If your cat gets aggressive at night, this post will show you likely reasons why and what you can do about them.
So, why is my cat aggressive at night? Likely reasons why your cat is aggressive at night are that it naturally has a lot of energy at night, something is causing it to be anxious or intimidation.
There are a number of reasons why your cat might become aggressive at night and it could be due to a combination of reasons. However, there are some things you can consider when figuring out the main cause and there are some things you can do about it.
Reasons why your cat is aggressive at night
Below are likely reasons why your cat is aggressive at night and what would make them more likely.
It has more energy at night
In the wild, cats are often nocturnal animals. This means they are most 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 becomes aggressive at night is likely to be that it naturally has a lot more energy at that time and naturally wants to hunt things. This would be more likely if your cat seems to be playing when is aggressive.
Intimidation
A part of the cause might also be that you interact with it differently at night. If you tend to be louder around it, you touch it more firmly or pick it up more at night, the cause could be that it is intimidated. This would be more likely if it also does things such as hiss and move away from you.
You move about at night
If your cat is aggressive, while you are in bed, the cause might be that it sees you as prey because you move around in the bed. In this case, it would be an option to get your cat to sleep in a different room at night.
Something in its environment
It might be the case that it has been doing it 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 animals around.
Things to consider
Below are some things to consider to help figure out the main cause.
What else happened when your cat first started being aggressive at night
If your cat did not always get aggressive at night, it would help to consider what else happened when your cat first started doing it. If it started doing it suddenly, it might be due to things such as a change in the way you interact with it at night or something causing it to get intimidated.
If your cat is always aggressive at night
If your cat does not seem to get aggressive every night, it would help to consider what is different when it does not do it. For example, if it does not do it when you pet it in a certain way, it might be due to how you pet it.
What to do about your cat being aggressive at night
Below are some options you have when dealing with the behavior.
Give it distractions
One option would be to give your cat things to be distracted by such as toys or a scratch post so that it is less likely to bother you when it is full of energy.
Give it another place to sleep
If your cat currently sleeps in the same room as you and gets aggressive 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.
Limit reasons why it might be anxious
It would also help to limit reasons why it might get anxious at night such as by letting it stay in a quiet room where there is a safe place for it to sleep.
Get help
If your cat has been behaving very unusually, another option would be to take it for a checkup with the vet. By doing so, you should be able to get expert advice tailored towards your particular cat and to rule out medical causes.