Is Your Cat's Behavior Really Aggressive?

If you use the word aggressive to describe your cat's behavior you are actually talking about numerous behaviors that you find undesirable in your cat. Behavior that many cat owners deem 'aggressive"; includes yowling, jumping on others (human and other pets), biting, scratching, and shredding your furniture.

Before your write off your cat as a hopeless feline delinquent you must consider what really may be behind these undesirable behaviors. Young cats especially, single pet's practice their hunting skills on their owners. animate humans are much more interesting to hone your cat's attempts to learn to be a great hunter than their cat toys. You can deter your young cat from attacking your hands and feet with a water bottle. This will not deter the hearty hunter, they will just consider the water bottle a new thing to out smart and determine it is part of the game. The best way to deter misguided honing of your young cat's hunting skills is to play with your cat blitzing their cat toys. An exhausted kitten from play ;is a content and blessedly calm kitten. Provide a proper scratching post and your kitten will leave the furniture alone. In extreme cases you might want to declaw the cat's front paws, leaving the back claws for protection should your cat need to really defend themselves.

Yowling and excessive hissing may also be a sign your kitten has reached sexual maturity and needs to be spayed or neutered. Male cats that live a single pets may not show the tell tale signs of sexual maturation of marking territory. They have no one to mark their territory against. Aggressive behavior may be a sign your male cat needs to be fixed. Similarly aggressive behavior is common with female cats in heat. Sexual maturation can happen in some cats as young as four months. Your cat should definitely be spayed or neutered by six months of age to avoid aggressive behavior related to sexual maturation.

Much aggressive behavior in otherwise calm housecats is related to any change in their routine. A recent move or another addition to the family (human or animal) can cause even the sweetest cat to become jealous and territorial. The best way to deal with this is to spend more time engaging in positive interaction with your cat. Try not to make over new pet additions to the house in front of your cat. If you have moved into a new house, place your cat in a smaller place where they can feel secure with their possessions. It will take sometime, but your cat will adjust.

Anther mistake cat owners make is identifying what is really healthy and humorous social behavior as aggressive. If you have a multi cat household it is not unseal or even undesirable to hear yowling and running as your cats pretend to "stalk "each other like prey. Older cats tire of these games with younger cats and usually stop overly aggressive play in younger cats without any help from you. If you are wakened by "stupid kitty games' at an ungodly hour simply reject the participants from your room and go back to sleep. The noise and ruckus is just part of good hearted fun and helps your herd of cats bond. You should use caution about letting the family dog participate in these games until you are sure they know it is play as well. If you have a younger cat in your house make sure you supervise their interaction with the family dog until you know they are likely to be playmates and not enemies.

Lastly, sudden unexplained aggressive behavior can be a sign your cat is ill. They may be experiencing pain or neurological symptoms they you are misinterpreting as aggressive. If you normally sweet natured cats suddenly appear aggressive take them to the veterinarian to make sure they are not an organic cause for their behavior.

Finally, a note about feral cats and apparent aggressive behavior they seem to exhibit. Some cats who are from feral litters never really become tame housecats even if they are adopted and fixed. We have a foster kitten that was from a feral litter born in a barn. She has not been adopted because she hisses at everyone when at the adoption center. Still, she is tolerated by the other older house cats. She takes stupid kitty games to the extreme and finds herself being bopped regularly by the sixteen year old Manx she has attached herself too. One of the other younger cat sleeps with her with his had over her mouth because she meows excessively. She has no fear of the dog and stalks his tail hours on end. She is not a sweet companion cat, but has given of hours of entertainment with her mighty hunter antics. She has become the shadow of the very aged Manx and has given him reason to liven up quite a bit. While she is wild she is not necessarily a bad addition to the household. Still in the end she may end up being perfectly happy as a barn cat as opposed to a house cat. Nature gave her a demeanor appropriate for her origins and she is not really a bad cat.

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program/cat_behavior_tip_sheets/aggression_between_family_cats.html

http://cats.about.com/cs/behavioralissues/a/aggression_cats.htm

http://www.vetinfo.com/cataggres.html

http://www.petplace.com/cats/play-aggression-in-cats/page1.aspx