Cat Aggression During Petting

Sometimes, cat aggression occurs during petting. Kitty is sitting on your lap, purring, seeming very contented as you're stroking him. Suddenly, for no obvious reason, he turns round at the speed of light and sinks his teeth and claws into you.

There are a couple of reasons why this type of aggressive cat behavior may happen. He may suddenly feel threatened - probably as a result of something that's happened to him in the past. Or you may have touched a hyper-sensitive area on his body.

If there's a certain area on his body that he hates having touched, avoiding it should hopefully solve the problem.

However, if his behavior is due to something deep-rooted in his past, it may be very difficult to change him. In this case, my recommendation would be to stop petting him when you know he's about to do a Jaws impersonation. Get him off your lap if necessary.

I think there are always signs that a kitty is about to go off on one, although they may be very subtle. Look for a wagging tail, ears going back, dirty look, cessation of purring, sudden change in position, stroppy sigh, cat hissing sound, etc. etc.

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