Sweet Stray Gone Aggressive... PLEASE HELP!!!

Hi everyone. This Friday, I found a gray, long haired female cat on my front porch at about 4:00 pm. She was meowing softly and hiding in the bushes, and my mom and I coaxed her out with some tuna. She's very sweet and loving, and in a few minutes I had her purring and following me around the yard. I found out that she was female, and that she had a lot of mats on her chest and stomach, and she had a really bad one under her right front leg. I decided to call her Bella for now. It was getting cold, so I decided to teach her to use the doggie door leading to the garage so she would be safe from harm. She picked it up really quick, but wasn't to fond of the garage. We played on the porch for awhile, and my mom and I layed out a box for her. She didn't use it that much, but she liked it. I went inside to eat dinner, and I figured that she would have left, so when I found her sitting on the front porch still I was surprised. I petted her for a few more minutes, and then went in. She stayed on the porch until about 10 pm. I would have taken her inside, but my family has allergies.
The next day she came back, and I set out some more tuna. She ate and I petted her, until dinner again. When I got back from dinner, I saw that there was another cat in the shadows. I opened the door, and they both ran away from the porch and they started fighting. It got really loud and my mom and I started yelling to break up the fight. The other stray ran away, and Bella returned to the porch. I don't know why they were fighting, maybe for the food? I checked Bella for any cuts or scratches, and thankfully she had none. We stayed out a little bit longer, and I went inside at around 10 pm. We stayed up pretty late, and when I went up to check on everything at midnight, Bella was still waiting. I couldn't believe that she had stayed there for 2 hours!! She had the garage and the box, so if she was cold, she could use one of them.
Today Bella came back again, a little later than usual, around 5 pm. My mom and I had gone out to get her some supplies like hard food, a food & water dish, a brush, and a small circle cat bed. I mixed a little tuna in with the hard food to get Bella used to it. She took to it just fine. She liked all the things we had gotten, and stayed in the garage for a longer period of time. It was almost time for dinner, so as I was getting up, Bella froze and we both heard a loud yelp and a nearby howl coming from the nearby woods. Bella stopped eating, and ran out of the garage. She sat on a large rock, staring at the direction the sounds had come from. I tried getting her back in the garage, but she wouldn't budge. I told my dad and he said he wouldn't worry about it. Boy, was he wrong. When I was done with dinner, I was getting my coat on as I opened the door. I looked down and saw Bella, right at the door steps. But Bella wasn't the same; she had a terrible look in her eyes and her fur stood straight up. She started meowing really loud like she was crying, and she started doing this weird thing with her neck. It looked like she was exaggerating a swallowing motion and she coiled up against the wall. I thought she was choking or something. I had never seen her like this before, and it scared me. I tried to walk around her toward the door outside, but every time I tried, her cries just got louder until she reached out at me and hooked her claw on my book. It was weird because she had never tried this before and it wasn't like she was trying to hurt me or anything. I shook her off and she sprinted under the car, still crying. I walked outside to see if anything was there, because I thought something could have attacked her. I picked up a rock and threw it into the woods, trying to see if anything was there. Nothing moved. By then I was mad, because I don't know how something could cause a sweet cat like Bella to turn nuts. I called my mom out to take a look at her, and we both eventually got her to come out of the garage. Once she was out, she started meowing and groaning really loud pacing back and forward, rubbing me so hard it seemed like she wanted to push me back into the garage. At one point, she bit my boot, but it didnt look like she was biting hard. I told her "no" and "stop it" and she let go. My mom reached down to calm her down, but Bella freaked out and scratched her. It was a weird type of scratch though; it wasn't like a clawing motion, more like bating playfully at a leaf, except really hard and fast. She drew blood though, so I got mad and yelled at her. She had stopped with the neck movement by now, and seemed to settle down once I yelled at her. My mom told me to come inside, and we left Bella outside. I was upset that I had yelled at her, and about leaving her outside. She still can come in through the doggie door if she needs to. After we got my mom bandaged up, I looked out a window to see if Bella was still there. She was, in the exact spot I had left her in, sitting and staring at the direction the howling had come from again. I wish I knew what made her act up like that. I'm sorry this is so long, but I just wanted to give you guys every detail. I know that signs of pain are loud meowing and moaning, pacing, and fear biting. Do you think it could have been some other animal, or like a health problem, like the mats bugging her? I don't think she's pregnant, she doesn't look like she is. Please send some feedback, I want to make sure Bella is okay!!

I think Bella got stressed up into maximum by this killing in the woods. Perhaps by a lynx who was also after her earlier. Or someone cat she knew got killed.    Whatever it was, she got certainly upset by this!!!

