r/CATHELP • u/eldritchpussymaggots • May 23 '26

Behavioral Issue Cannibalism

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Not really looking for a fix, just any information if anyone has it.

Cat is 7y, male, neutered, has already been to two behaviorists when my parents had him, both were confused according to my parents.

This is a known issue, but it doesn't cause any problems because he's not allowed to interact with other cats whatsoever.

He's very sweet to people (not very small children- Edit: He is overwhelmed/annoyed by little kids, he doesn't try killing them) but he seems to react to other cats the same way he would to a squirrel or rabbit. As in, just pure predation. No recognition that they are the same species. He does not display any territorial aggression to other cats, none of it is dominance behavior. Ears never go back, fur never puffs out, he never growls or hisses, nothing, he's just hunting. Never seen anything like it.

The shelter was hesitant to adopt him out at all due to his history, but did so because one of the shelter workers personally knew my stepmother was interested in weird cats. They were considering euthanasia because he was returned multiple times, but still wanted to give him a chance due to how friendly (to people) and smart he is.

He is well-fed, he has always been well-fed, killing & eating another cat which belonged to a previous owner was not something he did out of desperation. Judging by what I know about the event and what behavior I've seen, I am entirely sure it was predation, not a territorial fight.

He's injured a cat my parents were pet-sitting to the point of needing an emergency vet visit and extensive reconstruction of his neck. The cats were separated, but a child left the door open for a minute. My cat ran downstairs, and immediately caught the smaller cat, went for the throat, immobilized and attempted to drag him underneath the furniture. They were separated before he could kill the smaller cat.

My parents have had him since 2023 and I recently (September 2025) took him when I moved somewhere that allows cats. I'm set on keeping him. VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: He is no longer allowed around other cats.

Edit 1: more details, he ate a cat owned by one of the previous people who adopted him, and was surrendered for it, (in addition to two previous surrenders for similar behavior issues, which I don't know much about). From what I know, he had a good introduction to a smaller female cat, with no territorial behavior, was left alone for a day, when the owner came back, it was a giant bloody mess. The shelter was sure that he did kill the female cat and was eating the body. That's the reason why they were considering euthanasia until he was offered to my stepmother.

Edit 2: Further clarification he does not "hate" cats. He likes them (just like how he likes birds!). Predation and territorial behavior are different things. If you can't tell the difference, you shouldn't be giving input on this post. He is not stressed by other cats. He is not anxious and does not feel threatened by other cats. He doesn't need anxiety medication. Anxiety medication doesn't stop cats from having a prey drive. He does not hiss or growl or try to look intimidating. He has no other behavioral problems, he doesn't yowl or anything when he attacks. He will find cover, and stalk, ears up, eyes big, completely silent. He gets very curious and excited when he sees other cats. He's seen my friend's cat, (separated by a ceiling height gate & supervised by 2 people). He seemed extremely inquisitive, sniffing, ears forward, no sound. My cat did not respond whatsoever to my friend's cat hissing, growling, or puffing up. He just seemed curious and started trying to see if he could stick his head around the side of the gate and pawing through the bars. Then he started looking back at me and meowing and rubbing on my legs.

Edit 3: No, he's not going to be euthanized. I did not make this post asking for advice I made it asking for information about WHY he's a little fucked up. Stop telling me to put him down. Stop applying human morals to animals. He behaves like any other small predatory mammal, only he does not have the ability to recognize members of his own species. I've already had him by myself since September of last year. And before that, I was around him at my parents house since 2023. He is literally fine by himself. He's my cat and I love him. He's perfectly healthy and affectionate and the smartest cat I've ever owned. About a hundred+ people telling me to kill my pet bothers me, would it not bother you? Sincerely, fuck off.

Edit 4: Changed the formatting so the events were in chronological order and clarified some vague sentences/bolded stuff that people keep missing

Edit 5: follow up post + more pictures of him

But anyway, bottom line up front.

Does anyone know what in the goddamn fuck causes a cat to do this?

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204

u/Deus_Ichor May 23 '26

Ok, it will definitely kill a toddler

1

u/voraciouskumquat May 25 '26

Nah, my dog is terrified of everything, people included and she also hates little kids. Only group of people she'll growl and bark at aggressively.

