Frustration-Related Feline Aggression Towards People

Key Points

Give the cat control over access to resources and activities (food, outdoor access etc). Provide automatic and activity feeders. Avoid all games that involve the cat interacting directly with hands and feet. Substitute play for cuddles and tactile interactions. Use fishing toys and other toys that focus play away from the owner. End games with the cat getting a small amount of food. Provide a wide range of environmental enrichment including a regularly changed collection of lightweight toys for object play. Avoid picking the cat up, as this removes control and can trigger aggression, especially when the cat is put back down again.

Introduction

Frustration results when a situation fails to produce an outcome that is line with the individual’s expectations. It is believed that frustration has the same emotional basis as fear, with the difference that in humans there is an ability to label the emotional experience differently according to the kinds of events that precede the emotional state. In other words, we are able to label frustration differently from fear only because we are able to rationalise the circumstances leading up to the frustration. Frustration is also able to evoke the same kinds of behavioural responses as fear, including escape and aggression.

Expectations are conditioned by previous experience, with the heaviest emphasis on experience gained during the sensitive period. Anecdotally, there is an association between hand rearing and frustration-related aggression. This presumably results from inappropriate expectations about human contact and some deficiency during the weaning process in terms of teaching kittens to cope with the withholding of potential reward. The process of transferring from a liquid to a solid diet is successfully accomplished during hand rearing but the behavioural component of the weaning process, which is designed to teach the kitten to be an independent adult, is often lacking.

Diagnosis

Frustration occurs when an anticipated event does not happen or fails to meet the individual’s expectations. For example when the owner does not open a door or a can of food quickly enough or when a person tries to walk away from a cat when it expects interaction to continue. Often the aggression is not an isolated behaviour and the cat also displays other frustration-related behaviours, such as excessive vocalisation or indoor marking in situations where it appears to be thwarted by circumstance. Frustration-related aggression may be made worse if motivation is abnormally increased by illness. For example, in cats that are suffering from polyphagia due to hyperthyroidism or diabetes mellitus. There is also usually a history of hand rearing or a pattern of regular reinforcement of demanding behaviour throughout the cat’s life.

Treatment

A fundamental problem for these cats is that access to important resources is controlled by the owner who is often inconsistent. Most cats will not willingly tolerate having to wait for access to food or access to different areas of their territory, but they are able to cope with this frustration. Cats with a low tolerance for frustration may lash out.

The first step in treating these cats is to reduce human involvement in the provision of the resources and activities the cat requires. The cat should be given back control. For example, giving the cat ad-lib food access perhaps using activity or automatic feeders, together with independent indoor-outdoor access. Food may be topped up, but should always be available.

Play should be substituted for cuddling and other tactile interactions, which may place the cat close to the owner at times when frustration could trigger a dangerous attack. Some cats become frustrated when play ceases abruptly, so all play should involve fishing toys, laser pointers and other devices that distance the owner from the play. Hand and foot movements should be minimised so that play does not become directed onto the owner. If possible, play should end with some kind of consummatory act, such as the toy leading the cat to a pile of favourite food treats. This simulates a normal end to predatory behaviour. The owner can then leave the context and put away the toy whilst the cat consumes the food.

Prognosis

Prognosis depends on the severity of the attacks and whether at-risk individuals are present. It is absolutely essential to make a detailed list of individual attacks so that their pattern and severity may be accurately appraised. Cats with frustration-related aggression require ongoing management and, unless handled appropriately, there will be a risk of biting and clawing in the future. The severity of attacks varies hugely, with some cats inflicting multiple deeply penetrating bite and scratch wounds and others only inflicting minor injuries. The severe attacks can sometimes occur even when the victim is resting or sleeping so that avoidance is impossible. In some instances, the bites may be directed at the face and neck, which increases the risk considerably. However, the character of the attacks is usually quite consistent in each individual case so a prognosis may be provided. If the character of the attacks is predictable and preventable and they are of low intensity, then the prognosis is good. If the attacks are severe, and at-risk individuals (children, elderly, infirm) are involved then the prognosis is poor.