I've had my cat for almost two years now. I got him when he was a little cute kitten. He's always been very active, playful and cuddly. We got another cat, which we've had for about a year now, so he could have a friend and they play with each other all the time. Just recently he's been acting extremely violent and nothing has changed at all. He wasn't neutered yet so I figured that was it and he'd be fine afterwards but NOPE he's still vicious. He has literally chased me and cornered me into rooms. Tonight I was trapped in my living room holding a rolled up rug towards him to keep him from clawing and biting the crap out of me which he has done before and made me bleed severely, leaving scars. I don't know if he's sick or if he's just the devil. He's always been so loving until now. I don't want to give him away because I don't want him to be euthanized but I can't even walk through my house without him cornering me and trying to seriously hurt me. He likes to rub his teeth on things too. I don't know if this is to sharpen them so he can attack everyone or if maybe his teeth are bothering him. Any answers? I love him so much and he was such a great kitty until now and I don't know what to do, he's dangerous!

Is this part of a novel like Cujo?

I've been around cats all my life and have never heard of such a thing. Have you talked with your vet about this?

This is not a segment from Cujo I promise! I know it seems a bit dramatic but it's all true. I've had cats all my life and this is the first time I've ever experienced a cat so mean and scary. I dread going home because I'm afraid he's going to eat me. If I put him in a separate room he meows non-stop but if I let him out because I feel bad he just comes at me. And if I run he runs faster and attacks.

You said he's neutered, right?

What do you mean by "attacks"?

This is a housecat or an exotic cat?

Yes he was neutered about 2 weeks ago. I do not have a freaking panther, he is a domestic black cat but I guess it could sound like that. He'll be fine for about the first 5 minutes you see him and then he starts getting aggressive and then he attacks. He'll hiss and growl very loud and then if you try to walk about he darts at you and jumps a few feet onto whatever he can latch to. It's also not in a playful way at all. I'm clueless I'm going to try and take him to the vet tomorrow.

Does he have things to climb inside and on (empty cardboard boxes are a favorite), a large catnip mouse or jingle-bell balls or other toys to play with? (the plastic rings around the tops of gallon milk bottles make great hockey pucks)

Do you play with him with interactive toys -- dangling something on a string or use a laser light?

What does he eat?

Does he use his litter box okay?

How much does he sleep?

How does he behave with the other cat?

Has his life changed during the past months?

Has his behavior changed mostly since he was neutered? (He could be in pain for some reason.)

Are you male or female? How old? (This might be a clue too.)

No this behavior happened before he was neutered. I got him neutered because I thought that was maybe the issue but it wasn't. Nothing has changed in his life at all. We always play with him too except we can't really play with him now because he's mean.

I'm going to suggest that, if possible, you talk to a veterinary behavior expert. Most newer graduates have training in this and can give you more reliable information than an Internet site.

It is fairly obvious by now that this behavior is not only unacceptable, but also dangerous. Something has set off alarms in kitty's psyche, and people seem to be involved in it. Anxiety and anger are emotions in a cat that run very closely together. When it becomes anger, the reaction is rapidly changed to aggression, or defense. Training is not likely to work because: 1) these are instinctive emotions, and 2) cats don't lend themselves to being easily trained, especially in this frame of mind.

As a possible explanation, unbeknown to the vet, during anesthesia kitty may have undergone a short period of oxygen deprivation to the brain. Neutering is a fairly short procedure, but most anesthesia problems occur at the start. Without sufficient oxygen, brain tissue suffers, and this usually changes the way the brain functions, depending on the area affected, sometimes temporarily, sometimes longer.

I suspect that this sounds like an excuse, but it is also a possibility and thus a possible explanation.

Yes. I am taking him to the vet in an hour I was just looking for a little insight. Although anesthesia could be a possibility it's not because as I stated before his behavior has been like this way before his neuter. I just figured that his neutering would help but it didn't change anything.