Help with agressive behavior

Hello,

I have posted a few times here, asking for help in getting my two kitties, Winter(8) and Avalanche(2) acclimated to one another. The good news is that they are fine together. Winter is never going to want to cuddle with Avvie all the time,but I have caught them snuggled together, and I know they keep one another company. Often, they both sleep with me at night--one on one side of my pillow, one on the other!

My concern is with Avvie. We moved to a new place at the beginning of June. Winter has moved with me many times over the years, and has been completely fine in adjusting. Avvie, however, is a different story. We moved in on June 1, and two weeks later, my parents and sister came to help me unpack. Avvie knows my family, and has always been very sweet with them. Not this time. They arrived before I got home from work, and while my sister was petting Avvie, he turned and swiped at her.(I should add that he does have this problem with petting, but has never done this to anyone but me before.) The whole time they were here, he would swipe at my mom's ankles and always let us know he was about to swipe by giving a special "meow." I took the cats to the vet for shots/checkup the week after my family left, and Avvie wouldn't let the vet--the last time he'd been there Avvie wouldn't stop purring --near him. He had no shots or exam. The vet and I agreed Avvie was still very unsettled from his move, and that I would just bring him back later when he was feeling better about things. I felt so bad, because I didn't realize he wasn't happy until my family showed up, and I would have plugged in the feliways for him when I moved if I had realized. We did have to travel in mid-July to my parents' house for six weeks this summer(I am a teacher and have the summers off), and I was hesitant to uproot him, but figured he'd rather be with me than have a cat sitter and be alone. He has been to my parents' house before, and I took the feliways along. He was fine in the car(fell asleep right away) as usual. I kept him in a small area of the house(with feliway) until he let us know he wanted out to explore, which we did. But all summer, he would hiss and swipe at anyone who wasn't me that walked past him--especially my mom. Not every time, of course, but enough that it concerned me. He even swiped at me a few times, and his tolerance for petting has not been what it was before I moved. I should add that my mom has a cat--we kept my two and her one separated all summer. My mom's cat is an indoor-outdoor cat, and so when my kitties were downstairs, the other cat was outside. I'm sure they all knew of one another, though.

He is eating fine, and drinking and using his litterbox fine. He is wanting to play, and wanting to cuddle--with me. We've been back home now for a month, and he is still not acting normally. He is wanting to cuddle on my lap, and wanting to play, but if I'm on the phone or if I'm busy with something, instead of just being naughty and getting into anything and everything to get my attention, he will swipe at my ankles, give that special "meow" beforehand, and act rather nasty.

I popped into the vet and discussed this with them, and they think he's still not settled, and that he's not sick. I have put him into one of my spare rooms, with plenty of toys, litter, food, water, and a nice perch at the window where he can snooze or just look out. He has a soft couch and I come in often to cuddle with him(although he doesn't seem much to want to be petted.) I'm just trying to figure out ways to make him feel safe and secure.

I am sorry this is so long. I'm really worried about him. I don't know that the feliway helped him much. I have an appointment for a check up in a month. I am trying to give him as much time to adjust to being here as possible before I put him through the stress of a vet visit.

Has anyone else experience this? Is there anything I'm not doing I could be doing? I felt bad that I had to take him with me this summer, but it was unavoidable. He is neutered, I've had him since he was a kitten, and he's never been with anyone but me.


Thank you in advance for any suggestions you may have to offer.

Wow that's a hard one!! I'm not sure what could be the cause of all his problems.Maybe there was a cat living there before you all moved in and he smells it?For some reason he is on the defensive mode and to be honest, I'm not sure how to help get him out of it.It may just take a TON of patience.Good luck and I hope you SOON find a reason for his behavior.

What is feliway ?

It's very expensive in Canada and there's only one dealer out in Vancouver that I found online. It's a plug-in (like a room deodorizer) that gives off a sort of generic cat scent that calms (most) cats down a little in the room it's in, based on pheromones (the sexy smell cats give off to attract each other) and works because it makes them all feel good. It's kind of a bad vibe neutralizer!

Originally Posted by Larke

It's very expensive in Canada and there's only one dealer out in Vancouver that I found online. It's a plug-in (like a room deodorizer) that gives off a sort of generic cat scent that calms (most) cats down a little in the room it's in, based on pheromones (the sexy smell cats give off to attract each other) and works because it makes them all feel good. It's kind of a bad vibe neutralizer!

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Ahh...thanks for replying. Kind of odd that they'd only have it Van.

Sorry to bump up my own thread, but I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to help me help my kitty? I wouldn't be posting about it if I weren't concerned.

Thanks