Person rescues stray cat in desperate need of help, but her sudden aggression makes them want to give up; the internet urges them to give her a chance, and it only takes a few days for her to prove that she was just scared and longing for love all along

Author image for Mariel Ruvinsky
Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor
Jul 29, 2026 4:45 PM EDT

An aggressive cat is often just a scared cat. 

Oftentimes, when a cat is scared, it lashes out. It is a defense mechanism. It's normal for them. And it is not something that you should take personally. And stray cats, even ones who are in desperate need of help, ones who work with you when you rescue them, who seem calm, can turn scared in a new and unfamiliar environment. Even my cat - the calmest, chonkiest, laziest cat who barely moves when a fly is sitting still beside her, turns into an absolute beast at the vet's office, simply because she is terrified in that place. These stray cats want to be off the streets, but they don't always know what that actually means, and when they get there, when they are finally in our homes, is when they are hit with the reality of the situation. That's the story of today's cat. 

This cat was alone outside, in a dangerous area, and she was lucky to be found by a human who recognized that and wanted to help. And the cat knew that too. When she was being rescued, she was cooperative. She wanted to be off the street. She worked with the human, allowing them to put her in a crate and take her away from it all. And this human was so excited and wanted so badly to adopt her. It was only when she was home that she realized what it actually meant to be off the street, and she reacted with fear, and that fear manifested as aggression. And that hurts to see. Especially after everything was going smoothly before. We understand that. And so did the rest of the internet. But just like we would have, the internet urged this person to give the cat another chance, and sooner rather than later, it paid off big-time. 

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  • 01

    "What to with extremely aggressive stray?"

    Cheezburger Image 10650959104
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  • 02
    BED ROOMS MASTER
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  • 03
    Cheezburger Image 10650958848
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  • 04
    Hello everyone. I found a stray cat outside of my apartment a few days ago and due to the fact that we live right by train tracks and busy streets, and we have bears, coyotes, and hawks in our area, I decided to bring her in.
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  • 05
    When I first found her she was very frightened but she did not fight me when I picked her up to take her in.
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  • And that's not something to be taken for granted. It means she wanted you to take her. It really does. You wouldn't have been able to even get close if she didn't allow it. She was just spoken afterward is all. But she wanted your help, and you were right to help her. 

  • 06
    I put her in my bedroom away from my other cats, I set up a food and water bowl and a litter box for her, and I put a kennel in the corner with a blanket over it so she had a place to hide.
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  • 07
    Over the past few days she has become more aggressive towards me. I understand she's scared so I try not to push her boundaries, I leave her alone unless necessary.
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  • 08
    I took her to the vet to get scanned for a microchip, in which upon me trying to grab her to put her in the kennel, she peed herself and bit me so hard that it punctured through the oven mitts I was wearing and still broke skin.
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  • 09
    When we got to the vet she was so combative that the vet couldn't scan her, so we took her back home. I've left her in my room by herself for the last 24 hours, I sprinkled some catnip in her kennel and I put a cat calming diffuser in the room and it hasn't helped.
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  • 10
    I bought a scanner and scanned her myself today but she was still extremely combative and peed and pooed herself this time. She does not have a chip. I'm just not sure what to do.
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  • 11
    I've posted her all over social media and no one has claimed her. I was planning on keeping her but she doesn't seem very domesticated at all. Should I surrender her to a shelter or should I work on helping her still?
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  • 13
    I'd like you update you and let you know she is slowly adjusting and coming around! She has already made a lot of progress. She no longer hides when I'm in the room and even lets me pet her head, chin, neck, and shoulders.
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  • 14
    She will even eat a churu from my hand now. Just last night she even took a nap at the foot of my bed. She still hisses every now and then when she gets overstimulated from my presence or my touch, but she has made so much good progress.
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  • 15

    "Aggressive stray update"

    Hisense
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  • 17
    Today she let me pet her (HUGE). For how terribly our situation was going just the other day, this is crazy.
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  • 18
    Just the other day she was parkouring off my walls to stay away from me. I've been doing what yall said and coming in the room every now and then and just sitting and talking to her without necessarily interacting with her.
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  • 19
    I noticed today that while I was taking a nap, she decided to loaf on my tv stand and take a nap. Which was already crazy because up until today she wouldn't even come out of the closet or out from under the bed if I was in the room.
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  • 20
    I decided to be a little bold and sit closer to her, she looked uncomfortable but didn't hiss. I held out my hand to her and she hissed so I drew back a little, then held it a little closer, then she sniffed my hand and loafed again.
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  • 21
    I gently caressed the bottom of her chin and she looked like she enjoyed it, so I went all in. She enjoyed a good 10 minutes of chin and head scratches today. I was a little too bold and attempted to pet her back, which she did not like. So head pats and scratches for now it is.
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  • 22
    I'm wondering if maybe she is having some sort of pain in her lower back or in her bottom of some sort, because she did not agree with being touched there whatsoever, maybe that's the reason she was so defensive in the first place?
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  • 23

    "(Not) aggressive stray update"

    No
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    24
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  • 25
    Hey everyone! I just wanted to say thank you all for your support and advice, this is the first time I've worked with a stray like this before and yall have helped so much!
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  • 26
    And since yall seem pretty invested, I thought I'd just give an update whenever I see her making progress.
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  • 27
    She's making so much progress so fast I'm so proud of her! I decided to name her Burger. Today she hopped on my bed literally begging for cheek scratches.
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  • 28
    She hopped on my bed and meowed and meowed and meowed until I pet her. And now she's even laying in my bed WITH me while she grooms herself. I'm trying not to get too excited and scare her away lol.
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