Cat is crazy -- Not in a good way

[shadow_kitty]

Ok first I want to say I agree with most of what has been said. The cat has been behaving wrong and there for the owners are reacting in the only way they know how.

The cat has something going on that it does not like, either the new cat, or something else. we need to find out what that "something else" is. the second thing is the cat is action out of anger and being scared of the owners.

The cat does not eat so the boy-friend gets mad and pushes his head in the food bowel. ==== got the cat to eat but now is scared if he doesn't it will happen again.

this builds up the fear the cat has, causing him to bit and claw. claw your boyfriend and then he gets put/thrown (please tell me he did not physically throw him) out side. ==== negative behavior on both parts.

I am no expert with this but I think the problem may be with the cat and the boyfriend. it sounds like the boy friend is doing a lot of the physical hands on stuff with the cat causing him not to trust the boyfriend.

I would get the vet check up, change the food, move the food to the cats fav. place. and just leave the cat alone.

the cat will eat when he gets hungry enough, also he will come out when he is ready.

try to move and change the food. leave him alone. let him settle in and when he is ready to have contact with you he will.

 

[poisonedpenny]

Actually the post is constructive to a point.

I believe the poster has done what she considers right. Her ideas for helping her animal were quite simple:

Not social - So keep out of social situations.
Won't eat - Bring food closer. Give exclusive use of.
Hurts her other family members - Keep away from them.

Yes, I think by now she understands at this point that these were not the best solutions, but it's easy to understand why she made them. (As several other posters pointed out.)

At this time what this person needs to hear is what methods can possibly help her, not exclusively criticism.

If you're on a trip and you see a sign saying Texas 2 miles, when you were trying to get to Virginia, and you ask your navigator what's up would it be more appropriate for them to respond:
A) Well, you took a wrong turn in Oregon. Then you nearly hit a truck in Michigan, and got bumped onto a bypass that sent you south. And by the way have been driving the wrong way for 2 days straight. I can't believe you got all the way to Texas!!!
B) Well, you made a few mistakes driving, but if you get on this highway and make sure you turn left at this bypass, and we really crunch some time, we can make it there alright. And by the way, I'll be here in case you need help.

 

[catsallover]

It does sound like there is something wrong, possibly neurologicly(sp?) with your cat, if he started out not very social and is progressively getting worse. And having a best friend who has gone through a very similar situation with her male cat, I can understand TOTALLY your frustration and need to do whatever works TODAY, and NO ONE is a perfect parent to anybody or any pet, so just take the advice that seems helpful, and disregard the rest

.

I would talk to my vet about the anti-anxiety drugs-they worked for a short time with my friend's cat, but she did have to finally have him put down for safety reasons, and the fact that EVERYONE was miserable, including the cat. His behavior fit so many catagories of behavioral problems, and that made a diagnosis of something "behaviorally" fixable impossible. Nothing worked. Her vet was afraid that if her other cat (who is older) died, he might start taking his aggression out on them or the kids (one of his "problems" was peeing in the kids' beds at every open door opportunity and she was afraid it would escalate to attacks, as he had threatened to attack my friend before and she had taken the aggressive position and he backed down).
And I have to admit, she felt terrible, but also relieved. It was a horrible ordeal, day in and day out.

The anti-anxiety meds DID work for her other cat (who had quit using the litter box-stress related from male cat).

Not every cat is going to make a good pet, for numerous reasons, and not every cat can be helped, either. So I would talk to my vet about the meds to get the situation under control immediately (like, days to weeks

) and then consult a behaviourist if you can. Then, if he doesn't improve, then you have done all you can, and I firmly believe you aren't required to live with a mentally "ill" (whatever is causing it) cat and be miserable (and injured) for years on end.

And in the meantime, enjoy the other cat you have

.

 

[shadow_kitty]

I did not mean to say you did wrong ... shame on you. you did what you thought was right when it happend and I WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME THING. like the post above

no social=keep out of social situations
won't eat=bring food closer
hurts you=dont give a chance to hurt you.

NOW TO FIX THINGS: get a clean bill of health.
- keep away from other cat (let this one calm down)
- give him his own space. a spare bedroom. some place where he would be by him self and can feel safe. (go in to water and feed him and change litter and then leave, after about a week or 2 see how he would do if you stayed in there with him... slowly build up the time you spend with him until he is coming to you to be pet.)
- bring back in the other cat
- try to change his food until you find one he will eat on his own
- give him some toys that he can bite instead of you. (if he bites you pull him off and give him a soft toy or a teething ring to bite... just like when you train for a post)

i am new here so if some one else has any other ideas i am sure they are welcome. but i think this would help.

 

[cheylink]

I don't even know if you are still reading up on these posts or you have had enough....but......
Every cat, dog, animal has there own personality (notice PERSON-ality) That usually does not develope entirely till much later than we normally relate to or expect....we go through midlife, teenage every crisis we can come up with to label these sudden changes and feelings we experience. Same with animals! Some more than others...............just like people!
Often we do not trake the time to put ourselves in there situation, less complicated but yet often we find to much. As well as their crisis when figured out is usually as uncomplicated to adjust to a reasonable compromise allowing peace at home again amongst one and all.
If you can, try to spend some time understanding what is happening before these actions occur. Something with the other cat, you, or a guest with you, even just a guest. There is something stimulating these behavioral changes, which if not looked at closely at the time of developement can become general behavior instead of emotional responses. Believe me, this works!
Goodluck!!!