Unpredictable behaviour

[Jaclyn33]

So I have a problem. I have a cat who is behaving unpredictability - getting along well with my other animals and minutes (or seconds) later , hissing and attacking the same animal from across the room. This cat is 6 years old and has previously gotten along mostly well with all animals (a few spats, but this is distinct change). He had a checkup with a clean bill of health a few weeks ago (besides feline hypersthesia which he lives with) but I really feel like something is wrong. I'm afraid to leave my animals alone - I have two cats and a dog total and when one cat attacks it causes the other cat to attack and they either attack each other or both attack my dog, who doesn't fight back but could kill both cats if she wanted. It's scary and I'm hoping someone might have some ideas as to what could be wrong.
Thanks in advance for any ideas.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Usually this kind of behavior is triggered by either an unusual noise in or outside the house, or some animal/abnormal activity outside the home that a cat can see, hear, and/or sense. It brings on a form of re-directed aggression and can cause a cat to attack another cat that s/he normally gets along fine with otherwise. It can even be something fairly slight that a human might not even pick up if they are not paying attention. So, if I were you, I'd start thinking about things/occurrences that could fit into one of these categories, and be on the look out for it to happen again. See if the TCS article might help any.
Re-directed Aggression In Cats – TheCatSite Articles

If this cat's hyperesthesia is escalating and causing alarm or discomfort in this cat, that might also be the trigger.

 

[fionasmom]

I agree that this sounds as if it might be redirected aggression. The only part that makes me wonder though is that if the cat has hyperesthesia, which I personally believe is a seizure disorder, ( I have a cat who is dxed with it) it can escalate into some pretty serious behavior. FHS does turn on a dime....all of a sudden it is there and raging. When my cat has her episodes, I won't touch her, no matter what. I will try to touch her with a wand toy or something from a distance but would never even try with animal handling gloves. The seriousness of this is not lost on me at all and if it does not appear to be redirected aggression or things get even worse you might want to talk to your vet again.

If this is extreme enough, having a safe room for the cat when you go out might be necessary until you resolve this.

 

[Jaclyn33]

Thanks for the replies - I am definitely thinking that the issue may be hyperesthestia related. My cat currently takes an anticonvulsant daily to control his hyperesthestia and it does a good job. It cut his episodes from multiple bad ones per day to maybe 10 a month it, mostly not too severe. He too can be quite 'mean' during and episode, which is obviously not his fault.
He has not been visibly 'having an episode' prior to or during any of these recent attacks, but I suppose it is possible that he could have an episode without visible signs - his disease might be changing, in other words.
If that is the case I suppose he may need more medication, but figuring it out for sure will be tough.