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Hi! I recently adopted a shelter cat who is 4 yrs old male tabby. When we got him he had a clean bill of health (+neutered). But he has episodes of aggressions where he would bite us multiple times (sometimes he wouldn't let go of his bite). We would be sitting on the couch or at our desk (not touching or looking at him) and he would just lunge at us all of a sudden. We tried giving him timeouts (10 min) whenever he bites us or try redirect his attention with a toy. Any advice on his behavior?

Hi! I recently adopted a shelter cat who is 4 yrs old male tabby. When we got him he had a clean bill of health (+neutered). But he has episodes of aggressions where he would bite us multiple times (sometimes he wouldn't let go of his bite). We would be sitting on the couch or at our desk (not touching or looking at him) and he would just lunge at us all of a sudden. We tried giving him timeouts (10 min) whenever he bites us or try redirect his attention with a toy. Any advice on his behavior?

Updated On March 27th, 2020

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Male | neutered | 12 lbs

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Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

Veterinarian

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This can be pretty normal cat behavior - not that I am condoning by any means. I recommend you put some Feliway diffusers in your house and do some environmental enrichment for him. Usually these two things help. You are doing great by redirecting his behavior with a toy. Timeouts unfortunately do not work in cats. https://www.feliway.com/us/Products/FELIWAY-CLASSIC-Diffuser thedrakecenter.com/materials/environmental-enrichment-indoor-cats  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AejmrLa_Cs4

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