Orange Tabbi

Question
So my girlfriend has a male orange tabbi; i think he is almost 2 years old. Anyway she is in the process of moving and he(skippy) is staying with me in my house for the time being. I have no other pets and pretty much live in a 3 bedroom house by myself. The previous living situation for the cat was in a huge 4 bedroom house with the owner and 3 other guys. The cat was skittish when he first came to my house. I've never lived or been around a cat for more than a day so i was reading on training cats and behavior. I read that cats that dominate their owners tend to be a little violent in new surroundings. Well I'm not sure if its true or not, but with this cat, I think it may be. I am attacked often (drawing blood) and the cat tears up some of my furniture. I've never hit the cat or sprayed it.
I've also read that dominant cats tend to leaves their feces uncovered to show they are dominant.  Basically, I am watching the cat for at least another month and was wondering what i could do to curb some if not all of these problems... Are cats like dogs where dominance can be established and often recommended for some breeds??? That may sound dumb but any and all help is greatly appreciated!!!
Thank your for your time!
-Sergio

Answer
Hi
umm well no cats are not like dogs in the respect of dominance with their owners so much as with other cats and other animals around. usually the human cat relationship is mother and kitten.

However aggression is often a sign of fear and defecating around the house is another tool they use to either A) show other cats that this is their patch or b) it helps make the house smell more like them which in turn helps to calm them down.

It sounds like the cat is going through a period of stress due to the moves it has been through (cats are very much creatures of habit and don't like change that much in their home life).

I have written several pages about this sort of problem on my website. they be able to help in your particular situation.
the key is to give the cat space and allow the cat to come to you rather than the other way around. it may also help to give it lots to do to keep it occupied and its mind off of its situation. i will put links to all of these pages here for easy reference. i hope they will be able to help.
/aggressive-cat-behavior.html
/moving-with-cat.html
/new-cat.html
/indoor-cats.html
/cat-toys.html

best wishes and a Happy New Year
Kate