Help! My cat viciously attacked me last night!!!

I realize that this post is very old, but I'm writing this mainly for the benefit of people searching for info now, who can still gain insight from the posts. I adopted a little black kitten, named him Boo, slept with him, sat him on the kitchen island when I was in there because he had to be where I was, reached into toilet water to retrieve him when he tried to jump onto the bathroom sink to be close to me while I brushed my teeth and fell in, cuddled with him all night while he laid on his back in the bend of my arm when I found out he had pneumonia; this was MY BABY!!!! I had him for 4 years  and I told people that he was the perfect cat for me!!! When I wanted him to go to bed with me and I had my CPAP machine on my face , I only had to make a "hm-hm" noise in the same tone as I spoke his name (Boo-Boo) and he would jump up and sleep all night with me. If I took a nap, he was automatically attached to my stomach the moment I layed down. I loved him soooo much, and I miss him every day. I was getting ready to move out, and was working hard, alone with Boo-Boo, every moment that I was awake and not at work. I was about to quit for the night, exhausted, and I decided to do one last thing. I brought the giant  trash can inside in order to clean it thoroughly after I had disinfected it outdoors. I was cleaning away, with Boo lying on his side, relaxing, just about a foot away from my own feet. (He always had to be with me, and I loved it.) He decided to get up and smell the outside of the can. I saw him doing so, but I turned around to grab something, and he suddenly attacked me. He bit into the inside portion of my leg, next to my knee, and he HUNG ON! I was moving my leg, tryong to shake him off; he just dug in. I picked up a paper and began hitting him with it to try to scare him off of me and he just dug in, still HANGING by his teeth. It was very painful and when my efforts did not work, I said a one of those very urgent prayers, and he let loose. But he was only a few feet away and still visibly upset. He tried coming at me again and I backed up from the kitchen to the doorway of the living room, where the vacuum sat, already plugged in. I knew he was afraid of it , so I turned it on, and cahsed him down the hall with it so I could shut him in another room. I knew he would need food and water and a litter box , so I stocked one of the bathrooms, and then opened the door to the attached bedroom in order to chase him inot the bathroom, where he would have access to everything he would need. He tried charging at me several times, coming at me from in between the mattress and box spring, which were propped against the wall. I had the vacuum, so I help my end of the mattress and box spring together, then started the vacuum again which sent him into the bathroom and I followed the vacuum, hiding behind it, and shut him in.  Every time I would go near that bathroom door, I would talk to him and try to calm him and see how he was, He just hissed and growled at me. Finally, my brother in law came over to get him out about 3 days later. (He still had an abundance of food, water, everything he needed since I had put a lot in there.) My brother in law talked to him, petted him, picked him up, and sat him on the front step. He was strictly an inside cat, so we assumed he would stay near the steps while I finished packing since I was  down to the last couple of days in the house. We couldn't give him away, not knowing if he would attack someone, and if we took him to the shelter it would either be the same thing, or they would kill him, and I did not know what on Earth to do. Next morning I went in the front yard and he popped around the corner acting normal and even let me pet him. Then when I "woke up" and realized it wasn't safe to pet him, he started growling and trying to come at me again!  I called my family but nobody would come over to hrlp me thsi time. I mad eit to my car, and I pulled u as close to him as I could and blared the horn til he ran away so I could run back into the house. That was it for me; my own safety came first. I moved out and he stayed there. BUt the next day I felt bad so I drove an hour , and set a live trap to try to catch him to keep him contained til I could figure out what to do with him. But I caught a raccoon instead. I looked around outside for him. No sign. I couldn't keep taking two-hour round trip hikes out there to check a trap every day so I  decided to let him go and hope for the best, At least he would have a chance at a life outdoors there (in a rural area) albeit probably a short one, given the stray dogs and the fact that he was declawed. (I know, it's a horrible thing. All 4 paws. But how was I to know he would attack me over something he smelled on that trash can? (Probably another male cat.) I recalled one other time that he had acted strangely aggressive. It was when I brought a broom inside that was one I normally left outdoors. That time, he smelled it, ran away, and hissed but when I spoke to him, he calmed down quickly and was normal again. It has been about 7 years now, and I miss that baby every day of my life. I adopted another cat, and I love her. But she is not Boo. I have not declawed her; I use those claw covers. I have had many cats, and usually more than one at a time, since I was about 4, and I am 52. I never had anything like this happen before, and I wish I had had time to figure out what to do , but I had to move. Other people were waiting to move in. Given more time, I think I would have made a different decision, but I was under so much stress and I just didn't know what to do! I know that he had to have smelled another cat in both instances and took it out on the only live thing there: me. I still have scars on my leg from his teeth piercing through by probably 1/2" in some places. But I wish I had my baby Boo back the way he was before this all happened.

