Aggression in cats: Overview

Aggression can be an appropriate behavior that allows the cat to protect itself (known as an “adaptive behavior”) and its resources (such as food)  

Behavioral medicine—concerned with recognizing when aggressive behavior is abnormal or inappropriate (known as “maladaptive behavior”)  

Numerous types of aggression have been identified in cats, including the following: 

1. Aggression owing to lack of socialization 

o No human contact before 3 months of age—cat misses sensitive period important for development of normal approach responses to people; if not handled until 14 weeks of age, it usually is fearful and aggressive to people; if handled for only 5 min/day until 7 weeks of age, it interacts with people, approaches inanimate objects, and plays with toys. 

o Lack of social interaction with other cats—may result in lack of normal inquisitive response to other cats 

o These cats are usually not normal, cuddly pets; they may eventually attach to one person or a small group of people; if forced into a situation involving restraint, confinement, or intimate contact, they may become extremely aggressive 

2.Play aggression 

o Weaned early and hand-raised by humans—cat may never learn to temper its play responses; if not taught as a kitten to modulate responses, it may not learn to sheathe claws or inhibit bite; bottle-fed cats may be over represented 

3. Fearful or fear-induced aggression 

o Fearful—cat may hiss, spit, arch the back, and hair may stand up if flight is not possible; combinations of offensive and defensive postures and overt and covert aggressive behaviors are usually involved 

o Flight—virtually always a component of fearful aggression if the cat can escape 

o Pursued—if cornered, cat will stop, draw its head in, crouch, growl, roll on its back when approached (not submissive but overtly defensive), and paw at the approacher; if pursuit is continued, cat will strike, then hold the approacher with its forepaws while kicking with the back feet and biting 

o If threatened, cat will defend itself; any cat can become fearfully aggressive 

4. Pain aggression 

o Pain may cause aggression; with extended painful treatment, cat may exhibit fearful aggression 

5. Cat-to-cat (intercat) aggression 

o Male cat-to-male cat aggression associated with mating or hierarchical status within the social group; mating also may involve social hierarchy issues 

o Maturity—in peaceful multi-cat households, problems may occur, regardless of sexes in the household, when a cat reaches social maturity (2–4 years of age) 

6. Maternal aggression 

o May occur during the period surrounding the birth of kittens (known as the “periparturient period”) 

o Protection—queens may guard nesting areas and kittens by threatening with long approach distances, rather than attack; usually directed toward unfamiliar individuals; may inappropriately be directed toward known individuals; as kittens mature, aggression resolves 

o Unknown if kittens learn aggressive behavior from an aggressive mother

7. Predatory behavior 

o Occurs under different behavioral circumstances 

o Normal predatory behavior develops at 5–7 weeks of age; kitten may be a proficient hunter by 14 weeks of age; commonly displayed with field voles, house mice, and birds at feeders; may be learned from mother; more common in cats that have to fend for themselves; if well fed, cat may kill prey without feeding on it 

o Aggression—stealth, silence, heightened attentiveness, body posture associated with hunting (slinking, head lowering, tail twitching, and pounce postures), lunging or springing at prey, exhibiting sudden movement after a quiet period 

o In free-ranging groups of cats, when a new male enters, he may kill kittens to encourage queen to come into heat (estrus)

o Inappropriate context distinctions about prey—potentially dangerous if “prey” is a foot, hand, or infant; cats exhibiting pre-pounce behaviors in these contexts are at risk of displaying inappropriate predatory behavior 

8. Territorial aggression 

o May be exhibited toward other cats, dogs, or people; owing to transitive nature of social hierarchies, a cat aggressive to one housemate may not be to another if its turf is not contested 

o Turf may be delineated by patrol, chin rubbing, spraying, or non-spraying marking; threats and/or fights may occur if a perceived offender enters the area; if the struggle involves social hierarchy, the challenger may be sought out and attacked after the territory is invaded 

o May be difficult to treat, particularly if the cat is marking its territory; marking problems suggest a possible underlying aggression.

 9. Redirected aggression 

o Difficult to recognize and may be reported as incidental to another form of aggression 

o Occurs when a aggressive behavior pattern appropriate for a specific motivational state is redirected to an accessible target because the primary target is unavailable (e.g., cat sees a bird outside the window and is demonstrating predatory behavior; person walks behind cat and cat pounces the person, possibly biting the person); cat may remain reactive for some time after being thwarted in an aggressive interaction 

o Often precipitated by another inappropriate behavior or event; important to treat that behavior as well 

10. Assertion or status-related aggression 

o If unprovoked, most frequently occurs when cat is being petted; a need to control all interactions with humans and when attention starts and ceases; cat may bite and leave or may take hand in teeth but not bite 

o May be accompanied by true territorial aggression where specific areas are patrolled

 o May best be called impulse control/dyscontrol aggression 

o Exact syndrome is not well defined or recognized 

11. Idiopathic aggression 

o Rare; poorly understood and poorly defined; unprovoked, unpredictable, “toggle-switch” (turned on and off) aggression

SIGNALMENT/DESCRIPTION of ANIMAL 

 Any breed of cat  Some types of aggression appear at onset of social maturity (2–4 years)  Males—may be more prone to cat-to-cat aggression (known as “intercat” aggression) 

SIGNS/OBSERVED CHANGES in the ANIMAL 

•  Aggressive behavior 

•  Physical examination findings are generally secondary to aggression, such as injuries, lacerations, or damage to teeth or claws 

•  Continuous anxiety—decreased or increased grooming

 CAUSES

 Aggression is part of normal feline behavior; greatly influenced by the early social history and exposure to humans and other animals, sex, social context, handling, and many other variables

 RISK FACTORS 

 Abuse—cat may learn aggression as a pre-emptive strategy to protect itself

References and further reading:

Blackwell’s Five-Minute Veterinary Consult: Canine and Feline, Fourth Edition

Authors: Larry P. Tilley & Francis W.K. Smith, Jr.