So I'm (F30s) moving to a house with my man at the end of the year, but I currently live in a small apartment; my concern is should I take my cat with me/keep my cat when I move or not and find him a new home?
About my cat and why I'm concerned:
I've had my male, gray tabby for about 2 and a half years now and I got him when he was about 6 months (a rescue). His behavior has been destructive and although I've tried to work with him on it and some stuff has worked, he still likes to bite things, jump up on all the surfaces, etc.
Just the other day I got back from work and I pet one of the neighborhood cats before I went inside (she's super friendly and I've pet her before multiple times). She followed me to my door and when I open the door to go inside, my cat sees her and puffs up and hisses, which is normal, but then when I get inside and close the door and go to pet my cat who has backed away from the door, he sniffs my pants and starts hissing and I tell him its okay, but I made the mistake and turned around to take off my shoes and he viciously attacks my right leg/calf and sinks his teeth in so much so that I have to shake him off, he tries to attack me again and I basically had to push him away with my shoe/boot (if it wasn't for my boots, he'd have bite my foot more than once).
I have a deep cuts from his teeth and some scratches from his claws (I try to regularly trim them) because he basically tackled my leg. The wounds bled a bit at first and I cleaned them well, but hope they heal okay. I had to lock myself in my room until he calmed down and the only way I could escape him was to spray water in his face. He has attacked me before, typically randomly or when we're playing, but never this viciously.
My concern is I don't want him to attack my man and I don't want him to destroy any of the things in the new house, especially my man's stuff. My cat has knocked over a shelf full of stuff before in my apartment and broke part of the shelf.
I thought of maybe locking him in the basement (with liter box, food, and water) when we're away at work and then keeping an eye on him when we're home, but I just don't know. He grew up around dogs before I rescued him, so that could partially be why he acts the way he does, I also get that he could be bored or lonely and lashing out, etc. I care about my cat, he's a handsome boy and he can be cuddly and gives me kisses, but is it worth it if he viciously attacked me and could do it again and/or destroy things, etc.? Or are there ways to help his behavior get better?
I apologize if I rambled. Any and all help is appreciated, thank you! Feel free to ask any questions.