I hope I can find my way back here, because I want to write about my experience, which was similar to yours (Staci Powers) but I still have the cat.  The attack just happened last Sunday. I just took my last antibiotic.  I have had cats all my life and this has never happened.  I am afraid, but love the cat so much. She is the only one who has slept with me in 10 years. I also use a Cpap and she likes to jump on it during the day, and turns it on. I've been covering it with a towel, but she still manages to do it sometimes. I will write about the attack later. I want to make sure you are still here and that someone is reading...

Yes, I'm here and I'm very interested in hearing your story. I am sad when I think about Boo every day, and it has been about 5 years. He and I were very compatible. I have another cat now, but she is no Boo. She is sweet but extremely independent and only wants me to pet her when SHE wants to be pet, so you can't really get that close to her. I keep wondering if there was a way that I could have kept him, or if he would ever have acted like that again, but being I could not handle him, I don't see how. I hope your situation ends better.

Stacci

ruggersmom said:

He attached himself to my leg, scratched me in 8 places enough to bleed profusely and bit my calf & punctured the skin in 4 places, very deeply. I was bleeding all over the place & completely freaked out.

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The first thing you need to do is get those deep punctures attended to by a Doctor IMMEDIATELY.  Cat bites are very dangerous.  Even if your cat is an inside cat, still, their close together teeth harbour bacteria which are effectively injected deep into you with a deep bite.  Please attend to this right away.  A relative nearly lost half her arm after a redirected aggression bite when she broke up a cat fight and was badly bitten and did not have it looked at right away.  She also had to take time off work to attend to her arm when it got extremely swollen and then she did finally go to Doctor.  At the very least you need a tetanus shot.

I think your cat is stressed by the acitivities going on in your house.  I wouldn't get rid of him but I would be very careful till this episode of massive cleaning ends.  When you go to the Doctor the cat may have to be quarantined whether he is up to date on his rabies shot or not.  That's what would happen where I live, other places may have different rules.  Here if you can safely quarantine at home you may.

ETA:  I now see this thread is very old but I will leave my comments.  Cat bites can be extremely dangerous to people.

I'm not sure if Cissy's exact age, but I think she is pushing 2. She was a rescue from some people who neglected her, but I don't think they physically abused her, but guess they may have. She is the most loving cat I have ever had and this weird behavior did not start until about a month ago. I have had her for almost a year. She has been spayed and had all of her shots,etc. 

 My bed is on lifters and I use a little stool to get in bed.   I am short! I do not know what happened for sure....This was about 2 weeks ago. Cissy may have been on the stool, which would explain what happened next. I slide down  (I had on socks, which I usually don't) missing the stool and my butt hit the floor and the stool moved.  I had just seen Cissy on the floor near the bed.  She had slept with me, as usual. The next thing I knew, she was attacking me. I kept calling her name and telling her to stop, but she was in full attack mode, and hissing.  I couldn't get away from her, and blood was dripping everywhere. It was very traumatic.  I reached behind me and pulled my spread off to wrap around me. I was afraid she would bite my legs or face. She bit me several more times before DUH, I wrapped the spread around HER and stuffed her in a crate.  She immediately seemed like a different cat.  I had to put some clothes on and get help. I knew I was going to have to go to the hospital.  The bites were so bad that they actually used stitches, but my Dr took them out a few days ago because he said they needed to drain.

