Feline Aggression - Overview

Key Points

In general cats try to escape or avoid conflict and fighting is usually the 'last resort' defence strategy. It is essential to determine the motivation for aggressive behaviour and whether it is normal feline behaviour or abnormal aggression. The most common motivational causes of aggression from cats to people include fear, anxiety, frustration and misdirection of predatory instinct. The most critical aspect of managing aggressive cats is therefore to enable the cat to manage its fear in a non-aggressive way.

Introduction

The cat’s primary defence strategy is to escape or avoid conflict. Cats do not possess a repertoire of appeasement behaviours to halt or modulate intra-specific aggression so physical confrontation may result in serious injury to both parties. As solitary hunters, survival depends on individual fitness so cats tend to avoid conflict in order to protect themselves.

• If escape is impossible, then cats will frequently freeze and deliver a range of threatening behaviours, including postural and vocal signals, designed to repel or hold the threat at bay.
• Meanwhile, the cat is re-evaluating its opportunities for an escape.
• Attacks may be sudden and brief, and again aimed at repelling the threat so as to re-open an opportunity for escape.

Cats will most often become aggressive when conflict is over a survival resource [including territory] or when escape from conflict is impossible; such as when the animal is debilitated or confined.

The feline aggressive sequence shares some similarities with other species; non-specific increases in body tension and threatening eye contact for example. In addition there are a range of feline aggressive displays which involve whole body and facial components. The cat may attempt to present itself as as an active threat by increasing its apparent stature [piloerection, sideways body arched posture], or it may attempt to reduce the threat it poses by flattening onto the ground and adopting a self-defensive posture. These whole body postures are a reliable indicator of the cat’s attitude to a situation but they are relatively static and do not indicate the moment-by-moment shift in the cat’s reaction. For this it is better to look at facial signals such as head and ear position, and other expressions involving the mouth and eyes [insert illustrations of facial posture].

One very important point is that the transition from a static defensive posture to an attack may be very sudden in cats. It is therefore very important to be able to read and appropriately respond to changes in facial signalling that indicate the cat’s increasing sense of vulnerability which may precede an aggressive outburst.

Warning Signs of Aggression

Important warning signs include:

• Tail twitching
• Flattening of the ears
• Stiffening of the shoulders and legs
• Dilatation of pupils
• Hissing and spitting

It is very important that owners do not attempt to soothe or calm the cat when it is showing this behaviour. Cats that are frozen in a self-defensive crouch are very close to launching an attack when provoked. They should look away from the cat and slowly move away.

Classification

As with dogs, the term "aggression" can be used to refer to a number of different behavioural responses, ranging from hissing and spitting to infliction of physical injury. Aggression should be considered to be a perfectly normal feature of the feline behavioural repertoire and the term ‘aggressive’ should not be used to define a cat’s personality. The natural feline predatory sequence contains “aggressive” elements and these are learnt and perfected through play. Social conflict may also be manifested in normal and appropriate “aggressive” displays, which are designed to diffuse tension and avoid physical confrontation. Within the context of problem behaviour it is therefore essential to determine the motivation for aggressive behaviour and to identify elements of normal feline behaviour, such as predation, play or social related aggression.

There have been various schemes suggested for categorising feline aggression. The first question to consider is whether the aggression is normally motivated or not. Normal aggression is contextually appropriate and usually relatively well controlled and predictable so it carries a good prognosis as long as the cat’s behavioural needs can be met within the domestic environment. Abnormal aggression can result from physical illness or inappropriate learning.

The approach to categorisation used here will be to define aggression in terms of its immediate target, its motivation, its offensive or defensive or frustration-related nature and then to attach labels according to the circumstance or context of the aggression. It is always important to remember that every cat is an individual and every behavioural problem must be treated on that basis.

Feline Aggression Studies

Better title needed. Not sure whether below is too UK biased

Within the general feline population house soiling and spraying are considered to be amongst the most common major problems, with aggression featuring far less than it does in the dog. However, recent figures from the annual report [2003] of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors [APBC] showed that 23% of referred feline cases involved aggression towards other cats, making it the second most commonly referred problem after indoor marking [25% of cases]. A further 13% of the reported feline cases involved aggression towards people. Aggression is therefore a significant concern for many cat owners. Data on referral rates of feline aggression cases to individual behavioural clinics varies widely, with some clinics experiencing referral rates of 13% of their total caseload and others 25%.

