Went to change the litter at my Mom's house for her cat of 7

Went to change the litter at my Mom's house for her cat of 7 years. I have been there before...but I am not a regular guest. When I have been there in the past...he is very loving and fine with me there alone with him. I didn't pet him before heading for his litter and only talked to him while he rubbed on my legs and meowed. He has been home alone about 5 days. I began to unsnap the litter and he began nipping at my hands and hissing...I told him to stop and he went nuts...began wailing and hissing started to attack me...I turned my back and he went nuts...I was kicking my leg out to try and defend myself but he was NOT backing off...finally I realized I needed to get aggressive and I began yelling at him and throwing small soft items his directions to try and scare him off...he was standing his ground and seemed ready to pounce again...I found a stick and banged loudly on the floor and drove him into the house and blocked the kitty door where he hissed and wailed - a neighbor that sees him daily came by and said he acted fine with him. What did I do to cause him to act this way and should I be afraid to be around him now? (He bit me through my jeans on the back of my calf and I had to get a tetnus shot)

Optional Information:
Age: 6; Female; Breed: Orange Tabby

Already Tried:
Nothing, mother's pet

Customer (name blocked for privacy)

Since he has been alone for five days and if your mom is usually there when you visit this, even though you have spent time alone with him this could have been territorial behavior coming out in him. I would not think that you need to be afraid of him if she has not acted this way previously towards you and seemed to be okay when you first came around him today. It could be that something startled him and caused this aggressiveness or when you went to mess with him litter it caused her to become territorial as well. If he is not showing any signs of illness which can cause a change in behavior then I would relate it more to a sign of territorial aggression. I am not sure if you have pets of your own but if you do the scent of your pets could have set off this reaction as well. I don't think that it was anything that you did to cause this I think it was more due to the fact he had been alone for 5 days which can cause a change in behavior in some animals if they are not used to being alone and him being more protective over the home since your mother is not there right now. I would monitor him for any other changes in behavior as this could be a sign of a health related issue as well If you have any further questions or anything other information to add please let me know and I hope this information will be of help to you.

*Cheryl K* Please click the "ACCEPT" button
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Went to change the litter at my Mom's house for her ...

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