Episode Title

Cat Aggression: Warning Signs and How to Handle It

Host

Amy Castro

Guest

Marilyn Krieger

Summary

Cat aggression can feel sudden, confusing, and even personal, but it almost never happens without a reason. In this episode, Amy Castro sits down with certified cat behavior consultant Marilyn Krieger to break down what cat aggression really means, the different types of aggression pet parents may encounter, and how to recognize the warning signs before things escalate. You’ll also learn how stress, environment, and everyday interactions can trigger aggressive behavior, and what you can do to prevent it.

Links

Show | https://www.petparenthotline.com

Guest | https://www.thecatcoach.com

Recommended Resources

Naughty No More by Marilyn Krieger

Veterinary Disclaimer

This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional veterinary advice. Always consult your veterinarian regarding your pet’s health or behavior concerns.

Transcript

Amy Castro (00:00)

Has your cat ever swatted, bitten, or suddenly turned on you and you thought, where did that come from? For many cat owners, aggressive behavior feels a little shocking and confusing, and sometimes even personal. But the truth is, cats almost never act aggressively without a reason. The problem is that most people don't know what the reasons are or what warning signs they might have missed before things escalated. Today we're breaking down what cat aggression actually is, what causes it, and how to recognize the signals cats give before things turn into bites or scratches. Stay tuned.

Marilyn Krieger (00:30)

you

Amy Castro (00:34)

You've reached the Pet Parent Hotline, your lifeline to practical solutions for your toughest pet parenting challenges. I'm your host Amy Castro, and I'm here to help you cut through the noise and turn expert advice into step-by-step strategies so you can stop chasing your tail and start enjoying life with pets again.

Welcome back to the Pet Parent Hotline. I'm Amy Castro. And if you found this show because your cat has started swatting, biting, or behaving aggressively, and you're trying to figure out what's going on, you're in the right place. Cat aggression can be very upsetting and confusing for pet parents. One minute everything seems fine, and the next minute your cat lashes out and you're left wondering, what did I do wrong? The good news is that aggression in cats is almost always communication. Once you understand what your cat is trying to tell you, it becomes much easier to prevent problems

and keep everybody safe. So today we're diving into what cat aggression really means, the different forms it can take, and how to recognize the warning signals before things escalate. My guest today is Marilyn Krieger, a certified cat behavior consultant, author, and owner of the Cat Coach LLC. Her book, Naughty No More, explores solutions for common cat behavior problems using clicker training, environmental enrichment, and other positive reinforcement techniques. Well, Marilyn, welcome back to the show.

Marilyn Krieger (01:57)

Thank you, I'm so happy to be here. It was so much fun last time.

Amy Castro (02:00)

It was fun. Cat issues are, I think, an especially big challenge for a lot of people. And there's not as much support out there, I don't think. When it comes to dog training, there's dog trainers for good or for bad everywhere, but there's not necessarily cat behaviorists hanging out on every corner. So it's great to not only have one, but have a very experienced one. And I know I learned a lot in our last episode when we were talking about introducing cats properly. And now we're going to take it a step further.

And sometimes it's the introduction didn't go well and you're having this issue. And sometimes it's something that seemingly crops up. So we're talking about cat aggression. And I know that sometimes people feel, everything was fine. And then all of a sudden, why do you think people feel like it just kind of comes out of nowhere sometimes?

Marilyn Krieger (02:48)

Well, because they don't know how to recognize the signs. Cats will communicate definitely. I it just doesn't come out of the blue. There are very subtle ways of knowing. It's, well, maybe not so subtle. Vocalizing, for instance, cats will vocalize. If you look at their ears, for instance, their ears will flatten or they'll turn back. ⁓ Their whole body language, if it's cat on cat, if there's a cat that's starting, their eyes will dilate.

they'll get into a position like they're going to attack. You see them about to pounce on them. So there definitely are signs that there's going to be a problem. And even before, I mean, there may be subtle, there might be some swatting and this and that.

