Cats have a whole host of behavioral oddities that make them some of the weirdest creatures on the planet. One of these, and possibly the weirdest, is that many love attacking their owner’s feet at night. Many owners think their cat must have a grudge against their feet and is out to get them, but this is actually a pretty common part of cat behavior. There are actually a number of possible causes and this post will show them to you.
So, why does my cat attack my feet? Likely reasons why your cat attacks your feet at night are that it naturally has more energy at night, you move your feet about, or that your cat has been getting anxious at night.
There are actually a number of possible reasons why your cat attacks your feet and it might be due to a combination of reasons. However, there are some things you can consider to help figure out the main cause and there some things you can do about it.
Reasons why your cat attacks your feet at night
Below are a number of possible reasons why your cat does it and what would make them more likely.
Nature
In the wild, cats are usually somewhat nocturnal animals. This means they are active at night, unlike humans, who are generally active during the day. Even though your kitty might spend a lot of his time sleeping or lounging around during the day, his internal “clock” tells him when to be active, and night is the prime time for him to be on the prowl. The reason why your cat attacks your feet at night is most likely to be that it naturally has a lot more energy at that time and naturally wants to hunt things.
Something causing it to be anxious
It could be the case that your cat has been attacking your feet due to something causing it to be anxious. This would be more likely if your cat does it more at a certain time such as when there are noises inside or another pets around.
It sees you as prey
If your cat attacks your feet, while you are in bed, the cause might be that it sees your feet as prey because you move your feet around in the bed. In this case, it would be an option to get your cat to sleep in a different room at night.
Things to consider
Below are some options you have when dealing with the behavior.
If your cat always attacked your feet at night
If your cat has not always attacked your feet at night, it would help to consider what else happened when your cat first started doing it. If your cat started pouncing on your feet suddenly, it might be the case that there was an event that caused it to start. If it did start doing it suddenly, it could be due to things such as a change in the way you interact with it at night or because something has been causing it to be anxious.
What is different when your cat does not attack your feet at night
If your cat has only been attacking your feet on certain nights, it would also help to consider what is different on the nights that it does paw at your feet. For example, if it only does it when you are playing with it, the cause would be likely to be that your cat is playing.
What to do about your cat attacking your feet on you at night
Below are some options you have when dealing with the behavior.
Get it to stay elsewhere
If your cat currently sleeps in the same room as you and it attacks your feet when you are trying to sleep, one option would be to get your cat to sleep in a different room by putting a bed down for it to sleep on somewhere else.
Wear it out during the day
Another thing to do would be to wear your cat out during the day by playing with it, giving it toys to use and things such as a scratch pad.
Make it easier for it to sleep
It would help to make sure that the room your cat stays in, at night, is not too hot, bright, loud, and that there is a safe space for it to lie down on.