Stray cat with odd temperament

by Anonymous

About a month ago, a stray cat began to visit my yard. I live in the city, so strays are pretty common, and most people (including myself) leave food out for them.

This cat was super friendly, came right up to me and rubbed on me without a second thought, chattered and purred away. No problems.

He gobbled up his food. We suspect he may have been abandoned, just judging by how friendly he is, but there is one problem.

Occasionally when he rubs on your legs, he suddenly changes moods. He suddenly is aggressive and wants to attack. It's really strange, he'll rub on your legs himself, but then react to you as if you've touched him without him wanting to be touched, clawing and trying to bite at your legs.

We've noticed it seems to be a problem centered around his back legs, and he does have a bit of a waddle to his gait, but his little 'tantrums' seem to come out of nowhere.

I thought maybe he was injured so I avoided touching that area, but there's no physical indication of a wound, and his little tantrums also come without being touched.

One day I was petting him in my lap (he jumped up himself) and he suddenly had a tantrum, hissing and growling. I let him hop down and walk away. Then I refilled his food dish and suddenly he was acting as if nothing had happened.

I suspect that there has to be something wrong with him, but I'm just not sure what.

Thanks for any theories!