Amy Castro (03:32)

Okay, yeah, and it's interesting because it's pretty much the same thing with dogs. people will say, I don't know what happened. The dog, you know, bit me out of the blue. And I've watched enough dog videos to see like you can see it coming if you know what you're looking for. And I think that's part of the dilemma is the average person doesn't necessarily know what to look for. ⁓ When you have clients that come to you with aggression, so you mentioned swatting, but what are some of the behaviors that they're complaining about?

Marilyn Krieger (03:59)

there are many kinds of aggression. it depends on what kind of aggression you're talking about, because there'll be different signs for different kinds of aggressions.

Amy Castro (04:08)

I don't know that I realized, I realized that there was at least one separate kind of aggression from aggression because I have heard about redirected, but there's actually many more types of aggression that you might be looking out for. can you tell us a little bit about each of those and maybe some of the signs that you'd see with those?

Marilyn Krieger (04:24)

There are, there are quite a few different kinds of aggressions and play aggression is one that's fairly common. And that's what happens when, well, a cat might be overstimulated and will then start maybe swatting or biting, but there's even more to it. Sometimes cats, because they were played with as kittens and they got used to the fact that when they're played with roughly using hands and they'll bite, that that's acceptable.

So then as adults, they may start biting their person because they want attention and they want play. And that's a fairly common scenario that goes on. I do a lot of consultations for that type of play aggression. But another aggression that is very common is what happens, let's say You're in a multi-cat household. One cat goes to the vet.

and then comes back. That cat is going, and this can happen even with the best of buddies. The cat comes back, looks the same, but smells different. It's a non-recognition aggression. And that can be pretty severe. It can be worked through. You have to separate the cat. Sometimes you have to reintroduce the cats together.

another thing that I tell people to do when they bring one cat to the vet and the other stays at home is when that cat comes home, take a shirt that you're wearing, the side that's closest to your skin and massage your smell onto the cat. So then that way the cat that stayed at home will at least recognize your smell and recognize their buddy. And that's one way to not have that aggression occur.

There are other aggressions too, of course, inner cat aggression is one redirected aggression, fear.

Amy Castro (06:15)

That's the one that I knew about was the redirected.

Marilyn Krieger (06:18)

But there's also petting-induced aggression.

Amy Castro (06:21)

Okay. And would you say that's the one where people get swatted and bitten the most because of that type?

Marilyn Krieger (06:29)

Not necessarily. Well, again, the cat lets their people know beforehand. And what petting aggression is, is the cat is being annoyed. The cat really does not want to be petted. And it could be that where the person is petting, it's painful. It doesn't feel right. The cat will let their person know, but it's up to the person to recognize that language. So here's an example.

or what this is, first of all, the cat's skin, you'll feel a rippling of the skin. And that is an indication that you should take your hands off. Sometimes the ears will go back, the tail will start going back and forth really quickly. And then the very last thing is, boy, you didn't hear what I had to say. They turn, they look, they look, and by that time it's too late. They look and then they bite.

Amy Castro (07:23)

⁓ Yeah, and I've definitely seen that. I've seen that with people, because some people don't know how to pet a cat. I've seen people, rubbing the fur the wrong way or rubbing too much in one spot, whatever it might be. And it's interesting too that cats, like I've got three cats, and each one of them has different places that it seems like it enjoys and doesn't enjoy. They all seem to like it okay around their face, but...

There's one that really likes it when you scratch at the base of his, like right before his tail starts. And the other two, that rippling thing that you mentioned, it's almost like a twitch, like, ⁓ get away from me. You know, I don't like that. So if you pay attention, you learn who likes what, and hopefully don't get bitten or swatted in the process. Right.

Marilyn Krieger (08:07)

And then you just stop.

Amy Castro (08:10)

Yeah. And you had mentioned the idea of pain. So I know that one of the things that we always talk about in dog behavior for sure is don't do anything until you've ruled out medical situations. I would assume that's the same with cats, correct?

Marilyn Krieger (08:26)

That's right, whenever there is a change in behavior with a cat, you need to have that cat looked at. Aggression is one of those changes that can happen. So for instance, if you have a cat that's always been great and has never shown any signs of aggression and all of a sudden is biting you or just is cranky, just a complete change, you need to get that cat immediately to the veterinarian, because there could be something very seriously wrong and the cat could be in pain.

