Feline aggression is one of those behavioural problems that is not only frustrating but could also be potential dangerous. Most of us tend to forget that our domestic cats, even though they are all furry, sweet and do lots of cute things, are in fact a very powerful predator. With the use of claws and teeth a cat can cause serious damage. Before getting into what causes cats to act aggressively, we should look into the nature of feline aggression.
Aggression is a crucial survival skill. This is a natural trait that has enabled cats to survive in the wild. It is not wrong or right- it’s just what cats are programmed to do. A certain amount of aggression to defend themselves is necessary and positive. However, if your cats are aggressive for no obvious reason, then you have a problem on hand.
A cat bite is a serious injury. A cat bite wound with its small hole-shaped opening usually closes up pretty quickly, leaving all the bacteria trapped inside the wound. As a result, most of these wounds will cause serious infection.
Cats, by nature, don’t like to be aggressive. In nature, if given the choice, they would rather run away from any confrontation then fight. As injuries are almost unavoidable when they engage in a fight, cats are generally smart enough to avoid as much as they can. So if one day you wake up and Muffin suddenly turns into a complete wild animal who is ready to kill Fluffy, you know something is terribly wrong with Muffin! Never use aggression against aggression. Any yelling or threatening to Muffin is not going solve your problem. In fact, without finding out why Muffin turns aggressive at the first place, you might scare her and push her even further into aggression.
Aggression can be caused by so many factors. To an outsider, all forms of aggression looks more or less the same: hissing, splitting, groaning, clawing, biting, etc. But every case is different and it is crucial to find out the cause of the aggression. There is no ‘one-size-fit-all’ solution for all cases. Unlike other feline behavioural problems (e.g. spraying, destructing furniture, etc) which can cause frustration and inconvenience, aggression can also be potentially dangerous to you and your family. If you believe your cat has aggression problem, the first thing you should do is to consult a vet. Some of the aggression can be caused by physical problems. Pain, viral problems, hormonal imbalance, and brain diseases, to name but a few. If your vet believe the aggression is a behavioural issue rather than a physical one, you can then get referral to consult a feline behaviourist to help you find the cause of the problem and find a solution. Without knowing the cause of the problem and removing it from the equation, the problem could persist.
In the next article in this series I will look at the phenomena of cat on cat aggression and the last article will be on cat-human aggression. This is a huge area of study and I hope that you find these articles useful is assessing any issues that you may be having with your cat.
Do you have an aggressive cat? If you do, I would love to hear your story. Please feel free to contact me on 087 3198534 or alice@maowcare.com
About The Author
Alice Chau-Ginguene, Maow Care
I am a cat behaviourist and professional cat sitter. I have a passion for all animals but am particularly fascinated by the felines.
Since I moved to Ireland 4 years ago from France, I see how cat’s welfare is underrated in this country compared to most other European countries. Through the work of my company and my writing, I am determined to change the way Irish people see cats as only ‘a pair of farm hands’ to our companions, friends and important family members.
I live with two cats. Larm Larm has been my best friend for 9 years. He travelled with me from Hong Kong to France and then to Ireland. He has been on plane, cars and ferries and never has any problem. Fa Fa is a new addition to my family, she is the sweetest little girl. Both of them are my constant inspiration.
Check out my work on www.maowcare.com . If you have any cat care question, feel free to write to me on alice@maowcare.com , I’d love to hear from you.
Website: www.maowcare.com/ E-mail: alice@maowcare.com
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