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- Jan 22, 2018
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Hey guys. Long post coming atcha.
I'm writing here after months of efforts and a serious breakdown this morning. I have two cats, Lupe, Male (6) and Luna, Female (2). Both fixed. The two cats have always had no issue sharing rooms, litter boxes, food dishes, or anything since I brought Luna into our home when she was a kitten. One morning a few months ago, Luna attacked Lupe in a fit of redirected aggression thanks to a stray that was trolling outside of my window. Despite my best efforts to try and reintegrate the two, and using about every trick in the book from Feliway to Tuna to baby gates, for whatever reason Luna will randomly snap and start a fight with Lupe and try to caught as much damage as possible at any given moment.
Luna has always been relatively sassy and independent - She always hated being picked up and certain spots we all learned she didn't like being pet, but never has she outright attacked Lupe until recently.
I've been reduced to isolating Lupe into our guest room (primarily because he enjoys that area regardless but also because Luna will absolutely destroy the room in efforts to escape). But he's very attached to me and it's incredibly stressful for both of us having him isolated. After another failed re-integration session a few nights ago, my dad has decided that it's time we find a less stressful solution for all of the animals involved.
I decided to finally cave in on my doctors suggestion to getting them both on kitty anti-anxiety medicine but ultimately he made it clear that it was unlikely to change the aggression and would potentially cause more harm than good. I scheduled an appointment this morning.
The cats are used to getting into a single crate together but because of the recent change of dynamic, I had to separate the two into two different carriers. Lupe went into his without much incident. Luna was different.
Luna was being evasive, so I calmly followed her into the bathroom with a blanket. I shut the door and sat with her and slowly reached to her with a blanket to wrap her in. I reached down to pick her up calmly, and although she doesn't favor being picked up she typically tolerates it momentarily. This time, however, almost instantaneously she grabbed hold of my hand and shred it to bits with her teeth and claws. I tried to grab her by the scruff to calm her, which just sparked more hissing, spitting, rear claws gashing my arms and biting me until I screamed. She stopped once I yelled and after a few more moments of struggle I managed to throw a blanket over her and plop her in her carrier, still hissing and spitting.
I immediately started sobbing. I'm at my wits end. I've tried everything I possibly can aside from drugging her for being insane and drugging Lupe for now, reasonably, hating her and being defensive even when she is within sight
She has had fleeting moments of pet-induced aggression with people but this recent shift is character is wildly alarming, especially considering she's a wonderful little hang-out kitty otherwise. The only other times I've seen her be aggressive towards any of the animals in our house outside of this was involving food, ( The dog eating scraps while I wad cooking) and when I accidentally stepped on our dogs foot and he barked at me - Luna shortly thereafter came after him with a fury which I had to stop personally.
Almost every time I even sit down for more than five minutes she is glued to my lap, happily asleep. When she sees my car in the driveway she pokes her head in the window and as soon as I open the door she runs and scratches on her post as to show how excited she is when I get home. as a singular cat, she seems wildly happy and healthy, but definitely tempermental. Up until this recent aggression she was a wonderful, albeit sometimes moody, addition to my life and our home, and now that she's feuding with my older cat and most recently mauled me this morning, I feel entirely overwhelmed, and absolutely heartbroken.
My father has given me an ultimatum. As of this morning, she's been moved to our shaded patio/fenced back yard with a bed, food, water, and a litter box. Although this is a viable temporary solution, this is also incredibly hard because I understand the risks associated with having an outdoor cat, let alone the fact that she is a small sized queen (About two times the size of a kitten), and that if she manages to burst in through the door while someone is trying to walk out, she could attack Lupe. I'm trying to explore the option of rehoming her, and this is tough due to her recent feline on feline aggression and her newfound aggression towards me. At this point I feel like I'm in a position where I have to hope that maybe she acclimates to being an outdoor kitty or I might have to take the risk of bringing her to a shelter only to have them euthanize her because she can't be handled, which would absolutely devastate me considering she is a incredibly sweet cat outside of this shift if character.
I'm exhausted, I'm sad, I feel heartbroken because I adore this little girl but she's causing so much harm and stress in our household. I haven't stopped crying, and I feel like I can't fix this problem. I just don't know what to do.
