Help me Please!

Let me make this very clear, my cat is my baby. There is nothing i wouldn't do for my beautiful little girl. But i am at a loss for just what to do and every day the situation gets worse.

My cat is extremely violent and she has extreme behavior issues. At first i just dismissed it as extreme kitten behaviors but her behaviors are getting weirder and weirder and the agression and violence is getting worse and worse. I have never reacted to this cat violently and i never will. But she is not a normal housecat. I don't know for sure if she is some sort of hybrid or a domestic mother and a hybrid father or something (she does have the look i am guessing if so it is savannah.) Then her attack style, i would swear i was watching a serval *repeatedly* fly at my face bouncing down on the ground and flying yet again at my face trying to rip out my eyes for no reason. She also does the same thing and her aim is my jugular vein. Please understand i love her but at this point i am growing scared of her as she is literally trying to rip my jugular out for no reason.

She can be extremely sweet one minute and then the next she is her homicidal agressive self. I had her at the vet today, tomorrow we are calling the kitty cat neurologist. I don't care what it costs i don't care how many vets i have to see or how i need to alter my life to make her better or to get a handle atleast on the extreme violent agression i will do whatever it takes. I would never give up on her without one hell of a fight first. But i am scared, eventually as each day she gets worse, i worry at some point she is going to become such a serious threat i have no choice. I don't want that day to ever come.

I have had cats all of my life. Some cats i have had were royally unfriendly most were very sweet though, but i have never encountered behaviors like this. She goes bonkers when she sees or smells blood... She urinates with some frequent regularity in my bed. (last time was 2 days ago, she atleast had the decency to pee on my husband's side of the bed this time.)

I don't have any idea what might be wrong with her. Not a clue and i don't know what to do for her. I am looking for any suggestions anyone has because short of beating her, (something i would never do and could never do) i am at a loss. Please please please, i am on my knees in tears begging, help me to help my cat.

thank you all so much.

I'm so happy to hear that you're working with her vet. If it is truly an innate behavioral issue with her, there may be a medication your vet can prescribe to keep her "under control". Let us know how the visit to the neurologist goes...

I can't imagine anyone could give better advice for this kind of thing than to see a vet specialist. I hope the neurologist can help. Poor kitty can't be happy being that way, and of course it's no fun for the humans either.

I hope the specialist will be able to help you.

Welcome to TCS!

Unfortunately, I wish it was under better circumstances. We may be able to be of help, but more information would help also.

1) How old is your kitty?
2) At what age did you get her?
3) Is she spayed?
4) Is she an only pet?
5) How long has this behavior gone on?
6) Can you find any "triggers" that set her off?
7) I know you said she was at the vet, has she had a full vet exam? Any bloodwork or testing?

I have a cat who is behaviorally challenged. I got her when she was 3ish years old, she was deaf & had never had human contact before I got her. She was terrified. Once she adjusted, she eventually became aggressive towards other animals & people. I worked with her, and eventually ended up medicating her until we could maintain some sort of balance.

Sometimes it is as "simple" as their history. Sometimes it is medically caused (I believe thyroid issues can cause behavior problems). Sometimes it seems as though there is no rhyme or reason. But we'll help as best as we can.

Thank you for the welcome

Your questions
1) How old is your kitty? - Just over a year old
2) At what age did you get her? - 8 weeks
3) Is she spayed? - You bet she is.
4) Is she an only pet? - No. She has a buddy a black lab border collie cross named Yoda.
5) How long has this behavior gone on? Well.... I noticed something was odd almost immediately. I just didn't think much of any of it, in retrospect i was a fool not to. She is extremely confident and agressive. The day we brought her home, she traipsed around the new digs like she owned the place and pissed in our bed. No hiding no shyness. Same day i noticed that i had an 8 week old kitten that was actually play hunting from above. Then there is her obsession with glasses containing liquid that fascinates her. She is all over that like nothing i have ever seen before. Even goes into the bath tub a bit with just her front paws to wack at the water, then usually she slips falls in freaks out and jumps out.... She likes to stare at me and at my husband. We blink at her alot when she does that to try to make her understand we mean her no harm. Sometimes it works.... Often it doesn't.... Sometimes she attacks infact often with no staring involved. Sometimes all i have to do is sit on my bed and it is homicide the human hour.... Her behaviors are like nothing i have seen before. She had massive ears as a kitten and still has very distinctive ears. Then our vet has commented more than once on her long huge teeth that she says are bigger than is normal in cats.
6) Can you find any "triggers" that set her off? - It's more a question of what is not a trigger?
7) I know you said she was at the vet, has she had a full vet exam? Any bloodwork or testing? - yes more than once i had a full battery of tests for pretty much everything vet could think of a complete battery of tests. She now wants me to take her to the neurologist at the veterinary college. She thinks they should trace her ancestry. I think my vet thinks she is not fully domestic and that some of her DNA comes from an exotic cat. Which i had no idea of at the time we got her. She was just a cute little fuzzball back then with big ears.

