Help!!

kittkatt

kittkatt

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This morning, Gabriel, one of my older cats, sprayed on the curtains in the living room (something he's never done before). I'm thinking he did it to mark his territory, b/c of all the strays that we have running around: he's always been a very territorial cat...

But that's not the problem. About an hour after he did it, I hear cats fighting, and go to check to see what's going on. Apparently, Geronimo noticed that Gabriel sprayed on the curtains (even though I cleaned them up: he's been sniffing at the curtains, and obviously notices the smell) and didn't like it (HE'S very territorial, too), and tore into poor Gabriel: it wasn't just one of those harmless "hissy" fights, either, but one in which they were out for blood. I've NEVER seen any of my furbabies fight like that!


I broke it up, but Geronimo was still extremely wound up: I couldn't calm him down - he was even growling & spitting at me, and his fur was all puffed out and he was breathing really hard like he was out of breathe or something: it was freaking me out!
I've NEVER seen him act this way before.


I finally got him calmed down after awhile, and was able to pet him & soothe him somewhat: but he's still pretty wound up, and is going after the other furbabies, too. Not like he did w/ Gabriel, but enough to where I have to go and break it up, and then he starts hissing at me again..


I've never seen anything like this in all the years I've had cats.
I'm thinking that Geronimo thinks that one of the strays got in, and he's retaliating in his own way by saying, "Mine! Stay away!" - I don't know.
It's like he's possessed or something, and is really spooked...

Why is he acting like this, and what can I do about it??
He's always been a "brat", but this is a side of him I didn't think existed. He's always trusted me, and I've never seen him act this badly towards me, or the other cats, either. It's freaking me out!


Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

~KK~
 
yayi

yayi

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Geronimo's reaction is like my Wawa. Mine picks on Buddy and Ashley for the heck of it. I put Wawa on time out - jail term in the cattery - and depending on the severity of his misbehavior, I leave him from 30 mins to up to 8 hours. And yes, I have been spitted and growled at on the way to the cattery. It's normal.
But what concerns me with your Geronimo, you said he has never done it before. With Wawa is like part of his over territorial personality disorder.

Is it possible that Geronimo might be having some health issues? If not, is Geronimo the top cat? Have there been more than the usual number of strays around? If G is territorial, strange cats will stress him out.
Oh, by the way, when Wawa gets aggressive, I never pet him to calm him down. I think it is like he is getting rewarded for his quarrelsome behavior. It's a NO which works most of the time.
 
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larke

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He probably saw a strange cat out the window and because he couldn't get at it, took out his macho nonsense on your other cat, the curtains, you, whatever... very common, but it usually clears up in a day or so (but get those curtains down and away).
 
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kittkatt

kittkatt

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Originally Posted by yayi

Geronimo's reaction is like my Wawa. Mine picks on Buddy and Ashley for the heck of it. I put Wawa on time out - jail term in the cattery - and depending on the severity of his misbehavior, I leave him from 30 mins to up to 8 hours. And yes, I have been spitted and growled at on the way to the cattery. It's normal.
But what concerns me with your Geronimo, you said he has never done it before. With Wawa is like part of his over territorial personality disorder.

Is it possible that Geronimo might be having some health issues? If not, is Geronimo the top cat? Have there been more than the usual number of strays around? If G is territorial, strange cats will stress him out.
Oh, by the way, when Wawa gets aggressive, I never pet him to calm him down. I think it is like he is getting rewarded for his quarrelsome behavior. It's a NO which works most of the time.
Click to expand...
Geronimo's always been a "bully", but this is the first time he's gone ballistic on ME! I normally don't try to "reward" him by trying to calm him down: when he's naughty, he gets those "time-outs" too. I don't want him to think he's allowed to act that way. But this time, b/c he was so freaked out and I was worried about him harming the other furbabies, I just wanted to get him under control: I figured the only way to do so was by talking to him in a soothing voice, and trying to comfort him. I certainly don't want him to think his behavior was acceptable..


Geronimo's not the top cat - but he THINKS he is.
He & Gabriel have never liked each other, since day one.
Not that I blame Gabriel for NOT liking Geronimo - considering what a brat he is..


There hasn't been any extra strays in the vicinity recently - just the usual. But Geronimo generally doesn't seem to care too much about that: He'll play "footsies" with the strays under the door, and he sees me petting the strays through the windows sometimes which doesn't seem to bother him. That's why his intense reaction baffles me..
I don't think he's sick, either (besides his FIP, that is, which he's had for months), although I did notice him acting kinda strangely this morning, and he didn't eat his breakfast. I've been keeping an eye on him as I always do, b/c I do need to consider the FIP..

He seems to have calmed down now, and is sleeping on the bed. But I'll continue to moniter him, as I always do. That episode scared me..


Thanks for your input!


~KK~
 
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kittkatt

kittkatt

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Originally Posted by Larke

He probably saw a strange cat out the window and because he couldn't get at it, took out his macho nonsense on your other cat, the curtains, you, whatever... very common, but it usually clears up in a day or so (but get those curtains down and away).
Click to expand...
I don't think it was his macho nonsense, this time.
He truly seemed like he was actually afraid of something, and it seemed as if he didn't even recognize ME..


~KK~
 
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