Why does my sweet lounge-lizard cat start to get very aggressive at MY bedtime?

Is he “fixed”?

Yes. Half of the day he snoozes in a sunny spot; he’s in and out a dozen or more times.Then as the sun sets, he really wants to hunt outside and glares at me balefully. By 11 I become the mouse or vole, it seems.

Cats love the nighttime. Give him a good, hard play session 30 min. before you want to go to bed. That should do the trick.

I use an old fishing pole and string attached to it, but it seems to overstimulate him. Any other toy ideas? HIs attention span seems to be about 15 seconds unless it is the wire to the mouse. One friend suggested a laser light and another thought it was dangerous and could damage a cat’s eyes.

Lasers are good, just don’t shine it directly into his eyes. It might not be the toy itself so much as the way you are using it. Think about the hunt. He doesn’t want it to be easy. He wants to stalk, chase and “eat” his conquest. Also think vertically. Maybe he wants airborne prey. I have yet to meet a cat who doesn’t love these. Try feathers instead of string. You’ll find something. You can always let some crickets or other small, harmless bugs in the house.

@tinyfaery: I just checked his bag of toys and those feathered things were in there – two of them. I had tied a long piece of rawhide to one, but it didn’t tickle his fancy. However, when I came home today from several hours of chores, I found a broom on the floorwith half the bristles torn out; they were cushioning a dead mouse.

And he loves an occasional fly or moth or ant. I just have to make sure they are alive. They come in through the holes that Milo has torn in my screens.

Try just throwign the flutter balls to him. My boy cat isn’t mush for toys but he loves to throw those balls up in the air, and catch them in his mouth. Wag it around a bit to get his attention, and then throw it across his field of vision to stimulate his hunting instincts. Is it still cold to let him outside?

He is in and out now. He needs me in his field of vision if I want him to stay out more than 20 minutes. Inside, he is just as happy with a pencil, crushed piece of tissue paper or my empty iMac box. But his attention span is short, unless the mouse is live (or attached to my keyboard.)

Today was a stimulating day. He rode in the car, threw up, got his nails cut, rode home, and then caught a mouse in my basement. Now he is sleeping the sleep of the almost dead.

And in a few hours he’ll be up and ready for fun.

@tinyfaery: Thanks for sharing.

Revisiting this endlessly fascinating question, I have found the definitive answer, which is not very helpful. (I have lost the source.)

”Your-Time-To-Pet-Me-Is-Up” Biting

The Problem:

Cats that seem immensely pleased by your petting only to suddenly whirl around and bite you have always perplexed me. These cats purr up to the moment they attack. Some say that this is due to the cat’s short attention span. That there is a fine line between what is pleasurable and what is annoying. Others think these displays occur when a sensitive area on the body has been touched. Some cats will beg for attention only to sink their teeth into you a few minutes later.

The Solution:

Release your cat at the first sign it has had enough petting. Some signs that you are approaching the limits of the cat’s tolerance are restlessness, tail twitching, flattened ears, twitching ears and a tendency to move its head toward your hand. One can attempt to deprogram these cats by feeding them a tasty treat just before you think they might attack. But I have found no solution for the Dr. Jekel and Mr. Hyde cats whose tempers turn on a dime. I just accept their idiosyncrasies and sterilize the cuts and scratches with iodine and alcohol.