I think also she tried to protect you, her new family. That is why she tried to stop you from going out, and did batted your mom when she stupidly didnt understand.  This batting VERY typical for lessoning friends and family members. Now your mom was unlucky, it did drew some blood. These non clawing battings are usually with soft paw.

She is certainly no semiferal.  So she has either gotten astray, or got dumped.

If dumped, you will never find the old owner.  But if gotten astray, there may be someone weeping after her, and hoping she returns.

It would be nice if you did sough after if there are old owners.

(If you do it, I shall write some advices in a later post).

If you decide to keep her, I can try and give you some tips for allergic owners of cats.

Tx for helping this little sis of ours!

Welcome to our Forums!

Good luck!

Good advice from StefanZ.. Do keep us posted.

And Welcome to TCS 

Yeah, that's pretty typical freaked-out-cat behavior. It's best not to try to touch, or even get too close to, a cat who's acting like that; something has them scared and they're likely to be very defensive. There was probably a predator in the area that had her on alert.

Even with my most tame cats that I've known since kittenhood, if they are startled or amped up with their fur fluffed out I step away and let them calm down, don't try to pet them.   I suspect your Bella was just very upset like everyone else has said and it just took a while for the adrenaline to work itself out of her system.  I bet she is still the sweet tuna eating cat she was at first.

Hello and welcome to TCS and thanks to you and your family for caring about this cat.

I have a different take. Sound to me like Bella is in heat and has a suitor or two. Take her to the vet now, and find out if she has been spayed, and get her spayed if she hasn't been, or you will soon have a family to take care of.

While she is at the vet, have her scanned for a microchip and check with vets and shelters, to find out if anyone is looking for her. But get her spayed first, so even if she does have a family she won't have to go through heat and pregnancy again.

I kind of agree with Otto--sounds like she is in heat.  I'd take her to the vet to get checked out (make sure she has no deep cuts/scratches) and to be checked for a microchip and get spayed.  Can you do this or will you have to get your mom to help you?

It is also very possible at least one of the loud YEOWS you heard was a male cat taking advantage of Bella.

Thank you so much to everyone who has replied!!! I was suspecting that there was something out there, due to the howls and yelps. Before this happend, Bella and I had been sitting out on the porch, and she started rolling over a lot more often. The way she was rolling over reminded me of what my friends cat acted like when she was in heat. Also, that would also explain why there was another cat in the Saturday and the fighting. I am still in middle school, so I couldn't take her to the vet by myself. Because of how I now know she can get, i was thinking of getting a large cardboard box, putting her bed in it, and then having her get inside. i think it would be the safest way to get her to the vet without her or my family getting hurt. My mom had said she wanted to take her to the vet (to check for a microchip and shots) but now she doesn't even want her around at all. I was in school, and got a text from my mom that she had came back again, except it was a different side of the house. My mom pretended that she wasn't there. But there is a question I would like to ask: if a cat punctures a vein due to a scratch, is it normal for the whole hand to swell up and move normally? My mom was caught in the main vein in her wrist, and we had washed it with soap and water, used a first aid cleansing cloth, neosporin, and band aids. Today, the smaller ones have gone down, but now it's hard to move her wrist. Is she going to be ok?

I have another update for you guys. Before today, I thought Bella had a place that is technically "home", just maybe they had abandoned her or didn't want her anymore. I am starting to doubt that theory. I was out on the patio when I saw Bella laying in some bushes on our hill. It seems like an ok spot; shielding from wind and being up high. But I think she may be a real stray. I am thinking about taking her to a vet soon. I think the only way I'm going to get her there is with lots of treats and that box. I want to get her a checkup and see if she has had any rabies shots. And if she isn't neutered, than that too. It's 5:00, and I got Bella sitting next to me in her bed, purring. She's eaten and had some water, and I haven't found any scratches. It's getting pretty cold, even with her fur coat. Do you think I could put her in a closed of section of the garage, or do you think she needs the doggie door still? The woods hop is heated, and every thing is still in boxes since our moves, so I don't think she could hurt herself with anything.

Scratches and bites go easily infected. I see you did your best to clean the scratch, but unfortunely, it seems it wasnt enough.

contact your  human doc ASAP, dont contend with questing on a forum!  Your mom prob need antibiiotic, perhaps also opening up and letting pus out.

Usually it doesnt got so far, esp as you tried to cleanse. You had sheer unluck here.

Good luck!
 

Mev13 said:

 Because of how I now know she can get, i was thinking of getting a large cardboard box, putting her bed in it, and then having her get inside. i think it would be the safest way to get her to the vet without her or my family getting hurt.

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Did you originally planned to just held her in your arms??

A cardboard box may be OK with a docile, calm cat. But if a cat get panicked (or angry) she will claw herself out from a cardboard box without any problems, in 5 minutes as longest.

