Why is a friendly stray cat suddenly clawing and jumping at me?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Cats are finicky creatures. If Kekr is eating, jumping around like a young cat should and not vomiting then I don't think you should worry. Most cats really only like to be scratched around the head, unless you find the rare "dog" like cat that like belly and back scratches. Just like people cats come in a variety of personalities. I recommend leaving her be when she has these moments of being grumpy. I hope this helps!

This sounds like just a behavioral problem and it may be associated with feeding. If there is no food in the food bowl in the morning, then this may be his way of getting you to get up and feed him. You could transition to an automatic feeder and see if this helps. If he is stressed at all, you can consider using pheremone products. In the US we have a product called Feliway. You can look this up as it should be available to you as well.

Any abrupt change in behavior or attitude should be investigated by your vet. Cats are notoriously good at hiding symptoms of illness so this could be an early warning. Your vet will perform an exam, possibly do some labwork, based on the findings of the exam.

Sometimes this behavior can be related to boredom, anxiety or a desire to play roughly. There are a few things you can do which may help. Try enriching her environment. Here is a great article about cat's instinctual needs: https://www.petcoach.co/article/why-every-cat-needs-a-place-to-climb/ Use a Feliway diffuser, set aside 30 minutes a day for vigorous play and/or switch the food to Royal Canin Calm. During the play time, if she seems like she wants to play rough, try to encourage her to wrestle with a stuffed animal. You may also try feeding her from a food puzzle and/or hiding food around the house for him to find. Most cats response best to combination therapy. The veterinarian can also prescribe medications which can help with behavior. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

It is normal that she is rubbing her body on your legs, she is showing you affection. If she is stray cat, she likely didn't learn appropriate socialization, and she would think she is showing you love by trying to pounce on you but not realizing she is doing it wrong. Cats can bite too as signs of affection, but again she won't realize if what she is doing is too hard or not because she hasn't been socialized. I would starting showing her what is appropriate behavior. Praise her, pet her, and give her treats when she rubs against you, but if she pounces, either ignore her or move away. Refuse to give her attention until she gives affection in a safe way, then reward her for the appropriate behavior. She will learn from you what is a good way to give love, and what behaviors are not acceptable. Do the same when she bites you. I would also take her to the vet if you haven't already to have her eye checked out.

Sometimes cats and dogs can have personality changes like this especially if she had a bad experience with with restraint, pain or something else fearful happening while she had a nail trim (ie a car back firing while she had the nails cut). It is possible that she may have some pain in that foot that she did not show the veterinarian. Cats can get a epinephrine rush when they go to the vet and they may not show pain at that time. Watch her very closely for limping on that paw. You can try to create a positive association again by having her look at the trimmers and then get treats. Then have the trimmers touch her and get treats. Then cut one nail and get treats. Build up from there. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

She is playing. Usually kittens play hunt like that with their siblings or other cats, but since there are no other cats she picks the next best moving thing....you.. Get a fishing toy (stick with a string and a feather on it) or tie a crumpled up piece of paper on a string and play with her. Set aside at least 30 minutes/day for wild playing with your kitty. I am sure this will reduce the the pounce attacks, if not stop them completely. It is all about growing up and learning to be a predator. This has to be practiced (it is an instinct, not a bad habit) and you can support that. So instead of turning yourself into the prey, let the paper or feather serve as prey.