HELP!!! Heidi's really aggressive

afraser1

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hi all

over the past 2 days Heidi has been aggressive to all of us (me,hubby,2 kids)

she has been running around scratching us when we are just sitting watching tv and yesterday was the final straw

she started hissing at us when we came home and then went for my son (3) as he walked past her to go to his room she hissed and lashed out arched back etc then as he went into his room she tried to follow but hubby seen this and chased her away from him.

we kept her in my daughters room over night as she sleeps under her bed and my daughter had to sleep in with us.

today shes a little more normal but still wont come near us.

i was determind to take her to the local shelter after what she done yesterday but im not so sure now.

the kids all have scratches over there hands arms and faces where she has caught them i have one on my finger which is still healing after 5 days it was quite deep.

what am i to do with her i dont want to prolong her comfort zone here in the house if she is going to attack the kids all the time when she feels like it. after all i got her because we wanted a family pet that the kids could interact with and shes just not like this.

help anyone please
 

mooficat

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is it like the 'night-crazies' ?
maybe she just needs tiring out with more cat-games & toys, she is obviously trying to get your attention for some reason
 

larke

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She may have seen a strange cat out the window, and not being able to 'attack' it (protecting her territory), turned on all of you. It's quite common for this to happen (and if you had another cat, she probably would have gone after that one). They usually get over it within a day or two, so I wouldn't be so quick to get rid of her yet, but give her a chance to recover and see how it goes. Their brains are so geared to protecting their places, they don't have a lot of control - to her, she was doing the proper thing!
 

white cat lover

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Has she ever been vet checked to see if there is an underlying physical condition causing her behavior? I'd take her to the vet & discuss her behavior. There are other options & perhaps a vet can be more helpful than we can.
 
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afraser1

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Originally Posted by Rosiemac

I was going to say she probably needs to be checked at the vets, but i've just seen in fur pics that your were getting rid of her
i have put that in as im now sure what to do shes really bad with the kids and i dont want to put them in harms way. we only got her for them to have a pet and shes not an affectionate cat she hides away and when you do see her she either darts past you or goes for you (scratching, hissing)

angela
 
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afraser1

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Originally Posted by mooficat

is it like the 'night-crazies' ?
maybe she just needs tiring out with more cat-games & toys, she is obviously trying to get your attention for some reason
its not the night-crazies as we are used to her doing that now and we play with her all the time especially at night when we see her more she ends up chilling at the balcony door and falls asleep coz we run her about so much

angela
 
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afraser1

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

Has she ever been vet checked to see if there is an underlying physical condition causing her behavior? I'd take her to the vet & discuss her behavior. There are other options & perhaps a vet can be more helpful than we can.
shes not long back from the vets and they never said anything about her behaviour i told them how she was and asked if i got her spayed would she calm down they said it could just be her temprement and they didnt think it would.

angela
 

claire1973

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Well all i can say is Humphrey was a lot like this when we first got him

I got him done and he calmed down

I agree try wearing her out with play and see how it goes, it seems such a shame to rehome her
 

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How long ago did you get her? If she is fairly new to your household? With the little information in the post I am going to make some guesses. She sounds scared. I know all my cats when I brought them home needed time to adjust. Some took little time some took longer. How have the children been with her? Have the rough housed with her? I don't know because I do not have children but three is young to be alone with a brand new cat that is not used to it enviroment. I know when I first got one of my cats my little nephews tried chasing him (just to say hi) but the cat did not respond well because he was scared. He had never been around children and didn't know how to act. It took time for him to get used to everything. Maybe she just need some alone time to get used to new sounds, scents etc.

Originally Posted by afraser1

she started hissing at us when we came home and then went for my son (3) as he walked past her to go to his room she hissed and lashed out arched back etc then as he went into his room she tried to follow but hubby seen this and chased her away from him.

Chasing her probably scared her. I know he wanted to get her away from your son but it probably isn't helping.

we kept her in my daughters room over night as she sleeps under her bed and my daughter had to sleep in with us.

Sound like this is her safe zone. Can you let her have it for a little while to get her more acclaimated to the house

the kids all have scratches over there hands arms and faces where she has caught them i have one on my finger which is still healing after 5 days it was quite deep.

what am i to do with her i dont want to prolong her comfort zone here in the house if she is going to attack the kids all the time when she feels like it. after all i got her because we wanted a family pet that the kids could interact with and shes just not like this.

help anyone please
My heart goes out to you. I know you want to do what is right for everyone involved.