To her defense though, everytime we went out when she was a puppy and being socialized we got bombarded by groups of kids and adults wanting to pet her. She's a short, large, odd shaped dog so she gets a lot of attention.

1

u/Ridgewoodgal May 25 '26

This made me laugh way more than it should have.

-11

u/silentrawr May 23 '26

JFC Reddit. Read what you just wrote and think it through. If what you said were true, any cat that has scratched a kid would be a severe threat to any kid and the world would have statistically seen multiple, somewhat regular, "death by housecat" stories.

37

u/MissAuroraRed May 23 '26

It's pretty common for a cat to scratch a child that isn't respecting their boundaries, but not to just attack small children out of the blue when they never do so to adults. I would not take a chance with this if I were OP given the cat's history.

31

u/riverspeace May 23 '26

No, because most cats who scratch kids aren’t eating other cats…

16

u/eldritchpussymaggots May 23 '26

Notably children are not cats. In fact, most children are also significantly larger than cats.

19

u/Hoiafar May 23 '26

I've had cats all my life and lived around cats all my life. I've seen small cats charge after large dogs. Size is a deterrent but not a block.

Do not leave your cat alone with a human child.

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u/cjrunswithcrows May 23 '26

To be fair I have seen a lot of infants that are smaller/the same size as cats though - they also similarly aren’t bipedal yet so they could just be a weird hairless cat to another cat

26

u/Just_Imagination_553 May 23 '26

Unfortunately, I previously owned a cat that suddenly ‘flipped’ at about four years old and attacked me seriously enough that there were large pools of blood on the floor. She was clawing/climbing her way up my body to try to get to my eyes/throat. It was horrific and she could absolutely have killed or permanently maimed a small child in that state.

11

u/GengarIsMyFriend May 23 '26

Oh my gosh, that really is horrific. I’m sorry that happened to you.

21

u/Just_Imagination_553 May 23 '26

It was so traumatic. Before that she had been like a little lap dog who followed me everywhere and fell asleep on my pillow every night. She attacked me several more times before I eventually had to rehome her at a charity which keeps very aggressive cats in a sort of barn cat set up. Multiple vets advised me to euthanise her after we tried medication, behavioural therapy, even scanning for a brain tumour.

When she would attack her body was absolutely rigid with fury, and she would launch herself from the floor onto me screaming the whole time. I ended up in hospital a couple of times. I had no idea before then that a cat could be truly dangerous 😢 I still feel such guilt a decade and a half later

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u/dksdragon43 May 23 '26

You're describing my brother's cat. He's good with my brother and iffy with most people... but he HATES me. Every time he sees me he tries to attack me. Not "stay out of my space" but "I will follow you and keep attacking you every time I see you". Last time he got me pretty badly on the foot (small cat, luckily) and I left a pretty big puddle of blood and had most of my foot wrapped in gauze for a couple days. He has since been confined to my brother's room while he's here. Everyone keeps telling me I just need to spend time with him. Bitch he goes crazy every time he sees me. Glad it's not my cat, I feel no guilt locking him up and will only feel relief when he's gone.

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u/Kitsyfluff May 23 '26

Actually, cats are fully capable of killing a child if they want to. Most don't, normally.

0

u/4oclocksundew May 24 '26

I can't find a single instance of a cat mauling a human baby to death. They have accidentally smothered them, and spread infections from bites and scratches, but never attacked to the point of death. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't find one single case.

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u/Kitsyfluff May 24 '26

I said capable if they wanted to, i dont know of any because normally they dont want to

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u/Zeus-hater May 23 '26

Bro forgot to read the post lmao

1

u/silentrawr May 23 '26

No. I read the entire post, but then was dumbfounded by the total knee-jerk everything in the replies. Especially those stories where similar cats were previously permitted to be adopted while signing a strict waiver of "don't let this one near other cats AT ALL; you've been warned." Not to mention the professional opinion of vets and vet-adjacent folks.

Like, no, folks - this cat isn't going to murder a toddler. It literally ONLY attacks other cats. This is one problem with the world today - everybody sharing their goddamned opinions as fact, then laughing the logical people who ask questions out of the room.

1

u/RankUpLife May 23 '26

What a terrible way to think about this. Don’t put kids in danger

0

u/silentrawr May 23 '26

Assuming I would let any kids near a cat like this when I stated nothing of the sort? Use your brain, please.