Please help - I don't know what's wrong!

Hey guys. Jenny here. I actually joined this forum years and years ago, when I was fourteen, as kittygirl109.

Anyway, if anyone here possibly remembers... I have two cats, Orei and Princess. Princess is 8, Orei is 9. I love them both dearly.

A month ago I left home for the East Coast, and I've been home two weeks now. When I came home, Princess was yowling at me constantly.

She's has been attacking Orei several times a day now. It got to the point where I put her in my brother's room for the night. 

She will chase Orei around seemingly unprovoked, growling, puffing out her fur, hissing, screaming LOUDLY, and attacking. Her aggression is only toward Orei so far.

She has diarahea that leaks out of her, but other than that I don't see any other health issues.

I took her to the vet a few days ago, and they did a physical exam. Temperature was normal. She's overweight, but not too badly. They touched around her and decided she didn't need an x-ray. 

They took her blood and urine, looking for hormone changes.

Everything came back normal except her blood plates (sp?) were low, but they thought that was the machine's mistake.

What could it possibly be? I'm worried about her, she's really losing it. And I'm worried about Orei getting hurt.

Did the vet miss something? Could it be just behavioral?

How can I help her feel better?

Well certainly just the fact that she has diarrhea seems to indicate that something is wrong, in my mind.  What did the Vet say about that?  Did they give you anything to help with that?  Also, while you were gone, was someone pet sitting, or what was the situation.  Was there possibly a big fight that occurred between the two cats?  What is their normal relationship (before you went away)?   Is Princess not normally vocal?  Sounds to me like she is definitely trying to tell you something. 

You might try posting something under the behavior thread too, to see if you get some responses there.

mrsgreenjeens said:

Well certainly just the fact that she has diarrhea seems to indicate that something is wrong, in my mind.  What did the Vet say about that?  Did they give you anything to help with that?  Also, while you were gone, was someone pet sitting, or what was the situation.  Was there possibly a big fight that occurred between the two cats?  What is their normal relationship (before you went away)?   Is Princess not normally vocal?  Sounds to me like she is definitely trying to tell you something. 

You might try posting something under the behavior thread too, to see if you get some responses there.

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I agree with all of the above. Answers to those questions would be great to know.

Did they test Princess's thyroid? The yowling can be a symptom of this.

Did they check her eyesight? If that is failing, that could be a reason for the sudden aggression.

How about her teeth? Were they checked thoroughly? Even for FORLs?

Even though she is a bit overweight, has she lost weight since her last exam?

Something is definitely wrong, and to me, it kind of seems like a health problem more than behavioral at this point just because I'm not sure all things done to rule out a physical problem have been addressed. Even though they didn't want to do an x-ray, I think that might provide some diagnostic help. She could have arthritis, or any other number of issues that are contributing to her aggressive behavior.

In the chance that it is behavioral, maybe try doing a slow re-introduction? This great article on re-directed aggression (and the reasons for it) may help in the process.

The normal relationship between the cats, is they have been best friends for about 7 years. A little over. They cuddle, eat together, groom each other, they love each other. They have an occasional spat, but its nothing too big. Usually Orei is the one to start it. He randomly decides to bother Princess, and she will hiss and growl. Nothing like this. She is usually the docile one.

There were two pet sitters while we were away - we were gone for two weeks. The pet sitters reported that at one point, Princess was running around the house with duck tape stuck to her. I thought she might have eaten some - but the vet said she didn't react badly to her physical exam, and that if she was eating and drinking properly that probably wasn't the case. As far as I can tell, she hasn't lost any weight.

Princess usually does "talk". She meows alot for attention, but not in such a distressed way.

I would also like to point out that Princess only attacks and gets aggressive AT NIGHT. She seems perfectly fine during the day.

Oh my, this explains a lot. This changes my opinion on it somewhat from it being a health issue with what you wrote. Since Orei randomly "bothered" Princess and the episode with the duct tape, I would bet that she is acting out because she associates Orei with not so great things happening to her. I wonder if Orei was present when the duct tape got stuck on her--even in the same room or not? She's clearly been traumatized, poor little girl. Here's some helpful advice copied in part from the ASPCA:

If the Aggression Is Mild or Between Two Cats Who Used to Get Along

• Separate your cats in different rooms for several days or weeks, with separate beds, bowls and litter boxes. This way they can hear and smell each other, but don’t have to interact.
• Place the cats’ food bowls on opposite sides of a closed door. This will encourage them to be close together while they’re doing something that makes them feel good.
• Each day, have the cats switch rooms so that they both experience some variation and get access to each other’s scents. You may need an assistant to do this safely.
• After several days, if both of your cats appear relaxed, crack the door open one inch. If they remain calm, open the door a bit more, then a bit more. If the cats remain relaxed, they may be ready to be together again. But if they react with any signs of aggressive behavior—such as growling, spitting, hissing, swatting, etc.—separate them again and follow the gradual reintroduction instructions below.
• Some cat parents have had success with rubbing a bit of tuna juice on their cats’ bodies and heads. The cats become so occupied with grooming, which is a relaxing behavior, that they’re less likely to be bothered by the other cat. If things go really well, the cats may actually groom each other because they can’t reach the juice on their own heads.

If the Aggression Is Severe or Occurs Between Cats Who Have Never Gotten Along

• Separate your cats as described above but for a longer period of time, and reintroduce them at a much slower pace, like several days to a few weeks.
• Instead of simply opening the door to reintroduce the cats, provide daily reintroduction sessions that very gradually move the cats closer and closer together under supervision.
• During the sessions, you might find it easier to control your cats with harnesses and leashes, or by confining one or both of your cats in crates.
• During the sessions, keep both cats distracted with food or play. Start out with them far apart. Keep the sessions short. Make it easy for them to succeed.
• Separate your cats between reintroduction sessions to prevent a relapse.
• Only when your cats can peacefully eat and play within a couple feet of each other should they be left alone together unsupervised. Trust them only for short periods together at first and increase their times together gradually.
• Behavioral medication may be helpful in reducing a domineering cat’s aggression and a skittish cat’s fear, making the reintroduction go more smoothly and quickly.

Hopefully you'll glean some helpful information from this. I found these tips quite helpful when I had one of my sister's kitties here for almost a year. The part about distracting them with food or play (especially play) worked in our case.

Storyweaver said:

I would also like to point out that Princess only attacks and gets aggressive AT NIGHT. She seems perfectly fine during the day.

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Well, gosh. Are you sure her eyesight and/or hearing is okay? Does she meow more during the night?