Random cat attack

by Karen
(Boston, Ma)

I rescued an abandon kitty. I had him vaccinated and neutered. He was very skittish at first. Once he warmed up to our family he began to randomly attack everyone. Everybody in the house has been bitten severely and is now on antibiotics. The other day while lying in bed he came at my arm, when he couldn't get to my arm he came after my face!!! I'd really like to keep him and have tried virtually everything from squirting him w/a water bottle to screaming "ouch" then leaving the room. Nothing seems to work. He can be very sweet but at the drop of a pin he turns into an attack cat. I don't know what else to do. My daughter is very frightened of him but is determined to save him. The rest of the family has tried to pet him and help him assimilate but then he turns on them. Please help!!! I have 2 other cats that I'm apprehensive to introduce to him because he can be so vicious w/humans. The cats have met and have been introduced to the aggressive cat's areas and vice versa. I'd wiped the aggressive cats scent on some socks and left them in areas around the house that the other cats frequent. I've even tried the carrier method you've mentioned w/out any good results.

Reply
Sounds to me like he is what is known a a feral cat. these are cats that have basically lived wild all of their lives and never been pets. So they have reverted entirely to behaving like a wild animal, which would not like to be confined. petting etc is totally alien to him and everyone is seen as a potential threat and so all he is doing is reacting to his fear in the only way he knows how.

now I have never owned a feral cat but i do know that some people say that you can have a feral cat as a pet but not in the same way as you would have a domesticated cat. i.e they would have to be able to have their own space etc, which often means they need to live outside if they desire. Often farms etc are the best places for them.

i have some pages on my site about feral cats which you may find of help.

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/ferals.html

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/feral-cats.html

best wishes kate

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