Aggressive behavior is a common for many cats. This aggression can take the mild form of biting your hand when petting or the more severe form of destroying your household furnishings. Aggressive behavior is not limited to kittens; you can have sudden and inexplicable problems with adult cats as well.
Cats often use aggressive behavior to get their way. This behavior can be demonstrated on you, members of your family, and even other pets. Cats become aggressive over personal space, attention, jealousy, food, and toys. Aggressive behavior is often used to stop an unpleasant experience such as bathing or nail clipping. This behavior is a common way for your Ragdoll cat to try and demonstrate that they are in charge.
If you have a new Ragdoll kitten play aggression and roughhousing is a very common kitten trait. Most kittens simply grow out of their play aggression. When dealing with your Ragdoll cat’s aggression it is important to be firm and consistent in dealing with this behavior. Never yell or hit your Ragdoll cat; violent reaction to your cat’s behavior will do more damage than good.
You can reinforce correction for a negative behavior using a squirt gun or a metal can filled with coins and a stern “No!” The most important aspect of training your Ragdoll cat is to be consistent. If you neglect consistency in your reaction you are sending mixed messages to your Ragdoll and chances are your training will be ineffective.
Related Articles Other People Have Read:
- Aggressive Behaviors and Your Ragdoll Cat
- Other Forms of Aggression in Cats
- Is Your Ragdoll Cat Aggressive?
- When Ragdoll Cats Attack
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I think this is a useful site. I want a kitten, especially a Ragdoll, but my mom says no. Well, I gotta keep trying!
Can anyone help? I have a pure bred Ragdoll and from what I understand, he isn’t a typical one! He does have the normal Ragdoll traits like playing fetch, running to the door when I come home, flopping anywhere and everywhere, laying on his back, etc. but he also has a little attitude that just won’t go away. He’s 10 months old. He tends to bite out of nowhere and for no reason and when I tell him no and push him away or pull up the skin on the back of his neck (the vet told me to try this because this is what his mother would do when she was angry with him), it only makes him angrier. He will actually put his ears back and lunge at me again and bite harder. Not hard enough to bite the skin, ever, but hard enough that it really hurts…It’s so frustrating because at times he is as sweet as can be, purring and needing me. But he doesn’t like to be held and isn’t very friendly with new people to my house.
Does anyone else have this problem with their Ragdoll or did I get the only bratty Ragdoll in the world? please help!
Oh, my goodness, this sounds EXACTLY like our 9-month male ragdoll. He will be lovable and knead my leg when I’m watching tv and purr. But then at other moments he will bite myself or my husband out of the blue– hard! We have tried telling him, “No!” He puts his ears back just as you described and gets more determined to bite again. We have tried shutting him out of the room for a few minutes hoping he won’t like being ignored after his behavior. We have tried spraying him. We aren’t sure what to do except keep saying no and spraying him. with a water bottle. I’m so hoping he outgrows it. I have never had a cat that would agressively bite like that! At other times he is so lovable and loves to play fetch with me.
Hi Cloversmama!!
Wow, that’s funny! They sound a lot alike. Glad to know I’m not the only one with that problem. Please let me know if you find anything that works. I’ve tried spraying him, and he really hates that water bottle, but it doesn’t stop him from biting. I’ve also tried the time outs but that doesn’t stop him either. Both stop him at the time, but they don’t prevent him from doing it again.
He is the sweetest, funniest cat when he wants to be, but he does bite for no reason sometimes, and he bites when he wants me to get up. And then when I push him away or tell him no, that’s when he lunges and bites again. I am going to ask the vet when he goes for his one year shots and stuff, so I’ll see what she says!
I have the same problem with my 3 yr. old female ragdoll. She is a sweetie most of the time, but she does have her moment. When petting her, sometimes she gives love bites, which are softer & she licks after to show us she’s not serious. But then there are times when out of the blue, she bites a little harder & when we say ‘no!’ her ears go back, her eyes become all black, & she pulls back then lunges at her first opportunity to bite, then she runs away! We’ve tried squirting her, which she doesn’t like at all & it just makes her run away sooner. We’re not sure she’s connecting the admonishment with the biting since she does seem to live in the moment…frustrating to say the least. She did bite one of our house guests once, for no apparent reason, which was really embarrassing & distressing. Sometimes I think she uses negative behaviour to get attention, just like a kid! And I’ve wondered if she’s just sensitive about being petted in the right way, the right amount & when she doesn’t want you to pet her anymore, if you don’t stop, she’ll bite.
I’m not sure if I want to say that it’s comforting to know that other people are having the same issues with their ragdoll, but at least I’m not alone. My ragdoll The Dude has been super crazy ever since he was a kitten. He’s calmed down a bit with age (he’s about a year and a half) but just like you’ve all stated he can be the biggest lover and then turn around and attack. He chilled out a bit also after he was neutered but I think he has a serious case of alpha male cat! you can be petting him and he’s loving it, but if you touch him where he doesn’t want to be touched any more or pet him for too long his ears go back and he’ll bite. I had an incident with him a few months ago where he latched onto my had and with his hind legs just started going crazy. My whole hand was shredded to peices (and I have scars to prove it). It’s so frustrating! He’s such a lover all the rest of the time and has all of the other wonderful characteristics of a ragdoll but this uncalled for aggression needs to stop!
Many of the things we heard about these cats are true, but cats are individuals and no breed is 100% true to its traits.
