Aggressive PTSD or trauma memory response

[seanh]

Hi everyone. I apologize for the length of this post, but it's a complex and difficult situation...

Our 11 year old cat has, within the last 6 months, picked up a very troubling and frustrating new behavior, and I'm wondering if any of you have advice on how we can address this. He's been checked out by our vet, including blood work, and no medical problems were found. We have had him since he was a small kitten, so we know almost all of his history, and he has had a very comfortable and low-stress life for the most part. He's indoor-only, and an only cat in our house with two adults and no children.

Over the summer, one of us fell down the stairs while he was near by. The human was scared, yelled, and went to the doctor to be checked, but ultimately was fine other than some bruises. We are 99% sure that the cat was not actually involved in the fall (did not get stepped on, tripped over, landed on, etc.). He definitely showed (and continues to show) zero signs of physical injury. However, immediately when the fall happened, he became EXTREMELY aggressive toward me (the person who didn't fall, and was in a different part of the house when it happened). Hissing, growling, scratching, biting, ears back. And it wasn't a "keep my distance" thing -- he would chase me and continue attacking if I tried to give him space. It gradually got better, but probably took 3-4 days before I could freely walk around the house without risk of being attacked. Mostly he would go after me if I came near the stairs, and especially if I went up or down the stairs. At the same time, if I was sitting, he would be very loving to me, purr, etc. He never exhibited any of this behavior with the person who did fall down the stairs.

Within a couple of weeks after the initial incident, things seemed pretty much back to normal. But we've now learned that he has a real hair-trigger response and will get back into attack mode (again, attacking only me) over very minor things. Yesterday's example was that I was in the kitchen (around the corner from the stairs), and dropped my earphone case on the floor. A small item, not very loud. He was upstairs, and came downstairs and started hissing at me. Similarly, a while back I stubbed my toe in the area near the stairs, said "ow!" (but didn't loudly yell or anything), and he attacked me and didn't calm down for a day or so.

When these incidents aren't in progress, he is one of the sweetest, most loving cats I have ever had. He sleeps on me in bed, is very affectionate and cuddly during the day, and never shows any signs of aggression towards us outside of the kinds of incidents described. Prior to this whole thing starting, I think I saw him hiss maybe three times in the 11 years we have had him, and it was always minor. He's never been an aggressive cat at all.

The only thing we can think of is that he has something similar to PTSD, or a traumatic memory from the stairs fall, and anything that reminds him of that is putting him back into defensive mode. But we have no idea how to help him get through it. We can't go on with me getting attacked any time I stub my toe or drop something. And it makes me so sad to think that he is this traumatized.

I'm curious if any of you have suggestions or ideas about this. Should we be looking for a cat behaviorist to consult with? Should we try to get the vet to prescribe him something (certainly not my first choice, but I am open to it)? Other ideas? We did add some Feliway diffusers and I don't know if they made any difference or not. He is our baby, we love him no matter what, and we will do anything for him.

 

[Margot Lane]

If it were my cat I might look for a behaviorist. I can only tell you that I once adopted a puppy that had been previously owned by someone who tied him to a radiator with a wire in a dark room until he had a permanent scar around his neck. The only thing that would help him through the trauma would be to patiently talk to him in a low, sweet voice, getting down at his level and not approaching him suddenly. Eventually he learned it was OK to bark now and then, and to wag his tail. Did you adopt him at a certain age and does he have a past? Am assuming you’ve run this past your vet, who might have other suggestions?

 

[seanh]

We adopted him at about 10 weeks old, and at the time he seemed very well-adjusted, social, not fearful. He's now 11, and he's been with us that whole time with nothing bad happening to him.

We need to talk to the vet again. We did discuss it with them early on, but we (including the vet) had been assuming that as time passes, he'll chill out and it will get better. Only recently have I started to feel like it's not getting better, and we need to do something.

 

[Margot Lane]

I’d do that first. I wonder too if it could be something else entirely, like maybe ear sensitivity/infection. Please let us know what the vet says, I’d be very interested. The place where we adopted the puppy told us all of his past information…11 years is a long time but perhaps they might have a record of your kitten somewhere. Could be there is a backstory. Meantime I would just keep doing what you’re doing…trying to behave in a way that isn’t threatening to the cat…get down low and talk to it from a distance, perhaps with treats?

 

[seanh]

Thanks, the ear thing is an interesting idea. We will look into that.