Backing up to a week earlier, she did something I thought was weird and it scared me bad.  I was in my bedroom sitting on my bed and watching tv. Cissy likes to perch on my dresser and look out the window and sleep. All at once she stood up, eyes huge and her tail buffed up She started to come down and had one paw still on a letter box, and one paw on the dresser. She wasn't staring directly at me, but sort of towards me. I swear it freaked me out. I thought  maybe there is a cat on the front porch, or maybe a snake got in.  I am up to 6 on my snake count-all in the back yard except for one.  Then it hit me that she appeared to be staring at the curtains behind me, which were being blown by the fan.  I have that fan on all the time, but not usually turned in that direction. I decided that she thought something was behind there and she was in attack mode, in case something came at her. I got up and moved the fan.  The curtains stopped moving, and she curled up and went to sleep. Who knows...?

There is a more recent incident.  I was in my room and she was out in the hallway.  I had been going through magazines and had been just tossing them on the floor. I had planned to gather them up and take them to the recycle bin when I got a stack.  I was still on antibiotics and the diarrhea struck. I went fast and slid on those magazines! I sort of laughed and looked at Cissy and said "Now don't come attack me because I didn't fall." In less than a second, she jumped on my back and bit me there and on both legs. These were nothing like the serious ones I went to ER with, but I did end up having to go to the Dr. a few days ago.  Last night, I sat on the stool beside my bed and she came and put one of her paws on my back, but she wasn't all buffed up,etc. I quickly got up and gave her a treat. There is some sort of trigger, and I wish I knew what it was. I do not want to have her put to sleep, but she may force me to if she attacks me again. 

In  the meanwhile, the vet put her on Phenobarbital (1/2 twice daily) but I wish he had prescribed the liquid form.  He said it would take a week to see if it made a difference.  I'm not sure if it has or not.  She still goes on her 5 min rampages, where she runs around and around in my room, knocking things everywhere. Of course he pupils are huge when she does this. In about 5 min, she's back to her normal self. I have had cats who easily become over-stimulated, and I am careful to stop rubbing her head when she acts like she is going to bite.  She will not let me rub below her head, burt doesn't seem to have any injuries.  When I went to hospital after the first attack, they  had to call the animal control people and a man had to come by and see her rabies info,etc. He said this was not uncommon and that inside cats do attack their owners frequently, but I have sure never heard of it. 

I really can't afford to take her for an MRI,etc. which I've been told is the only way to tell if there is brain damage.  From what I have read about seizures, her "rampages" aren't that, but maybe they are.  She goes on one maybe half a dozen times in a 24 hour period. She also has started jumping on my night stand and knocks things off. I finally started squirting her with a water bottle. She stops immediately, but then comes right back! She also jumps on my Cpap and turns it on.  I have had to wrap a lot of cords up in electrical tape, because she chews on them. She will eat paper (Pica?) and plastic if I don't stop her. She has all kinds of toys and I do play with her, but playing usually sets her off for a rampage. I have had cats all my life, but never one like this.

Sorry this is so long!  Any suggestions appreciated!

You are 100% correct. Sometimes the bites get infected despite the antibiotics.  The animal control guy did make me promise to keep her for at least 10- days, and she is inside only.  But I have considered having her put to sleep. I don't like to think about that, but I don't want to be mauled again!  Yesterday, the man closed her case. He had to come see her twice. She is the only cat who has slept with me in many years. It will devastate me if I have to give her up. 

I have been reading about this, but everything doesn't fit:  Hyperesthesia Syndrome.

karenrhyne said:

 
I have been reading about this, but everything doesn't fit:  Hyperesthesia Syndrome.

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When you mentioned "rampages", I immediately thought of Feline Hyperesthesia, but usually playing with them will STOP an attack, not bring one on , AND, I've never heard of a cat with FHS actually attacking their owner.  Not sure if the two are related or not. 

All the cat attacks in this entire thread are just so odd.  I wish there was an answer for why this happens and how to stop it, but not sure there is

Your house has a 3rd floor.
You seldom go up there.

Rugger freaks out when he goes up there.

Am I the only one thinking it?