I have 2 Ragdolls, Chloe is 5 yrs old, Cowboy is 3.5 yrs old they are brother and sister just different litters. Cowboy was with my mom as a baby and she declawed him, he bites constantly and since he is aggressive its not fun to see him torture his sister and then he will bite when he is happy and when he is mad. He sometimes is choking on a giant clump of his sister hair, ironic she is tiny compared to him and by breed standards but I never saw a more perfect mitted seal point ragdoll. My boy he is a mongrel, bad ass, huge, smart, and he talks when he is lonely. My girl she talks alot but when she wants me to pay attention to her or go see something.
I am stuck feeling like Chloe is being battered day in and day out and she doesnt provoke this he is an instigator she is a victim. I hoped Cowboy would get better but he doesnt he gets 100% of the love from visitors she hides when people are around, he hogs the toys, the best places to sleep the best views outside, the food the water nothing is sacred. Ill muzzle him so help me, he has 3 yrs in my home with undivided attention I dont even work so we all sleep in and all snuggle, play, they have a huge covered outdoor patio they cant escape from but get to smell and watch all the things outside. If he cant make it here there is nothing out there but a home with no other pets but he never spent a day alone he beat up his Ragdoll buddy when he lived with my mom. Due to illness both cats had to find new homes and Cowboy is a doll he could charm anyone, you think he was your cat the second he meets you. So I hope something works soon, Chloe may prefer a life without him but I wont let him tear my happy home up. This is my mission to figure something out by Christmas because Chloe was hurt so bad last week she couldnt move her back legs and to my suprise once the vet opened he said she seems sore but walking now and he said its hard to believe she wouldnt fight for her life and he didnt see a scratch on her. I
Cowboy also chews power cords in half (yes they are plugged in)
tortures lizzards, hunts spiders, chases flies, chews everything and anything.
he can spend 20 minutes in the cat box and spreads litter everywhere
My ragdoll Jeter is about eleven months old and he has alot of the aggresive traits. He doesn’t like to be held and is not very affectionate. I love him and is sweet sometimes but I’m disapointed in his behavior. Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.
I just got my ragdoll 3 days ago-he’s a little more than 12 weeks. Although he doesn’t bite, he is very hyper, running, jumping around, and LOVES to climb. A big reason I got ragdolls was because I had read they are mainly floor cats, and are not jumpers. I know every cat is unique, but does anyone out there know if they will outgrow this crazy hyper phase?
Thanks!
my ragdoll is 18 weeks, he sometimes cuddles but only if he wants to! does anyone know if he may get more cuddly as he gets older?
Wow! My five year old ragdoll is also very aggressive to say the least. It has gotten to the point that when we have company he has to be locked in a bedroom. He will hiss and bite. He will block the hallway so no one can get by and then hiss and attack. He has attacked our plumber, pizza delivery person, and many viistors. I am very afraid that one day he will attack a child. When he is alone with us he can be loving but only on his terms. He will attack us also especially when we answer the door and alow people into our home. He will try to attack us first and then the visitor. If anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate it. The vet does not seem to have any. She suggested medication but it just made him lethargic and hide so we took him off of it. I am afraid one day he will have to be put down if it continues and this would break our hearts because he can be nice. Help?!
My daughter has a beautiful 2 yrs old female fixed Ragdoll. She can be a sweetie. She attacks her husband who falls asleep in his lounge chair,, I mean she leaves slashes deep cuts, she attacks like a lion. What do you suggest? She has talked to her vet but so far nothing has helped, I mean it can be a couple of times a month. He has the scares to prove it. Thanks
Hi >^..^< lovers it's been ages since I posted here last about my mean ragdoll. The nicest people came to my rescue from a different forum suggesting using clothes pins to mimic how mother cats grab babies by the back of the neck. Don't leave them on your cat too long and try two or more when your kittys are not behaving. This also makes grooming a breeze, do what you feel is best for your cat because some people don't think it's humane. My boy cat is a changed man……..ok well better then he was and now if I could just find a full body hair net for my babies!!!!!
`hi my male ragdoll is extremely affectionate, however, if he sleeps on my bed and my feet our out he will literally attack them – not just a little scratch but teeth in etc. He will even try and get under the duvet to do so!! Have to say this is his only aggressive trait, the rest of the time he is a poppet! I sometimes put it down to his frustration that he can’t go outside.
I have the same problem as Liz, my 9mth old ragdoll kitten KODA is not very affectionate and doesn’t like to be held.. but he does need to be wherever we are in the house and will sit on our laps (until we pat him too much)!!
He also has the odd strange feral mood where he will stalk me with a vengeance, grabs and claws at me and is genuinely aggressive. I cannot deter him and usually have to let him attack me or lock him away which he finds distressing..
Any advice would be appreciated, he is neutered also so that isn’t the problem ;(
Hi! I got my Sadie last May. She’s going to be 1yr old this Feb. She does nip, but never broke the skin. It’s her way to play, as she would other kittens. She lays on her back pushes off my hand with all fours, and nips.
As for jumping… she ALWAYS jumps! She sits on the floor, looks up to the light switch, and actually leaps up, and shuts the light off! And while I give her a lot of freedom around the house, even on the coffee table, I DO NOT let her on the counters, stove or kitchen table where we eat.
So, here’s a trick I learned to train her to stop going places where I don’t want her…… cats don’t like the sound of hisssing. And they don’t like air blown on their hind quarters. So, I took my aerosol of air for my computer, and spray her back. INSTANTLY, she jumps away, and looks at me, and then the can. Now if she’s on the table, all I have to do is show her the can, and she gets off. But for the most part she doesn’t go there. In fact, she always followed me to the front door when I take out the trash and she USED to try to follow me outside. Not anymore. She sits right at the door and screams for me to come back in. And when the door is open.. she doesn’t try to go out.
Try the aerosol trick! It’s harmless.