I'm a new poster here and am in need of some advise.
My wife and I got our first cat together about six years ago. We named the little female Bailey and we were very pleased with her. The first night she snuggled into bed with us and just sort of ran around doing all sorts of cute kitten things.
As she got a little older, she began developing a little more of an attitude. We'd play with her with string and she'd get so wound up that she'd feel the need to bite. It didn't break the skin but you could tell she was mad. Her little head would :censor::censor::censor::censor: to one side and she'd stalk towards you to bite. If she couldn't bite the person that had made her angry she'd literally seek out the other person and bite them. Thus mollified she'd stalk off and do her own thing again.
At about 5 months she started to claw. We gave her a scratching post which she largely ignored in favor of the couch or carpet and then she worked up to clothing. We consulted with the vet and they recommended a number of things including trying to make loud noises out of her range of vision so she didn't know we were the ones doing it or squirting her with the water bottle.
Didn't work, in fact, squirting her with a water bottle seemed to enrage her. She'd start hissing and stalking us and clawing us when the opportunity came available.
I must admit, I was concerned at this point and we grudgingly decided to have her front claws removed. I'm not fond of this option and in truth would never do it again nor would I advise anyone to do it. It was a really traumatic experience for everyone involved. She also began to bite more frequenly now that she couldn't pull a Zorro on us.
At this point, we got another cat. A male named Archie. Archie was like the anti-Bailey. He was so laid back that when I first met him I thought he was sick. Bailey and Archie absolutely loved one another and we thought that maybe she'd take out some of her rougher instincts on him. He didn't seem to mind and was better equipped to physically handle her as when she got completely out of line. On such occasions, he'd pin her and rip out some hair. This apparently got his point across.
Unfortunately, she was still uber aggressive to us and began to get more so. We consulted the vet again and we tried kitty Prozac. Almost no effect whatsoever. We brought in a cat behaviorist and she stated that we do in fact have an aggressive cat. She suggested the water bottle again. Problem, you can literally soak Bailey with the water bottle and it makes her insane with rage.
Things came to a head when my wife became pregnant and Bailey began to try and attack her. She would fly into rages. We entertained getting rid of her but who would want such an animal. Despite her temperment towards us, she was even worse to strangers. The vet has hostile cat written with stars all over the top of Bailey's chart. On one visit to the vet she had to be gassed to calm her down.
When our son was born she calmed down. She seemed a little better temperment wise and we thought we'd be set. Unfortunately, as soon as our son became mobile she began to get aggressive again. I'd understand if he'd go after her but he doesn't. He'll walk by her and she lunges and bats at him. She sits under the bed and hisses and lunges at us too. In fact, the only time she's pleasant is at night when we hop into bed and she wants to snuggle or when everything is sitting in a chair across the room and is not moving at all.
She lunged at the boy again yesterday and was vicious today and we're unfortunately faced with the fact that she may have to be destroyed. We've called all the no-kill animal shelters in the area and no one has room. I'm not sure I'd feel right turning her over to someone who doesn't know what she's capable of.
I'm posting here as more of a last resort. Is there anyone, I mean anyone, with any thoughts or insights? I'm faced with having the cat destroyed and I feel like I'm completely betraying a family member. Granted she's a psychotic unpleasant family member but I'm concious of the fact that I'm the one who raised her.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.
My wife and I got our first cat together about six years ago. We named the little female Bailey and we were very pleased with her. The first night she snuggled into bed with us and just sort of ran around doing all sorts of cute kitten things.
As she got a little older, she began developing a little more of an attitude. We'd play with her with string and she'd get so wound up that she'd feel the need to bite. It didn't break the skin but you could tell she was mad. Her little head would :censor::censor::censor::censor: to one side and she'd stalk towards you to bite. If she couldn't bite the person that had made her angry she'd literally seek out the other person and bite them. Thus mollified she'd stalk off and do her own thing again.
At about 5 months she started to claw. We gave her a scratching post which she largely ignored in favor of the couch or carpet and then she worked up to clothing. We consulted with the vet and they recommended a number of things including trying to make loud noises out of her range of vision so she didn't know we were the ones doing it or squirting her with the water bottle.
Didn't work, in fact, squirting her with a water bottle seemed to enrage her. She'd start hissing and stalking us and clawing us when the opportunity came available.
I must admit, I was concerned at this point and we grudgingly decided to have her front claws removed. I'm not fond of this option and in truth would never do it again nor would I advise anyone to do it. It was a really traumatic experience for everyone involved. She also began to bite more frequenly now that she couldn't pull a Zorro on us.
At this point, we got another cat. A male named Archie. Archie was like the anti-Bailey. He was so laid back that when I first met him I thought he was sick. Bailey and Archie absolutely loved one another and we thought that maybe she'd take out some of her rougher instincts on him. He didn't seem to mind and was better equipped to physically handle her as when she got completely out of line. On such occasions, he'd pin her and rip out some hair. This apparently got his point across.
Unfortunately, she was still uber aggressive to us and began to get more so. We consulted the vet again and we tried kitty Prozac. Almost no effect whatsoever. We brought in a cat behaviorist and she stated that we do in fact have an aggressive cat. She suggested the water bottle again. Problem, you can literally soak Bailey with the water bottle and it makes her insane with rage.
Things came to a head when my wife became pregnant and Bailey began to try and attack her. She would fly into rages. We entertained getting rid of her but who would want such an animal. Despite her temperment towards us, she was even worse to strangers. The vet has hostile cat written with stars all over the top of Bailey's chart. On one visit to the vet she had to be gassed to calm her down.
When our son was born she calmed down. She seemed a little better temperment wise and we thought we'd be set. Unfortunately, as soon as our son became mobile she began to get aggressive again. I'd understand if he'd go after her but he doesn't. He'll walk by her and she lunges and bats at him. She sits under the bed and hisses and lunges at us too. In fact, the only time she's pleasant is at night when we hop into bed and she wants to snuggle or when everything is sitting in a chair across the room and is not moving at all.
She lunged at the boy again yesterday and was vicious today and we're unfortunately faced with the fact that she may have to be destroyed. We've called all the no-kill animal shelters in the area and no one has room. I'm not sure I'd feel right turning her over to someone who doesn't know what she's capable of.
I'm posting here as more of a last resort. Is there anyone, I mean anyone, with any thoughts or insights? I'm faced with having the cat destroyed and I feel like I'm completely betraying a family member. Granted she's a psychotic unpleasant family member but I'm concious of the fact that I'm the one who raised her.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.