She has always been with us since she was a baby. She has extreme issues though with authority. I can't seem to disciplin her in the way that you normally do to teach cats what you need them to know. Because she doesn't back off and sulk she throws herself at you instead in this insane rage.... Serious agressive rage issues often just from out of nowhere.She still likes to regularly urinate in our bed too another issue we have with her. But she is totally healthy physically...She is just a really weird violent cat.... We can't keep going like this though because she just is getting more and more dangerous.

My heart goes out to you. I have no advice to add, but want you to know you are not alone! One of our cats is a solitary cat (we didn't know since we got her from the SPCA at 8 weeks old). She's the sweetest kitty you could meet when she's by herself, but as soon as we try to integrate her into the household with our other two, she is all claws and teeth and hissing, and she attacks us, it's so difficult and has been going on for 5 years. Feliway helps a little, temporarily. I've never had a cat like this before, either. Your kitty sounds sort of like the kids with autism that I used to work with. I could not handle the peeing in the bed - you must be a something of a saint! I hope you get some relief!

Rather than trying to discipline her, as cats do not respond well to discipline, have you tried re-directing her aggression to something "acceptible"?

You say she'll attack you - have you ever tried re-directing her to Da Bird? I know it sounds stupid, but it works for many cats.

She also loves water? Have you looked into trying out a water fountain for her? There are so many, some are linked below.
Drinkwell
Petmate Fresh Flow
Drinkwell 360
Drinkwell Platinum
Cat it
Petco's fountain

Does she have plenty of interactive toys & things to keep her busy? Sometimes rather than aggression it is extreme play. Perhaps she never learned how to properly play? Was she with her littermates & mother until you got her at 8 weeks? Kittens taken too young from their moms often have behavioral issues (they often never learn right & wrong - don't know they're playing too rough, cannot bite people, etc).

Psycho, also known as Sisu The Evil, or Sisu Homicide, has many toys of every variety including 4 scratching posts. One of which is latched to the ceiling and the other end to the floor to give her some climbing ability.... She has hundreds of toys. They litter the floor many are interactive.

Water fascinates her and she is completely obsessed with it. I don't get the obsession at all though. It's so bad that me and the husband shut her in the bedroom when we have liquid out because she tries to stick her paws in our cups knocks stuff over destroys laptops.... etc...

Well, i am not a saint, that would be my husband. more often than not when she pees in my bed she has the good sense to do it on his sideof the bed. It's nice to know i am not alone.

Yes i have had cats for 30 years of my life. I was born in a house with a cat and have always had atleast 1 at all times. So i am familiar with the trick of redirecting. It doesn't work though. Like discipline techniques, it just serves to piss her off more for no apparent reason what ever. She was with her mother till the day before we brought her home and she was with 2 littermates when we got her.

I don't think she has autism, she isn't in her own world she just has like... i dunno what she has. Our vet mentioned she might be a hybrid or she might be schizo or any number of other things. But if i had to apply a word to her autistic would definately not be it. She is also highly intelligent for a cat. Opens doors, plays practical jokes on the border collie lab cross....