Amy Castro (08:53)

Yeah, we actually had that situation with one of our Now, I will say that of the three, she is probably the one that leans towards being cranky more than the rest. She's just, she's more like a, ⁓ you know, only on my terms. But I had noticed that when I would pick her up, she was being especially cranky. Well, it turned out she had a bladder stone. So, yeah, I mean, I think it is so important, and whether it's dogs or cats, or I think any pet, to get the vet.

to check out and kind of rule out a physiological thing and then go from there. So as far as the warning signals, are they different for different cats? And also, they different? Like, do cats give other cats different warning signs than they would give us if they were, annoyed by something that was happening?

Marilyn Krieger (09:40)

That's a really good question. I think it's fairly standard across. So as we talked before, cats will meow at their people. That is strictly a cat-human communication, OK, cat to human. They don't meow at each other. They will growl. They will hiss. They will swat. Their body language is the same, that they do for conspecifics and for us, for humans.

Amy Castro (10:08)

Okay. And that's interesting about that. You're the second person that I've heard say that about cats. I never even really noticed that they really don't meow to each other. like, Pickles and I have whole conversations ⁓ every day. You know, when I say her name, you know, do you like this? Do you want some coffee? I don't really give her coffee, but she responds to everything I say as if she's understanding what I'm saying. So, yeah. They're so cute.

Marilyn Krieger (10:33)

Very

chatty, some are very chatty.

Amy Castro (10:35)

Yes, yes they are. ⁓ When it comes to the different types of, well, we know why we want to identify the signs so that we can avoid it escalating to aggression, but why is it so important that people understand the different types of aggression?

Marilyn Krieger (10:52)

Because it's important to know what triggered the aggression, why it's actually happened. Because then that way you can do something about it. You can change what we call the antecedent. The antecedent is what has occurred before the behavior has happened. There are three parts of behavior, the antecedent, the behavior, and the consequence. And if you can change the antecedent, you can change that behavior. So for instance, we've talked about redirected aggression. ⁓

Redirected aggression is when, let's say there's a cat outside and your indoor cat can't get at it and there's a lot of vocalizing, they obviously want to kill each other, but your cat can't get to there. So the redirected aggression comes out because then let's say you're next to the cat or there's another cat next to it, another indoor cat, and the one that's agitated will then bite

and take out their aggression on that other cat. Now this behavior is not limited to just cats. Humans, all animals do it. So for instance, let's say you're at work and you have a really bad day at work, you come home and you yell at your partner. That's redirected aggression also.

Amy Castro (12:05)

Sometimes it's well deserved. No, I'm just kidding.

Marilyn Krieger (12:10)

Yeah, we'll leave that one away. So back to your question. So if you know that there is a cat out there that is triggering your indoor cat, then you know what to do about it. You know the antecedents. So what you do is you make the outside an uncomfortable place for the other cat to be at. You know, there are ways of doing that. And you can block the windows so your cat can't see out. So that, for instance, is one example.

The other example that I gave was knowing when there's non-recognition aggression. You bring that cat home and you put your scent on that cat. So it is very important to know the triggers of the aggression.

Amy Castro (12:51)

So the non-recognition, I was wondering about that when I had separated, you and I were talking the other day about me separating my oldest cat, Pickles, who needs to gain weight from the younger cats who could afford to lose some weight. And while we're showing our house, I thought, great, I'll move Pickles into the big RV. It'll be peaceful. It'll be quiet. And she was very stressed out being by herself. But then I also wondered, if I had left her out there for a long time, could that

create aggression when I reintroduced her because she's in a different smelling environment? Or is it really just the vet?

Marilyn Krieger (13:28)

No, it's not just the vet. That's very good question. ⁓ Yes, it could have. And another thing, I've had clients whose cat has ⁓ escaped. They're indoor cats and one has gone outside and has been outside and then comes in and then there's aggression. Same thing, same thing. Smells different, bringing those smells in. I don't recognize you. You look the same, but.

Amy Castro (13:51)

And does it matter how long they've been gone? Like if I just take my cat to the vet for vaccines and things like that and come back versus, they had surgery and then they were in the hospital for a week or does the smell just kind of happen automatically?

