Cat Attack

Question
I recently adopted a cat from our local animal shelter in December...As soon as I got him I had him neutered. They told me he is about 1 and a half and he was caught using a trap and that is all the information they had on him. Within the last few weeks he has become more and more aggressive. He attacks our dogs out of nowhere and in the past few days he has begun attacking just me and no one else in the house. Last night he was biting my hand so I blew on him and he stopped. He went to lay down on the bed, so I figured everything was ok. Out of nowhere he jumped on my head and started biting and scratching me...he broke skin. It took me a second to get him off...then today, he was rubbing and purring on me, so i picked him up and all of a sudden he bit me in the face and on the neck, so I said no and put him on the floor, where he then bit me in the leg and then bit me again in the foot. Could it be that he was an outdoor cat before and now he wants to go outside or is he just mean? Could it be something medical? I am just wondering what could be causing this behavior??

Answer
Hi
He sounds like a feral cat to me who is used to having the freedom to go outside and allow all his instincts to be played out, chasing, hunting etc.

Cats are not mean ever, they are driven by instinct and what they have learned in the past. To a cat biting and scratching is part of play, well it is to a cat who knows no different. If this cat lived outside for the first year of his life then he has no social skills of living within a human family. these will have to be taught to him slowly over time and it could take some time.

Feral cats can still make great pets though, my sister had a feral cat in her home for 14 years. He was allowed out though.

I have a page here about cat discipline which every one in your household will have to follow to get him out of the habit of biting etc.

/cat-discipline.html

Also you will need to make his inside world as stimulating as possible for him see this page for some ideas

/indoor-cats.html

If you can let him outside in the future that would be great. There are even small enclosures you can get i believe so that your cat can be outside but not stray.

best wishes kate