I didn't mention it in the last reply, but we did talk to the people we adopted him from about his background when we got him. He was born in a barn, and the farmer (who apparently regularly had kittens be born in his barn) got him to the rescue/foster place as soon as he was old enough, they had him only for a short time, and then we adopted him. It's of course possible that something traumatic happened to him in the barn or in his foster home, but it didn't come up in the conversations and it seems weird for it to not surface until now. But who knows. Cats are complex creatures!

 

[Margot Lane]

They are for sure! My current cat was also a barn cat kitten and fiercely -much more so than the typical kitten- bit and scratched at everybody, hence his name of Zorro. We figured he was the runt, since nobody else wanted him, and we just persistently loved him to death til he outgrew this behavior. barns are crazy places, with hooves and pitchforks and foxes…maybe a bale of hay went flying! Maybe you should ask the farmer if anybody ever fell dramatically. All I can think of: good luck!

 

[fionasmom]

All of my animals are rescues and have been for years. Most of the cats were former ferals, which means that they have retained a little bit of that feral personality regardless of how much they have transitioned into house cats. Three of my previous dogs were rescued from terrible circumstances as young adults....three separate occurrences, not related to each other, and spread out over years. Going into their stories is not going to cheer anyone up, but I do believe that animals can have PTSD or a trauma memory response. All three became wonderful house pets, but all of them retained the fearful behavior that reflected their past trauma. In one case, I found the dog being beaten in the street by her "owner", apparently not the first time, and managed to get him to "allow" me to adopt her; however, for the next 13 years of her life, she immediately ducked if anyone walked into a room and extended a hand; that includes myself, friends she knew, DH, and the vet. She definitely remembered and believed that it could come out of the universe at her again.

Given that your cat is in a place where he is aggressive to you under certain circumstances, I agree that a quick check at the vet's is a good idea just in case this overlapped coincidentally with a minor medical issue. After that, I would consult a behaviorist. Medication is not out of the question but I don't think it is the go to option in this case.

Your cat seems to have his own safety now caught up in his idea of what happens if people move, although his transference of the fear to you, the one who did not fall, is odd.

 

[Margot Lane]

…continue to be as intrigued and baffled as you by this thread. I wonder if “positive stair reinforcement” (as a last suggestion here from a cat lover, not an expert) might be an answer. Hang out on the stairs, with positive scents, maybe a favorite toy, talking calmly and kindly to the cat, play cat friendly music from YouTube…heck, hug the person who did fall on the stairs, ON the stairs! Show the cat that the stairs are nothing but a wonderful, safe and pleasant place to be.

But as time goes on please do keep us updated. Really want to know how it all turns out.

 

[suzeanna]

I adopted my cat Susan last August, and she also had a triggering sort of situation about six weeks post-adoption. I dropped some face masks I had on a hanger and made a high-pitched "eek", and she came running, picked one up in her mouth, dropped it, then started hissing and attacking my legs/feet relentlessly. It was terrible. She eventually calmed down, but there were additional suddenly triggering incidents over the next couple weeks -- e.g., partner stubbed his toe and gently lowered himself to the ground like "oof" and she ran over and tried to scratch him. She also started to get triggered by the hallway it seemed -- whenever we had to pass each other in the hallway, there was a 25% chance of her trying to scratch our legs and start fighting. This seemed to last a million years but it was probably over a span of two weeks. Our new vet prescribed low doses of gabapentin which helped A TON immediately -- it sort of gave her a few extra seconds to think about what she was doing. Literally the day after the first dose, I was passing her in the hallway and she reached her paw up, paused, then put it down and just followed me to the kitchen for breakfast. Even on the gabapentin, she had a couple more incidents so the vet started her on prozac/fluoxetine last October and that stopped the incidents completely. It's such a relief. We've tapered her dose from .2 to .1 ml nightly and honestly I think she probably doesn't need it anymore. I also had feliway for awhile, but I don't think it did anything. Anyway, your situation sounded a lot like mine -- triggering incident which led to a lot of aggression toward human, somehow reinforcing the bad feelings/behavior, specific areas are extra triggering. Maybe it's worth talking to your vet to see if gabapentin could help. I did ask the foster who had my cat for a couple months if she'd experienced anything like it, but all she said was that she once dropped and broke a plate and Susan hissed at her. Anyway, Susan is a totally sweet lady and it sounds like your guy is too most of the time. I know it can be stressful so I appreciate all y'all are doing for him!

