Hello!
My name is Matt and I am a 25 year sales manager living with my fiance Kristen. We have been together over 10 years and recently got engaged.
To give you a true history of my cat I really feel it's important to know part of our story. My girlfriend moved in with me 3 years ago. She is now an RN and was currently in school at the time we moved in. She has always been a talented student and really never failed a test. Shortly after moving in she was scheduled to take the NY state NCLEX exam which would give her her Registered Nursing license. We all waited in nervous anticipation for the outcome. Unfortunately after 3 days of waiting we got the news - SHE FAILED! She was devastated to say the least. She was not eating and basically wouldn't leave bed. I remember coming home from work on my lunch breaks just to check on her and she would just lay in bed all day because she was so depressed.
While all this is going on I convince her one day to come to a local annual fair one day. We really didn't have any fun but we were walking by a parking lot and the attendants had a large sign that said "FREE KITTENS". We decided to take a look and instantly fell in love with a little tabby cat named Franky. He was the runt of the liter and even though we had never owned an animal we almost both knew that we wanted to take him home. We left the fair contemplating whether we should go back and get him and finally made the decision to. This decision really did change both of our lives in a huge way.
Immediately she felt like she was a mother figure to him. At the time she had just failed her exam and wasn't working and he gave her a reason to get out of bed in the morning. For the next two weeks he literally was the reason she got out of bed and did anything. She would play with him all day and treated him just like a child. About a month later she retook her exam and passed and I credit that partially to Kitty (that was what we named him after a cat I had growing up that had passed away). Kitty was quite literally like her child.
The amount of love we both share for Kitty is indescribable. The last 3 years of our lives really would not be the same if it wasn't for him. On holidays we get him gifts, we play with him every night, and just the thought of him greeting me when I come home from work melts my heart and gets me through even the worst days. The amount of love generated by this small animal is unbelievable.
About 5 months ago something terrible happened. Mind you when I tell this story to my knowledge nothing has changed in our house or his habitat (he is an indoor cat). One day he just went into attack mode on my fiance Kristen without warning. His pupils went fully dilated, ears back, poofy tail and DEEP DEEP meows (more like growls). He got in a low form on the floor and was trying to swat / bite her legs. As she would try to escape to another room he would follow her. She called me on the phone and as a novice I told her to throw water at him or somehow try to yell. I really at that time didn't know the level of aggression he was showing (I would soon find out).
She locked herself in the bathroom and eventually she escaped to the bedroom. When I finally got home he was still in a heightened state and I locked him in our basement. After a few hours we let him out and he was like walking on eggshells. I have NEVER seen him so scared of everything and his pupils were still very dilated over the next two days. To be honest I thought he had ate some type of hallucinogenic bug or fungus in our basement because he was almost acting like he was seeing things and was very on edge. Luckily he eventually calmed down.
About 2 months later the same thing happened, again while my girlfriend was home alone with him and this time she recalled she was on her phone playing a video and the sound is what set him off but even after stopping the sound and trying to flee he wouldn't stop. About the same thing happened, I had to come home, sequester him to the basement and allow him a few hours to cool off but again he was still heightened in anxiety for the next few days.
Finally we had Valentine's day dinner at home and she wanted to show me a video she had taken of him when he was attacking her so I could see and it truly was amazing, however, at the exact time I started to play the video the sound set him off and he attacked both of us. I tried my best to remain calm (knowing cats can sense your emotions) and I got low to the ground and spoke in a calm and collected manner. I was able to bring him back down but again he lasted a day or so with dilated pupils and being on edge.
It took what seemed like weeks for my fiance to finally feel safe around him again but she did. At this point we took him to the vet and they said all his bloodwork was normal and they couldn't find anything. We checked for a UTI / stones and the vet could just refer me to the feline project online. Thankfully since Valentine's day (it's now May) we haven't had another attack (except for one big exception).
