About 3 months or so ago my roommates and I randomly acquired a young male cat from one of our friends. The friend had found him after he was hit in the head by a car. The original owner was an elderly woman who had apparently kept the cat inside, but she passed away. Her neighbor then started feeding the cat for a while, although I don't know how long before the accident.
After he was hit, out friend took him to the vet to get him checked out. He had a cut on his chin, but other than that was fine. So our friend brought the cat over to our apartment because she couldn't keep him. We took special care of him for a couple weeks while his face healed. He was so sweet at first; he would come over and lay on your lap and let you pet him for forever.
We do have another cat, an older spayed female. I think she is about 5 now, belonging to one of my roommates. When we first brought the male in they were in separate rooms for about a day or so, and after that they kept distance from each other. They would sit on opposite sides of the room, crouched down, staring intently at each other. They never really got very close, and after a while they seemed to get along. They even played on several occasions.
But in the last month or two, the male's attitude and behavior has changed considerably. He seems like he's just mean. While playing with him he'll suddenly get very aggressive and bite/claw really hard [ i have scars on my hand], and last night when I tried to move him off the bed he latched on to my arm and started biting frantically. Also, if he is in one of the bedrooms and we close the door, he'll start wandering around, meowing, and will vomit and/or defecate. This seems very strange to me and I don't know why he would freak out like that.
Also, when he gets near the other cat, she will often hiss and run away. Sometimes he chases her and they fight briefly. I've seen him with clumps of hair in his mouth a few times.
I really don't know what to do with him. The friend that gave him to us is going to get him neutered soon, and she said she'll ask the vet about his strange behaviors (mostly the enclosure issue).
Other notes: he seems to have no problem using the litter box. Both him and the other cat do all their business in there and we do our best to keep it clean for them. But every once in a while the male will go and poop in our bathtub. It doesn't bother me much because it is easy to clean up, but I thought it was kind of strange. Also, sometimes he'll go into the litter box and start scratching at the sides and the lid of the box .... for several minutes at a time. He's done that 3 or 4 times in the last hour and a half today.
he also will paw at the most random things around the house, while the other cat simply ignores most items other than toys...
I would really appreciate any thoughts or advice!
After he was hit, out friend took him to the vet to get him checked out. He had a cut on his chin, but other than that was fine. So our friend brought the cat over to our apartment because she couldn't keep him. We took special care of him for a couple weeks while his face healed. He was so sweet at first; he would come over and lay on your lap and let you pet him for forever.
We do have another cat, an older spayed female. I think she is about 5 now, belonging to one of my roommates. When we first brought the male in they were in separate rooms for about a day or so, and after that they kept distance from each other. They would sit on opposite sides of the room, crouched down, staring intently at each other. They never really got very close, and after a while they seemed to get along. They even played on several occasions.
But in the last month or two, the male's attitude and behavior has changed considerably. He seems like he's just mean. While playing with him he'll suddenly get very aggressive and bite/claw really hard [ i have scars on my hand], and last night when I tried to move him off the bed he latched on to my arm and started biting frantically. Also, if he is in one of the bedrooms and we close the door, he'll start wandering around, meowing, and will vomit and/or defecate. This seems very strange to me and I don't know why he would freak out like that.
Also, when he gets near the other cat, she will often hiss and run away. Sometimes he chases her and they fight briefly. I've seen him with clumps of hair in his mouth a few times.
I really don't know what to do with him. The friend that gave him to us is going to get him neutered soon, and she said she'll ask the vet about his strange behaviors (mostly the enclosure issue).
Other notes: he seems to have no problem using the litter box. Both him and the other cat do all their business in there and we do our best to keep it clean for them. But every once in a while the male will go and poop in our bathtub. It doesn't bother me much because it is easy to clean up, but I thought it was kind of strange. Also, sometimes he'll go into the litter box and start scratching at the sides and the lid of the box .... for several minutes at a time. He's done that 3 or 4 times in the last hour and a half today.
he also will paw at the most random things around the house, while the other cat simply ignores most items other than toys...
I would really appreciate any thoughts or advice!