Severe cat behavior emergency

Originally Posted by LDG

Open the bedroom door and don't wait, don't watch, just leave it open. Go sit and read a book or whatever. Just ignore him completely.

At no point look at your kitty in the eyes. Don't reach out to him. Look near him, over his head, at his forehead. But reaching toward him and looking him in the eyes are signs of aggression.

Laurie

Click to expand...

Please consider the suggestions Laurie offered. She has experience that could benefit you and your cat. Following her advice and in the order she listed will help. Going in the room, even though PJ's were needed, before taking the steps Laurie listed could be taken as a sign of aggression. You can help him now just as you did before. Three years of trusting you is in your favor. Hang in there and it will get better.

Originally Posted by Skimble

Please consider the suggestions Laurie offered. She has experience that could benefit you and your cat. Following her advice and in the order she listed will help. Going in the room, even though PJ's were needed, before taking the steps Laurie listed could be taken as a sign of aggression. You can help him now just as you did before. Three years of trusting you is in your favor. Hang in there and it will get better.

Click to expand...

The things is, if I just open the door and go about my business, he'll come out and attack me, as before.

I called the rescue group where I got my two other cats. They have permanent housing for cats that are unadoptable and I wanted to know there was an alternative to PTS if Malc doesn't come back from this. they said they would take him and let him live out his life there IF i took another cat from their adoptable group. Thing is, giving up Malc would be like going through a death again; I can't see that I could bear to bring home another cat right away. It would feel inappropriately like exchanging a sweater, I think.

Unfortunately, because of the severe level of his distress, I don't think he'll ever feel safe with me or in the apartment again. And there's no way with him in this state I can get any kind of medication into him.

I'm sorry; I know I'm repeating myself. I just don't know what to do for him or with him. And I never thought I would give up a pet but I don't think I can live in a tiny apt. with one who wants to kill me.

I understand how you must feel. There really are lots of things you can do.
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20837 Scroll down this page. There is an interesting suggestion about using vicks vapor rub on a cloth tied to your ankles. She has many years of experience with these situations. That would be worth trying.

Also, putting some of the tasteless meds in all meat baby food may help. Most all cats can't resist, especially when they are hungry and get the baby food first. In above sticky she mentions using St Johns Wort which can easily be found in the vitamin/supplement isles.

He needs time. You may find following the given advice will help him calm down quickly. There are so many great people here with wonderful tips to help.

Please get this cat to the vet NOW no matter how you have to do it- get him in to be seen. Have a complete workup done on him, bloodwork, physical and neurological exam. Forget everything else until you do that. Please- he is telling you the only way he can that something is not right with him. If you are scared of him, you will never catch him, so you have to be sneaky and corner him into small room and use a thick towel to capture him. Have the carrier tipped up on it's end with the door open and quickly just lower him into the carrier- he will be fighting and ticked off so be careful, Be sure that you do NOT make direct eye contact with him at any time and wear extra layers of clothes so if he nails you, you won;t get hurt.

Originally Posted by hissy

Please get this cat to the vet NOW no matter how you have to do it- get him in to be seen. Have a complete workup done on him, bloodwork, physical and neurological exam. Forget everything else until you do that. Please- he is telling you the only way he can that something is not right with him. If you are scared of him, you will never catch him, so you have to be sneaky and corner him into small room and use a thick towel to capture him. Have the carrier tipped up on it's end with the door open and quickly just lower him into the carrier- he will be fighting and ticked off so be careful, Be sure that you do NOT make direct eye contact with him at any time and wear extra layers of clothes so if he nails you, you won;t get hurt.

Click to expand...

Ironically, he's in the room with all my clothes. Worst case scenario (and I think this will be it), I won't be able to get in touch with his regular vet till Monday. I'm 99% sure it's mental, though.

Well, the saga continues. It's 7:30 a.m. here and I've had like two hours sleep. He's had two bowls of food with a tranquilizer in each and it's had no effect on him. It's like that part in Jaws when Quint says, "He can't stay down with three barrels on him. Not with three barrels, he can't." But he does.

The emergency vets around here are no help. They tell me to stick him in a carrier and bring him in -- if I could get him in a carrier, he wouldn't have to go in. I'm just praying that when his regular vet reopens tomorrow, they'll help somehow. If I could get him tranquilized, I could at least transfer him to this tiny extra room I have. Then I'd be able to get to my clothing, my bed, etc. and work and function while figuring out what to do.

If someone with a big house and an outdoors had him, he might be ok in the feral sense. But this is a tiny apt. and I'm sure I look five times bigger to him because of that.

