Bratty Cat

My 8-month old Caliby, Minerva McGonnagall-or Minnie-is a total momma's girl. Since we've gotten her, though, (@ 1 mo.) she has had this weird behavioral thing. One minute she'll be fine....purring, begging for attention, but almost like clockwork she has an "episode". She's a very independent but will cuddle graciously at will.

Her "episodes" consist of hissing, scratching, snarling and the occasional biting. Oh, and don't forget the fearful defecation! We will merely walk by her, in the windowsill, her locked carrier, under the bed, even on your lap and she will hiss if we look at her. We don't like when she hisses, so if she's not already in her carrier, we move her to it. When this happens sometimes she'll try and escape and when we finally catch her she will latch on will all claws and have at your hand (arm, whatever is in reach).

Like I said, this happens every 10 days-2 weeks or so like clockwork. We love her dearly are moving soon (where our pooch will be moving with us) and are fearful that her behavior will become even worse. This isn't something we want, especially not with our hopes to develop a family in the semi-near future. We have discussed rehoming her but the final decision has been laid on me...

Has anyone experienced a moody kitten before??? Can you please tell me it will pass???

My significant and other and I are both dog-people by nature and this is my first indoor cat ever. Any tips or suggestions on how we might be able to handle this?

Thank you in advance for any and all advice!

So, the behavior doesn't occur every day or even every time you do the same activity, such as walking by her, etc...

First, is she spayed?

Have you discussed this with your vet?

Second, trying to reprimand her during an episode is only going to make things worse. Cats are not like people and do not understand punishment. Punishment can, however, make the cat fearful or aggressive towards people or other animals as a result of redirected aggression.

I am suspicious that your cat may have something called Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome. Symptoms can be brought on by stress which can literally be anything from seeing a stray cat outside, to company or new people being in the house, or even hormonally and link to heat cycles.

If you haven't already done so, your kitten needs a vet visit and a full workup to rule out possible causes.

I'm including an article from Cornell that explains FHS.

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/Health_Information/HyperesthesiaSyndrome.cfm

I wouldn't recommend punishing her for hissing. It sounds like she only gets aggressive when you go to punish her. . .so just stop doing it . If she starts attacking at time when you're not doing anything objectionable, you probably will need to talk to the vet about meds. But under the circumstances I think she's just defending herself.

Thank you SO MUCH, Cat Pack! That article was extremely helpful. The article mentioned skin rippling/rolling and that is something I have noticed.

These episodes are not daily occurences but do occur on a regular basis (10 days-2 weeks).

She has been spayed but her only visit to a vet otherwise was for her vaccinations when we first adopted her.

She doesn't hiss when we approach her, only when we pass her with no intention of interacting with her. Never if we are already petting her, holding her, feeding her, etc. We move her to her carrier because it's recognized as her "safe zone" where she spends 50% of her time (by choice primarily is why we started using it when she acts out).

Ok, so now you at least having a starting place with a vet visit. It might also be worth going ahead and getting some blood work and a urinalysis done, but that is something you can discuss with your vet.

I would encourage you to just ignore her when she hisses. Don't make eye contact (this can make things worse) and go to a different room if at all possible. Basically remain calm and completely disengage with her until the episode subsides.

Please update us after your vet visit.

Yep, definitely don't move her into the carrier. That's a tactic that works perfectly well with dogs because dogs are comfortable with humans making the decisions, but cats are little control freaks. The cat might want to go to the carrier, but she certainly doesn't want you making that decision for her. It's like how I can pick my dog up and plop her into my lap to get her to snuggle, but if I pick the cat up she'll walk away first and then come back to make it clear that she is CHOOSING to snuggle and no clumsy human is going to tell her what to do!

I'm seconding to see what happens when you ignore the hissing. If it always happens when someone is moving, then maybe it's something about the movement that scares her.

Good luck at the vet! I'm sending good vibes Minnie's way and hope she comes out of it healthy and happy! Such a cute kitty!