P.S. In the meantime I recommend keeping around some folded up cardboard boxes in the hallway, near the stairs, in the kitchen, etc. so you can easily protect yourself when he has an episode. Also, try not to feel stressed/scared around him if you can -- they can definitely sense that and it can help set things off. My partner was definitely super nervous and afraid of Susan during that time period and she tended to attack him more frequently.

 

[Meowmee]

Hi everyone. I apologize for the length of this post, but it's a complex and difficult situation...

Our 11 year old cat has, within the last 6 months, picked up a very troubling and frustrating new behavior, and I'm wondering if any of you have advice on how we can address this. He's been checked out by our vet, including blood work, and no medical problems were found. We have had him since he was a small kitten, so we know almost all of his history, and he has had a very comfortable and low-stress life for the most part. He's indoor-only, and an only cat in our house with two adults and no children.

Over the summer, one of us fell down the stairs while he was near by. The human was scared, yelled, and went to the doctor to be checked, but ultimately was fine other than some bruises. We are 99% sure that the cat was not actually involved in the fall (did not get stepped on, tripped over, landed on, etc.). He definitely showed (and continues to show) zero signs of physical injury. However, immediately when the fall happened, he became EXTREMELY aggressive toward me (the person who didn't fall, and was in a different part of the house when it happened). Hissing, growling, scratching, biting, ears back. And it wasn't a "keep my distance" thing -- he would chase me and continue attacking if I tried to give him space. It gradually got better, but probably took 3-4 days before I could freely walk around the house without risk of being attacked. Mostly he would go after me if I came near the stairs, and especially if I went up or down the stairs. At the same time, if I was sitting, he would be very loving to me, purr, etc. He never exhibited any of this behavior with the person who did fall down the stairs.

Within a couple of weeks after the initial incident, things seemed pretty much back to normal. But we've now learned that he has a real hair-trigger response and will get back into attack mode (again, attacking only me) over very minor things. Yesterday's example was that I was in the kitchen (around the corner from the stairs), and dropped my earphone case on the floor. A small item, not very loud. He was upstairs, and came downstairs and started hissing at me. Similarly, a while back I stubbed my toe in the area near the stairs, said "ow!" (but didn't loudly yell or anything), and he attacked me and didn't calm down for a day or so.

When these incidents aren't in progress, he is one of the sweetest, most loving cats I have ever had. He sleeps on me in bed, is very affectionate and cuddly during the day, and never shows any signs of aggression towards us outside of the kinds of incidents described. Prior to this whole thing starting, I think I saw him hiss maybe three times in the 11 years we have had him, and it was always minor. He's never been an aggressive cat at all.

The only thing we can think of is that he has something similar to PTSD, or a traumatic memory from the stairs fall, and anything that reminds him of that is putting him back into defensive mode. But we have no idea how to help him get through it. We can't go on with me getting attacked any time I stub my toe or drop something. And it makes me so sad to think that he is this traumatized.

I'm curious if any of you have suggestions or ideas about this. Should we be looking for a cat behaviorist to consult with? Should we try to get the vet to prescribe him something (certainly not my first choice, but I am open to it)? Other ideas? We did add some Feliway diffusers and I don't know if they made any difference or not. He is our baby, we love him no matter what, and we will do anything for him.

So sorry you and your kitty are going through this. Maybe try another dvm visit specialist to make sure there is no underlying medical issue. It does seem like the fall etc. triggered it all, I am not sure why he would react to you after, it does seem so strange. Maybe there was a past bad experience.

Next a behaviorist or ask your other dvm about meds. I would def try them asap and rec gabapentin which is helping a very stressed kitty I took inside- he was super stressed and fearfully aggressive too at first and he is so much better now. He was also ill with giardia and hookworm and had been dumped outside as a young cat and was surviving etc.

He went from lunging, hissing, spitting through the cage to meowing, talking, purring, eating treats from my hands and being happy to see me etc. He is ready to come out so I will set up a corner just for him in his room as he adjusts to being out of the cage. I am hoping he will soon become more touchable in time but we will take it as his pace.

 

[di and bob]

It sounds like redirected aggression resulting from the fall and scaring him badly. Cats usually take several days to recoup from this, but yours is affected more deeply and needs some intervention. I like the idea of giving positive vibes from the stairs, like with treats and playtime with toys. You might try some Bach Rescue Remedy, a supplement that is used for stressful times in cats, it may help. i am going to use some starting today for a cat I can't get to stop licking herself raw, I've tried everything else for allergies. You might try researching Redirected Aggression in cats and see if there are any ideas you can find to help.