Marilyn Krieger (14:05)

yeah, as soon as there's smells in that vet in that clinic, as soon as the cat comes in, it'll be on their fur, they'll smell different, yeah.

Amy Castro (14:15)

That's good to know. So what kind of aggression is it? We used to have a cat that would lie and wait around the corners and then it never did it to me, but he would wait until my husband walked by and then just like pounce and bite his legs. he always thought, this cat hates me. And I'm like, I think he's just playing with you, but I didn't know any better. But what are your thoughts on that? Is that play aggression? Because he didn't seem like he was mad. He was just, I don't know.

Seemed like he wanted to play with his big feet.

Marilyn Krieger (14:45)

Well, it could be. It could be. It also can be status. There could be status stuff going on. There could be resource guarding a few things that could be going on on that one. ⁓ It could be that men have a tendency to walk a little ⁓ heavier than women. And that could be intimidating, but not aggressive. You know, it's not being aggressive. But.

⁓ So there are different things that can be causing that. And the first thing I would do is I would look around and see what sort of vertical territory is around. And if there is like a tall cat tree that's at least five feet tall in that area where that's happening, that would be something. Also make sure there are scratchers

I would also make sure that your husband's relationship with the cat was really good. I would suggest he would feed the cat. He would do things with his scent with the cat, things like that.

Amy Castro (15:41)

Yeah, I think he was more the type that was roughhousing with him. And so it's like he created that dynamic. and it's like, yeah, it's all fine and good when he's little, but now he's biting your feet and drawing blood. So have fun with that.

Marilyn Krieger (15:53)

Yeah, well, and that's it because as a kitten, have to say you never want to play using your hands. Hands are for loving, toys are for playing.

Amy Castro (16:05)

I've learned that lesson for sure. know, along the lines of him saying, like I said, he thought the cat hated him or whatever, ⁓ why do you think people, whether it's aggression in this instance, or sometimes I'll hear people say it about the litter box, you know, they're not using the litter box because they're trying to spite me because I went away on vacation, or they're doing this to me because I am working long hours and they're trying to give me payback by doing this.

Why do people want to make it about themselves, do you think?

Marilyn Krieger (16:34)

Well, they anthropomorphize, definitely. it's easier than to figure out the reasons, because people relate to themselves. This is behaviors that they're used to. They're used to people around them being spiteful or doing stuff to get even with or get back at them. And this is more human behavior. There are always reasons for behavior, but

anthropomorphizing is very interesting because although people will do that because it's easier and it has some negatives because it doesn't allow people to really figure out and find out what is causing the problem whatever it is whether it's litter box ⁓ whether it's aggression whatever it is and litter box you know also can be quite serious because if you think the cat is revenge peeing it's not

And people really believe that, but they believe that and then they don't take the cat to the vet. And the cat has a very serious problem. So anthropomorphizing can be serious, but having said that, it's important to say that animals are animals, whatever your species, and cats will grieve, for instance, ⁓ just like we do. Cats feel happy, cats feel sad, they get depressed.

So there are some things that anthropomorphizing would be a useful thing. The one with, here's a good one, people say, my cat is jealous. Well, that's really interesting. Cats will do what is called resource guarding. And you can call that jealousy, but it's different than what people do. You'll have one litter box, and it's down the hall.

And you'll see cat A is looking really cute and cat A is rolling around in the middle of the hall where down the hall is a litter box and cat B won't dare go by cat A. Well cat A is actually resource guarding that litter box. Cat B doesn't want to go in there because she's afraid she's going to be trapped or cornered. So cat A is resource guarding. So that's an example for instance.

Amy Castro (18:51)

Yeah,

so it doesn't have to be, because a lot of times people think, well, nobody was in the litter box. But yeah, but if your cat was blocking the hallway, because I've seen him rolling around like they're just rubbing their back or just playing. And then as soon as that other cat walks by, bam-o, he's on him. Exactly. So personally, I have been...

badly bitten by a cat before, and I've been many times bitten and scratched not so badly along the way. And I've learned some things and some mistakes I've made. But what would you say when a cat is behaving aggressively or you see those signs? I know one of the things you said was if you're physically touching the cat to stop, if you're starting to see those signs. But what about if it's ⁓ a cat on cat aggression? How do you...

