Strange cat behaviour.

I have a cat, well, I have a cat and a dog, but its the cat thats causing me some puzzlement.

I've had him since he was a kitten, some 7 years so far. In all that time, he's been largely independent. I feed and water him, I change his litter. He mostly ignores me. He will occasionally let me pet him once or twice before biting me quite savagely.

I considered this to be the norm for him.

Just recently however, quite out of the blue, his behaviour has changed. Whenever I lay down on the couch in the evening with a movie, he will drop down off his perch in the window, trot over to me, wrap himself around my neck, lick my hair (I can't stop him), and then go to sleep, still draped around my neck. I still can't pet him more than once or twice, before he bites me.

I am puzzled why his behaviour would suddenly change from not wanting anything to do with me beyond "feed me, water me, go away now", to wanting to lay wrapped around my neck, and grooming me.

Even the dog sits on the floor staring at him with a "wtf" look on her face.

Any ideas?

a reply to: BMorris

One of my cats has "phases" like that. I would say to enjoy it while it lasts.

Also, and this is always my first thought.... Is he eating and drinking as usual? If yes, you probably have nothing to worry about.

If his eating/drinking and defecating is normal...the cat is normal.
My oldest always wants a spot on my lap. After a stroke or 2 ...I get claws. She's just like that.
She's at my command, does everything I want when I ask...but when it comes to me giving her affection...well she's just fed up with that pretty soon.

a reply to: BMorris

It's no wonder Schrodinger used a cat for his thought experiment as you never really know what they'll do.

My cat is sleeping on the bed at the moment, if I called it over it wouldn't respond but sometimes it becomes affectionate. Knowing how cats think is like knowing how quantum mechanics work, sometimes there is no point in trying to understand how they work.

a reply to: BMorris

Any changes in your clothes washing powder/fabric softener? Shampoo?

What cats like seems to be as varied as humans, one of my old cats would roll around our tiled floor for a good 20 mins every time it was disinfected with a certain brand of disinfectant because she loved the smell.

a reply to: BMorris

Hormone changes in yourself maybe, such as if you're a woman, pregnancy, menstruation or menopause. Men sometimes go through a hormone change a bit after mid-life too.

My cat did that for awhile. He would jump up on the couch back and grab the head of whoever was sitting there from behind with his claws out and 'power groom' them until he felt you were sufficiently clean. He did it for a couple of years and then eventually he stopped doing this.

Being the evil bastard that I am I never gave people the heads up.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus


My cat did that for awhile. He would jump up on the couch back and grab the head of whoever was sitting there from behind with his claws out and 'power groom' them until he felt you were sufficiently clean. He did it for a couple of years and then eventually he stopped doing this.

Being the evil bastard that I am I never gave people the heads up.

Augustus, sometimes I could swear you're a friend of mine who hasn't told me he's on ATS. If you're him, you really are an evil bastard! In a good kinda way.

originally posted by: Klassified

Augustus, sometimes I could swear you're a friend of mine who hasn't told me he's on ATS. If you're him, you really are an evil bastard! In a good kinda way.

Well, if you live in the NYC area there is a high probability you have personally experienced my evilness.

a reply to: BMorris

Cats do sometimes just change behavior. Does he get yearly check ups? If so, you could mention that his behavior has changed. If everything else is normal, I wouldn't worry about it.

We had a cat that was about 16 years old, who hated to be held. As soon as I picked him up, he was struggling to get loose. We boarded him for a few days and he became the most LOVING cat who wanted to be held all the time! They're strange creatures.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: Klassified

Augustus, sometimes I could swear you're a friend of mine who hasn't told me he's on ATS. If you're him, you really are an evil bastard! In a good kinda way.

Well, if you live in the NYC area there is a high probability you have personally experienced my evilness.

Nah, I'm in the midwest. But you certainly remind me of him. Some time I'll have to tell you what he did years ago, that earned him that "evil bastard" designation. It's not PC to tell it in the forum.

You do know cats often take on characteristics of their caretakers.

originally posted by: Klassified

You do know cats often take on characteristics of their caretakers.

Well, we both do hate Pomeranians and get a monthly stipend from the CIA for our disinformation efforts.

He still eats as he always has, he still drinks as he always has. No change in detergent or anything else. He just.. changed overnight. I don't think he's ill or anything, his behaviour just changed.

Maybe he did a "I'll confuse my slave, for giggles" thing.

a reply to: BMorris

I didn't see where you mentioned if this was a male or female and you, also, did not mention if it had been spayed/neutered...so those would be my first questions, aside from the hormonal possibilities there could be an attraction to a new fragrance or there may be a need for attention due to a medical condition.

I am guessing male and neutered btw and that it is a medical condition that needs attention.

interestingly my cat recently went through a very similar change, i have owned him for almost 8 years i got him as a kitten at a local shelter he was badly abused before i took him home, (broken leg and burns over 50% of his body) So understandably he was very skddish around people other than my wife and myself. Over the last month or so he has become super affectionate and almost to the point of being friendly with other people inside my house from regular guest all the way down to strangers. It is very confusing as it is out of the norm for him. To give you a clue as to what type of cat he used to be his name is Buddy Dynamite as he would be your buddy one min and blow up on you the next lol.

a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

No more stranger than the humans that think they own them!

Sounds like you guys got some mean cats if I say so myself. I had a silver tabby once when I was a child named her smokey. Never clawed or bit anyone ever. She would love attention, sit on your lap and let you pet her to infinity. She had the softest pur I have heard from a cat hardly audible. She passed away at home in her bed she simply didn't wake up one day and was in a coma. I gave her a few last pats and with a breath she was gone...


Damn got me all welled up...





a reply to: BMorris

Ment to add this to my previous post but smokey had a odd fetish also she was totally obsessed with the smell of bleach. When my mom would wash the floors she would roll all over the damp spots and snif the bleach smell so vigorously you could hear her snort.



a reply to: BMorris

You know, after thinking about this, 'strange cat behavior' is kind of redundant. They are all freaking strange.

What behavior does a cat have that is "normal"?

I live with four of them. They're all strange, but in different ways and have obvious phases in their patterns of behavior that I have observed in the past few years.

Of course, I was a dog in a recent past life and can't really understand felines.