About 4 weeks ago we decided since he had been fine for a couple months and everything we wanted to get him a friend. We applied online at a local adoption agency for a small orange tabby named Cupcake! She was one of 3 females of a tabby litter (very rare). We waited and finally two weeks ago were able to pick her up. We were a little worried in the back of our mind that this would set Kitty off. To our surprise when we brought Penelope (our name for Cupcake) home he was a little scared but not aggressive whatsoever. We locked her in a separate room except for supervised times for the first 3 days but after that they have been out an playing fine ever since.
Unfortunately last Friday I received a dreaded call at work. It was Kristen and she told me she was taking a video of Kitty and the new kitten and Kitty had attacked her again. She said she had calmed him down but she didn't want to move and she was bleeding. I rushed home to find her on the couch with multiple scratch wounds on both legs, scratch wounds on the side of her head and a bite mark in the middle of her forehead. I was able to calm Kitty down and put him in the basement but she was EXTREMELY upset and crying. We took her to a local emergency care doctor and they cleaned out the cuts and provided anti-biotics. The last 3 days Kristen will not go near Kitty even with me home. He is 100% back to normal and playing with myself / Penelope but Kristen is too scared and I feel rightfully so.
Here is where I need help. We are out of options and don't know what is causing this behavior problem. My only guess is that he possibly has a disorder like autism where certain pitches of sounds set him off. It only happens when we are using our phones to take or play video. We are considering declawing him but Kristen still feels she will be scared. To be honest I am too for her. I REALLY do NOT want to get rid of him, my heart is literally breaking thinking of it and I know Kristen's is too. PLEASE help US. PLEASE HELP US SAVE OUR CAT. We honestly have dreamt of raising a family in the future and Kitty being a part of it. If you can help in any way I would be forever grateful. It is just so heartbreaking because he was never aggressive and normally isn't with the exception of these three instances!
This is really causing such a strain on us as a couple. It is heartbreaking and neither of us know a solution. Kitty is more than a pet to us, he is a child truly. Many family members say to get rid of him but I couldn't stand to put him down and don't know how someone else would be able to deal with this. Sitting here watching him and Penelope play is killing me right now.
PLEASE HELP US!!! I
Thank you for your time and help!
My name is Matt and I am a 25 year sales manager living with my fiance Kristen. We have been together over 10 years and recently got engaged.
To give you a true history of my cat I really feel it's important to know part of our story. My girlfriend moved in with me 3 years ago. She is now an RN and was currently in school at the time we moved in. She has always been a talented student and really never failed a test. Shortly after moving in she was scheduled to take the NY state NCLEX exam which would give her her Registered Nursing license. We all waited in nervous anticipation for the outcome. Unfortunately after 3 days of waiting we got the news - SHE FAILED! She was devastated to say the least. She was not eating and basically wouldn't leave bed. I remember coming home from work on my lunch breaks just to check on her and she would just lay in bed all day because she was so depressed.
While all this is going on I convince her one day to come to a local annual fair one day. We really didn't have any fun but we were walking by a parking lot and the attendants had a large sign that said "FREE KITTENS". We decided to take a look and instantly fell in love with a little tabby cat named Franky. He was the runt of the liter and even though we had never owned an animal we almost both knew that we wanted to take him home. We left the fair contemplating whether we should go back and get him and finally made the decision to. This decision really did change both of our lives in a huge way.
Immediately she felt like she was a mother figure to him. At the time she had just failed her exam and wasn't working and he gave her a reason to get out of bed in the morning. For the next two weeks he literally was the reason she got out of bed and did anything. She would play with him all day and treated him just like a child. About a month later she retook her exam and passed and I credit that partially to Kitty (that was what we named him after a cat I had growing up that had passed away). Kitty was quite literally like her child.
The amount of love we both share for Kitty is indescribable. The last 3 years of our lives really would not be the same if it wasn't for him. On holidays we get him gifts, we play with him every night, and just the thought of him greeting me when I come home from work melts my heart and gets me through even the worst days. The amount of love generated by this small animal is unbelievable.