Keep it from escalating, but also stay safe at the same time.

Marilyn Krieger (19:44)

Yeah, it's very important that you never wade into a fight or pick up a cat to separate a cat or use your body because you probably will become a victim of redirected aggression. It's perfectly understandable. safety, your safety is a priority. The first thing you want to do is recognize that body language we talked about and know that something's going to happen.

What you can do is get large pieces of cardboard that you have ⁓ boxes that you've cut down that you put around in areas that might be kind of hot areas. And then when you see there's a problem, you slip that piece of cardboard between the two cats so they can't see each other. Then without getting too excited, you don't want to yell and scream because that can escalate the aggression.

and can create more of a negative association between the two cats. So you try to be as calm as possible. You put that cardboard in between and then herd one of the cats into another room and close the door.

Amy Castro (20:50)

Okay, and that, I was gonna say, that works. Of course, obviously it does, but I'm envisioning a situation where the cats are already heightened and I'm trying to slide cardboard. won't redirect towards me because I'm keeping them from their mortal enemy.

Marilyn Krieger (21:05)

No, that's why you want a large piece of cardboard. Now, if they are already engaging, it's not going to work. The cardboard isn't going to work because they're already engaging. So these are cats that you can see. You recognize the body language. So these are cats that you can see they're going to be problems. And then you move them away. If they are already engaging, you can throw something like a blanket or something next to them. And they'll look.

And that sometimes just enough for the other cat to escape. So sometimes that will also ⁓ stop the fight. But don't use your hands or you're going to get bitten.

Amy Castro (21:44)

Definitely. obviously, yeah, for sure. And definitely not yelling because I think, like I know I've broken up dog fights before and it's very hard not to just be like, know, like scream really loud because it's startling when it happens.

Marilyn Krieger (21:46)

address.

Yeah, and the thing is too, when you're yelling, can, as I say, can escalate them. And cats are so, so sensitive. They pick up things so quickly, know, so easily, your moods and everything. And then if they're even more ⁓ fearful or whatever, it'll be directed onto whoever they're chasing or fighting.

Amy Castro (22:26)

How much, when you're talking about these different reasons for the aggression, ⁓ how much does the environment itself, like is it more likely to have a cat fight in a small home versus a big home where everybody has corners to go to, for lack of a better term? Or can we do things to set up the environment appropriately to avoid cat aggression?

Marilyn Krieger (22:48)

You can. First of all, cats have a flexible hierarchy. And this is also one way of increasing territory. Cats are very territorial. But this flexible hierarchy is not static. But one way they show their position in this hierarchy is by where they sit in relationship with each other. That means high vertical territory, tall cat trees that are

minimally five feet in height, depending on the cat, of course, even on the breed. Now, the other thing too is make sure there are multiple ways up and down to the top of those vertical territory. Cats never want to be in a position where they feel trapped or cornered. Same thing with litter boxes. You want to make sure that you have multiple litter boxes around so that cats have choices.

and that they don't feel they can be trapped or cornered. This is another reason not to use covered litter boxes. You also want to have plenty of scratchers around, horizontal as well as vertical, because one way that cats mark their territory is by scratching. They also scratch when they're feeling stressed and conflicted. So those are a few things that'll help with the environment.

Amy Castro (24:10)

Yeah, and I, you know, it's interesting because we, you when we did the episode about introducing cats, I went out to our, the building where I have my cats right now was not designed for cats. It by any way, it was designed specifically for dogs. So it's not set up well for cats. And, you know, I had brought their cat tree from the house because I knew it would smell familiar and their litter box. But I set them both up in a dog kennel run and they get along well. There's no aggression, but

I really started looking at where can I create some other spaces for them, like putting a dog bed up on a table or cat bed up on a table. I put one, because I know Pickles is ⁓ much more agile than the other two. And so I put one for her up on top of the dryer so she can have that vantage point. And then I was spacing out their food a little bit better. I feel like that...

It seems like it has made an impact on giving them a little more elbow room and Pickles has better access to the food instead of kind of waiting until the other two leave so she can go in there. She always gets, they're not pushing her out per se, but she won't go in there and push her way in like the other two will. She'll wait and walk away. And then when everybody else is gone, then she goes in and eats the leftovers. Well, that's what we don't need. We don't need the skinny one waiting for the leftovers because there's not much left. So.

