The Little Bastard

My daughter has a cat named Bagheera. He is pure black (hence the choice of name). However, there are times when his mercurial temperament makes his nickname ("The Little Bastard") much more fitting. If he was human, one might wonder if he was a little sociopath with a fur coat.
When we had two cats (the other one passed away ten months ago), Bagheera was very much the Alpha Male, dominating (and sometimes abusing) the other cat, who happened to have a very sweet and friendly disposition. For the three humans in the house, trying to be friendly with Bagheera was often a walk on the wild side. He could be extremely friendly and affectionate, but might then suddenly bite or scratch you without warning. He also would  become almost psychotic if another cat was outside. He would howl and attack our other cat or one of us if we were nearby; an apparent attempt to defend his territory.
Bagheera is also well-know at the River Cove Animal Hospital, where we take him for his health care. Dr. Lincoln has ended up bleeding on more than one occasion, and now an assistant dons heavy leather gloves to get him out of the pet carrier and hold him for the exam, which is usually extremely brief.
Since Bagheera has been the only cat in the house, I have to admit he has mellowed a bit. He can now sit at a window and watch other animals outside without going berserk. If one of us is sitting on a sofa, he will often jump up next to the person and cuddle against their leg. At night, he generally sleeps on one of the beds with us, and will often crawl under the covers.
Even though he is pretty nice most of the time, the "attack cat" in him is not totally extinct. A few weeks ago, he was sitting next to my wife on the sofa; she was petting him and he seemed to be enjoying the attention when he suddenly bit her in the hand, jumped down, and walked away. The week before, she was sitting on the futon in the family room talking to my daughter on the phone when he walked up to her, bit her on the ankle, and walked away.
Based on how he treated the other cat, Bagheera is destined to be an "only child" for the remainder of his days. While we are all glad that the attacks are now pretty rare, and he overall is quite decent, bringing another animal into the house would no doubt provoke him, and we would all pay for it. For now, we will enjoy the good behavior and hope that his mood stays fairly pleasant and that "The Little Bastard" makes only an occasional appearance.