I'm writing here after months of efforts and a serious breakdown this morning. I have two cats, Lupe, Male (6) and Luna, Female (2). Both fixed. The two cats have always had no issue sharing rooms, litter boxes, food dishes, or anything since I brought Luna into our home when she was a kitten. One morning a few months ago, Luna attacked Lupe in a fit of redirected aggression thanks to a stray that was trolling outside of my window. Despite my best efforts to try and reintegrate the two, and using about every trick in the book from Feliway to Tuna to baby gates, for whatever reason Luna will randomly snap and start a fight with Lupe and try to caught as much damage as possible at any given moment.
Luna has always been relatively sassy and independent - She always hated being picked up and certain spots we all learned she didn't like being pet, but never has she outright attacked Lupe until recently.
I've been reduced to isolating Lupe into our guest room (primarily because he enjoys that area regardless but also because Luna will absolutely destroy the room in efforts to escape). But he's very attached to me and it's incredibly stressful for both of us having him isolated. After another failed re-integration session a few nights ago, my dad has decided that it's time we find a less stressful solution for all of the animals involved.
I decided to finally cave in on my doctors suggestion to getting them both on kitty anti-anxiety medicine but ultimately he made it clear that it was unlikely to change the aggression and would potentially cause more harm than good. I scheduled an appointment this morning.
The cats are used to getting into a single crate together but because of the recent change of dynamic, I had to separate the two into two different carriers. Lupe went into his without much incident. Luna was different.
Luna was being evasive, so I calmly followed her into the bathroom with a blanket. I shut the door and sat with her and slowly reached to her with a blanket to wrap her in. I reached down to pick her up calmly, and although she doesn't favor being picked up she typically tolerates it momentarily. This time, however, almost instantaneously she grabbed hold of my hand and shred it to bits with her teeth and claws. I tried to grab her by the scruff to calm her, which just sparked more hissing, spitting, rear claws gashing my arms and biting me until I screamed. She stopped once I yelled and after a few more moments of struggle I managed to throw a blanket over her and plop her in her carrier, still hissing and spitting.
I immediately started sobbing. I'm at my wits end. I've tried everything I possibly can aside from drugging her for being insane and drugging Lupe for now, reasonably, hating her and being defensive even when she is within sight
She has had fleeting moments of pet-induced aggression with people but this recent shift is character is wildly alarming, especially considering she's a wonderful little hang-out kitty otherwise. The only other times I've seen her be aggressive towards any of the animals in our house outside of this was involving food, ( The dog eating scraps while I wad cooking) and when I accidentally stepped on our dogs foot and he barked at me - Luna shortly thereafter came after him with a fury which I had to stop personally.
Almost every time I even sit down for more than five minutes she is glued to my lap, happily asleep. When she sees my car in the driveway she pokes her head in the window and as soon as I open the door she runs and scratches on her post as to show how excited she is when I get home. as a singular cat, she seems wildly happy and healthy, but definitely tempermental. Up until this recent aggression she was a wonderful, albeit sometimes moody, addition to my life and our home, and now that she's feuding with my older cat and most recently mauled me this morning, I feel entirely overwhelmed, and absolutely heartbroken.
My father has given me an ultimatum. As of this morning, she's been moved to our shaded patio/fenced back yard with a bed, food, water, and a litter box. Although this is a viable temporary solution, this is also incredibly hard because I understand the risks associated with having an outdoor cat, let alone the fact that she is a small sized queen (About two times the size of a kitten), and that if she manages to burst in through the door while someone is trying to walk out, she could attack Lupe. I'm trying to explore the option of rehoming her, and this is tough due to her recent feline on feline aggression and her newfound aggression towards me. At this point I feel like I'm in a position where I have to hope that maybe she acclimates to being an outdoor kitty or I might have to take the risk of bringing her to a shelter only to have them euthanize her because she can't be handled, which would absolutely devastate me considering she is a incredibly sweet cat outside of this shift if character.
I'm exhausted, I'm sad, I feel heartbroken because I adore this little girl but she's causing so much harm and stress in our household. I haven't stopped crying, and I feel like I can't fix this problem. I just don't know what to do.