And the worst part is, I feel like my heart's shut down to him.

I know how emotionally difficult this must be, and it's wonderful that you've come here for help. But it sounds like you've all ready made up your mind and given up, and we can't blame you for that because it's a tough situation, but please re-read through this thread, there are TONS of good ideas to try that will avoid you getting hurt, and I don't think you've tried them yet. It's Sunday now so go get feliway, try that at the very least before you give up, and as impossible and ridiculous as this sounds try try try to stay calm, animals sense emotion. My cat cello, who is the SWEETEST cat in the world, and my baby, will physically attack me (to the length it sounds your cats will) when I am extremely emotional (ie. once I had a flight delatayed overnight and I was going to miss seeing a very sick friend and I got hysterical and cello lunged at me growling and bit me quite badly.......this has happened 3 times) so basically if you go in there and you've been emotional and crying or are fighting back tears in makes the situation far worse. So you have to disattach yourself, you know you have options if all else fails, so try all else first.

This is kind of an afterthought, but in the same lines as above. Do you know ANYBODY who is a friend or family member, who is really good with animals that could help you. Someone who is disattached with the situation won't get emotional and take it personally if kitty tries to attack them, they can come and help you when it's time to get him in a carrier or even just to get clothes for you, spray feliway.....give water with rescue remedy etc. it may be best for you and kitty. Just warn them first to wear lots of layers...

I think the best and only thing to do is give him the tranquilizer in water, he may not need to eat but he will drink the water eventually, put just dry food in with him, that could make him dry, so he will want the water. Good luck.

Some small, good news. I was determined to get him out of the bedroom so I opened the door to the small sunny extra room with the window seat that he loves. Then I opened the bedroom door and he was so happy to be out he just romped right into the little room, so he's in there now with the door closed. This makes things much easier as I can access my clothing and be able to present myself at work, as well as sleep in a bed (slept on a chair cushion last night) so I'm just gonna allow him some days in the little room to chill and talk to him through the door etc and we'll see how things go. There's not as big a hurry now.

Apparently it's as true with suddenly psycho cats as it is with real estate: location location location.

Have you tried just opening the door and walking away and pretending you don't have a cat? I really think that is great advice......

Originally Posted by Renovia

Have you tried just opening the door and walking away and pretending you don't have a cat? I really think that is great advice......

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, he'll attack me if I do that. i live in a very tiny city apartment, so it's not like i can go to another floor to be away from him and safe.

I just opened the door to put his bed in there and he hissed at me. I don't think he's going to go back to the way he was with me. I'll have to find him another home, maybe someplace with woods so he can be outdoors but be fed regularly.

I've had other cats get mad at me - for bringing another cat home, for accidentally stepping on their tail, etc., for giving them a pill - but they're usually fine in a short time. He doesn't recognize me as someone he loves any more. He's just got deep-rooted rage from before I knew him and now it's all directed at me.

Dear Brokenheart

Please don't give up just yet. You need to give your baby more time.

When the vet came over for the house visit and subsequently your nephew, those visits triggered something in your cat that caused him to be *terribly afraid and to feel threatened*. It's not that the people themselves did something wrong but it sounds like you don't have company over very often and your cat is probably afraid of strangers. If Mac has been severely abused in the past, as has been suggested, that would explain his fear of strangers and his reaction to them.

Right now you're scared of your cat. Very understandable. But try to put yourself in his shoes. When he became afraid of the vet and lashed out at him, in what was in his mind, defending himself from a potential threat, you sided with that potential threat by pulling him away. So then you became not only a potential threat, but a traitor as well, so naturally he attacked you too. Remember I'm thinking from Mac's point of view.

Then you picked him up using a towel and put him in the bedroom. This probably confused him, since, in his mind, he was trying to defend himself. Instead of removing the source of the threat, you removed him.

So now Mac is mad at you. In his mind you broke his trust and he now sees you a threat.

Now, I'm not saying what you did was wrong but I think in the future you have to do things a little differently.

If you take him to a vet now, and this is just my opinion, I believe he will freak out even worse and see you as someone who is trying to put him in harm's way. You said you felt the problem was more mental than physical right now. I think you are right.

Now, to add to the fantastic advice you have been given, especially from Laurie. I would ignore your cat for some time. I would not make eye contact with him, nor would I try to touch him in any way I say this because in one of your posts you mentioned that he let you scratch him on the head but then quickly became aggressive again. You tried to touch him too soon. He needs more time to calm down. He also needs more time to rebuild his trust in you.

There are a few ways you can do this.

