Aggression towards partner - help

[kittyarthur12]

Hi,
I am looking for some advice please! My cat Arthur is 3 years old (he is an indoor cat, i live in a 2nd floor flat) and he is aggressive towards my partner. To be honest I would describe him as fiesty at the best of times but with my partner (who does not live with me, but has known the cat since he was a kitten and is not a stranger!), as soon as he walks in the door Arthur hisses at him. Any time he walks past the cat he gets hissed at. The cat also tries to attack his feet, frequently jumps up to try to bite my partner's hands and if he is just sitting on the couch he needs to keep his hands in as if he puts his arm on the back of the couch or on the arm rest then the cat will also try to bite him. It's really frustrating as my partner will play with Arthur a lot and he feeds him often. Sometimes the cat will come over and rub himself against my partner's legs but then a minute later will go back to being all hissy, he does not tolerate my partner touching or petting him at all.

I say he is a fiesty cat as he does pounce on my own feet and that of my 7 year old son's (we always have to wear slippers in the house!) and if you stand with your hand for example on the door frame he will jump up and try to bite you and has been known to scratch or bite for no reason at all (eg i could just be sitting watching tv and he will come up on the couch and all of sudden just take a bite at my arm). He also goes mental when i try to cut his nails and when he has to go to the vet, he gets quite aggressive then. Arthur can be very affectionate towards myself and my son, in particular when i come home after work he loves being picked up and petted, he will purr and rub against me etc and he will like that for a few minutes at least before he's had enough.

Just to add, he does have a lot of toys and we make the effort to play with him every day.

Please help, it's really frustrating as my partner is refusing to move in with me unless the cat's behaviour improves!

[Lilith]

Hi and welcome

Well, your Arthur is better behaved than my 6 year old Molly, who I warn callers never to touch; she too is manic, goes for feet; she's calmed a little but not much. Very sweet and possessive, but ...

A couple of points spring to mind about Arthur - how do you play with him? Do you let him roughneck and be boisterous? This can lead to this kind of behaviour - but as I've never allowed Molly to play 'tigers' I know some cats can be rough without any encouragement. If Molly starts I tell her 'no', quietly and ignore her for a while. Then when she calms I tell her she's a good girl.

If your partner did move in I wonder if Arthur would see him as a resident to be guarded (some cats can be quite as territorial as dogs) and not as an 'intruder' and would be less aggressive.

But this is just off the top of my head, I'm not an expert in cat psychology; however there is a free behavioural service on here - [email protected] that members can access.

Hope this helps for now and hopefully other members will have more advice. All the very best and hope everything works out for both Arthur and your relationship

[kittyarthur12]

Thanks, when playing with him I use feather wands/dangly poles, he loves his small cuddly toys and he has some fish and a frog that have little bells on which he likes as well. It's more hunting type games i play with him and i don't touch him with my hands when we play. His favourite is hair bobbles which we play fetch with!