I have never had any of my cats attack me like that but I did have two in my lifetime that attacked others unprovoked. I used to have littermates that were indoor cats (fixed male and female). They were allowed supervised outside time and during one of those times the female just spontaniously attacked the male. I thought it was because of a scent thing and brought them both inside. Rubbed them each down with the same towel to comingle scents. The behavior persisted. After a few days of these unprovoked violent attacks I took her to the vet and they ended up putting her on a mild sedative for about a week (kitty valium??). That seemed to solve the issue.

Many years later I had a rescue cat. DH and I were rough-housing around and he started tickling me. I started laughing and screaming and the cat attacked him! Turned out it was, unusual for a cat, protective behavior. We were able to duplicate it anytime we wanted. Another time he attacked our 90lb dog when she was yelping cuz I accidently stepped on her. Talk about adding insult to injury. He was also fixed.

How old are your cats? I am wondering if neutering may help to curb the aggresiveness. If the behavior persists you may have to get him on a mild sedative just to break the cycle.

I had a cat attack me once. She heard one of the kids scream when they fell and she thought I was hurting them so she attacked me. She thought she was their momma. So your cat might just be reacting to the sound you made when you stubbed your toe. In the excitement he probably wasnt sure how to react and then followed you around to make sure you were ok.

Kola comes out of her sleepy spot if there is a loud noise in the house. Then she is really twitchy for a few minutes then calms down.

Okay - I HAVE to ask....what did you hair look like???? Some mornings, my cats look at me like I'm an alien!!!!
This is interesting...hadn't heard of a cat doing that!!!!

They are a little over two years old.

I guess the noise thing makes sense. Actually he climbed in to bed with me this morning so he must not hate me :)

Amandasgrandma, It was later in the day so my hair was brushed :P

Neutering will cut down on aggression. Two years old is when it begins to become an issue.

If he were older and neutered, I'd take him in for a check up as personality changes can indicate health problems.

I'm not going to neuter him for just one incident. If it becomes a habit I probably will

My cat is oft times aggressive and I had him neutered at 6 months old. So neutering doesn't necessarily fix behavior problems. We have had to give him one or two week "time outs" where we basically ignore him, no petting, holding, no lap time. It is so hard to do, but it does help calm him and reduce his agitation. Lately, it only takes a day or two of "time out" to bring him back his loving self. incidentally, this time out method was recommended by the Cat Whisperer.

Hate to think what he would be like if I didn't get him fixed.

sorry about your toe! But your story is funny to picture. Cats can be crazy at times.

I had a similar experience once....same kind of situation with loud unexpected yelling. It really seems to upset thier nervous systems! :-D