8 Types of Cat Aggression Explained

Cat aggression appears in a multitude of ways, and sometimes it can be very unexpected. The truth is that aggression in cats is quite interesting, since there can be a variety of cat aggression types, and each one of them is very distinctive and rather unique too. Which brings the question, what are the different types of cat aggression?

Play

Play aggression is quite normal because your cat is a predator at first and thus it has predator instincts. These end up coming in front and thus your pet which seems very tame and friendly can have an outburst of multiple attacks. This does happen more often than usual, and it’s one of the cat aggression types that will take you by surprise.

Redirected 

If you have 2 cats and one sees something, they might actually end up battling it together to reach that goal alone. It’s very challenging when you have 2 cats because redirected cat aggression can happen more often than expected.

Overstimulation

Some cats will not be fine with you petting them at all. Overstimulation can differ from cat to cat, but you will see various signs that your cat doesn’t like you are stroking it too much. And when that happens, it’s a good idea to take action and see what else you can do to solve the problem. 

Pain induced

There are times when cat aggression appears due to pain. If the cat in question is dealing with constant pain, then it might be possible for your pet to try and circumvent that pain via being aggressive. Maybe your cat doesn’t want to be touched at all, these things happen.

Status

Some cats want to show their status, that they own something and they will block you and not let you go to the place you want. The truth is that some cats are like that, and this is a type of cat aggression that might actually end up being very problematic. If you have limited space in your home, dealing with issues like this can lead to problems in the long term.

Territorial

This one is self-explanatory, you will see various cats that are territorial and they show aggression because you are entering their place. Sure, it’s your home, but a cat will mark and protect its own territory. And that’s where this type of aggression comes since the cat believes that’s her turf and you are invading it.

Non-recognition

If your cat sees something that she doesn’t recognize, or maybe was away for a while, it will attack. That kind of cat aggression is normal because cats are usually fearful of the unknown and random things happening. They dislike that, so they try to find a way to solve any such problems with great success.

Idiopathic

This is short for not having any known cause related to why the cat is doing this. It might be a random situation, or the cat can have its own reasons, but it’s hard to tell. If the cat aggression shown by your pet is not a part of the other categories, then it might be related to this.

You do want to keep in mind that there are always challenges to face and cat aggression is definitely one of them. As a pet owner, these things are normal since cats have their own personality and thus react in different ways. Not only will it help you quite a lot to learn why cat aggression appears, but studying these types of aggression might also help you find an answer as well!