I have had a serious problem with him since I got him as a kitten. I just haven't known what to do, or who to turn to. The Vet says he's healthy, physically.
If hadn't purchased him from a breeder, I would have thought he was a Feral cat, or at least a 2nd generation removed from a feral. For one thing, he is overly agressive in everything he does. He eats agressively, he plays (if you can call what he does playing) agressively, he relates to me, and the other animals in the house agressively, and he's extremely destructive.
When it comes to food, he's seems afraid he won't get enough, and he can't stand to see the other cats eat, so he runs around trying to eat up the food in their dishes, before they can, but he's always watching to make sure they don't go to his dish. I have to watch over things to make sure the other cats can eat - or Shane would eat all of it. By the way, he's huge in size, he weighs about 25 lbs. He's large in size as well as being overweight. If I try to put him on a diet, then he will break into the cubbards and he steals food. He's very intelligent, and there is no closed drawer or cubbard that can stop him.
Probably the most disturbing thing Shane does, is "fits" he has, and I'm not talking about siezures. They're more like temper tantrums. Sometimes he does this when he doesn't get his own way, and sometimes he does this, for no apparent reason to me. What he does, is he starts yowling, and growling, and running from one end the apartment to the other, in what seems to be a cat fight with himself. Sometimes he throws himself into the wall and he is very worked up. I try to calm him, and it works for a second, then he's at it again. When I've been on the telephone with someone, and he starts this up, the person on the other line, will say, "What is THAT?". I'll say, it's just Shane having one of his fits. It sounds terrifying. He's even hurt me once when doing this. I was in bed, and he took a flying leap on top of me, and I guess I turned the wrong way or something, and he clawed me in the eye, and that hurt so badly I could have cried, but I was in such shock. I also couldn't see right for a couple of days. These "fits" he has are actually undescribable, unless you've seen and heard them for yourself.
Then there is the way he treats the other animals. He's accepting of my 17 1/2 year old Siamese, Snoopy, who was here before Shane, but he's not accepting of the 2 year old Persian or my little Pomeranian. He doesn't hurt them, but he has them scared of him. Also, as much as he seems to love my older cat, he does get rough with him, and thus my old cat, doesn't really like Shane to be around him. I don't know if Shane is trying to be the alpha cat, or if my old guy is the alpha cat. My old guy is very mellow, and he has no problem with anyone, except Shane. Shane is even agreesive with me, when he gets on my computer chair, and I gently ask him to get off, and give his a gentle push. He growls and hisses at me, then gets off, and has one of his "fits".
Then there is his destructiveness. You can't have a cat toy, or a cat tree, or a cat scratcher in the house, that hasn't been totally destroyed by Shane. He's not happy just PLAYING with things, he has to destroy them. I have also had to make sure no photographs are left out anywhere, because he tries to eat them, literally.
Amid all of this agression, Shane is totally anti social. I am the only human he will let near him. He hides when people come to my house, and will not come out until they leave.
Is there anything that can be done, to make this cat, a more pleasant member of my household?
If hadn't purchased him from a breeder, I would have thought he was a Feral cat, or at least a 2nd generation removed from a feral. For one thing, he is overly agressive in everything he does. He eats agressively, he plays (if you can call what he does playing) agressively, he relates to me, and the other animals in the house agressively, and he's extremely destructive.
When it comes to food, he's seems afraid he won't get enough, and he can't stand to see the other cats eat, so he runs around trying to eat up the food in their dishes, before they can, but he's always watching to make sure they don't go to his dish. I have to watch over things to make sure the other cats can eat - or Shane would eat all of it. By the way, he's huge in size, he weighs about 25 lbs. He's large in size as well as being overweight. If I try to put him on a diet, then he will break into the cubbards and he steals food. He's very intelligent, and there is no closed drawer or cubbard that can stop him.
Probably the most disturbing thing Shane does, is "fits" he has, and I'm not talking about siezures. They're more like temper tantrums. Sometimes he does this when he doesn't get his own way, and sometimes he does this, for no apparent reason to me. What he does, is he starts yowling, and growling, and running from one end the apartment to the other, in what seems to be a cat fight with himself. Sometimes he throws himself into the wall and he is very worked up. I try to calm him, and it works for a second, then he's at it again. When I've been on the telephone with someone, and he starts this up, the person on the other line, will say, "What is THAT?". I'll say, it's just Shane having one of his fits. It sounds terrifying. He's even hurt me once when doing this. I was in bed, and he took a flying leap on top of me, and I guess I turned the wrong way or something, and he clawed me in the eye, and that hurt so badly I could have cried, but I was in such shock. I also couldn't see right for a couple of days. These "fits" he has are actually undescribable, unless you've seen and heard them for yourself.
Then there is the way he treats the other animals. He's accepting of my 17 1/2 year old Siamese, Snoopy, who was here before Shane, but he's not accepting of the 2 year old Persian or my little Pomeranian. He doesn't hurt them, but he has them scared of him. Also, as much as he seems to love my older cat, he does get rough with him, and thus my old cat, doesn't really like Shane to be around him. I don't know if Shane is trying to be the alpha cat, or if my old guy is the alpha cat. My old guy is very mellow, and he has no problem with anyone, except Shane. Shane is even agreesive with me, when he gets on my computer chair, and I gently ask him to get off, and give his a gentle push. He growls and hisses at me, then gets off, and has one of his "fits".
Then there is his destructiveness. You can't have a cat toy, or a cat tree, or a cat scratcher in the house, that hasn't been totally destroyed by Shane. He's not happy just PLAYING with things, he has to destroy them. I have also had to make sure no photographs are left out anywhere, because he tries to eat them, literally.
Amid all of this agression, Shane is totally anti social. I am the only human he will let near him. He hides when people come to my house, and will not come out until they leave.
Is there anything that can be done, to make this cat, a more pleasant member of my household?