Tricia
 

white cat lover

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To me, it sounds like Heidi is not comfortable in your home for one reason or another. Perhaps she needs more time to adjust? If she had never lived around kids before, she might need time to get used to them. I'm not trying to be rude when I ask this question, but are your kids good to Heidi? If Heidi has never been around kids before, kids are normally louder than adults & that could scare her. Or else maybe once one of your kids pulled her tail & she hasn't yet forgotten that?

I can think of a million reasons why she would be scared & acting the way she is. My next suggestion is to find another vet & get a second opinion. If that vet is no help, go find another vet for the third opinion. Don't give up. If Heidi goes back to the rescue org. she will only be further traumatized.....just think how that would be for her. We're here to help you as much as we can & everyone here wants to see this work out for you guys & Heidi.
 
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afraser1

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she is 7 months old and she has been here for 4 weeks the kids were just kids with her at the beginning but have backed off in the past 2 weeks as they keep getting into trouble for trying to play with her i know she is scared thats why i kept them back. but i just dont understand why she is so bad now. she hasnt came out of the bedroom much in the past 2 days shes not eating much and not going to the loo.
im really worried about her as i dont want to send her away i would love to get her calmed down and happy but im not sure what to do
 

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Originally Posted by afraser1

asked if i got her spayed would she calm down they said it could just be her temprement and they didnt think it would.
In my experience spaying and neutering has greatly improved the temperament of the 2 cats I had done as adults.
They became much calmer and cuddlier.
 
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afraser1

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we have decided to keep her and keep trying with her my friends cat comes tomorrow so im hoping her having a friend may keep her occupied.

thanks so much for all your help i really do appreciate it.

angela
 

claire1973

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Aww you are welcome

I think just try and see how she goes, like I said Humphrey was hypo when we got him, believe me I still remeber those scratches!!!!

He was "done" and settled right down. He still plays and has his mad moments but it funny now LOL

I think maybe she feeling unsettled so hopefully she will settle

Claire

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jen

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that is great, sorry to just chime in so late, but maybe another cat will help her chill. DEFINATELY have her spayed though, I hope the other cat is not an intact male! But besides health benefits, there are other reasons to spay an aggressive cat. First of all because of the chance that it MIGHT help, also my cat was just like yours, extremely aggressive and would lash out at us. When we had her spayed the vet found cysts on her ovaries which was probably painful or uncomfortable to her. Obviously they were removed when she was spayed and she has been a sweetheart ever since.
 

rosiemac

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Originally Posted by afraser1

she is 7 months old and she has been here for 4 weeks the kids were just kids with her at the beginning
She's a baby and it is early days so she's still settling in. Now that you've explained it she does sound scared bless her.

What were the kids behaving like when you say the kids were just kids with her?.

How olds your friends cat as well, because Rosie was nearly a year when i brought Sophie home at 9 weeks and it stressed Rosie out
Have you booked her in to be spayed as well?.
 
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afraser1

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Originally Posted by Rosiemac

She's a baby and it is early days so she's still settling in. Now that you've explained it she does sound scared bless her.

What were the kids behaving like when you say the kids were just kids with her?.

How olds your friends cat as well, because Rosie was nearly a year when i brought Sophie home at 9 weeks and it stressed Rosie out
Have you booked her in to be spayed as well?.
she is booked in on may 3rd to be spayed and my friends cat is 6 years old he is neutered too so hoping they will be ok together she seems alot quieter the past 2 days so fingers crossed.

angela
 

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I hope you can have things work out for you and Heidi. You've had her just a short while now and she's still a very young cat. She sounds very scared and insecure which isn't good. I get scratched all the time by my cat but once she freaked out on me, got scared and lashed out in what she saw as self-defence and those scratches were really bad. So I can definately understand why you're not feeling happy with your cat.

It might be just that your kids are too loud and strange for her if she's only been around adults until she came to live with you. It sounds as if she's scared the kids off now but I'd definately make rules about it being completely forbidden to pick Heidi up and not to pet her unless there are adults around that can supervise etc.

Overall getting pets for kids is always a risky thing. I.e you really have to be getting a pet for you, an animal you want in your house that has the side effect of the kids getting to live with an animal. Anyway it sounds as if Heidi is locked into self defence mode now. Hopefully by giving her time and space (and that other cat as buffer might help as well) she'll come around and be the family pet you were hoping to get.

She might always be standoffish and not a cuddly cat but it sounds like you have been able to play lots with her which is definately a good thing.

Oh yeah one thing that'd be really good to do is to notice her "safe places" and make sure that if she bolts in there to leave her be. She'll be much more likely to get out and a bout and be friendly if she feels like she has a safe "nest" to go to.
 
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