ones every so often as it is exciting for them.

Unneutered male cats can be perfectly behaved for a certain amount of time and then bad behaviour suddenly starts. I always, always recommend getting them neutered ASAP, but even getting it done now will help once those hormones leaves his body.

Did the vet check his eyes? One of my boys has bad eyesight and can growl if he can't see who we are. He isn't aggressive, but he will growl until we properly come into view or we speak.

Also some cats do suffer with hunger aggression. I had a rescue that would bite me viciously when he got hungry (was perfect otherwise). This was almost 100% solved by switching his diet.

I now don't feed dry food to any of my cats. I had a great conversation with a specialist vet at the pet hospital in Edinburgh and he said that a 100% wet diet is the best. Most of the urinary and kidney issues he sees would be solved by ditching the dry.

High meat content, grain free is the best.

I get Wild Freedom, Feringa and Macs from Zooplus. It's a great site and the tins are really handy.

I've noticed improvements in all of their happiness and they stay full for much longer too.

Good luck OP.

I would also get some high value treats like Thrive Freeze dried Chicken and start re-bonding with him slowly.

You probably should give him up.

Keeping an unutered tom as an indoor cat is cruel. It's probably driven him mad. Get him done and he'll might settle down but I probably wouldn't be able to trust him again.

Maybe you should stay cat free though.

Surely the first thing to do is to see how he is following neutering. It may well never happen again.

I absolutely ageee.

The OP has had the cat for 5 years and he's never done this before? Would you not want to figure out why before making any decisions?

He's be fine for 5 years - I think he deserves a chance surely?

There are cats that are perfectly happy indoors. I have three. None of them despite previously being outdoors has ever looked to go out. I think they had their share of trauma outside when they were straying/neglected.

@mainecooncatonahottinroof I did say upthread that there are cats who are fine indoors, but there are also plenty who aren't and who develop health and behavioural issues because of it.

If you have the means to let your cat out and they just aren't interested, that's totally fair enough, but it's not comparable to people who get a cat, lock it up inside and then wonder why it's stressed, or pees on everything, or over-grooms constantly.

For full transparency, all my cats used to be indoor cats and I often (under old names) would come on these threads and talk about how indoor cats are perfectly happy and how no cat needs to be outside. Until we got Toby, who developed severe stress cystitis and began over-grooming because of it.

We tried all kinds of urinary foods, we tried medication, we tried Feliway, we tried moving bowls and litter trays, we tried more enrichment, we tried getting another cat - nothing worked. Until after the 4th cystitis-related trip to the vet, they basically told us he needed to go outside or else this would just continue until his body gave up.

So we let him out. And his health issues vanished within a month. I'd never, ever keep a cat locked up indoors again.

@faerietales If that happened with any of my cats, I still have a microchip catflap our last boy used, and they could use it if need be. I was prepared to do that when I got these cats. The oldest one literally runs away if you open a door!

I don't even think the other two would be safe outside because they have no sense! One is half MC/half Ragdoll, the other is moggy but with some strong MC characteristics. All three rescues.

This cat has been indoors presumably all its life. I wouldn't be rushing to let him out - I'd rather see how he goes after neutering. Our last boy had been straying for years when he found us and he was neutered at 12/13!

@mainecooncatonahottinroof yep, I've had other cats in the past who never had any issues with being indoors - both seemed quite happy and I could leave the doors open and they'd just sit there and stare outside gormlessly 😂

Toby was one of those cats who was so timid when we got him, I thought he'd never want to go out, but when we did let him out (plus our other two) he was the one who roamed the furthest, who did the most hunting and who went into everyone's house demanding attention!

I think with most cats, the best thing to do is give them the choice.

Yes, I think you have to do whatever makes the cat happy, and if they were unhappy then I'd let them out.

I'm really glad they are so content indoors though - probably a lot of that is due to the fact I wfh and DH is hybrid, so they mostly have company - because my nerves would be wrecked every time they went out!!

If my cat did that I’d have it PTS like a shot. Sounds savage

@mainecooncatonahottinroof honestly I was terrified the first time we let ours out - I thought they'd just bolt, never to be seen again! But they've developed their own routines and are actually very predictable, lol.

I pity your cat. You don't sound as if you even like it, let alone love it!

Yes it is a well-known thing. Like a lot of animals they have a very good sense of smell, and are also highly-tuned to hormonal changes. If you search online, you'll find stuff about it. Cats and dogs can also detect things like illnesses or whether someone is about to have an epileptic seizure.

That was a very very miserable cat. Understand he was stuck indoors and un neutered. Unthinkable how tense he was. Awful for both of you. Traumatic for both of you, very sorry for your wound and for cat. I would let him out, definitely he deserves some freedom.