First you must calm yourself down and stop being afraid of him. What has happened to him is *not* his fault. He was only, in his mind, trying to defend himself. Stop looking at him as if he is the cat from hell and start looking at him as a victim, and more importantly, as the sweet cat that he was a few short days ago. Cats can see our auras and sense our thoughts and intentions. If you are afraid of him, he can sense it and will react accordingly.

Talk to him! Talk to him constantly!! Doesn't matter where you are in the apt. or where he is, just talk to him. He needs reassurance that he is safe, loved and wanted. Tell him you are sorry, tell him you were only trying to protect him, that you love him, etc. etc. Sure, he may never have forgiven the woman at the shelter but how much of an effort did she make to win him over? So Talk to him, like he is the only best friend you have in the world! Cats are very smart and they can understand a lot of what we tell them.

Like when you have to go into the bedroom. Tell him in advance, "OK Mac, I'm coming in the room now, don't be afraid, I'm just getting my clothes and then I'll be right out." Then go in, don't even look around to see where he is, get your things and get back out. Keep talking to him the whole time Tell him "Mac, I know you and I are buddies, now you know I love you, and I know you love me, so I know you are not going to hurt me and I'm not going to hurt you." Do wear your jacket, just in case, but again, try not to let your fear show. Be confident, think of him of his fear, of what he is going through.

If you can sing, play some soft music, be in a good mood, that way you are creating a good "ambiance" . Keep the tv on low.

And again, let Mac come to you. When he finally does come to you, only then should you try petting him etc.

Don't forget to try the perfume thing that Laurie suggested.

Keep trying the meds in the food and water.

Again don't give up on him just yet It may be that in the end, you don't have a choice, you may have to give him up to the shelter you mentioned. But, as others have mentioned, he has been with you for 3 years and all went well. Based on that alone, that is very very hopeful that given a bit more time, he will return to normal.

It could also be that when you do have someone come over in the future you may have to keep him in the bedroom. But again, I would talk to him then too. Tell him, I have a friend coming over and I don't you to be afraid or upset so I am putting you here, in your safe zone, so that you feel safe and secure.

It's like when I take my cats to the vet, they don't like it, Rascal cries the whole there and back too but I talk to them the whole time. Now it doesn't stop Rascal from crying but I make sure my voice is calm and reassuring. And when it's time for the exam I tell them "yes I know this not fun but the doctor needs to look at you and yes it might hurt a bit, but the doctor is trying to help you, he's not trying to hurt you on purpose." I know it may sound crazy, but it makes a difference. I'm not saying my cats like it, but I think they understand that we are trying to help them.

I sure hope this helps, please keep us all posted, let us know how things are going.

Originally Posted by Brokenheart

I said I would foster him because by that point I had bonded with him.

I was pretty scared when I brought him home, but from that day over three years ago, he's always been very sweet tempered. No agression ever. Cut to last month, when I had a housecall vet come do his and the other cat's checkups (I live in a 6th floor walkup and it's gotten really hard to transport these guys). He flipped out during the appt. and went after the vet and then me when I pulled him away.

Today my grownup nephew came over for the first time. I noticed Malc was acting kind of wary and thought it might be because my nephew's a big tall guy like the housecall vet. Malc started hissing so i picked him up - I had to use a towel - and put him in the bedroom.

Click to expand...

You have a bond with this cat and he needs you now. The result of sending him back to a shelter is known. He will not live.

He has been a good cat for three years. Think what happened when it changed for him.

The vet visit....were you present during the vet exam and shots? Think about those chain of events that may have caused this since this is where it started after three years being good.

Did the vet hurt him (unintentionally, of course) ?
Did a needle break off under his skin and the vet not know?
Did he have a reaction to a vaccine?
He reacted to nephew, maybe because he was hurt by the vet visit.
Is the vaccination site ok? I had an animal that the vet injected in the muscle when it should have been under the skin. Took months and a new vet to get her well.
Did another cat you have during the vet visit that day react to the vet? Could be transferance of aggression. This can be solved.

Please give this guy the benefit of trying to sort it out and NOT label this as being due to what happened to him in a former situation of abuse. Please do not make up your mind now as to what you will do.

Hissy gave the most valuable advice to do FIRST. If he walked past you into this other room, you can get him in a carrier.

Write down all that you can think of in the order of events to show vet so they can help.

He can't tell you what hurts or why. Let a vet clear him of a physical problem. You cannot say he is healthy because cats hide pain and illnesses.

When you have him at the vet or an animal hospital, ask for an animal behaviorst that you could contact as a next step after vet check.

