I have a six month old kitten who's usually fairly sweet. She's always had a tiny problem with play aggression, but that aside, she's typically affectionate, likes to sit in my lap, sleep in my bed, be picked up and petted, etc.
This past month, she's done a complete turn around. It started with her just whining or meowing if I picked her up to pet her and reacting noticeably different toward affection. That wasn't so bad, I just quit paying her any physical attention if she started to complain. But lately, it's gotten a lot worse. She makes guttural growling sounds if I touch her for more than a few moments... she was being very nice yesterday, until a friend picked her up--she was calm about it for a few moments, responded to petting, then started hissing and scratching. She typically doesn't act as if she feels threatened before these episodes occur... today she climbed up into my lap of her own accord--and dug her claws into my legs full force for no reason as soon as I touched her. She acts fairly normal outside of this behavior, and I continue to play with her from afar... I don't reprimand her after these episodes, I just ignore her for a while (while I bandage up my battle scars, sigh).
Last week, she was in heat for the first time. She was very sweet and affectionate, which was a real relief. Of course, the instant she was no longer fertile she began complaining and behaving this way again.
This may sound totally silly, but I know human females can have all sorts of hormone imbalances during their cycle resulting in mood changes from minor irritability to full on dysphoric symptoms. Is it possible that my cat is acting this way as a result of her body chemistry? Nothing in her life has changed, and I can't think of any alternative explanation.
I have no idea what to do with her, and I feel guilty ignoring her and being unable to pet her for fear of getting my skin torn open.
What do you folks think?
This past month, she's done a complete turn around. It started with her just whining or meowing if I picked her up to pet her and reacting noticeably different toward affection. That wasn't so bad, I just quit paying her any physical attention if she started to complain. But lately, it's gotten a lot worse. She makes guttural growling sounds if I touch her for more than a few moments... she was being very nice yesterday, until a friend picked her up--she was calm about it for a few moments, responded to petting, then started hissing and scratching. She typically doesn't act as if she feels threatened before these episodes occur... today she climbed up into my lap of her own accord--and dug her claws into my legs full force for no reason as soon as I touched her. She acts fairly normal outside of this behavior, and I continue to play with her from afar... I don't reprimand her after these episodes, I just ignore her for a while (while I bandage up my battle scars, sigh).
Last week, she was in heat for the first time. She was very sweet and affectionate, which was a real relief. Of course, the instant she was no longer fertile she began complaining and behaving this way again.
This may sound totally silly, but I know human females can have all sorts of hormone imbalances during their cycle resulting in mood changes from minor irritability to full on dysphoric symptoms. Is it possible that my cat is acting this way as a result of her body chemistry? Nothing in her life has changed, and I can't think of any alternative explanation.
I have no idea what to do with her, and I feel guilty ignoring her and being unable to pet her for fear of getting my skin torn open.
What do you folks think?
