What to do if your Cat Suddenly Scratches or Bites a Person: Advice from the Mt. Olive TNR Project

What to do if your cat suddenly scratches or bites a person: Advice from the Mt. Olive TNR Project

If you have a cat who suddenly scratches or bites, please do not assume the cat is “dangerous” or “vicious” and have the cat killed. Instead, take the following steps:

1. If there is a bite, please visit a doctor or hospital right away to see if you need antibiotics. Cats have bacteria in their mouths and bite wounds can easily become infected. Also contact your local health department to let them know about the bite (the doctor will contact them anyway). The Animal Control Officer will tell you to confine the cat for 10 days to monitor their behavior and ensure they do not have rabies. This is routine. The quarantine can be done in your home and the Animal Control Officer will release the cat from quarantine at the end of 10 days if there are no signs of rabies. The law does not require that the cat be euthanized, just quarantined. For your safety and your cat’s safety, please make sure your cat is vaccinated against rabies.

2. When determining if the cat is a risk to you or others, consider the situation. Was the cat grabbed in a way that might have hurt or scared them? Was the cat cornered or caught mid-air? Was the cat in the middle of a fight with another animal or trying to get away from another animal? Did the person who was scratched or bitten inadvertently hurt or scare the cat in some other way?

Like anyone, cats defend themselves when they feel threatened. This does not mean they are generally dangerous or vicious. It means that care must be taken not to scare or hurt them and, if a child is too young to understand this, that the cat and the child should be separated when unsupervised.

3. If the bite or scratch was not obviously situational, get the cat vetted ASAP to see if they are in pain. A sudden change in behavior often indicates a medical problem that needs addressing. Tooth pain is a common culprit-imagine having a really bad toothache and not being able to tell anyone, and then someone inadvertently bumps into or presses on your mouth. Think you might react physically? We have seen an otherwise calm cat scratch a face in this situation-- turned out they had a very sensitive rotten tooth that needed to be removed by a vet. Cats can have other hidden sources of pain or illness that affect their behavior as well.

4. If the bite or scratch was not situational or due to physical pain or distress and is actually a behavioral problem, there are anti-anxiety and other psychiatric medications for cats. Gabapentin is often used to calm cats. Cats can also take Prozac. Ask your vet about prescribing one of these medications to take the edge off. We have seen these medications work miracles. Some cats also get overstimulated when being pet and nip or scratch when they’ve had too much. Learn your cat’s body language and, if they have this issue, only pet them once or twice at a time, even if they seem to want more attention.

5. If you cannot safely live with the cat, or do not want to, find a rescue that will take the cat. Do not assume that the rescue will act irresponsibly and adopt the cat out to someone inexperienced or someone with young children, or that they won’t disclose the cat’s prior behaviors. Rescues have no interest in finding inappropriate placements for animals; if they agree to take the cat, trust that they know what they’re doing. If you’re concerned, ask questions about their past experience, how they will handle the cat, and what they will do to figure out and address the source of the behavior. Give the rescue all of the information about what happened. Do not lie to the rescue about the cat’s behavior. If the cat really cannot live in a home, there are sanctuaries. Ask the rescue if they partner with one.

The Mt. Olive TNR Project has experience handling, working with, and finding appropriate placements for cats who have scratched or bitten in the past. If you have questions, feel free to contact us. Please be aware that we only accept cats from Mt. Olive.