Marilyn Krieger (25:30)

Well, cat, are solitary and they need their own resources. So each cat needs to have his or her own food dish, not next to each other. But that way they can make the choice. They can then, yours looks better and they go over and eat their food and the other will come back and eat the other food. They shouldn't just have one dish. They need to have separate ones in separate areas, if you can, of that space.

The other thing that vertical territory will do is it actually increases the space, okay, so now you have higher territory, so it's a larger area when you put that vertical territory in.

Amy Castro (26:11)

Yeah. So even if you are living in a smaller space with cats, by creating that vertical space, you're increasing the surface areas that they can get on. So that's probably especially important in a smaller home. So we've talked about staying safe and setting the house up to reduce conflict, but sometimes the bigger issue is stress. how would the stress between cats be different?

Is it triggered by something else stressful that's going on in the environment all of a sudden that's creating that?

Marilyn Krieger (26:40)

So that's really interesting. There are a lot of things that can cause stress between cats. And you have more than aggression that can occur from that stress too. So for instance, bringing in another cat will definitely increase the tension Whenever there is any change in the household, it can increase some sort of tension.

anything that disrupts the hierarchy. And there's a lot of things that can disrupt it. So for instance, one cat might not be feeling very well, or is it the vet? That will disrupt that hierarchy. Even moving furniture around in the household can create tension and stress in the household. So there are very many things that can do that. Now, aggression isn't the only thing that you might see. You might also see litter box issues, for instance.

Because when cats are stressed and they don't feel safe, they don't feel safe in the litter box, then you're going to find that they may ⁓ urinate outside the litter box. And that is a pretty common thing.

Amy Castro (27:39)

yeah. We see that a lot as to why people want to give up their cats because that's happening. And I think that ties back to the issue of it being so important that you identify the cause instead of just my cats being a jerk and not using the litter box.

Marilyn Krieger (27:59)

Right, exactly. That's right.

Amy Castro (28:01)

if you want to be able to solve it instead of passing them off to a rescue to solve it for you. So we did an episode, so I highly encourage people to go back and listen to the episode on introducing cats properly because that can be the entree into aggressive behavior. But the idea of being able to recognize the behavior, creating an environment that gives everybody their own personal space, a lot of enrichment in the environment too would be helpful.

Anything else that we can do to set ourselves up for success to avoid aggression?

Marilyn Krieger (28:35)

Well,

I always go back to clicker training. know? OK. Yeah. Clicker training is fun for cats. And it also ⁓ reinforces behavior. And you use treats. But ⁓ you can use food treats or some cats love to be petted. And that would be a treat. So what you can do is if the cats are in the same room without any problem, then you reinforce them. So you get kind of this double dose of good.

It's really a fun thing to do, and it's very useful for helping to incompatible behaviors, give cats other things to do. But if they're doing them kind of together, then they're going to start having positive associations with each other. And I want to talk about laser pointers and why you don't want to use laser pointers. What happens is that when a cat is hunting or playing, there's a release of different neurotransmitters.

Amy Castro (29:19)

Mm-hmm.

Marilyn Krieger (29:32)

One of them is dopamine, and it floods their system. We, all animals have it. We have it too. But what happens is that ⁓ it only stops being released after the, for the cat. They feel their prey underneath their paws. So for instance, they're going after this beam and it only stops being released after they catch that prey. They feel it.

Well, there is nothing they can feel when you're using a laser pointer. So what happens is that dopamine keeps being released into the system and it can keep the cat escalated up in aggression. So you don't want to use laser pointers with cats or with any animal, frankly, it's the same thing.

Amy Castro (30:17)

That's good to know. So for people who might be struggling with this or for people who want to prevent it because they're looking to get a new cat or they just got a new cat and it's going well but they don't want it to go in the wrong direction, what resources do you, because I know you've got a website, I know you've got a book, ⁓ what resources do you have available for them to help with that beyond what we've talked about today?

