Jobs & Education1 min ago
evil cats
why are cats evil and can sometimes turn on you for no apparent reason? i was stroking my tom cat charley, he was purring and he suddenly turned nasty and attacked me!! my arm went all bruised and swollen.
does anyone know whay because i'm very weary of him now.
Answers
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.First, cats are not evil. The main thing to understand if you want to get along with a cat is that he will do what he wants to do when he wants to do it and where.
If he did really attack you, maybe he has a sensitive place, a wound or a sore that you stroked?
Maybe e didn't actually attack you - if I stop stroking my Siamese, he wil put his paw on my arm and 'pull' it to get me to stroke him some more. But Siamese's claws are always out, so it could look like he was attacking me when he wasn't.
Was there any hissing, laid-back ears and bared teeth (the cat's, I mean!)? What did he do after he 'attacked' you.
Read Dr. Nicholas Dodman's book The Cat Who Cried For Help!
You say he is a "tom" cat, here in the US that means a male cat who is not neutered. If he is not nuetered, that would be part of your problem. Male cats can get very rowdy, especially with all their hormones coursing! If he is neutered: Some cats just don't like specific areas of their bodies touched. We have one here who is perfectly fine being petted on her head and back, but if you try to touch her belly (which is a sensitive area for most animals) she will dig in with teeth and claws. Of course, she does this with the kids no matter what, but they tease her and deserve it. Some cats get very overstimulated by petting and will seem to turn on you, you just have to learn their body language and know when they are saying "enough is enough" without getting phsyical. Just because the cat is purring does not neccessarily mean he is enjoying it - cats will also purr when in extreme pain or when ill, so it's not true that they only purr when happy. Watch out for "tail lashing", or the tail going back and forth in a whippy motion, this usually signals that a cat is irritated even when by all other appearances it seems fine. Some cats, after a round of petting, get very playful and some cats want to play very rough. (It is not a wise idea to encourge rough play, unless you are willing to deal with the scratches and bite marks that inevitably ensue.) Anyway, Dr. Dodman's book has some very good chapters about cats that get overstimulated during petting and go from affectionate to aggressive at the drop of a hat - so read it!
He wants you to hand-feed him - so he can bite you again!!!
What breed of cat is it? How old? He might have been mithering (whatever that is) for something else - another stroke maybe! He might have been mithering (what is that?) for attention.
Most cats won't let you stroke their tummies until they really trust you, if ever.