My cat literally slashed my mother - Please Help :(

[betsygee]

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[margd]

Well, I missed a lot! Cockroaches? Really? [emoji]128512[/emoji]
Good news that Grizzly handled the noise well! He's really progressing. All your hard work is paying off.

 

[siamiam2]

I'm glad to hear he's doing okay with the noise. I would never be able to bear it. I have ear plugs but they don't block out much and those that do are 3 x the price of the ones I have.

 

[grizzlysapien]

Yeap! Grizzly handled the noise pretty well, actually! 

At first, OK.. he was a bit "troubled" but after he slept through the repairs and woke up he's been just fine 

 I'm glad I didn't get to give him the pill, cause he had his chance to show me he can do it on his own! Like he used to! It gives me great relief!

He was a bit "excited" during the night time.. I'm guessing it was because I didn't play with him yesterday.. I didn't have much time and at the little time I had I was too tired.. So, he did his little "parkour" around the house, while I went to sleep.. When I saw he wasn't going to stop that soon, I just closed my bedroom door.. Then? pure silence! Ironic! Isn't it? I couldn't sleep at first, cause I was thinking "poor guy.. Now he's being quiet. And what? He's gonna sit out there alone the whole night? Maybe now that he's quiet, I should let him in? And what if he starts the same again..?" But, I fell asleep so.. I never found out 

I let him in at around 5-ish.. he slept on the bed for about .... 20 minutes?? And he was off to "parkour" again.. But I didn't close the door. And he didn't bother me, actually.. I woke up an hour later, I fed him, and now he's again.. running around.. I guess he swallowed some batteries while I wasn't looking.. Really don't know! 

 

 

[siamiam2]

That's amazing. I could maybe guess that the regimen of medication settled him down which would mean his problem was simply like a human with mental health issues. Once on medication things are normal. You were right to see all avenues through to the proper conclusion. Instinct is always best and you were right to be concerned and now it seems things are on better footing. I'm glad things are better and hope your stomach bug is better too.

 

[grizzlysapien]

Well, just to be clear: I didn't avoid giving him the pill. I just didn't manage to. He rejected the food with the pill in it. Instead he went to bed. So, he actually pulled it through on his own! The fact that he didn't need any meds, was pure luck! Rather than "me, trying to establish it" in a way. 

My stomach is much better, thank you! The bug.. not so much 

 We killed it off with antibiotics 

 

Also, I forgot to say that Grizzly FETCHED last night! 

 ( <- my 1st dancing banana, @Handsome Kitty  

 )

Totally by accident and I was half asleep when it happened - that's why I couldn't remember it 

 

He got on the bed with a spring.. He uses it to chase it around the house.. So, I wake up and I see Grizzly with an "anticipation look" all over his face.. I check and I find the spring.. I toss it off the bed and he went off chasing it like crazy.. He took it and brought it again on the bed 

 Again, with the anticipation look.. I toss it again.. He did this a 3rd time before I realised he was actually fetching! (cut me some slack, I was still watching a dream while it was happening and it was 5 in the morning.. 

)

 

[fyllis]

I'm glad things seem to be working out. Give Grizzly a hug from me and my two boys.

 

[grizzlysapien]

@Fyllis  

 Thank you for taking the time and effort to write all of this. I really enjoyed your "long post" and you include so much useful information in it!

I reckon, 13 pages of thread was too much to read, which is TOTALLY understandable! From the 1st posts until now, I must update you on some things:

Grizzly got neutered on the 30th of July. He's recovered completely. The vet examined him and did bloodwork on him, which showed high glucose index. Also, especially after the incident, Grizzly didn't eat so much. So the vet noticed he'd lost weight. Since then I've been feeding him both dry and wet foods that have a higher percentage in protein and lower percentage on veggies, carbohydrates and fats - no sugars at all.

After the incident, Grizzly continued to manifest signs of aggression even with the slightest motives. It's what you said:

 "Once a cat learns that its aggressive display is successful at warding off the perceived threat, the more likely the cat will act aggressive again. In other words, the cat is rewarded for acting aggressive because the threat or annoyance goes away." 

My mom did leave the room in an effort to save herself from getting bitten harder - she was already losing so much blood and it was dark and she couldn't see him to grab him, or scruff him.. Besides, I don't think she'd scruff him to be honest. She wouldn't know. So, yeah, she left the room and came to my room for help.. 

