sudden aggression in female persian

by jerry reed
(cherokee village ar.)

weve had our persian cat since she was 2 months old . she is now 5 shes never been bred,spayed or even outside. shes always been standoffish but a week ago she flat out attacked my wife and did it again today. she bit and scratched like a wild cat . do we have to get rid of her. my concerns are for my wife and my little girl what should i do? whats wrong with her

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Answer by Kate

hi most aggression in cats is caused by fear. This fear can be caused by many things, from feeling unwell, to a strage or unfamilar smell, changes in routine in fact the liost could go on and on.

My own cat who is the gentleiest cat I have ever known has only once lashed out at me and that was when I had a new strong perfume on. The smell must have been so strong that she became scared and i was a stranger with a strange smell. She has only ever done this once in her whole 17 years of life. So make sure that when the incident ahppened no strong new smells were present.

If her behavior continues to be aggressive then it is definately worth having her checked by a vet and you may even want to consider having her spayed which also helps to calm them down.

Your wife and daughter may want to try and re bond with the cat to try and eliminate any residual fear that there may be. I have a page about how best to bond with your cat here

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/new-cat.html

I also have a page about cat aggression which you may find of further interest here

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/aggressive-cat-behavior.html

best wishes Kate

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