Sudden Aggression Towards One Family Member

[thecamerageek]

This is getting serious. I have a 10 year old domestic shorthair, Saber. He is a 100% indoor cat. Myself, my two adult age sons, and Saber live in my house. A couple of weeks ago, one of my sons, Matt, went over to his grandmother's apartment to help her clean up some of her cat's urine. He used an enzymatic cleaner on her carpet. When he got back from helping her, Saber started treating Matt like he was a stranger, hissing and growling at him when ever he came near. Further complicating matters, Grandma is preparing to move apartments, and Matt has been going over to her apartment frequently to help her pack. I am increasingly getting concerned for my son's safety.

We have tried to keep the interactions between Matt and Saber short, and to stop the moment Saber shows any signs of stress. We've washed Matt's clothes and bedding. Matt gives Saber treats whenever Saber is interacting positively with Matt, and stopping wMhen the behavior changes. Positive behavior only lasts a few seconds before Saber gets aggressive. Matt is taking over feeding duties from me. Matt has been playing with Saber (with a wand toy), but Saber only bats at the toy when it comes near him, otherwise, Saber's gaze is locked on Matt. Still, my house isn't that big, and at night, Matt has to check to see where Saber is before he can to to the one bathroom in my house and make sure that he and Saber aren't going to meet in the hall. This situation can't continue.

Before this came up, Saber and Matt had a great relationship. Saber would spend his days sleeping on Matt's bed. Now Saber is locked out of his room, for Matt's safety.

More about Saber's personality: Saber has always been a very territorial cat. While he does not like strangers, at all, he has always been sweet and loving to those of us in his immediate household. It is a challenge to take him to the vet, his fear aggression is very strong. The vet has to sedate him whenever I take him there. We've tried Feliway products without success.

This can't continue. If I am forced to chose between my son and my cat, I'm going to chose my son, but Saber has been a family member for 10 years, and it would break my heart to get rid of him. Plus, given Saber's attitude towards strangers, I have no confidence that he could be re-homed successfully.

I apologize for the length of this post. I would appreciate any advice that anyone could offer. Thank you.

Keith

 

[thecamerageek]

I forgot to mention, Saber is altered.

 

[ArtNJ]

Well, you already are focusing on the scent issue which I think is good. So lets reason this out.

-You took care of the clothes, and presumably matt isnt wearing the same clothes anyway, right?

-Could Matt have scent on his person that he didn't adequately wash off (by cat nose standards) by a subsequent shower? Presumably his hands. It wouldn't necessarily have to be urine, it could be a strongly scented cleaner perhaps.

-Could Matt have showered so much more thoroughly than normal, perhaps using a different soap/shampoo/cleaner that he smells *different* even though he is totally clean by human standards? Maybe he is showering more often too, like daily when he is normally a weekly showerer. Some variant of this possibility -- lasting different personal scent -- seems most likely to me.

Hopefully, its one of these three things. Thoughts on these?

I guess the other thing to mention is that when a cat gets ticked off at a human or scared, then you kind of have to treat them like a new cat. In other words, if we fixed whatever the underlying issue is but the cat is still acting weird too Matt, Matt needs to try to re-bond with the cat by approaching just like he would to a new cat. Hopefully it doesn't take nearly as long as all that, but its the same approach. So he shouldn't, for example, pick up on the theory that by forcibly picking up, holding and petting the cat will remember their bond. Wouldn't do that to a new cat, can't do that to a stressed cat.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Consider Matt's shoes as well. Make sure he is using the same soap/shampoo as he was before this all started. Also, check to see if he has changed any other products, like colognes.

And, coincidentally, has Matt changed or added any medications recently? Medications can make a person smell differently to a cat.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Don't give up on him, this will take a little time but you're doing so many good things to get this back to normal.

In the meantime and including for future vet trips, maybe something here might help;

Only Natural Pet has a product called Just Relax Calming spray with essential oil (catnip oil).

There's this one, be sure and scroll all the way down the page;
Bach Flower Remedies - Rescue Remedy Pets Dogs Cats Horses Birds

Richard's Organics Pet Calm-this one is drops that you put on the tip of the tongue. Also, HomeoPet Anxiety Relief, Head to Tail Calming, Relaxivet Quiet Moments Cat treats, GNC Calming formula, and there is Calm-o-mile, Sentry calming collar, Natures Miracle calming spray, Vetri-Science's Composure is another item to look at, Pet Remedy - UK (it has valerian) is yet another, as is Essential Pet Pet-eze, Pet Organics No Stress, Only Natural Pet (brand and website) has other calming products, Pet Naturals also has one I believe, and there are others.

Also Thunderease has diffusers as does Sentry, Comfort Zone and feliway, although diffusers are expensive and not always an answer.

Lambert Vet Supply is a website to look at, and of course chewy, also there's Petwishpros, animaleo, 1-800-petmeds, Petco and PetSmart, and other pet stores.

There is also a product called a lickimat which could be helpful, as cats can be calmed by the process of licking. The LickiMat - Food Puzzles for Cats

This post talks about some other products;
Calming Treats For A Very Picky Cat