I hope someone will have an answer. I called my vet today, but he is off. There are 3 other vets, but they don't know Cissy.  

I am trying to figure out how to change my email on here to the one I have on my phone. I'm not sure I can type that well from my phone, either....but I do emails from there.

I just came to my pc and Cissy followed me and her pupils are huge. They seem to stay huge most of the time, so it's hard to know when a rampage is going to happen.

Karen,

  I certainly don't have all the answers ,but I do know that I miss my Boo every day and it has been 5 years, so I would hate to see you lose your cat or for her to lose you. I have a radical idea to throw out there, so stay with me here: What if you she had no  claws AND no biting  ??? I was unable to collect my cat after my experience but yours is still inside. If she has no claws or teeth, she cannot hurt you and you can keep her. She can still eat soft food. I think if you explained to the vet that it's that or put her to sleep , he / she would consider it, and if not, I would find a vet who would. Under the circumstances, I don't think you should keep dealing with her because of the chance of injury. No biting teeth, no claws= no pain. That's my best advice and if it is doable, I see that as a win-win solution !!!!!! Please let me know what you think.

SP

Karen, I just now googles it and other peoples' vets have apparently recommended this after trying other things, so it can be done.

SP

Stacci Powers said:

Karen,

  I certainly don't have all the answers ,but I do know that I miss my Boo every day and it has been 5 years, so I would hate to see you lose your cat or for her to lose you. I have a radical idea to throw out there, so stay with me here: What if you she had no  claws AND no biting  ??? I was unable to collect my cat after my experience but yours is still inside. If she has no claws or teeth, she cannot hurt you and you can keep her. She can still eat soft food. I think if you explained to the vet that it's that or put her to sleep , he / she would consider it, and if not, I would find a vet who would. Under the circumstances, I don't think you should keep dealing with her because of the chance of injury. No biting teeth, no claws= no pain. That's my best advice and if it is doable, I see that as a win-win solution !!!!!! Please let me know what you think.

SP

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This is not the answer. Your cat would be mutilated and in pain. I would have her put down before inflicting such horrible surgeries on her.

Stacci Powers said:

 
Karen, I just now googles it and other peoples' vets have apparently recommended this after trying other things, so it can be done.

SP

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Wow what bad advice. Stay in this website & learn all you can, especially about declawing.

http://www.littlebigcat.com/declawing/chronic-pain-of-declawing

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/cats/tips/declawing.html

http://www.pawproject.org/faqs

If you can't handle a cat's claws, get rid of it. To amputate & have them live in pain the rest of their lives shouldn't be an option.

Yikes...it is a radical suggestion, but I will definitely consider if. I hope it never comes down to having to make a decision. I know they can chew soft food with no teeth, but she is so young. All of my other cats eat canned, but she will only eat kibble. I have read where canned is actually better for them, but they used to be the opposite. I just hate the thoughts of her being in pain. De clawing is cruel and I can't imagine how painful the other would be. I am between a sword and a blade! I definitely don't want to give her up, but I don't want her to suffer just so I can keep her with me.

She seems to go on one of her rampages right at bed time....many other times throughout the day, but it has always been at bedtime here lately. Whenever I turn the light out, she immediately jumps up on my bed and goes to sleep, but last night she ran out and started racing through the house. She came back in and when I turned my light on, she was standing on the floor, staring up at me with those huge pupils. I don't like being afraid of her. I wish I knew what her trigger was. If I were wealthy, she would be undergoing a of test.

The vet's office called this am and said to keep giving her the half pills, twice daily. He still does not recommend the liquid form, but I was hoping that he would.

I am going out of town until sunday, and my friend is going to take care of her, here. She knows him well, so I'm not too concerned.  I just hope she doesn't attack him.  

Karen

karenrhyne said:

Yikes...it is a radical suggestion, but I will definitely consider if. I hope it never comes down to having to make a decision. I know they can chew soft food with no teeth, but she is so young. All of my other cats eat canned, but she will only eat kibble. I have read where canned is actually better for them, but they used to be the opposite. I just hate the thoughts of her being in pain. De clawing is cruel and I can't imagine how painful the other would be. I am between a sword and a blade! I definitely don't want to give her up, but I don't want her to suffer just so I can keep her with me.

