My mother has a violent and moody male DSH cat who is about 6-7 years old which I'm hoping you all may be able to lend some advice about!
About four years ago, the cat started displaying aggressive behaviors towards certain humans. He would growl and swipe at them if they were near him or walking past him. In certain cases, he would run up to the person and display these behaviors, even if the person had not acknowledged the cat at all. Around this same time, the cat started peeing on items which were on the floor or tables (think bags on the floor, coats which had dropped off the rack, etc).
Since then, these behaviors have increased dramatically. The cat is confrontational with almost every human who does not live inside the household. He is also peeing/spraying (he was fixed as a kitten) at least once a day--sometimes more. The urine is cleaned up with enzymatic cleaner, but he continues to pee. He has seen a vet multiple times for the peeing issues and they can determine nothing except that it is most likely a behavioral issue. He has been on amitriptyline for several years (vet recently upped the dosage). My mother has also tried those things you plug into the wall which are supposed to calm cats, the calming collars, and the special litter which is supposed to attract cats. None of these have made a difference.
Now, the peeing behavior is gross and bad enough, but he has also been attacking my female cat. She is a nervous cat by nature (does not like loud noises, sudden movements, or loud people), which makes his attacks even worse. After being attacked by him several times (he will run her into a corner, swiping at her), she started growling at him. Now, if he enters an area she is in, or starts walking in her direction, she will let out a low growl. She hasn't been given a chance to stop this behavior yet because he will still periodically attack her and really scare her. This cat also attacks the other cats in the household (there are two other males), but not as bad as my female. One of the males is missing patches of fur all over his body because this cat bites him all the time. The cat is also aggressive to my dog (not a huge dog, ~20 lbs, but still bigger than the cat). He will randomly run at him waving his paw.
My mother complains that my cat is being a drama queen and is overreacting and being annoying...which isn't very productive since I'm not sure how you explain that to a cat. Personally, I would be growling at someone who attacked me too. She has suggested I get rid of my female cat, which I will not be doing.
But anyway! Do any of you have experience dealing with behavioral issues like this? I would be very interested in stopping the peeing/spraying and having this cat leave my female cat alone. It does not appear that any of the scent-oriented calming devices are working with him. Is it possible that the amitriptyline is making him aggressive?
I apologize for the novel. I am very interested in any help/suggestions you may have. (FYI- I am living with my mother because I am a recent college grad and am looking for alternative living situations. I'm not a 12 year old!
) TIA!
About four years ago, the cat started displaying aggressive behaviors towards certain humans. He would growl and swipe at them if they were near him or walking past him. In certain cases, he would run up to the person and display these behaviors, even if the person had not acknowledged the cat at all. Around this same time, the cat started peeing on items which were on the floor or tables (think bags on the floor, coats which had dropped off the rack, etc).
Since then, these behaviors have increased dramatically. The cat is confrontational with almost every human who does not live inside the household. He is also peeing/spraying (he was fixed as a kitten) at least once a day--sometimes more. The urine is cleaned up with enzymatic cleaner, but he continues to pee. He has seen a vet multiple times for the peeing issues and they can determine nothing except that it is most likely a behavioral issue. He has been on amitriptyline for several years (vet recently upped the dosage). My mother has also tried those things you plug into the wall which are supposed to calm cats, the calming collars, and the special litter which is supposed to attract cats. None of these have made a difference.
Now, the peeing behavior is gross and bad enough, but he has also been attacking my female cat. She is a nervous cat by nature (does not like loud noises, sudden movements, or loud people), which makes his attacks even worse. After being attacked by him several times (he will run her into a corner, swiping at her), she started growling at him. Now, if he enters an area she is in, or starts walking in her direction, she will let out a low growl. She hasn't been given a chance to stop this behavior yet because he will still periodically attack her and really scare her. This cat also attacks the other cats in the household (there are two other males), but not as bad as my female. One of the males is missing patches of fur all over his body because this cat bites him all the time. The cat is also aggressive to my dog (not a huge dog, ~20 lbs, but still bigger than the cat). He will randomly run at him waving his paw.
My mother complains that my cat is being a drama queen and is overreacting and being annoying...which isn't very productive since I'm not sure how you explain that to a cat. Personally, I would be growling at someone who attacked me too. She has suggested I get rid of my female cat, which I will not be doing.
But anyway! Do any of you have experience dealing with behavioral issues like this? I would be very interested in stopping the peeing/spraying and having this cat leave my female cat alone. It does not appear that any of the scent-oriented calming devices are working with him. Is it possible that the amitriptyline is making him aggressive?
I apologize for the novel. I am very interested in any help/suggestions you may have. (FYI- I am living with my mother because I am a recent college grad and am looking for alternative living situations. I'm not a 12 year old!
) TIA!
), go up. Give him several cat trees and see if that alleviates some of the tension. If so, his behavior is likely to change.
She was an Amitrityline (anti depressant) to no avail. We switched to Buspar & she did very well on it - didn't act drugged up or anything, in fact was happier than I'd seen her pretty much ever. There is also Prozac for cats that I think some members have used w/ success.
