Feline Aggression
Coming face to face with a cat in full aggressive mode can be quite a frightening experience. It’s happened to me once and I shall never forget it! My cat Tabitha had gone into a diva rage about me introducing a new kitten to the household, a very straggly ginger tom. I had never experienced an angry cat before then and was a little naïve about the warning signs. Her ears were flattened back to her head, her eyes wide and dilated, she was all fluffed up and her mouth was wide and hissing menacingly. Foolishly I tried to comfort her and was rewarded for my idiocy with a very neat rabbit punch on the nose which made my eyes water!
To avoid the wrath of a cat here are the signs to watch out for:
Swishing tail or one poker straight and puffed up like a toilet brush
Hissing or growling noises or sometimes spitting
Wide dilated eyes
Flattened ears
There are different types of aggression that may be directed at their owner. There is the fear induced aggression that may be caused by punishment, an imagined threat, a noise. Punishment is not something you should practice with cats. They don’t understand it. Any other fears need to be identified and removed if possible.
The other form is a re-directed aggression. In my case Tabitha obviously felt unable to show her aggression to the kitten so expressed it towards me. Then there is pain induced. A cat can’t speak to you and like most animals when in pain they will react aggressively. Finally there is aggression triggered by petting. No one knows why this happens but just read the signs. If your cats tail starts to twitch back off!
Some things I've noticed