After several days he would get "worked up" just like that! With any possible cause.. So, I contacted a behaviourist and asked him to give me some advice.. He said that I should keep my mother and Grizzly apart. That's because my mother is still afraid of him (she misses him but the images of that night are still too "graphic" in her head) and that might cause the opposite outcome. But Grizzly can hear her, smell her etc. So, he won't forget about her or perceive her as a "stranger".. We'll have a session on the upcoming days and then he'll give us more on how we'll reintroduce my mom to Grizzly. Also, because her wounds were stiched, which was proven to be a big mistake, her wound got worse and a lot of tissue died.. So we removed the stiches and the tissue, leaving 3 big crater-like holes that need to be treated daily in order for the wound to heal properly. So, any interaction with Grizzly might cause another infection.

Also, the behaviourist talked with my vet and he asked her to prescribe Xanax for Grizzly (half a pill every 24 hours - as a start), so that he can get a bit calmer.. I managed to give him Xanax for almost 4-5 days.. But then he rejected the foods that contained the pill.. So I gave up and gave him the opportunity to show how he was without the influence of the pill.. He's doing good so far.. He's stopped being stressed, confused... He has a bit of aggression but I have totally different attitude towards him. So, he doesn't demonstrate that much of aggression anymore.. Just some minor incidents and that's it.

My mother has tried to sit with Grizzly and me in the same room.. 2-3 times.. She gave him treats and stuff.. All was going well, when Grizzly decided he wanted to play.. and my mother got scared again.. He was pouncing on her (playfully, not aggressively) but still, my mother was afraid.. So.. we stopped until the behaviourist would come over.. 

Right now, I think the notion of my mother that Grizzly has to go away, has been at "inactive mode", which is good! I just hope she stops being scared of him, so that I can help her reunite with him.. It's all in her head. Of course, it is understandable for her to be afraid after this ordeal.. But she really needs to relax. I am hoping that the behaviourist will help her relax..

That's just about everything that's happened since my first post.. I really hope you can contribute with more thoughts or advice if you have any, based on the latest developments of my case 

 You've already contributed so much, but I really think I can use your help as well on this.. Thanks!

 

[grizzlysapien]

Noooo! You erased your post @Fyllis?? It had such useful info and I wanted to revisit it! 

 Bummer.. 

 

[grizzlysapien]

Ahem.. I noticed that my rank is now an "Alpha Cat".. I'll make sure to rub it in Grizzly's face.. 

 

[grizzlysapien]

Someone's grumpy this morning.. LOL

Yeah, the repairs still continue at the Museum and he's sitting inside the appartment all day.. Also, it is so windy today! And he hates strong wind..

DSC_4093.jpg

• grizzlysapien
• Aug 26, 2015

 

[siamiam2]

But he's obviously getting what he needs outside.[emoji]128512[/emoji] perhaps that's the best medicine. Terribly sorry about the museum racket. I wish I had a veranda (?) like that Annabel could sit on. She won't go outside right now and isn't getting fresh air.

 

[grizzlysapien]

You call it "veranda" too? In Greek we call it "veranda", but here, I refer to it as "balcony", cause I thought it was the proper English word.. 

 Learning something new, everyday! 

 

[siamiam2]

That's the only wordvi could remember to call it because of my disability. The neuro part of neuromuscular. Balcony. Yes we all call it that here too. Veranda is just the alternate less used word. I had a friend who used to call a suitcase a valise.??

 

[jcat]

Grizzly does look grumpy in that shot.

A veranda (or porch) is generally at ground level, is also accessible from outside the house, and usually has a roof. A balcony is on an upper storey and is accessible from inside the house/ apartment. (Sorry - as a former English as a Second Language teacher, I couldn't resist .)

 

[grizzlysapien]

Grizzly does look grumpy in that shot.

A veranda (or porch) is generally at ground level, is also accessible from outside the house, and usually has a roof. A balcony is on an upper storey and is accessible from inside the house/ apartment.

Then I have a balcony 

 Glad we cleared that up! LOL

Grizzly looks grumpy indeed. But in his defence he had just woken up at that point 

 He always looks grumpy after sleep.. 

 

 

[grizzlysapien]

That's the only wordvi could remember to call it because of my disability. The neuro part of neuromuscular. Balcony. Yes we all call it that here too. Veranda is just the alternate less used word. I had a friend who used to call a suitcase a valise.??

We call it "valitsa" and the French call it "valise" I think.. Not sure though - A bit rusty on my French.. for the last 100 years or so 

 

[grizzlysapien]

@jcat  Look at him here.. He was 1 month old.. And he had just woken up.. This pic cracks me up 

IMG_3268.JPG

• grizzlysapien
• Jul 12, 2015

 

[siamiam2]

My second lang is Spanish. No clue much about French. Strange lang. Photo of Grizzly at 1 mo? Kinda sorta the photo of him today. Same mood.

 

[siamiam2]

Jcat..a porch is either in back or front. Screen porches usually in back. Some front porches do have rooves of a sort. I have no clue why my windows have awnings. They're annoying and not my choice.