Marilyn Krieger (30:40)

Well, do consultations. I do remote consultations. I work with a lot of aggression cases remotely with success. Also, my book is called Naughty No More. And ⁓ my website is The Cat Coach. And I also have a Facebook presence, which is The Cat Coach. And we talk about all sorts of things, cats. And there's lots of conversations going on in there. Great.

Amy Castro (31:06)

Okay, so we'll definitely put links to that up in our show notes. Any final words of encouragement for somebody who might be struggling right now with a cat with some aggression issues?

Marilyn Krieger (31:18)

Yeah, be patient. You you're on cat time and you don't want to force them together. You never force cats together. It always should be about choice. And so you set it up so that they want to get to know each other, whatever it is, but don't force them and just know it's going to take time. And sometimes it takes a lot of time, but be patient.

Amy Castro (31:43)

Yeah. And what about for somebody who might be dealing with some aggression issues with the cat being aggressive towards them? Because I know we talked about not anthropomorphizing the behavior, but it still can be, I think, a little bit hurtful, you know, like that your cat's attacking you and now you know, it impacts your relationship with the cat. Is there anything that I can kind of tell myself to work through that while I'm working on the problem itself?

Marilyn Krieger (32:09)

It does because frankly, yeah, when a cat is aggressive to you, and as we know, those bites can really hurt, then you wonder, can you trust the cat? Is this gonna happen again? So what you have to do is figure out exactly the reasons why, and then address those reasons and go slowly. And if you need to, if you're used to sleeping with a cat, for instance,

every night. Well, it might be for a while you're not sleeping with the cat because you need to keep safe. But then later as you see things are getting better and you've addressed the reason for the behavior, then the cat can come back.

Amy Castro (32:48)

Mm-hmm. And I was just thinking of another thing related to, you know, we mentioned taking the cat to the vet to eliminate physical causes or, you know, illness, injury, ⁓ condition, whatever it might be that's causing the aggression. How helpful have you found veterinarians to be as far as, there's nothing physically wrong with the cat, but I'm having these behavior issues where he's attacking me. Can veterinarians help with that? Like, does medication help?

Marilyn Krieger (33:15)

There are some medications that definitely will help in conjunction with behavior modification though, because you have to address the reasons for the behavior. Because when you stop the medication, the reasons are still there. So you have to work together with the medication as well as behavior modifications.

Amy Castro (33:37)

Okay. Yeah. And I think people need to be okay with that. You know, I know that, sometimes people are hesitant, like, I don't want my cat on Prozac, You know, it's almost like it's admitting defeat to give the medication. And it's like, well, the medication's not going to solve it. You still have to do the work. But it might make it easier to do the work if the cat's, you know, one or two levels down from where they are.

Marilyn Krieger (34:01)

That's right. The medication, depending on what it is, can actually make it easier for the cat to learn new habits, for the cat to modify its behavior.

Amy Castro (34:11)

Yeah. So definitely, you know, in addition to focusing on the behavior or working with a behaviorist or contacting Marilyn, you know, work with your veterinarian and say, hey, I need some help with this behavior issue. All right. Well, Marilyn, thank you so much for coming back on the show again so soon. I appreciate you taking the time to be here today. And hopefully this will help our friends who are dealing with this issue. Everything's fairly peaceful at my house right now, but I've definitely...

Definitely been there and it's not fun. So I empathize with anybody that's dealing with this right now and appreciate your help.

Marilyn Krieger (34:43)

Well, thank you for asking me to come back. It's really a pleasure. Thank you.

Amy Castro (34:48)

Before you go, if you know someone who's dealing with a cat that suddenly started biting, swatting, or acting aggressively, please share this episode with them. A lot of people assume aggressive behavior means their cat is mean, that they don't love them anymore, or their cat has a bad personality, when in reality it's often a signal that something else is going on. We just need to figure it out. And if you want more practical help navigating life with cats, be sure you're following the show so you don't miss future episodes of the Pet Parent Hotline.

Thanks for listening to the Pet Parent Hotline. If you enjoyed the show, don't keep it to yourself. Text a friend right now with a link and tell them I've got a show that you need to hear. And ask them to let you know what they think. And remember, your pet's best life starts with you living yours. So be sure to take good care of yourself this week and your pets.