this is getting bad

Wonton's been having his aggression problems again. i tripped and fell - he attacked me, got my leg. my bf and i were tussling around, play wrestling (not even that much, he was just grabbing my arm), and Wonton puffed up and attacked us both..this was last night. we put him in the other room to calm down for a couple hours, i let him out and he seemed finie - wanted to cuddle and be petted, so i did. theni got on the computer, and rick laid down on our bed. wonton hopped up and laid next to him, rick was patting him, he was purring, all was fine. suddenly wonton started sniffing rick really intently - and then suddenly went nuts and clawed ricks face. he looks like he got into a fight now - two big scratches o his forehead, one by his lip, and three claw punctures on his neck. he was bleeding and the cat was yowling and getting ready to attack again and i was trying to distract it and get it in the other room - which i finally did. this is just...not good. he (wonton) has been inthe other room all day today. he has food water and his box. the thing is, once we put him in there, after about 20 mins, he calms down and then starts crying to come out, and it sounds so pitiful, and i feel so bada for him cos i know he doesnt like to be alone-but its like :censor::censor::censor:, i dont even feel safe around him anymore. he's never attacked while being petted like that. so yeah.. he has a vet appt thursday at 10:40 am so pls keep me and wonton in your thoughts. i dont even know what im going to do. what if he had gotten my boyfriends eye? luckily Rick wears glasses. if i had to have Wonton put down it would kill me.. yet, what am i supposed to do - either keep getting attacked everyday, or keep him shut in the other room like a cat in a zoo? i really dont know what to do, and its hard. constructive comments welcomed here, it's been a bad day. im hoping the vet can tell us something, and help us.

I don't really have much in the way of advice. I hope everything works out.

Oh honey I'm so sorry. I'm so glad you are taking him to the vet though, it sounds like it could be a health related issue. You are in my thoughts and prayers tonight.

Making a vet appt. was very smart. Get Wonton there first, make sure health wise he checks out ok. If hes healthy, look into a vet that does alternative medicine. The office I work at has 1 vet that does accupuncture and alternative medicine. She helps a lot of animals with behavioral problems. I wish you the best of luck and keep us updated.

How long has he had this aggression problem for. You in your first line that he's at it again. How often and for how long has he been this way. I have a posting that I wrote on the second page under social aniexty disorder. Read that. I had fairly similar problems not with attacking me, but other people and my other cats. Anyways read that see what you think, It's an encouraging story. It's not a fun situation to be in trust me.

I remember Wonton is (was) a stray? I am thinking a couple of things here...our Elsa out of the blue started biting us when we picked her up. That turned out to be ovarian cysts (multiple) that were hurting her. Also, maybe he's having a feral-type reaction to overstimulation. Cats can be put on anti-anxiety medicine, I do know that. Good luck, and if you can afford blood tests, I would definitely try and get some levels - thyroid, liver, kidney, etc.

You did the right thing by making a vet appointment. Until then since his behavior is unpredictable- no roughhousing around him and i wouldn't let him around you both if you think he will strike. I would definitely purchase some Soft Claws and put them on him so he can't scratch you or your boyfriend. Also- i suggest reading several books on cat behavior and body language- if you understand their body language, you can somewhat predict their behavior and when to leave them alone. "Cats for Dummies" has an excellent section on both behavior and body language...you can check it out at your local libary or purchase it at a store. I really recommend it- it is a wonderful references and has answered a lot of my questions. Good luck! Also, my Abilene is a feral kitty- so i know what it's like when they're unpredictable...good luck at the vets

Your cat has not suddenly gone crazy or anything else, but just being a cat. When they sense someone (animal or person) has been hurt, a killer instinct takes over and they go in for the kill (as a wild animal would). It's awful, but 'normal' in the sense that there's cat logic behind it, and your cat is no more going to attack you or anyone else again unless a similar situation occurs. Not fun at all, but quite common (had quite a time - half hour - over a yr ago when a kitten [his best friend!] hurt himself and he tried to attack, but it was all over in a short time once I got the kitten away).

I just wrote out a huge reply, replying to everyone in this thread individually, and hit reply, and somehow it didn't post. I'm too tired to do it again, but I just want to say thank you to everyone who offered suppport, i really appreciated it <3 Will definately keep you posted, and I will post a bit of background on the story tomorrow after I've had some sleep, for those who asked.

Originally Posted by Larke

Your cat has not suddenly gone crazy or anything else, but just being a cat. When they sense someone (animal or person) has been hurt, a killer instinct takes over and they go in for the kill (as a wild animal would). It's awful, but 'normal' in the sense that there's cat logic behind it, and your cat is no more going to attack you or anyone else again unless a similar situation occurs. Not fun at all, but quite common (had quite a time - half hour - over a yr ago when a kitten [his best friend!] hurt himself and he tried to attack, but it was all over in a short time once I got the kitten away).

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Then why did he attack and claw my boyfriends face as he was just laying there petting him? He (my bf) didn't seem injured. I know he hasn't suddenly gone crazy, but this behaviour is new - he wasn't always like this, and he is a big cat and actually dangerous when he's being aggressive, so I need to get him checked out. Also, I've been around cats all my life, and I've never had a cat attack me because I fell over or appeared injured, so I'm not sure that that's what's going on here.

I've only had a couple of cats do this, but I've read about it quite a bit on the boards. And it's just usually the hands and feet. Attacking hands and feet can actually be a behavior exhibited by kittens that were taken from their mother too young. We got a kitten at 6 weeks from a friend (I didn't know any better then) and she used to attack hands and feet like crazy. If I had let her stay with her momma, her momma would have disciplined her not to do that.

You might also look up feline behaviorism on the Internet, and also feline overstimulation. He gets overstimulated and kind of like a toddler with a temper tantrum, doesn't know how to calm himself.

Well, good luck, LOL!