Pet Lovers

[chlema]

What would make an inside cat attack for no known reason?  My GD's friends are away on vacation and she is feeding their cats 3x a day for them.  Yesterday she and my GGS (age 8) went in to feed them and one cat attacked him and then attacked my GD as she was trying to get the cat off her son.  He had multiple scratches on his back and belly, she got the worst of it, deep scratches on her arms and a really bad bite on the hand.

As I said, the people are friends and this cat knows both of his victims and is always such a friendly cat, greeting you at the door and purring, loves attention.  He's about a year old and was found as a kitten abandoned by its mother, bottle fed to keep him alive, lives in the home with 2 boys, sleeps in the bed of the younger one, 4 yrs. old.  Never a problem, never showed signs of aggression.  

[candyagain]

I'd say the cat was protecting his/her territory.

So sorry for your friends. I hope they went to th ER or atleast cleaned an applied antiseptic to the wounds.

[Love my grandkids]

@chlema Might be the change in routine of having a non family member there so often. Even  tho the cats "know" this person, it's still an upset for them. I woul advise leaving the child at home when she does the feeding.

[We rescue cats]

The first thing I would do is reach out to the owners and ask the cat has ever exhibitted this type of behavior before. I would then ask for their permission to take kitty to the vet, it may be an emergency visit, but I think it wise. Cats are definitely creatures of habit, they do not like change and some will react out of fear. We brought a stray into our homem put him in one of our cages (they are very large) and he became very nasty, almost wild. I was afraid to try to get him in a carrier he was hissing, spitting, growling and screaming at me. So I let him be, covered the cage and fed him, talked to him. . .  he calmed down and we were fine. Until we put him in the motorhome-he did the same thing and all the cats were afraid of him. He calmed down within an hour or so.
I would take him to a vet if you can, is he eating? Getting some anti anxiety meds into him is in order, I think he's feeling abandoned and is fearing change. Some cats retreat into themselves, some act out in fear.

[chlema]

@candyagain Yes, they went to urgent care, wounds cleaned and both are on antibiotics.  They were told that over 70% of cat bites become infected, even inside cats - because of the litter box.  Cat never had his shots so there's that.  Report was taken at the UCare.

[chlema]

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@Love my grandkids wrote:

@chlema Might be the change in routine of having a non family member there so often. Even  tho the cats "know" this person, it's still an upset for them. I woul advise leaving the child at home when she does the feeding.

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I think you may be correct - this cat has never been left without his people before and even tho there are 3 other cats in the house it's not the same I suppose.   My GG will not go back in there, her partner fed them last night and will do so again today.  

[chlema]

@We rescue cats The neighbors/friends will be home tomorrow and will pass this info on to them.  They are very upset and surprised. that this happened - we are all animal lovers here.

[1Snickers]

    I had a Siamese cat and so did friends. They left their female with us. As soon as they left she started screaming and ran under the spare bed. She was always friendly before.

    She ate but wouldn't use any litter box.I  just left her in that bedroom with her hissing. She liked my cat but not us. As soon as the owners came back she was like a kitten, purring and nice since her owners were there.

     Definitely a behavioral problem!

         🛏️  🐈‍⬛ 🐾🐾🐾

[Love my grandkids]

@chlema TY for the response. I had a neighbor we used to visit a lot and her cats knew me well and would always sit in my lap.

She had to travel for a few days now and then and asked me to care for them each time which I enjoyed. I spent a long time each day with them, playing and feeding. It's different when someone just comes and feeds and doesn't hang out.

I really do think they are upset with their owner being gone as this is new. My friend  travelled some and I would cat sit and so it was not a big deal to them.

[NYwoman]

I agree that the cats were probably afraid of the "intruders" and protecting their home.   A cat can feel in danger and even cornered without getting near them.   I would never attempt to touch a cat in THEIR territory unless they knew me WELL and acted contented with me before.   And I would NEVER bring around children to this situation.   That is just asking for an attack.  

I have both raised cats and pet sat them.