Hi there! I have 3 cats. Two males, Smokey and Bandit (who are brothers) and a female cat Tiggs, who was introduced over a year ago. Things have been fine up until a few weeks ago. The 2 male cats have been mine since they were 8 weeks old. They have never been separated and are usually found curled up napping together. They do wrestle rolling around and biting but you can tell it's just playing. They both have their own unique personalities and are so loving, not shy at all, they will come out and greet anyone who comes in the house. A few weeks ago, the oldest male cat Bandit snapped and attacked his brother Smokey, it's not like him at all. Just a few minutes before it happened, my boyfriend had both of them up on his lap. This was not playing around, this was fighting to kill. We had to separate them, we put Bandit in the pet carrier and Smokey in the bathroom. With Smokey meowing to be let out would make Bandit hiss, growl and spin in circles inside the carrier. He wouldn't let us near him, he would attacked the door if we tried. We noticed that while he was in the carrier that he would have moments where he would completely stop and just stare then go back to hissing and growling. We put him in a separate room, I went in to see him after a few hours thinking he might have calmed down a bit. Bandit is the type of cat who shows affection with licks and nibbles. He will bite your chin while purring, and drooling like crazy. When I went into the room to see him, he was back to himself, purring and rubbing all over me while drooling, I sat down on the floor and let him climb onto my lap. He likes to be in your face, and after a few minutes of affection it was almost like a switch went on and he turned put his ears back and hissed at me and started to growl, I left the room to let him have space. We left him on his own for the night with his own food, water and litter box and let him out the next day, he was fine with the other cats, he didn't seem himself though. He would jump and get poofed from the smallest noise. His meow sounded different and he wasn't the Bandit we all know and love. I noticed after this happened that he has become more aggressive showing his affection too. Things we fine for a week, then he snapped again, attacked Smokey to the point of hurting him, he was bleeding from a scratch behind his ear. Bandit went back into his own room, we took him to the vet and physically he is a healthy happy cat, we bought a plug-in diffuser called Feliway and it hasn't helped. The other cats are more affectionate but Bandit is still not himself. We have been letting him out with the other cats put away in the bedroom, and we have let him out with the other cats for 5 minutes at a time. We are trying to get him used to his surroundings and the other cats again. When he is out, he will sniff around to see what is new and want attention from us, but after a few minutes he will stare off into space again. This is when we put him back into his own room.
We have no ides what caused this. I've read that it might be because he saw another cat outside and he wants to go out and see him but we have neighborhood cats that he "talks" to through the screen door and has never has a problem with before. Nothing has changed for him to act this way. I'm wondering how to get things back to the way they were. If anyone has ever had this happen to their cats or know what to do please help. The vet suggested sedatives to calm him down, but I've heard that he wouldn't be the same cat anymore, he would just sleep a lot, but him being locked up on his own is not fair but we have no choice. Please help if you can!
We have no ides what caused this. I've read that it might be because he saw another cat outside and he wants to go out and see him but we have neighborhood cats that he "talks" to through the screen door and has never has a problem with before. Nothing has changed for him to act this way. I'm wondering how to get things back to the way they were. If anyone has ever had this happen to their cats or know what to do please help. The vet suggested sedatives to calm him down, but I've heard that he wouldn't be the same cat anymore, he would just sleep a lot, but him being locked up on his own is not fair but we have no choice. Please help if you can!
