aggressive cat [long]

There are so many ways to go with this, it's hard to list them in one
post. Couple of things to check:

Smells: I have had two cats that will attack when they get a certain
scent (in both cases, sweaty clothing after a workout). Has scent
changed in any way?

The cat is getting old enough to start seeking hierarchy. Cats do not
"pack" as dogs do, but they do establish hierarchies with other cats in
the area. If you have not needed stitches yet (your article didn't say
you did) then the cat wasn't attacking you. I deal with ferals all the
time who don't wish to be "rescued" from dangerous situations. A cat
that is attacking you will put you in the emergency room quick. Sounds
to me that MAYBE the cat has determined you are an inferior "cat" in the
status of the neighborhood, and is demonstrating it by "smacking you
around." Cats will do this even with other cats they are chums with. IF
so, you would need to establish your superior status firmly, or the
attacks will continue. Holding cats down by paws would be one way, but
you'll have to play it by ear.

There are many possibilities, I'm afraid you will need to try by trial
and error. Besides using these groups, I'd also run "aggressive cat"
through the search engines so see what comes up. There are a lot of good
behavioral sites on line.

Rich

"Fork" wrote in message
...
I have a 2 year old overweight neutered male cat. When we first got
him at
12 weeks of age, I thought he was the best cat I could ever have. He
would
sleep with me every night, follow me around the house looking for
attention
or just to lie next to me. He was just a very sweet little boy. This
past
January, out of seemingly nowhere, he would attack me, scratching
clawing,
hissing, biting...everything. I just took it in stride and figured
that the
holidays had been too much for him, with Christmas come and gone and
things
in the house changing once again as decorations came down. Well, his
aggression since then has continued and become more intense. His
attacks do
not seem to be provoked by anything specific. Some times he will
attack me
after he has climbed up in my lap for some loving. He seems to really
be
enjoying it, the next thing I know, my or arm is stuck in his grip.
I've
had to yell for someone else to come and get him off of me before.
Other
times when he will let go himself, he just lays there on me growling
at me.
I'm not even touching him at the time except that he's laying on me!
He has
growled and gone after my mom before too because she told him to move
so she
could open the fridge door, or to go outside. These bites he gives
aren't
in any way inhibited, he has broken the skin several times and I've
had to
deal with a couple of infected bites. I took him to the vet and they
couldn't find anything wrong with him. I told the vet about my
husband and
I having a baby soon. She told me what I already knew, that I
absolutely
should not have him around a baby at all! She also told me that I
couldnt'
give him away because he was aggressive. The vet suggested that I
could
have him tested for a brain tumor, but he doesn't have any of the
other
signs for that, or that I could try an animal behavoirist. I don't
have the
money for anything this expensive, to find an animal behaviorist I'd
have to
travel a couple hundred miles. She suggested then that I might have
to put
him to sleep. I love my kitty! If he was aggressive all the time it
would
be easier to go with the vets advice to put him to sleep, but he's so
sweet
and loving at other times, that it just makes it too hard to know what
to
do. If anyone has any suggestions or just something to cheer me up,
it
would be much appreciated.

There are so many ways to go with this, it's hard to list them in one
post. Couple of things to check:

Smells: I have had two cats that will attack when they get a certain
scent (in both cases, sweaty clothing after a workout). Has scent
changed in any way?

The cat is getting old enough to start seeking hierarchy. Cats do not
"pack" as dogs do, but they do establish hierarchies with other cats in
the area. If you have not needed stitches yet (your article didn't say
you did) then the cat wasn't attacking you. I deal with ferals all the
time who don't wish to be "rescued" from dangerous situations. A cat
that is attacking you will put you in the emergency room quick. Sounds
to me that MAYBE the cat has determined you are an inferior "cat" in the
status of the neighborhood, and is demonstrating it by "smacking you
around." Cats will do this even with other cats they are chums with. IF
so, you would need to establish your superior status firmly, or the
attacks will continue. Holding cats down by paws would be one way, but
you'll have to play it by ear.

There are many possibilities, I'm afraid you will need to try by trial
and error. Besides using these groups, I'd also run "aggressive cat"
through the search engines so see what comes up. There are a lot of good
behavioral sites on line.

