Severe cat behavior emergency

brokenheart

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My cat has suddenly gotten very aggressive/vicious towards me. Here's the back story:

He was taken in at a shelter I used to volunteer at. We had problems with him swiping at people and then one of the volunteers mistook what was probably play behavior for aggressive behavior so the shelter head had to get him into a cage with gloves etc. After that he hated the shelter head and would lose his mind whenever she was around. I suggested we put him in a back room where he wouldn't be overstimulated (the shelter was in a pet store with constant traffic) and I used to go visit him. Being in a quiet room seemed to make him much calmer. Then the shelter head was going to give him to this home that wasn't a good prospect -- someone pretty bad-tempered who just wanted a mouser - in a high city apartment without screens on the windows.She just wanted to get him out of the shelter. 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.

Now he hisses whenever he sees me. After some time passed, I let him out of the room and he seemed fine for a minute and then went for me. I had to use a pillow, a jacket and a towel to get him back into the bedroom. And I'll tell ya, he really did a number on that pillow on the way - if it'd been me instead of the pillow, I'd be in pieces.

Now he's in the bedroom again and he still hisses if I open the door. I don't know what to do. Given that he never forgave the shelter head and would go for her whenever she was around, I don't know if he'll ever go back to liking/trusting me. He's very scary right now.

And he's in my bedroom with all my clothes and well, the bed. I don't know what to do. I can't not have people over or never go away (which means a cat sitter has to come here.) We're both very freaked out.
 

mom of 4

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The first thing you have to do is calm down - cats are very good at reading people. Since you are upset, he feels like he should be upset.

Prior to the vet visit, how was he around men?
Perhaps having your nephew seated when they meet again would be helpful. Also, try having your nephew spread his scent on a towel and exposing your cat to that scent will help before the nephews next visit.

I'm guessing the manager didn't make much effort to improve their relationship. Sit down and talk to him. It is amazing what they understand, whether it is th tone of voice or the words.
 
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brokenheart

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Originally Posted by Mom of 4

Prior to the vet visit, how was he around men?
.
Prior to that, he was fine if men were here. And I don't think he's ever even hissed at me, once, in the three years I've had him. He's been the gentlest fella.

I think we're both pretty shaken up.

I just opened the door a bit to put a bowl of water in there for him and he hissed, growled, and was getting ready to lunge.
 

laureen227

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get some feliway diffusers & get them running - one in his room, others thruout the house [depends on how big/open your house is
]. also, some rescue remedy in his water might be helpful. [the links are so you know what i'm talking about - lots of pet stores carry these things.]
 

kittkatt

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It sounds to me as if the poor guy was severely abused at one point in his life, and now whenever he thinks he may be in any danger, he freaks out and lashes out. Poor fella..


My s/o once had a dog that had been abused, and he would react that way too, whenever he was the least bit startled. He turned on my s/o one day viciously, and bit him badly. The outcome was not good, and he ended up having to have the little guy PTS b/c he was afraid the dog would hurt someone else badly some day. He hated having to do it, but the poor little guy's mind was just too far gone from past abuse.


I hope that you don't have to resort to something like that with your furbie. I really don't have any advice to offer, except that when any of my furbies get really upset, I leave them alone till they calm down. As the other poster suggested, your Malc probably can sense that you're upset too, and is reacting to that.

I really don't like the idea of using anxiety meds on pets, but is it possible that your vet may be able to prescribe a mild tranquilizer for Malc when he gets like this? I don't know what else to suggest..


I hope someone else comes along who may have better advice!


Good luck! I hope something can be done for Malc!

~KK~
 
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brokenheart

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Thank you everyone for the advice. He's still in the bedroom and still gets ready to lunge for me if I open the door too much. I think this is probably very serious because, as KittKatt said, this has to do with something from his history before me and the shelter, and there may be no bringing him back from this. It breaks my heart when I look at him, because first I see my pal and then he turns into Cujo. It's almost as if he's rabid, but he's an indoor cat with rabies shot. But it's that extreme, and frightening. And it's impossible to get a tranquilizer into him when he's like this.

The thing is too, he goes from zero to 100, none of the beginning/intermediate warning stuff cats usually do. Like I said, he hasn't even hissed at me or anyone in the three years I've had him. And now he doesn't get defensive and run away. He gets aggressive and lunges for me. I tried putting a cat tranquilizer in his favorite food and sliding that into the room but he won't eat it.

He's a little guy but he ripped the s---t out of that pillow. I'm in a tiny apartment so it's not like I can keep him in a separate room or outdoors for the rest of his life and care for him as if he were feral.

I feel like I failed him/am failing him, because I can't calm him, and I'm scared of him now.
 

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You're in NYC - get Feliway now, and grab some harp music somewhere (it calms feral cats). Stop at a pharmacy or something and buy a really strong scented shower gel - one you've never used before. Or maybe just some perfume.

Put on the harp music.

Spray the feliway around the apartment at the height of your cat's head (not near litter boxes or scratching posts). I know you're scared to go in the bedroom - so don't, not right away. Squirt some under the door.

Take a shower using the new shower gel. Put on the new perfume. Do your hair differently.

Stand outside the door and talk to him very softly. Explain what happened, tell him you're so sorry and how much you love him. Don't do this until you're no longer afraid, and do it a couple of times. Tell him you're going to open the bedroom door and you want everything to be OK between you.

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.

Maybe leave treats just outside the door.

....but have the carrier ready.

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.