There is a big difference between cat play and homicidal tendencies and murder attempts. I have had cats all my life. I know the difference. Sometimes she even treats my wrist as food and tries to actually eat it. She will bite it and chew it and growl and the look in her eyes is just horrifying. Once i took her to the vet and the vet said to me "My god, what happened to you?! your face..... Did you get mugged on your way???" No i wasn't mugged the creature in the box did this to my face for no reason. She has almost taken out one of my eyes now a few times and i look at the moment like i was a cast member on True Blood since it looks like a vampire bit my jugular. Sadly it wasn't a vamp the cat got me. Luckily she missed by about half an inch and just drew a little blood. This is a very dangerous animal. This is not cat play behaviors at all.She eats wet food twice a day and dry food too. Over here we also have special cat milk that doesn't have the bad stuff for cats in it. I get that for her usually a couple times a week too. She is well fed so i know she isn't hungry. No she doesn't have worms. The vet has ruled that out.... Soooo what is wrong with Sisu i have no idea. What i do know is she is violent and agressive and in no way is she interested in playing games.

I know that you are extremely agitated and concerned about your cat's behaviour and I don't want to make light of it. It's amusing that you use the words...homicidal, murder attempts.....cats don't think like that.

I would be very afraid of this animal/cat. Has she ever attacked you while you slept...hopefully you keep the bedroom door closed with her on the other side of it.

I had a domestic cat, a big fellow, who would really attack my legs or my hands if they were low (as in sitting on the couch). His ears were back, he would stalk my legs...he meant business..but he never drew blood. But he was the sweetest little guy in the arms of my husband. I don't know why the difference. He unfortunately died at 8 yrs of cancer...so I don't know what he would have done as he got older.

She may be family, loved and all that, but if she's caused that much damage to you....I'm surprised that the Vet hasn't removed her from your home. I wouldn't feel safe with her in the house. It's not normal or even sub-normal behaviour for a domestic cat. She seems like she does indeed want to kill you. Thank goodness she's not a 200-lb tiger. At least you can handle a 10-20 lb cat.

Think of your own safety before you feel sorry for her. Would her behaviour be acceptable to you if your child got attacked? No different than if a dog attacked, if you really think about it. She's just as dangerous.

Sorry to sound negative about this, but it's a serious problem. Hopefully she doesn't attack visitors, etc. You could have real trouble on your hands.
Safety first! Including your's.
I'd sure be interested in her DNA, that sounds like a good idea to have it checked out. In the meantime, keep safe and alive.

Last time we took her to the vet was after the attempt on my life where she bit less than an inch from my jugular after flying at me, bouncing off the ground repeatedly like a tennis ball hits the ground bounces back up again. She has done some serious damage. I have been fortunate it has not be particularly deep where my face is concerned and if any of it was much worse i would have to get plastic surgery on my face to repair it.

I am terrified of having her in my home. It is getting worse and worse. This is why i keep bringing her to the vet who tells me try this try that lets run another blood test to see if she is sick. 3 blood tests later she is coming up healthy physically.... And this last time the damage was so bad to my face when i took her in to the vet the vet wouldn't even take her out of the box. We just discussed what to do. She said one options is to put the cat to sleep. I put my 2 previous cats to sleep a year ago. I can't handle putting a physically healthy cat to sleep at the moment if there is any other way i am going to find it. And i will not stop looking until i find it. So our next stop is the cat neurology and behavior departments at the veterinary college here in Vienna. The sooner i get her in the happier i will be. I dunno what they will do there but maybe they can figure this out.

I agree with you cats don't try to homicide people. Normal cats anyway do not. This cat is not normal. This cat doesn't just attack legs a bit..... This isn't your typical naughty violent kitty behavior. This is like nothing i have encountered in my lifetime. Sometimes she seems almost like she has distemper. But the tests show that isn't the case. She does not have rabies or anything else we just don't know what is up with her.

Actually in the wild in africa cats DO in some species anyway homicide eachother rather deliberately. Lion males will kill another male lion's cubs or male cheetahs and stuff that want to mate may kill the pre-existing cubs of a female they want to mate with. There was even a movie made years ago about 2 lions that literally were hunting and murdering humans rather deliberately. And in india i forget where it is now but there is an area where tigers kill humans with some frquency. So it is not unheard of for felines to really try to homicide humans. The truth is i use these words because i don't know what else to call it and because if i don't give myself something to kinda giggle at about the situation i will really freak out even more than i already am. Murder and homicide may not be quite the right words but they are the closest thing to it.

