My Loving Cat Now Hates Me.

[Trekkieontour]

Please can anyone give me some advise. I have have my extremely loving make cat Jerry for 8 years. He was 2 years old when I went to cats protection and he said, "guess what, your taking my home".
We have have 8 years of bliss. He liked to be with me all the time. Just me and jerry in my own home in the UK. He used to follow me everywhere, even to my friends house. He was also an indoor/ outdoor cat.
I suffer from mental health problems and jerry has literally saved my life. Unfortunately due to a decline in my mental health in February, I had to move to Cyprus to live with my parents. He has gone from a only cat, to a house with 10 cats and a dog (at the time it was 7 cats). He now stays in the house with access to a large catio. He has make no attempt to leave the house.
Jerry gets on great with the other cats, which really surprised me. He is loving towards my parents.
But me.... He wants to rip my face off.
Jerry has never been aggressive until will moved. Even flying, he was fine and enjoyed the attention.
He has gotten my face several times. Once my mum had to pull him off me. He growls and hisses if I go never him. I have tried bribery and keep calm sprays.
He still yells for me and sits close but won't let my touch him.
Please can anyone help, it's breaking my heart.

 

[danteshuman]

He may be anxious because of the dog or cats outside your home he is smelling. That said I would try sitting, avoiding eye contact and puuurrring at him ... just sit quietly in the same room as him (without other cats, people or the dog in that room.) If he approaches throw him a treat (and start being the only person who gives him treats.) When you see him, do a slow bling where you close your eyes for 2-3 seconds, open, repeat. It is the cat version of I love you & I trust you. Later when you have repaired your relationship you can figure out what is setting him off.

If by some strange chance you are sitting their calmly, puuurrring/talking softly & doing the slow blink and he STILL attacks you then gently scruff him, tell him no, then release him and ignore him for 5-15 minutes. Just sit there and ignore him. Then try again. If he keeps doing that over weeks while you are calmly sitting then you can talk to his vet about some kind of medication for him to temporarily reset him (?prozac?). However if he only attacks you outside of the calmly sitting there time, then you can easily identify what you are doing to set him off.

*My first thought was the dog is spooking your cat and he re-directs his aggression to you & attacks you. You may want to try separating him into your room for most of the day (away from the dog) and giving him dog free catio time & see if that helps? If so, then a schedule of times the dog is in a room or not freely roaming can help. Along with LOTS of cat shelves/trees. That and working on the dog's obedience training.
*If touching his hips or joints causes him to bite you then he may have arthritis. A vet can help your cat.

Cat Acting Strangely? Here's What It Could Mean
Cat Aggression Toward People
How To Safely Introduce A Cat And A Dog
You, Your Cat And Stress
Re-directed Aggression In Cats

 

[ArtNJ]

This is a weird one for sure, since you've had more than enough time to see if the cat is really fine with the other cats & fine with your parents & you feel he is. Still, it would be very weird if an "only cat" from 2 to age 10 adapted well to a house with so many pets. So even though the specific only-to-you reaction is hard to square with stuff that usually happens, it does seem like a good bet that its related somehow. So even though the behavioral stuff danteshuman flagged may not feel like a perfect fit, that is still the best bet. However, because its not a perfect fit with what is going on, a vet visit is in order to rule out some medical stuff going on by coincidence. After all, your cat is both 10 and has recently added exposure to a bunch of other animals...he could have easily picked something up or have something going on like the arthritis mentioned by danteshuman .

Once medical stuff is ruled out, the solution is pretty simple in concept. Treat him like a new cat you have to bond with from scratch. In fact, maybe that could be why your family members are doing better?? The didn't have the existing bond, so they started from scratch, while you assumed you could interact in the old way and went for cuddles with your very stressed kitty, stressing him further. Cats have short memories, so this kind of thing can be a problem. But the short memories thing will work in your favor now, as you start from scratch to rebuild the bond. Hopefully, a week or two and you'll be back where you were. Good luck!

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS. So sorry your Jerry has become aggressive towards you.

Even though he gets along with the other animals, I wonder if it has something to do with them? Maybe he smells their scent on you, and thinks you've changed.

 

[weebeasties]

This thought may be a bit "out there" but I thought I would mention it.
You said you have been ill. Have you started taking any new medications? Sometimes meds can have a smell that stays with you. It could scare your cat if you don't smell like you. Cats can pick up on scents that humans can't.
DON'T STOP TAKING YOUR MEDS! Just be aware that it can be unsettling to have a human look and sound like your human but not smell like your human. It may take a while to adjust if that is the case.
Keep working on rebuilding your close bond. Good luck! Your kitty is so lucky to have you!

 

[Furballsmom]

and keep calm sprays.

Have you tried different calming products? The manufacturers use different ingredients in their formulas and there might be one that works better than others.

It even could be a combination of things, but I'm wondering if weebeasties has the key to this. If you can spray your clothing, your favorite chair, your hands and then see if there's any difference...

 

[dustydiamond1]

Please can anyone give me some advise. I have have my extremely loving make cat Jerry for 8 years. He was 2 years old when I went to cats protection and he said, "guess what, your taking my home".
We have have 8 years of bliss. He liked to be with me all the time. Just me and jerry in my own home in the UK. He used to follow me everywhere, even to my friends house. He was also an indoor/ outdoor cat.
I suffer from mental health problems and jerry has literally saved my life. Unfortunately due to a decline in my mental health in February, I had to move to Cyprus to live with my parents. He has gone from a only cat, to a house with 10 cats and a dog (at the time it was 7 cats). He now stays in the house with access to a large catio. He has make no attempt to leave the house.
Jerry gets on great with the other cats, which really surprised me. He is loving towards my parents.
But me.... He wants to rip my face off.
Jerry has never been aggressive until will moved. Even flying, he was fine and enjoyed the attention.
He has gotten my face several times. Once my mum had to pull him off me. He growls and hisses if I go never him. I have tried bribery and keep calm sprays.
He still yells for me and sits close but won't let my touch him.
Please can anyone help, it's breaking my heart.

 

[catlover73]

What did you do to help Jerry bond with you when your first adopted him? What helped him to be comfortable when he first came to your home before you moved? Have you tried using any of these techniques since you moved? The fact that he is willing to sit close to you and talk to you is a small start. Have you tried just sitting on the floor talking to him without approaching him when he is sitting near you. Sometimes things have to be done in small baby steps to re-build the relationship. Perhaps try using wand toys to see if you can get Jerry to play when he is sitting near you. It may help engage him but it will still provide some distance so he does not get scared. Another thing to try gently tossing treats to the area when he is near you. I would not try to touch him at this point if is provoking attacks. Is there one person in particular that he is very comfortable with in your household? You could try having that person hang out in the room with you while you are just talking to Jerry from a distance. I am sorry for all the questions but I am asking them to try to come up with more ideas to help myself or other members come up with more advice.

 

[dustydiamond1]

Any updates?