A growl can change in intensity from beginning to end. It can also be mixed in with other sounds like howls, moans, yowls, and hisses. All kinds of mammals growl. In most mammals, the growl is Level 1 aggression. Cats use the growl in a variety of situations. This is a short list of common occasions when cats growl, and it is by no means exhaustive. Any cat who is feeling afraid, unhappy, scared, frustrated, confused, or irritated, may use a growl to express her feelings.
Does your cat only growl at the veterinarian? If your cat is growling at you, heed the growl, for your sake and for his. For your sake, do not let the growl intensify into hissing, spitting, scratching, biting. Now take the hint. For her sake, listen when she speaks. Your house cat is mostly powerless. She controls almost nothing about her environment and life.
Give her space if you can. Leave her alone if you suspect you might be giving her more physical affection than she may enjoy. If the growling is between a cat and a dog in the same household, ask yourself whether you've chosen the right pets to live together, whether you've set up your home to keep both animals safe, and whether you've properly introduced your pets to each other.
For more information, read this blog post:. Can cats and dogs ever get along? Read this guide on introducing your cats:. If the growling occurs between cats who have always gotten along, evaluate your household. Non-recognition aggression happens when a cat previously was familiar with a person or other animal, but since they have been gone for a while, the cat no longer recognizes the leaving party.
Your cat can also display their dominance with aggressive growling at another offending party. Sometimes, cats will growl to convey that they are confused or scared. This can happen when a foreign object or person enters your home that has never been there before. If your cat is growling while she is alone and not displaying aggressive or fearful body language, she might be suffering from physical pain.
Some cats growl when they have internal pain you may not be able to see, like a urinary tract infection or aching teeth. Your cat might make the pain known to you through growling.
Some cats will be more easily annoyed by things than others. A lot of this will depend on the personality and their past. Cats with a less-than-ideal kittyhood might growl a lot more often than cats who grew up with good care.
One cat owner discovered her cat growled every time the owner was interrupted from petting or scratching the cat! Does she look like she could attack right now, or is she super scared? A growl might lead to an attack and injury for you. A verbal or physical punishment to a growling cat will just add fuel to the fire. This is not the right time for reprimanding.
The best thing to do for your distressed cat, whatever the reason, is to try to pinpoint the reason for his distress. The vet will check for possible pain points or run through behavioral troubleshooting with you to help you come to some solution. Hopefully, you will soon find out why your cat growls and put an end to it. This should create a positive association with food and the presence of the other cat. If no hissing or spitting occurs and the cats eat the food, the cages are gradually brought closer and closer to each other over a period of days and meals.
This may take several weeks. Then one cat at a time is allowed out of its cage to explore and, if no aggression occurs, then both are allowed to interact under supervision. The re-introduction needs to be slow. In some cases medication may also be needed your vet will advise.
Your vet will advise. The cat may patrol its territory and mark it by rubbing or spraying to maintain social distance as well as define hierarchy. The cat is aggressive to another cat that approaches or enters his territory and he may attack. The behaviour may be more marked in entire toms in the breeding season. Unfamiliar cats are less well tolerated than familiar or neighbouring cats.
The aggression decreases with increased distance away from the territory. An accurate diagnosis is essential if the problem is to be successfully resolved. If the aggression is directed towards another cat within the home they may need to be separated and reintroduced as described above. In some cases, medication may also be needed to treat the cat your vet will advise. Physical punishment must not be used as it will exacerbate the problem.
This article provides some basic advice about five common types of aggression directed at other cats and how to deal with them: Fear aggression Inter-male aggression Play aggression Redirected aggression Territorial aggression 1. Fear aggression Fear aggression may be exhibited in a combination of offensive and defensive responses. Underlying causes Cat personalities can be divided into two main genetic types: timid, fearful cats or confident, friendly cats, and this may account for some fearful behaviours.
Treatment Depending of the severity of the problem the cat may need no treatment or may need behaviour modification, such as desensitisation and counter-conditioning, in combination with medication in severe or long-standing cases. Inter-male aggression In male-male aggression the cat flattens his ears, howls, hisses, pilo-erects and uses both the teeth and claws in fights.
Underlying causes Targets are usually moving objects or people and may be another cat, especially an older one, in the household. Treatment The aim of treatment is to redirect the play behaviour onto more suitable objects rather than trying to stop the behaviour completely.
Redirected Aggression Redirected aggression occurs when the original target of the aggression is not accessible and the cat now directs its aggression towards an unrelated target, a person or another cat, that enters the area soon after. Underlying causes The eliciting factors of the aggression are different in the initial and subsequent episodes. Treatment The cat should be left alone until it is calm and no attempt should be made to try to calm or reassure it.
Territorial Aggression The cat may patrol its territory and mark it by rubbing or spraying to maintain social distance as well as define hierarchy. Underlying causes The behaviour may be more marked in entire toms in the breeding season. Treatment An accurate diagnosis is essential if the problem is to be successfully resolved. How can I be a responsible cat owner?
My cat is being aggressive towards me, what should I do? Home Companion Animals Cats Behaviour. Tagged: Animal behaviour Animals living together Problem behaviours.
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