Ellie's Acting Crazy

Hi, we're new to this site, but we need some help.

We have a 10 month old, unaltered, female cat named Ellie. We adopted her from some people who kept her and the rest of her litter in a shed after they were found abandoned by a dumpster in a bus yard. We were told when we adopted her that she was six weeks old and all of the kittens were just small for their age, but at her first vet visit we were surprised to hear that she was only about four weeks old. So we've kept in  close communication with her vet for her behavior problems, because she just doesn't respond like a normal cat. She hasn't had her first heat yet, which is another this I'm worried about.

Now we've started trying to figure out exactly what's causing her behavior problems and are actively trying to fix them since she's nearing a year old and should be coming out of her kitten phase, right? Our problems seem to be:

-She does not respond well to being told no. She has learned that when Mom and Dad snap their fingers and say her name in a firm voice that means she's doing something bad, but every now and then she'll put her ears back and jump towards us like she's challenging us, (I have never seen a cat do something like this, so I have no clue what it actually means). We've learned not to ever point at her (or point at all) otherwise, she'll attack us. 

-She is extremely affectionate when one person is at home, but whenever I or my S.O. come home and we're both together something switches off and she starts tearing around that house and become aggressive. She will attack us while we're just sitting on the couch, or walking around the house. She doesn't seem to prefer me, or Dad, but only seems to be happy when one person is at home. 

-She waits for Dad to get into bed to attack his feet. She only does this with him, but when she sees me get into bed, she will run under his side of the bed and wait for him to lift his feet off the floor to full-on attack them. Every Night. 

For the most part she is a great cat. She's gorgeous and loving (when one person is at home) and can be hilarious. We got her to be my Emotional Support Animal and we just want the entire family to be as happy as possible.

Please, and insight or advice you have would be so appreciated. Also, I'll attach some pictures of our baby because I love showing her off. 

Sincerely,

Mom, Dad, and Ellie

Ellie's first night home -Four weeks old

Ellie loves her Daddy's beard -First night home four weeks old

 

Christmas 2014

Ellie today 7.28.15

Firstly, Ellie is adorable!

Secondly, even though you don't think you have seen signs of Ellie going into heat, her behavior says otherwise (attacking when you correct her behavior, feeling territorial when there is more than 1 person in the house...). Some cats present with "silent" heats in which they do not howl or actively roll around on the ground all the time. I pretty much guarantee that Ellie has gone into heat.

Is there a reason why she has not been spayed yet?

I second what CatPack said. My 6 moth old gave me a litter of 5. Another good sign that she is probably in heat is if she is marking territory with pee.

We haven't had her spayed yet for a few different reasons. We had to wait for her to become of age and then we had to wait for her to be the right weight (we received this advice from one vet in her vets office) and then we had a personality conflict with a particular vet in her vets office. We also had a family member recently pass away which has hit us financially, but she will be spayed soon. I was hoping that she might calm down once spayed, but I had heard that only male cats experienced enough hormone change to change their behavior, so I was wondering if her behaviorial problems would require specific training methods. A lot of these issues started when she was very young and nothing I tried would work. So hopefully, she will be nicer once spayed!!!! Thanks so much for your responses!!!!

Yes, females are very much affect by hormones too. And, some cats come into heat earlier than others...some as early as 4 months.

Once spayed, it'll take about 60 days for the hormones to completely get out of her system.

I really do think this will address a lot of the issues you described. However, it may not address all the issues.

You never mention any other pets; and, sometimes kittens raised as singletons from an early age (4, even 6 wks is considered early) have specific behavior issues because they didn't learn their cat "manners" from momma and siblings. But, it's hard to know how much of the issues you are having are due to hormones.

If you are still having issues 2 months after she is spayed, please check back with us and we can help with any issues remaining.

I really do think you will see a good bit of improvement.

Keep us posted!

Will do, thanks!!