She seems to go on one of her rampages right at bed time....many other times throughout the day, but it has always been at bedtime here lately. Whenever I turn the light out, she immediately jumps up on my bed and goes to sleep, but last night she ran out and started racing through the house. She came back in and when I turned my light on, she was standing on the floor, staring up at me with those huge pupils. I don't like being afraid of her. I wish I knew what her trigger was. If I were wealthy, she would be undergoing a of test.

The vet's office called this am and said to keep giving her the half pills, twice daily. He still does not recommend the liquid form, but I was hoping that he would.

I am going out of town until sunday, and my friend is going to take care of her, here. She knows him well, so I'm not too concerned.  I just hope she doesn't attack him.  

Karen

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Your cat has a medical problem that you are working to find out. Removing her ability to hurt you WILL make her suffer and will not alleviate any mental or physical anguish. It is not an answer. You will be adding to her pain and taking away any quality of life.

 So just "..get rid of the cat..?" Well you cannot give it to someone else so it can attack them, so that means killing it. Also, People have their teeth removed all the time with little to no pain because anesthesia is used! Same for declawing! I have had numerous cats declawed and all lived happy, healthy lives inside my house. I do believe it is better to adopt a cat that has a good chance of being killed , and have it declawed, instead of just not adopting it. You are entitled to your opinion, as I am to mine. I am tryong to help someone who is looking for solutions, not to just "...get rid of the cat...."

Stacci Powers said:

 So just "..get rid of the cat..?" Well you cannot give it to someone else so it can attack them, so that means killing it. Also, People have their teeth removed all the time with little to no pain because anesthesia is used! Same for declawing! I have had numerous cats declawed and all lived happy, healthy lives inside my house. I do believe it is better to adopt a cat that has a good chance of being killed , and have it declawed, instead of just not adopting it. You are entitled to your opinion, as I am to mine. I am tryong to help someone who is looking for solutions, not to just "...get rid of the cat...."

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I know that you went through a horrible ordeal and that you miss your cat. I just want to make the point that Boo may have snapped in the first place because he was declawed. It causes some cats to be in constant pain and it totally changes how they interact with the world.

As I said above, this cat has a medical issue and is clearly suffering. If they cannot get to the bottom of the medical problem, mutilating the cat so it is "harmless" is not the answer.

This is an inside cat?  Friends had one similar.  She got better when they moved to a 20 acre property and it was safe(r) to let her outside.  Outside she seemed able to burn off more energy and be calmer with them BUT they still could not go on vacation as were unable to board her and she still attacked strangers like the neighbour who tried to come in to feed her and change her litter.

FWIW I agree than in a matter of life and death I would try to remove teeth and claws.  My own old girl lost all her teeth naturally and was still able to eat kibble.  Declawing is a horrendous thing to do to a cat, but I'd try it before death by euthanasia.  Some cats are fine after the operation.  I wish a colleague who was marrying a new man who didn't want her two cats to scratch his leather chesterfield had tried declawing instead of PTS.  Then the wedding was called off, she never married him, and she had no cats.  So sad.

I can only reiterate what talkingpeanut said:

talkingpeanut said:

Your cat has a medical problem that you are working to find out. Removing her ability to hurt you WILL make her suffer and will not alleviate any mental or physical anguish. It is not an answer. You will be adding to her pain and taking away any quality of life.

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 Look at it from her perspective.   Here we have a cat who is obviously deeply distressed.  The cause is currently unknown, but it may be a mental issue or there may be a physical issue that has caused a mental response.  How could the answer be to remove her teeth and claws?  It would stop any attacks from causing harm to others, but what immense harm would it do to her?  On top of whatever is wrong with her, she is faced with the trauma of surgery and pain and then finds she has no claws and no teeth and and has to adjust to this new way of being and the complications that it would create? 

It may mean she can't hurt people, but it is a response that in no way benefits this poor girl.

@karenrhyne it takes time for the meds to kick in.  See that one through - it may do the trick.     It will also be interesting to see how she goes with your friend.