Random Aggression in normally sweet cat

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Spookyfreak
New Cat Chatter
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Joined: Tue Jun 08, 2021 8:24 pm

Random Aggression in normally sweet cat

Post by Spookyfreak »

Hello all!

For pretense, I am mainly posting this here as I have been to at least two vets who have essentially both told me the same thing when I tell them this story; "this cat seems to be fine." So I wanted to consult the collective internet brain for opinions on my very strange kitty.

I have a very naturally large (23 lbs, and not overweight!) 6 year old Marmalade boy, who his entire life has had some very random but also rare aggression problems. I live in a typical sized home with another orange tabby female, and the relationship between the two cats has always been hot and cold. Some days they tolerate one another, other days I have to separate them. Even with this though, they are both still very sweet, seemingly normal kitties. Both are healthy, strictly indoor kitties and up to date on their check ups and vaccinations.

The male cat has been known to very randomly become super aggressive and viciously attack me as if he is being threatened or hurt by something. This happens maybe once or twice per year and when it does, it is SCARY. It would be scary with any cat, but he is so big and does that much more damage. The very reason I decided to ask for opinions on this is because it happened again just two nights ago. I walked inside my home late in the evening after simply getting something out of my car, I pet them both, pressed the button on their feeders for dinner, turn around to walk away and the next thing I know this cat is ripping into my leg as if I am attacking him. I have to pin him down, wrap a blanket around him and throw him in another room before any more damage is done. And while my leg was left a bloody mess, I was lucky enough not to need stitches (this time). About an hour later, i'll go to check on him and let him out of the room and he will be purring and acting like nothing even happened.

This isn't the first time he's done this, it's happened in the past, maybe 2-3 times and I haven't been able to pin point what it is that sets him off. 99.9% of the time, he is a normal, sweet and cuddly kitty. Im lucky that I live alone with these two cats, and therefore am the only one who's ever gotten the brunt of these seemingly random acts of aggression. My main fear is that one day he will go into this attack mode while close to my face, or cause me to need stitches or even attack a guest.

My guesses and also opinions of veterinarians have been that maybe I came inside and he smelled something weird on me. Maybe he saw or heard another cat or critter outside? When I adopted him from the shelter 5 years ago, he had been living on the streets. Maybe there was something traumatic in his past and certain things I do trigger an aggressive, defensive response from him? My worst fear is that he has an underlying medical issue that randomly flares up and the vet hasn't been able to pinpoint it yet. I just want to try and figure out what could be triggering these aggressive episodes and how to potentially prevent them in the future. I am open to any opinions, similar stories or other advice.

Thank you in advance!
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