If i had a child, this kitty would possibly be 6 feet under right now. Depends, i think cats need to teach kids a little lesson "Annoy me and i will whack you a little bit and it will hurt." when kids get too agressive. But if this cat went after a child like it goes after me especially my own, i would ring it's neck with my bare hands if there wasn't a weapon nearby to kill it with in such a situation. She has gone after my brother and sister inlaw some though and we no longer have visitors in our home as we consider the cat too much of a risk to visit upon pretty much anyone, except us because we took her in and she is our responsibility.

Safety first yes. I agree. But if there is a way to solve this while providing safety to everyone including Little Ms. Evil, then that should be the first thing we exhaustively try and if and when that fails... Perhaps there will only be one option. But that is a bridge i am really not willing to consider at this time.

I posted pictures of her in the breeding section of this forum for those who are curious about what Little Miss Evil actually looks like. I would hope you all would have a look and tell me what her heritage appears to be.

I only learned hybrid cats existed from the vet a few weeks ago when the behaviors first started to get worse and when she hit the year mark. I had no idea people bread cats like that till then. So when the vet told me it is a possibility i just looked at her cross eyed. Nono, this is just my little kitty that has anger management issues you think she is a hywhat??? What exactly is that?

Since then i have been trying to learn about them incase she is one but i am having trouble finding information on how you interact with them differently than you would with a completely domestic cat. And i am sorry there has to be another way to deal with them if she is one because the normal ways are not working.

So please go look in the breeding section at her pictures. And let me know your thoughts.

I looked at your pictures and noticed your Sisu has nearly the same markings as my Boca (male, unneutered) and looks the same size (Leg length and large ears) Boca is not violent, though he will give love chews on my hands but never hard enough to even leave a dent. He doesn't use his claws on me either. I don't know if he's any particular breed or just a regular ol' cat, but he is the largest cat I've seen in these parts with a very long body, very large muscles and very very long legs.

I hope you find out something and please keep us updated as I'm very interested to hear about the DNA and the neurology report. I am sorry you are having to go through this, I can only imagine the terror at wondering when the next attack will be. I've only had one feral cat attack me when I was little and the thing took a running leap at my face, but mom jerked me out the way just in time. Terrifying. Cat had chewed up my grandmother but she kept trying to feed it and take care of it.

Anyway, keep us updated and keep yourself safe. Let us know how it goes

I would urge you to contact this website and see where a specialist near you might be located who works with cats and contact them.

http://animalbehaviorcounselors.org/acabc_members/

I have worked with abused older strays and kittens for umpty dozen years. I am not going to attempt to even try and analyze your situation and help you because it sounds a bit more serious then just redirected aggression. It could be anything from an early trauma or injury to a brain disorder to a disease affecting the central nervous system- or it just could be your cat is just overly aggressive. I've met a few of them in my life, and yes, they can scare you.

Yes, we have been to the vet she has said some similar things. So i have called the veterinary college on her say so, to meet with the leading specialists in cat neurology so that they can evaluate her and decide what tests must be run to get to the bottom of this.

I have also dealt some with abused older and younger strays. Sisu, has never been a stray. Her mother was to my understanding an indoor cat and the breeder who had her was getting out of the business and retiring and dumping all her kittens really really fast and her big cats too. Don't ask me why i don't know. So, Sisu's mother was an indoor cat, Sisu has only been outdoors to go to the vet and stuff in her box. Otherwise she is and has always been an indoor cat. I adopted a family of ferals in highschool too. She is nothing like them.

To my knowledge she has never been traumatized so far as i know and i take very good care of her. She is my furry child. I wouldn't let anyone or anything traumatize her. Anyone or thing that planned to do that would be doing it over my cold dead decapitated decompose corpse.

We are considering really 2 major possibilities at this time for what her problem is.

1. My vet thinks she very possibly is some sort of hybrid.
2. She might have a mental illness/brain problem of some kind.

Which is why she refered us to the veterinary college to the leading neurologists in cat neurology in all of austria.