How To Handle Your Cat's Aggressive Behavior

Cats are predators by nature. Nothing is more fun to them than pouncing on stuff, biting at stuff and ripping stuff to shreds. Unfortunately, sometimes when your cat starts playing, you're the "stuff" that she tries to shred.

Boredom plus excess feline energy equals aggression. If your cat has too much pent up energy, then she'll likely get a little too wild during playtime. It's perfectly normal for a cat's predatory nature to show when she's playing. Jumping around and even taking a swat at you with claws retracted is fine. But if she gets a little too into the game, then her claws come out and you end up scratched.

Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for a few bad play sessions to develop into a real problem. If your cat scratches or bites you, then you might be inclined to wait a good long time before trying to play with her again. Because you don't play with her, she develops even more excess energy. The next time you go to play with her, she's even more aggressive. Eventually, you don't play with her any more at all.

Don't let your cat's aggressive behavior be the end of what could have been a beautiful feline/human relationship. It is possible to curb your cat's aggression and have peaceful play sessions that you both enjoy.

So you and your cat are happily playing and then suddenly she rakes her claws across your wrist or takes a chunk out of your thumb. Worse yet, she does this with a wicked smile on her furry face. You can almost imagine a Vincent Price-like laugh coming from her.

Now what do you do? Smack her? Yell at her? Just pretend it didn't happen and keep playing? You know that if you ignore the problem, it'll just happen again... and again... and again...

What you should do it this: If she gets too wild, get up and walk away. If she pesters you to continue playing with her, then ignore her. If her pestering is so intense that she's about to drive you to drink, then lock her in a room by herself until she calms down. Five to twenty minutes should do it. You can have that drink while you wait, if you want.

You should never smack her or yell at her for being aggressive. If being aggressive earns her attention from you-even negative attention, she'll just keep it up. If you hurt her by hitting her, then her rough play may turn into an actual attack. You'll just wind up in a physical fight with you cat. Remember, she may be small, but she's the one with the claws and teeth.

Also, don't get angry with her. She really didn't mean to hurt you (despite her big smile). It really was just a game for her that got out of hand. Once she learns that such bad behavior on her part will result in the end of playtime, then that will be the end of your cat's aggression.

Your cat values her special playtime with you. Once you and your cat learn to deal with your cat's aggressive behavior, then you'll both look forward to playtime.

If you find that you need more help with your cat's aggressive behavior, give "Complete Cat Training" a try. It's a great source of information and a must-have for anybody with any kind of cat problems.

"Complete Cat Training" goes into great detail about how to deal with cats that play too rough as discussed above. It also tells you how to handle cats that are territorial about their litter boxes and their food bowls and cats that get aggressive when they're afraid. It'll teach you how to keep your cat from fighting with other animals that may or may not also be a part of your household and from fighting with you.

It'll help you to see less of the claws and teeth and more of the sweet kitty you thought you were going to have when you first got your cat. Here's to peaceful feline/human relationships!

"Complete Cat Training"