About 5 months ago something terrible happened. Mind you when I tell this story to my knowledge nothing has changed in our house or his habitat (he is an indoor cat). One day he just went into attack mode on my fiance Kristen without warning. His pupils went fully dilated, ears back, poofy tail and DEEP DEEP meows (more like growls). He got in a low form on the floor and was trying to swat / bite her legs. As she would try to escape to another room he would follow her. She called me on the phone and as a novice I told her to throw water at him or somehow try to yell. I really at that time didn't know the level of aggression he was showing (I would soon find out).
She locked herself in the bathroom and eventually she escaped to the bedroom. When I finally got home he was still in a heightened state and I locked him in our basement. After a few hours we let him out and he was like walking on eggshells. I have NEVER seen him so scared of everything and his pupils were still very dilated over the next two days. To be honest I thought he had ate some type of hallucinogenic bug or fungus in our basement because he was almost acting like he was seeing things and was very on edge. Luckily he eventually calmed down.
About 2 months later the same thing happened, again while my girlfriend was home alone with him and this time she recalled she was on her phone playing a video and the sound is what set him off but even after stopping the sound and trying to flee he wouldn't stop. About the same thing happened, I had to come home, sequester him to the basement and allow him a few hours to cool off but again he was still heightened in anxiety for the next few days.
Finally we had Valentine's day dinner at home and she wanted to show me a video she had taken of him when he was attacking her so I could see and it truly was amazing, however, at the exact time I started to play the video the sound set him off and he attacked both of us. I tried my best to remain calm (knowing cats can sense your emotions) and I got low to the ground and spoke in a calm and collected manner. I was able to bring him back down but again he lasted a day or so with dilated pupils and being on edge.
It took what seemed like weeks for my fiance to finally feel safe around him again but she did. At this point we took him to the vet and they said all his bloodwork was normal and they couldn't find anything. We checked for a UTI / stones and the vet could just refer me to the feline project online. Thankfully since Valentine's day (it's now May) we haven't had another attack (except for one big exception).
About 4 weeks ago we decided since he had been fine for a couple months and everything we wanted to get him a friend. We applied online at a local adoption agency for a small orange tabby named Cupcake! She was one of 3 females of a tabby litter (very rare). We waited and finally two weeks ago were able to pick her up. We were a little worried in the back of our mind that this would set Kitty off. To our surprise when we brought Penelope (our name for Cupcake) home he was a little scared but not aggressive whatsoever. We locked her in a separate room except for supervised times for the first 3 days but after that they have been out an playing fine ever since.
Unfortunately last Friday I received a dreaded call at work. It was Kristen and she told me she was taking a video of Kitty and the new kitten and Kitty had attacked her again. She said she had calmed him down but she didn't want to move and she was bleeding. I rushed home to find her on the couch with multiple scratch wounds on both legs, scratch wounds on the side of her head and a bite mark in the middle of her forehead. I was able to calm Kitty down and put him in the basement but she was EXTREMELY upset and crying. We took her to a local emergency care doctor and they cleaned out the cuts and provided anti-biotics. The last 3 days Kristen will not go near Kitty even with me home. He is 100% back to normal and playing with myself / Penelope but Kristen is too scared and I feel rightfully so.
Here is where I need help. We are out of options and don't know what is causing this behavior problem. My only guess is that he possibly has a disorder like autism where certain pitches of sounds set him off. It only happens when we are using our phones to take or play video. We are considering declawing him but Kristen still feels she will be scared. To be honest I am too for her. I REALLY do NOT want to get rid of him, my heart is literally breaking thinking of it and I know Kristen's is too. PLEASE help US. PLEASE HELP US SAVE OUR CAT. We honestly have dreamt of raising a family in the future and Kitty being a part of it. If you can help in any way I would be forever grateful. It is just so heartbreaking because he was never aggressive and normally isn't with the exception of these three instances!
This is really causing such a strain on us as a couple. It is heartbreaking and neither of us know a solution. Kitty is more than a pet to us, he is a child truly. Many family members say to get rid of him but I couldn't stand to put him down and don't know how someone else would be able to deal with this. Sitting here watching him and Penelope play is killing me right now.
PLEASE HELP US!!! I
Thank you for your time and help!
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