Rich

"Fork" wrote in message
...
I have a 2 year old overweight neutered male cat. When we first got
him at
12 weeks of age, I thought he was the best cat I could ever have. He
would
sleep with me every night, follow me around the house looking for
attention
or just to lie next to me. He was just a very sweet little boy. This
past
January, out of seemingly nowhere, he would attack me, scratching
clawing,
hissing, biting...everything. I just took it in stride and figured
that the
holidays had been too much for him, with Christmas come and gone and
things
in the house changing once again as decorations came down. Well, his
aggression since then has continued and become more intense. His
attacks do
not seem to be provoked by anything specific. Some times he will
attack me
after he has climbed up in my lap for some loving. He seems to really
be
enjoying it, the next thing I know, my or arm is stuck in his grip.
I've
had to yell for someone else to come and get him off of me before.
Other
times when he will let go himself, he just lays there on me growling
at me.
I'm not even touching him at the time except that he's laying on me!
He has
growled and gone after my mom before too because she told him to move
so she
could open the fridge door, or to go outside. These bites he gives
aren't
in any way inhibited, he has broken the skin several times and I've
had to
deal with a couple of infected bites. I took him to the vet and they
couldn't find anything wrong with him. I told the vet about my
husband and
I having a baby soon. She told me what I already knew, that I
absolutely
should not have him around a baby at all! She also told me that I
couldnt'
give him away because he was aggressive. The vet suggested that I
could
have him tested for a brain tumor, but he doesn't have any of the
other
signs for that, or that I could try an animal behavoirist. I don't
have the
money for anything this expensive, to find an animal behaviorist I'd
have to
travel a couple hundred miles. She suggested then that I might have
to put
him to sleep. I love my kitty! If he was aggressive all the time it
would
be easier to go with the vets advice to put him to sleep, but he's so
sweet
and loving at other times, that it just makes it too hard to know what
to
do. If anyone has any suggestions or just something to cheer me up,
it
would be much appreciated.

There are so many ways to go with this, it's hard to list them in one
post. Couple of things to check:

Smells: I have had two cats that will attack when they get a certain
scent (in both cases, sweaty clothing after a workout). Has scent
changed in any way?

The cat is getting old enough to start seeking hierarchy. Cats do not
"pack" as dogs do, but they do establish hierarchies with other cats in
the area. If you have not needed stitches yet (your article didn't say
you did) then the cat wasn't attacking you. I deal with ferals all the
time who don't wish to be "rescued" from dangerous situations. A cat
that is attacking you will put you in the emergency room quick. Sounds
to me that MAYBE the cat has determined you are an inferior "cat" in the
status of the neighborhood, and is demonstrating it by "smacking you
around." Cats will do this even with other cats they are chums with. IF
so, you would need to establish your superior status firmly, or the
attacks will continue. Holding cats down by paws would be one way, but
you'll have to play it by ear.

There are many possibilities, I'm afraid you will need to try by trial
and error. Besides using these groups, I'd also run "aggressive cat"
through the search engines so see what comes up. There are a lot of good
behavioral sites on line.