Other work, carried out by a research team at Southampton University, has shown that 13% of owners reported aggression to people and 48% aggression to other cats. These figures were obtained directly from a sample of the general cat owning population, rather than those seeking professional help and they indicate that aggression problems may be even more prevalent in the general feline population than in the referral population.

There may be many reasons for this difference. Firstly, many cat owners may be unaware of the welfare and safety risks associated with aggression problems. Secondly, the owners of aggressive cats have the option to exclude these animals from the domestic home so that they become ‘outdoor’ cats. Thirdly, and most importantly, many cat owners may not be aware that anything can be done to help the situation and therefore do not seek help. Such obstacles to seeking advice place an additional demand on the veterinary practice to ask questions about feline behavioural problems during routine consultations rather than to expect clients to raise the subject themselves.

Feline aggression is also often regarded as less serious than canine aggression, and as a consequence cases may not be referred until they have become serious. Unfortunately such an approach is not only detrimental to prognosis but also increases the risk of injury, so it is important for owners to understand how serious the consequences of feline aggression can be. Physical injury to people or animals and zoonotic infections are a very real danger since the cat is equipped with weapons in the form of claws and teeth. When feline aggression is targeted toward people, the danger it poses should never be underestimated. When the victims are children or elderly people with frail skin it is important to emphasise to owners that the potential injuries from cats are serious. The rate of bacterial contamination in cat bites is several times that in the dog, because bite punctures tend to be deep and a majority of cats harbour Pasteurella Multocida and other pathogens in their mouths. The victims of cat bite or scratch injuries may therefore be subject to what is commonly called ‘cat scratch disease’ and should seek medical attention.

The nature of aggressive responses in cats is strongly related to their natural behavioural responses and to their social and communication systems in the wild. The cat has a range of subtle body postures and facial expressions which can be used to diffuse tension and avoid physical conflict and, for a solitary hunter, this is important in order to prevent injury and consequent threat to the individual’s survival. In addition cats use a range of vocalisations to further increase the success of communication so that fighting is usually the ‘last resort’ defence strategy.

Aggression Towards People

The most common motivational causes of aggression from cats to people include fear, anxiety, frustration and misdirection of predatory instinct. These produce offensive and defensive patterns of aggression. In some cases the human victim may not be the primary target for the aggressive behaviour and a diagnosis of redirected aggression may be made, but from a therapeutic point of view the motivational diagnosis, which is appropriate to the cat’s response to the primary target, is all important in formulating a successful treatment plan.

History Taking

Inter-cat aggression presents a particular problem because many of the aggressive incidents are not directly observed by the owner or may be misinterpreted when they are. Observation of the cat during the consultation is important but house visits may be preferable. When they are not possible consultation observation is best augmented with video footage of the cat’s normal behaviour in its own surroundings. It is not acceptable to stage aggressive events for the purpose of making a diagnosis since this involves a serious risk of injury.

Important Aspects of History Taking

• Historical description of aggressive incidents [starting with the first that the owner can remember]. Details of each incident should include location, persons/animals present, context, time, and target of the aggression.
• The cat’s body posture and facial expression before, during, and after each incident give strong indications of its emotional state and intent.
• The victim’s response before, during, and after each event should be recorded.
• Relationship between cat and other animals in the household [allorubbing, allogrooming, play, aggression, fear-avoidance].
• List of all situations in which low level aggression behaviour is seen [hissing, spitting, growling, eye contact, body posture].
• List of stimuli/events that elicit fear or anxiety.

Immediate Intervention

In the UK cats are generally not regarded as property and therefore the implications of aggression by cats is very complex. Fights between cats belonging to neighbours can cause a great deal of ill-will but are unlikely to lead to successful litigation. However, injuries caused to a person or an animal, whilst in the home of the cat might be deemed the responsibility of the cat owner. Such injuries can, in some circumstances, be horrific.

It is therefore the owner’s duty to protect people and other animals from harm. Muzzling is not generally a viable option for cats, but the same basic safety provisions, such as exclusion from the room and provision of physical barriers between cat and victim, may be made as for aggressive dogs.

The cat’s primary response to threat is to avoid it or escape from it. The most critical aspect of managing aggressive cats is therefore to enable the cat to manage its fear in a non-aggressive way. Giving the cat escape routes and reliable places to hide will reduce its need to display aggression.

Only 25% of dog bites contain Pasteurella Multocida, compared to 50-74% of cat bites. Other bacteria may also be present, including Staphylococcus Aureus. This means that all cat bites that cause skin penetration or bleeding should be treated medically without delay. A course of antibiotics and anti-tetanus may be required.