Hello. My cat Rikku has redirected aggression. The first time it happened was when she was 2 years old. She and her sister (litter mates) were looking out the window. We're not sure what they say but Rikku out of nowhere attached her sister Lulu. It was not just a normal cat fight. She was out to murder. Blood gets drawn. Lots of peeing, screaming, and yowling. She goes feral (she is not a feral cat). After re-introducing, vet visits, medication, and many many months, we were able to get them to be ok. One day something spooked her and again she went after Lulu. Lulu is so sweet and confused she doesn't even fight back. I tried to intervene then RIkku redirected that aggression to me. I was attacked. I had to go to the ER and they gave me a with a tetanus shot.
I didn't have the heart to let her go. We also saw a pet therapist and a pet behavioral specialist. They both told me the same thing I've read online and what the vets said. We couldn't take the heartbreak anymore. Each time, Lulu was traumatized, Rikku gets traumatized because she doesn't really realize what had happened, and we get traumatized. So my partner and I decided to keep them apart at all times. Swapping them and spending equal time with them. I also had to re-introduce myself to her. We were good living like this for 2 years. But few days ago, my partner didn't realize she snuck by him while he was leaving a room. We heard screaming and yowling and saw that she got out. Same thing. Screaming, peeing, yowling, and about to attack.
My partner tried to intervene and she started attacking him. He managed to get her to backup into a room and close her off. He gave her some time and went in to check on her and she was so glad to see him at first but 2 seconds later, started screaming and attacking him again. He gave her more time. Approx. 3 hours. Same thing. So happy o see him, rubbing against his legs, meowing, purring... then couple seconds later aggression. We set up a different room with a litter robot, auto feeder & water fountain. He saw that she was sleeping in a little dome bed so he quickly went in, covered it, moved her to the room we set things up with. He wasn't sure if she would do the same to me due to our past history so we gave her a day. 1 day of no meds and 1 day of not seeing her humans, she cried all day. She did not sleep or eat. I felt so bad for her but we knew we had to give her time. We both asked our work if we could WFH the entire week. We are fortunate enough to work for two different companies that understood. The next day, I slowly went in to see how she would react. She was timid at first but she was really happy to see me. I spent some time with her and got her to eat her meds. We knew we had to get her used to the house and smells so our next step was to lock my partner and Lulu in a room and have have Rikku's room door open so she had access to the house. I stayed in Rikku's room so that I am not there for her to redirect anything. So I stay in her room and she explored. Whenever she was a bit scared to go a bit further, she came back to me and got pets. We did this a few times a day. Also, with vet's approval, we upped her medication. We are now on day 4. We know we can't live like this long term. We're no sure what to do from here. She now has no one in the house she fully trusts. We are all comprimised. Even things to back to liveable, there is always a big chance it will happen again. I don't know if I can go through it all over again. I too deal with my own anxiety, depression and ptsd. I also had to go see my doctor to get description to deal with my own due to this. I am so devastated and desperate for help. I don't know what is best for her. Will she be living a happier life elsewhere? I love her so much and I don't know what is more selfish. To let her go or to keep her. Can someone please help me?
I didn't have the heart to let her go. We also saw a pet therapist and a pet behavioral specialist. They both told me the same thing I've read online and what the vets said. We couldn't take the heartbreak anymore. Each time, Lulu was traumatized, Rikku gets traumatized because she doesn't really realize what had happened, and we get traumatized. So my partner and I decided to keep them apart at all times. Swapping them and spending equal time with them. I also had to re-introduce myself to her. We were good living like this for 2 years. But few days ago, my partner didn't realize she snuck by him while he was leaving a room. We heard screaming and yowling and saw that she got out. Same thing. Screaming, peeing, yowling, and about to attack.
My partner tried to intervene and she started attacking him. He managed to get her to backup into a room and close her off. He gave her some time and went in to check on her and she was so glad to see him at first but 2 seconds later, started screaming and attacking him again. He gave her more time. Approx. 3 hours. Same thing. So happy o see him, rubbing against his legs, meowing, purring... then couple seconds later aggression. We set up a different room with a litter robot, auto feeder & water fountain. He saw that she was sleeping in a little dome bed so he quickly went in, covered it, moved her to the room we set things up with. He wasn't sure if she would do the same to me due to our past history so we gave her a day. 1 day of no meds and 1 day of not seeing her humans, she cried all day. She did not sleep or eat. I felt so bad for her but we knew we had to give her time. We both asked our work if we could WFH the entire week. We are fortunate enough to work for two different companies that understood. The next day, I slowly went in to see how she would react. She was timid at first but she was really happy to see me. I spent some time with her and got her to eat her meds. We knew we had to get her used to the house and smells so our next step was to lock my partner and Lulu in a room and have have Rikku's room door open so she had access to the house. I stayed in Rikku's room so that I am not there for her to redirect anything. So I stay in her room and she explored. Whenever she was a bit scared to go a bit further, she came back to me and got pets. We did this a few times a day. Also, with vet's approval, we upped her medication. We are now on day 4. We know we can't live like this long term. We're no sure what to do from here. She now has no one in the house she fully trusts. We are all comprimised. Even things to back to liveable, there is always a big chance it will happen again. I don't know if I can go through it all over again. I too deal with my own anxiety, depression and ptsd. I also had to go see my doctor to get description to deal with my own due to this. I am so devastated and desperate for help. I don't know what is best for her. Will she be living a happier life elsewhere? I love her so much and I don't know what is more selfish. To let her go or to keep her. Can someone please help me?