If he doesn't ignore you and seeks you out (which I doubt, but just in case), or if you're still scared, or he attacks you - you have three options.

1) Get him in a carrier and get him to an emergency vet. He needs a mood stabilizer or something to calm him down. Some use Prozac. Most of them, I think, take two weeks to saturate into the blood stream properly, so ask what to do in the meantime.

2) If you have a good relationship with a vet, call and leave a message. Maybe they'll get you a scrip without having to bring kitty in.

3) Call the vet that makes house visits. Maybe he can meet you in the hall and give you something for the cat (obviously you can't let him in the apartment).

Just ideas. And thank you for rescuing this kitty!



Laurie
 

ldg

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Oh - and while you're out shopping, just keep visualizing your loving kitty boy, not this crazy kitty. Think of petting him or holding him or snuggling with him - whatever you and he do. Get back into the mindset of "this is a loving kitty that trusts me." Work at it, so that by the time you get back home, you're not sending out the "scared" vibe.


Laurie
 

zane's pal

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And I thought my Zane was crazy!

Is there any way you could get some serious tranquilizer into him, something that would knock him out for a LONG time? That might give him time to process his trauma through dreams.

I second the idea of trying to change your scent; also the scent of the apartment, perhaps by burning some incense.
 
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brokenheart

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Originally Posted by Zane's Pal

Is there any way you could get some serious tranquilizer into him, something that would knock him out for a LONG time? That might give him time to process his trauma through dreams.

.
I put a tranquilizer in his favorite wet food and slipped it into the room, but he's either not eating it or he's eating it around it.

I honestly don't know what to do. I don't know how I can ever let him out of the bedroom without a haz-mat suit because he's going to go for me right away. Or even if he comes out and seems fine for a minute, the next second he could be attacking me again. If it weren't so sad, it would be funny.
 

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I feel like I failed him/am failing him, because I can't calm him, and I'm scared of him now.
I don't think you should be so hard on yourself. If he was abused at one time, and you managed to have him for three years w/o any problems, you must be doing something right.
Something must have "triggered" Malc, and he's having a severe anxiety attack. I think you just have to be patient, and gain his trust again. I think he'll come around eventually..


Abuse trauma is a very serious thing, and most cats (and people) rarely ever recover from it entirely. I went thru an abusive relationship several years ago, and am still suffering from the after-effects. I don't lash out at people like Malc does, but I have anxiety attacks which cause chest pains, and I'm "on edge" a lot. Simple little things which never use to irritate me do now..


I think Laurie gave some good advice.
Give her advice a shot, and try the Feliway as Laureen & Laurie suggested. It sure can't hurt. And contact your vet to see what he has to offer.


Hang in there! You've done wonders with Malc so far!


Tiff
 

luvmyfurbabys

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I dont know what to say... other than Hugs and

and this sounds like the cat version of PTSD.
 
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brokenheart

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Well, a few minutes ago (this is now 8 hours after the original attack), I tried to slowly walk into the room to get my pj shorts. He let me scritch the top of his head for one second, then he hissed, swiped my hand, growled and got ready to lunge, so I hightailied it out of there. (Fortunately, NYC apts. are tiny so there was no ground to cover.)

One the one hand, I can see where this is kind of funny, since I'm a grown human terrified of a little twelve pound cat, but on the other hand, I really am scared of him now and can't imagine how things could be ok again.
 

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Laurie gave you some really good advice....did you get some Feliway? That would be my first step....
 

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you MUST get feliway, everything Laurie said is excellent, have you tried any of it? Also when you are getting feliway look for rescue remedy, and put it in his water...... it is calming and the cats will still drink the water with a couple drops of it in there. Anything to calm him down........

Good luck
 
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brokenheart

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I'm getting the feliway tomorrow. Today was too nervewracking, and besides, all my clothes are in the room with him. Plus, I cried myself into a migraine and realized the aspiring's in the room with him too. so I was generally just too discombobulated.

One of my cats died of cancer last October and now this. It's really like that sweet little cat has completely disappeared and a furry demon has appeared in his place.
 

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Also, please consider Buspar or Prozac. It has helped lots of very aggressive cats on TCS. I'm not sure how they get it into the cats, however...because of you putting the sedative in the food issue. Can you PM? You could PM WhiteCatLover and ask about antidepressants and how to administer. I'm so sorry you're going through this.
 

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My Ophelia Rose ( The Queen
of the Known Universe) had an issue with attacking - me, people, cats, dogs, walls, litterboxes.... She was generally an unhinged kitty.

Amitrityline did nothing for her. Buspar.....after 3-4 ish months she was off it. The "good" effects are still here. I can pick her up & hold her. She seeks attention. She's no longer attacking the dogs, & attacks the other cats less often. She stopped attacking the people in my family...and now only goes after strangers.


Buspar is, thankfully, I believe tasteless & odorless? I don't know for sure on that....but it was easy to sneak the pill into wet food. It's also non habit forming. Maybe ask your vet about that?
 
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brokenheart

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Originally Posted by kluchetta

Also, please consider Buspar or Prozac. It has helped lots of very aggressive cats on TCS. I'm not sure how they get it into the cats, however...because of you putting the sedative in the food issue. Can you PM? You could PM WhiteCatLover and ask about antidepressants and how to administer. I'm so sorry you're going through this.
Thanks, there's just no way to get medication into him, unless I can get a tranquilizer gun and shoot a tranquilizer dart into him from far away. (The sad thing is, that's not really a joke at this point.)
 
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