Try to get, or borrow, a real  carrier for cats or small dogs.

Here in Sweden it is very common with cylindrical laundry basket with holes in the sides.

Such a plastic laundry basket is useful  as an emergency  cat carrier.  You perhaps have them in your country too?

You lay something soft on the bottom for the cat to lay on, in with the cat, put on the lock (?), fasten the lock, with tape if you dont have anything else suitable.

I have seen people taking their cat to the vet in such one.  Also, a forumist on a swedish forum told once she had saved her cats this way, when there was fire in their house, as she had read this my tip...  Quick with her into this laundry basket and out, out out!

As said, a common cardboard box is better than nothing, but not enough.

Otherwise, I do wholeheartly agree with you she should to the vet, for check up, shots, and if necessary, spaying.

If the big hullyballoo was not a predator and killing in the woods, but "just" an aggressive high strung tom, she needs spaying. Neutered she will not be disturbed and annoyed by toms, not in the same way.

Good luck!

Thank you for your help! Thankfully, my moms hand is much better now. Yesterday night, I had Bella in the sunroom. We had her in there almost all day, and she's gotten comfortable to it. We always let her out at night, because we're afraid that she'd freak out all alone. Yesterday, there was a lot of rain, so I stayed with her until I thought it was over. Unfortunately, an hour later, it started thunderstorming. I was so worried, but when I tried looking for her, she was out of sight. This morning, I looked out on the porch, and I found her running toward me. She didn't look like she was wet on top, but once I started petting her, I found that underneath her fur she was soaked and cold. I moved her into the sun room, because that's the only part of the house that she likes. I got almost all the water out from her coat, and she ate some food. It's still cold, but at least I found her before it started sleeting. I think I'm going to try to get her used to the barn today. I don't want her getting sick.

Sounds like progress.  Have you thought any more about getting her checked out by a vet, specifically, spaying?

I agree,  getting her spayed will greatly help, both of you.   Will you be able to keep her and care for her?  Even if your parents don't let you bring her into the house,  there are many ways to care for her to keep her safe.  I hope all works out for both of you.

Sorry I haven't replied for awhile, it's gotten pretty hectic!! So to make things short, we got Bella to the vet, and found out she was pregnant!! The pregnacy and delivery went well, and she is a very good mommy. They were April Fools Day kittens! There is Zani, LuLu, Beaux, and Blackie. LuLu is the only girl. All is going pretty well, and now they are 6 weeks old. But, there seems to be a problem with Lulu. I think she has some mental issues, but it could be just severe behavioral issues. She is ALWAYS crying! And it's not this cute little mew, it can be heard loud and clear from 3 rooms away. And it gets very bad when someone picks her up; it goes to shrieks. Fear of heights could explain the holding issue, but I looked online, and saw that some cats and kittens can have a form of OCD similar to humans? The signs are present in LuLu, she always licks herself constantly, and is always yelling. It makes me feel bad for her. None of the other kittens do this, and they actually like being petted/picked up. I'm hopefully taking her and the others to the vet when they get to 8 weeks. She's layin down right now with me, and has cries herself to sleep. The big concern for me is finding her a home. I don't know if she will be able to get one, because of her fears. Zani already has been claimed by one of my friends, maybe I will just have to keep LuLu with me? Thanks again for everyone's help!

And by the way, we have made an appointment to have Bella fixed.

Wow! Good job! Is Lulu the runt? Make sure she's getting enough to eat, as she may be hungry. I would take them to the vet's as soon as possible, especially with Lulu's issue. The vet may have some insight into the crying. And I am very glad Bella is going to be fixed. Make sure the kittens are fixed too before going to their new homes. Or make their new owners promise to do it. No sense in repeating this cycle.

BTW we'd love to see pictures.

I am so happy to hear of the update.   Are you planning on keeping Bella?  Poor sweet girl, I am so glad you will be getting her spayed,  and the kittens as well.  Keep updating on the kittens and Lulu.

Yes, we are keeping Bella and two of her kittens(Beaux & Bow). Even though the problem they had between each other earlier, My mom loves Bella now. They are very close. The kittens are doing very well, and I feel like LuLu keeps improving. She is starting to accept being picked up more, and sometimes she goes awhile without crying. The thing i'm worried about is finding her a new home. I think she will have to be an inside cat, kept with other cats. She hates to be separated from the others, and she is just so scared of everything. She usually runs away whenever anyone comes into the room. Although she is still getting better, It's still pretty bad. I'm worried that as she gets older, this behavior will grow into being aggressive. She has hissed at me twice. Any opinions on things I could do with her to get her to be more friendly and more likely to be adopted?

Any cat should be an inside only cat.