You can do this. He is counting on you now as he did three years ago when he bonded to you. He has not changed....something changed for him and he is reacting. I wish you and your baby the best. Prayers for you both.

Thanks, I am trying. He is now in the little sunny room with the window seat, his cat bed, litter box, food, water and some toys. Ironically, it's just like when I first brought him home. I figure the best thing is to start at square one, and just let him have the room to himself for a while.

Strangely, I've always had friends over and he's always been fine with them. i wonder if it's neurological, as he hasn't been making his jumps so well in the past months.

For now, I'm just going to leave things as they are.

Skimble, the shelter he would go to isn't one where he'd die. it's no-kill and they have permanent housing for unadoptable cats.

Originally Posted by Brokenheart

Thanks, I am trying. He is now in the little sunny room with the window seat, his cat bed, litter box, food, water and some toys. Ironically, it's just like when I first brought him home. I figure the best thing is to start at square one, and just let him have the room to himself for a while.

Strangely, I've always had friends over and he's always been fine with them. i wonder if it's neurological, as he hasn't been making his jumps so well in the past months.

For now, I'm just going to leave things as they are.

Skimble, the shelter he would go to isn't one where he'd die. it's no-kill and they have permanent housing for unadoptable cats.

Click to expand...

Don't know if you had a chance to read my above post or not, but putting him in your little sunny room is definitely the right start.

Also, Skimble is right you have a bond with this cat and he needs you. Please don't give up on him yet.

keep us posted!

Oh man, this sounds so tough! But it also sounds like you're doing exactly the right thing; you've got him in a small, pleasant safe room and you can get to your clothes and your bed.

You are worried that things will never be the same between you and this cat again, yet you've described progress. You were able to touch him early on. It degenerated later, but he did let you touch him! That's amazing, and, to my mind, quite hopeful. You say you've had other cats calm down faster; some cats have a very long memory and stay disturbed for a long time. That doesn't mean they won't calm down eventually. Like in two or three months.

By all means use the Feliway and keep feeding and watering him in the small room, and talk to him whenever you go into the room. But otherwise, I'd try to not think too much about him. Go about your daily routine, do things that make you happy and be calm. Don't rush anything with your cat; in fact, I would not initiate any contact with him in the foreseeable future. Let him be in charge of everything in his tiny little room, and eventually, let him be in charge of where he goes in your house.

I suspect the problem was that the house call turned a safe place into an unsafe one. With time, the currently unsafe house can be safe again. I would suggest not doing house calls in the future. Do talk to your regular vet on Monday; it might be very important to take him in to them, but they'd know more about that than I do!

Originally Posted by Enuja

I would suggest not doing house calls in the future. !

Click to expand...

Oh, I agree with you 200%!

I now look back at the housecall vet decision as one of the worst I ever made.

Originally Posted by Enuja

Oh man, this sounds so tough! But it also sounds like you're doing exactly the right thing; you've got him in a small, pleasant safe room and you can get to your clothes and your bed.

You are worried that things will never be the same between you and this cat again, yet you've described progress. You were able to touch him early on. It degenerated later, but he did let you touch him! That's amazing, and, to my mind, quite hopeful. You say you've had other cats calm down faster; some cats have a very long memory and stay disturbed for a long time. That doesn't mean they won't calm down eventually. Like in two or three months.

By all means use the Feliway and keep feeding and watering him in the small room, and talk to him whenever you go into the room. But otherwise, I'd try to not think too much about him. Go about your daily routine, do things that make you happy and be calm. Don't rush anything with your cat; in fact, I would not initiate any contact with him in the foreseeable future. Let him be in charge of everything in his tiny little room, and eventually, let him be in charge of where he goes in your house.

I suspect the problem was that the house call turned a safe place into an unsafe one. With time, the currently unsafe house can be safe again. I would suggest not doing house calls in the future. Do talk to your regular vet on Monday; it might be very important to take him in to them, but they'd know more about that than I do!

Click to expand...

Totally agree!

Thanks and thank you so much to everyone who offered advice. I'm a tiny bit more hopeful today, part of which has to do, I think, with the fact that the apartment feels less chaotic with him seemingly happy in the little room rather than barricaded in the bedroom.

It's so frustrating that you can't talk to them and explain they're overreacting. As a friend of mine pointed out, because I was feeling all guilty over having the housecall vet, the vet just gave him a rabies shot, he didn't perform surgery without anesthesia on him. But you can't tell a cat that.

Stay tuned, and thanks again to all, for so much help. I hope it turns out well.