Weird cat behavior at night

by Nathan
(California)

I have a half Siamese and half calico cat that we think was weened too early. She used to only love me and will let no one pet her other than my fiancée, and will even let me pet her belly with no qualms. But she thinks my fiancée is a toy and attacks her.


Anyone else, she will smell then hiss and run away but has never hurt anyone. Lately, she has to be lying against one of us at night all night, even when we kick her off the bed.

What's going on? She is now four years old and her behavior is so different at night. Any ideas?

Comments for Weird cat behavior at night

Average Rating starstarstarstarstar

Click here to add your own comments

Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Could be stress or illness
by: Kurt (Admin)

Cats do change their behavior and preferences from time to time, but sudden behavioral changes can be signs of stress or illness.

Sometimes cats will become clingy following a trauma of some kind, or when they're feeling out of sorts.

As for treating your fiancée like a toy and attacking her, sometimes cats react unpredictably when people approach them.

It sometimes depends on the mood. If Jazzy is in an excited state and ready to play and I get my face too close to him, he'll sometimes swat my face with his paw. If he's relaxed, though, he'll just have a nose-to-nose sniff session with me.

If your fiancée gets a little too "in your face" about things when your cat is excited or agitated, that may evoke an aggressive response.

Has your fiancée ever used her hands like toys with your cat? This tends to encourage aggressive playing. I've made that mistake with cats in the past, and I'm careful to not do that anymore.

Things to think about:

What's different about night from day?

Are there cats or other animals hanging around outside at night? This can create anxiety in your cat.

Is she having vision problems? If she's losing her vision, she may become clingy.

Has anything changed around the house (people, routines, etc.) prior to the behavior change? As I've said many times, cats hate change, and things that may seem unimportant to us can be important to your cat.

I would recommend checking with your veterinarian, because as I said above, sudden changes in behavior can indicate illness.

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Cat Behavior Problems.