Split Personality??

I have a 5 month old kitten named Zoe. She is a great little kitty, but, she seems to have two completely different personalities. Usually she is just like a normal kitten, sweet and playful. However, sometimes she turns into "Evil Zoe". I have had many kittens before and have never seen this before. She goes beyond the normal bad kitten stuff. She walks around with her mouth open just snarling and growling, she tried to kill everything (actually trying not just playing), the other cats hide from her and seem to be actually terrified. She just turns evil sometimes. My question is, is it possible for cats to have split personalities? I work with people that have mental disablities and have worked with split personalities before and it seems like the same thing. Has anyone heard of this before??

has Zoe been to a vet recently? This type of behavior is sometimes the only way our cats can let us know something is wrong or "off" with them. It could be a medical reason that is causing her to act out. I would get her checked out and if she is given the all clear, then talk to your vet and see what he advises.

It has just been my experience that when a cat turns nasty, there is usually a viable, medical reason for it. Good luck!

Yeah I have had Zoe since she was 2 months and she has been to the vet three times (she has had two sets of shots and declawed) and they have always said she is in great health. She has always been like this.

That being the case, (that she has been declawed), her behavior is actually typical of a kitty who has had to endure that. I would talk to your vet about behavior meds.

HIssy, thanks I will check into that. Although, my other two cats are declawed and not like that.

J- it actually depends on the cat and the personality plus the age. For a kitty to be declawed, the whole knuckle is amputated not just the claw itself. It is a very traumatic and painful thing for a kitten or cat to endure. Like people, some cats can tolerate this type of pain and some can't.

Declawing should be outlawed in the United States and many cat lovers are working to make that happen. It is a money-maker for vets and a lazy way that some owners use to discipline their cats. There are so many better humane ways of teaching cats to not claw furniture etc. I have 12 cats all ferals and they are inside outside kitties, and the only furniture they claw are their scratching posts and an old couch upstairs. You have to invest some time and effort and have patience, but you can teach a cat not to scratch on fine furniture.

I also hope you are not using clumping litter in your cat's boxes, because that could lead to problems down the road, the litter can work its way into the soft part left from the operation and cause the kitten a lot of discomfort.

If you are strong enough, you might want to take a look at the link provided, and you will be able to see what your kitties have been made to endure. It is not pretty, and if you do not have a strong constitution, I do not recommend you go there. I just hope and pray that in the future, should you add another cat to your family, you will think long and hard before you decide to have it declawed and do the best thing and decide not to have any more of your cats or kittens declawed.

If you think I am being rough with you, I am not. This is just a sensitive subject for many involved in rescue. Many declawed kitties and cats develop behavior problems after declawing. I am working with one cat owner now trying to help her declawed cat. He is now confined to a cage for what looks like the rest of his life because of his issues following this procedure.

Just educate yourself before you decide to have a cat's claws amputated and know that cats are very adept at holding in pain. You may not know it, but boy do they hurt. They learn to mask that pain in the wild, that is how they survive.





Declawing

No I don't think that you are being too hard on me. I understand your point of view, and I do agree with you. Many people do declaw and a form of behavior control, however, I didn't. My big cat Diny was declawed after he put my Mother in the hospital for 2 weeks due to a NASTY infection from puncture wounds. The only way my Mom would let him stay alive was to get declawed. (I was still young at the time and had to do what she said) Since then my Mom has forced all cats to be declawed. She gave me Zoe and Zoe came declawed. It was not my choice. All three of them are doing great. Diny and Bink have been declawed for 5 years now. Her 6 cats have been done for about the same amount of time. Also, my Grandmother was given a Siamese about 15 years ago (she has now passed) but she was declawed when we got her and she never had a problem. I do agree that problems do occur, as they do with everything (including sleeping, eatting etc). Also, before Zoe was declawed she was still like this (we know the people who have her parents).

Although Declawing has MANY side effects,and I am against it, I don't think this is the cause of the problem. It can happen in just about any cat. It sounds like there may be some kind of chemical imbalance and the rage fits are somewhat similar to a seizure. I would talk to your vet about one of many medications that can help to reduce these fits. Typical medications are a variety of antidepressants.