- Joined
- Jul 8, 2013
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This is a cat I was asked by a rescue to foster, along with her four 3-4 week old kittens, two of which were not doing well. She herself was quite weak and, it is beginning to emerge, is also probably pregnant.
The problem is she is very protective of her kittens. I'm fairly experienced in fostering and working with kittens and queens, and have tried everything I know to keep her calm. Although I have other cats and kittens in the house, she and her babies have their own room. She kept taking them out of their box into the closet, so I cleaned out the closet and gave it to her.
I tried calming products to no avail.
When I bring her food and water in, I sit in a chair on the other side of the room and just stay there and talk calmly to her. A few times she's come up to me and rubbed against my leg and hand, but then will start hissing and get very agitated, even if I don't move and stay relaxed, and I will slowly leave the room at that point.
The other day I brought a stick toy in, hoping if I played with her a bit she would warm up. Instead she seemed terrified of the toy and started to hiss. I put it down on the floor, but a few moments later she jumped out of the box in the closet, screamed and attacked the door to the room, then turned and went for me, screaming, latching onto my leg and biting.
I walked as calmly as I could to the door, pulled her off and left the room.
Today, she seemed calm when I went in (no toy). She was fine for a bit; I sat in the chair and let her rub against my hand or leg when she wanted to. If she looked at me I blinked. Suddenly out of nowhere she screamed and grabbed my hand and bit. I tried to stay calm and she let go and then did the same to my leg. I slowly got up to leave and she started a stand off, with that high-pitched wailing but wouldn't let me pass.
I did start to walk slowly towards the door and still wailed, but at least didn't attack this time.
We have plans to get her spayed on Monday, and will have the pregnancy taken care of as well.
But I haven't seen this extreme behavior before in a cat that was not feral, and I'm wondering what I can do, if anything.
We are talking about not returning Mom to the babies, maybe putting her on a farm or in a feral colony. I hate doing that though, because she isn't a feral. I also would rather keep them together until at least 8 weeks. but not if I can't even take care of their basic needs without being attacked. Ten years ago this wouldn't have been as much of a problem, but these days my physical abilities are limited.
One thing I was wondering was if spaying her and getting rid of the pregnancy would lower her hormones enough that she would return to a more reasonable and predictable behavior. I was leaning towards that being the case, until the unprovoked attack tonight.
Any ideas, suggestions, opinions?
The problem is she is very protective of her kittens. I'm fairly experienced in fostering and working with kittens and queens, and have tried everything I know to keep her calm. Although I have other cats and kittens in the house, she and her babies have their own room. She kept taking them out of their box into the closet, so I cleaned out the closet and gave it to her.
I tried calming products to no avail.
When I bring her food and water in, I sit in a chair on the other side of the room and just stay there and talk calmly to her. A few times she's come up to me and rubbed against my leg and hand, but then will start hissing and get very agitated, even if I don't move and stay relaxed, and I will slowly leave the room at that point.
The other day I brought a stick toy in, hoping if I played with her a bit she would warm up. Instead she seemed terrified of the toy and started to hiss. I put it down on the floor, but a few moments later she jumped out of the box in the closet, screamed and attacked the door to the room, then turned and went for me, screaming, latching onto my leg and biting.
I walked as calmly as I could to the door, pulled her off and left the room.
Today, she seemed calm when I went in (no toy). She was fine for a bit; I sat in the chair and let her rub against my hand or leg when she wanted to. If she looked at me I blinked. Suddenly out of nowhere she screamed and grabbed my hand and bit. I tried to stay calm and she let go and then did the same to my leg. I slowly got up to leave and she started a stand off, with that high-pitched wailing but wouldn't let me pass.
I did start to walk slowly towards the door and still wailed, but at least didn't attack this time.
We have plans to get her spayed on Monday, and will have the pregnancy taken care of as well.
But I haven't seen this extreme behavior before in a cat that was not feral, and I'm wondering what I can do, if anything.
We are talking about not returning Mom to the babies, maybe putting her on a farm or in a feral colony. I hate doing that though, because she isn't a feral. I also would rather keep them together until at least 8 weeks. but not if I can't even take care of their basic needs without being attacked. Ten years ago this wouldn't have been as much of a problem, but these days my physical abilities are limited.
One thing I was wondering was if spaying her and getting rid of the pregnancy would lower her hormones enough that she would return to a more reasonable and predictable behavior. I was leaning towards that being the case, until the unprovoked attack tonight.
Any ideas, suggestions, opinions?
I just wanted to say lots of hugs for you while dealing with a difficult situation. I am sure some other members with more experience will come along with helpful suggestions and thoughts.
