Extreme Aggression

[misslevelynn]

I rescued my cat Tyson about 5 years ago when he was just under a year old, I know he was not properly socialized and god knows what happened to him because where he was found was not a nice area, and when I found him he literally tried to melt himself into the ground. I immediately had him spayed because he was tryin to do the dirty with my spayed female cat, who really didn't appreciate it.

5 years later he is as sweet as can be to me, he trusts me more than any other family member but has seriously bad aggression issues. Majority I think is territorial because he puffs up and freaks out mostly when he sees cats or other animals outside. It's gotten to the point that if my other cat is around he will go after her, and has even attacked another family member. Sometimes I can calm him down but other times he even comes towards me aggressively.

I have no idea what to do, I have feline pharamone sprays I spray in areas he's acted aggressively but it doesn't seem to do much. I know it's not his fault he acts like this, it's more a result of having a poor kittenhood filled with anxiety and fear, but I really wish I knew what to do to help him out of it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[katluver4life]

This is commonly known as redirected aggression. He see's cat's, or other animals, near his territory and since he can't get to them, he takes it out on the nearest or next animal or person he see's.

Usually the biggest problem with issues like this, is finding the trigger, but since you know his trigger, the best way to deal with it, is not allowing him to see these animals. Closing the blinds if it is a window, ect. If that isn't possible, the only other way, is when he has an episode, give him time to chill out by confining him to a room for a time away from everything, until he has calmed down. The room needs to be a quiet place, so he can decompress. You could play music such as classical or harp. Anything that will offer a calming effect on him.

Feliway sprays are rarely good for large areas. They work good on items such as a towel used in a carrier for transporting to the vet, ect., or on a place he sleeps. What I would get are a few Feliway diffusers. One in the area he typically see these animals in, and one for a room you can use as his chill out room. These typically take about a week to start working, work for about a month. I find them to be cheaper on Amazon then at the pet stores.

Hope this helps and keep us posted.