Aggression is a form of defense and protection from harm. It is not common for cats to display aggressive behavior toward humans. In general, when faced with an unfriendly or threatening person, they prefer flight or avoidance. But cats can be aggressive to people and may bite or claw. A common type of aggression is chase, or predatory aggression, in which a cat jumps out at a person as he walks by and sinks her teeth and claws into an ankle or leg.
Sometimes fear of something else (for example, an unknown cat outside) will cause a cat to strike out at a human
Next: Social Behavior
Reprinted from Cat Speak by Bash Dibra © 2001. Permission granted by New American Library.