Rich

"Fork" wrote in message
...
I have a 2 year old overweight neutered male cat. When we first got
him at
12 weeks of age, I thought he was the best cat I could ever have. He
would
sleep with me every night, follow me around the house looking for
attention
or just to lie next to me. He was just a very sweet little boy. This
past
January, out of seemingly nowhere, he would attack me, scratching
clawing,
hissing, biting...everything. I just took it in stride and figured
that the
holidays had been too much for him, with Christmas come and gone and
things
in the house changing once again as decorations came down. Well, his
aggression since then has continued and become more intense. His
attacks do
not seem to be provoked by anything specific. Some times he will
attack me
after he has climbed up in my lap for some loving. He seems to really
be
enjoying it, the next thing I know, my or arm is stuck in his grip.
I've
had to yell for someone else to come and get him off of me before.
Other
times when he will let go himself, he just lays there on me growling
at me.
I'm not even touching him at the time except that he's laying on me!
He has
growled and gone after my mom before too because she told him to move
so she
could open the fridge door, or to go outside. These bites he gives
aren't
in any way inhibited, he has broken the skin several times and I've
had to
deal with a couple of infected bites. I took him to the vet and they
couldn't find anything wrong with him. I told the vet about my
husband and
I having a baby soon. She told me what I already knew, that I
absolutely
should not have him around a baby at all! She also told me that I
couldnt'
give him away because he was aggressive. The vet suggested that I
could
have him tested for a brain tumor, but he doesn't have any of the
other
signs for that, or that I could try an animal behavoirist. I don't
have the
money for anything this expensive, to find an animal behaviorist I'd
have to
travel a couple hundred miles. She suggested then that I might have
to put
him to sleep. I love my kitty! If he was aggressive all the time it
would
be easier to go with the vets advice to put him to sleep, but he's so
sweet
and loving at other times, that it just makes it too hard to know what
to
do. If anyone has any suggestions or just something to cheer me up,
it
would be much appreciated.

My mom said that she would take care of him for me, after she caught me
crying because I didn't want to get rid of him or put him down like the vet
said may have to happen. The problem with that is my mom is intimidated by
him. I don't want to leave him with her and have him end up hurting her. I
love my cat, but my mom is more important to me. I guess I just don't feel
like I will be able to find a good solution to this.

My mom said that she would take care of him for me, after she caught me
crying because I didn't want to get rid of him or put him down like the vet
said may have to happen. The problem with that is my mom is intimidated by
him. I don't want to leave him with her and have him end up hurting her. I
love my cat, but my mom is more important to me. I guess I just don't feel
like I will be able to find a good solution to this.

My mom said that she would take care of him for me, after she caught me
crying because I didn't want to get rid of him or put him down like the vet
said may have to happen. The problem with that is my mom is intimidated by
him. I don't want to leave him with her and have him end up hurting her. I
love my cat, but my mom is more important to me. I guess I just don't feel
like I will be able to find a good solution to this.

"Liz" wrote in message
om...
Were you away on vacation and left somebody else looking after the
cat? Or has he changed from night to day?

I don't know if I'm understanding what you mean 'from night to day'. I
don't really remember the circumstances esactly when this first started
occuring, but I had not been out of town for a couple of months. Like I
said at first I thought it was just because of the holidays, which I
understood because I was feeling quite a bit of stress at the time too!!

"Liz" wrote in message
om...
Were you away on vacation and left somebody else looking after the
cat? Or has he changed from night to day?

I don't know if I'm understanding what you mean 'from night to day'. I
don't really remember the circumstances esactly when this first started
occuring, but I had not been out of town for a couple of months. Like I
said at first I thought it was just because of the holidays, which I
understood because I was feeling quite a bit of stress at the time too!!

"Liz" wrote in message
om...
Were you away on vacation and left somebody else looking after the
cat? Or has he changed from night to day?

I don't know if I'm understanding what you mean 'from night to day'. I
don't really remember the circumstances esactly when this first started
occuring, but I had not been out of town for a couple of months. Like I
said at first I thought it was just because of the holidays, which I
understood because I was feeling quite a bit of stress at the time too!!

"Betsy" -0 wrote in message
...
This may seem ridiculous, but your body odor probably changed when you got
pregnant. The cat is possibly reacting to hormonal changes.

There are drugs that can be used to calm an aggressive animal--I know, I
have one. Talk to your vet, and if he doesn't know then talk to another
vet. I'm not encouraged about your vet telling you not to have the cat
around a baby or put him to sleep. It really sounds like you need another
opinion--there are lots of options. What kind of vet is this? Small
practice? Country? Older? Not very current, anyway.

Also, there is a spray called Feliway that is a feline pheromone that may
help. You can get this at any pet store or online.

You certainly will have to watch him around the baby, if he is already
reacting like this to you. But I'm sure you can take steps in the
meantime
to calm him down.


How does Feliway work? I've heard the name before, but I've never seen it
in the store. Is it something that I would have to use all the time? What
about the other animals in the house, how would it affect them? Or would I
end up with all happy go lucky pets waiting for a party?