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Cat got scared and keeps attacking wife and other cat



 
 
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  #1  
Old January 26th 04, 03:24 AM
L.S.
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Default Cat got scared and keeps attacking wife and other cat

We have to cats (tiki and bailey) and although they are indoor cats we
usually let them out in our fenced in backyard everyday. Two nights a
go both cats where out and we were sitting inside and we heard the
loudest scream we ever heard from a cat. We thought the cats were
being attacked by another cat or some animal and my wife kind of
panicked and run straight towards the noise (it was dark) and probably
scared the cats even more. She got bitten pretty bad in the hand and
scratched up all over. The smaller cat, Tiki, is fine but the bigger
one, bailey, a siamese (and something) female would not let us near
her. We had her in the bedroom for the night (I slept in there as
well) and she seemed to have calmed down, she slept next to me. The
next morning we let her out of the bedroom and she imediately attacked
the other cat while screaming like a banshee ( and this scream is like
nothing I ever heard before, much louder), the smaller cat is faster
and escaped on to the kitchen cabinetts. While our Siamese was chasing
the the smaller cat she sprayed pee and also defacated on the floor
and then hid in the bedroom.
At this point she's OK with me, very loving actually, but will get
bushy tail and start running towards my wife as soon as she sees her,
I had to shoo her away from my wife today with a broom. And she will
attack the other cat on sight. She's always been pretty social, always
hangs around where we are and observes the goings on. She may hiss
occasionally when she gets irritated (when I try to clip her nails)
but she has never been anywhere close to this,
she is like a different cat.
Anyway I feel that we cannot trust this cat anymore, my wife really
loves the smaller cat more, it's her baby who sleeps in her arm every
night.
So I will call the vet and spca tomorrow and get some advise but at
this point I don't know what to do except put her to sleep. It so
unfair because this behaviour was brought on by something external (we
do not even know what is was that attacked our cats in the yard) but
if we cannot trust her with the smaller cat (and ourselves) bailey may
have to go. I do not know if we could try to give her away when she
behaves like this.
Any advise?

Thanks / LS
  #2  
Old January 26th 04, 05:48 AM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

(L.S.) wrote:

So I will call the vet and spca tomorrow and get some advise but at
this point I don't know what to do except put her to sleep. It so
unfair because this behaviour was brought on by something external (we
do not even know what is was that attacked our cats in the yard) but
if we cannot trust her with the smaller cat (and ourselves) bailey may
have to go. I do not know if we could try to give her away when she
behaves like this.
Any advise?


It's called misplaced aggression and just the sight of another cat
through a window can cause one of your own cats to go ballistic on the
nearest object (feline or human). Quite often owners have been known
to shout to break up the fight and this has stressed the cat even
further and as in your case an owner can be attacked as well.

It requires patience and a very slow reintroduction after several
days separation. Do not cheat on the time or else you will be back to
square one. What we did after about 3 days was to hold the cats in our
laps and sat beside each other on the couch. After about 15 minutes we
separated the cats again. We learned from experience that allowing
them to free roam was premature and ended up with all the signs of an
imminent attack. Many vets will give a prescription to mellow the
aggressive cat out but it is advisable to put both on it as the victim
cat will exhibit defensive stress thus triggering the other cat's
aggression.

This is not reason to ever get rid of a cat as it is treatable, Google
for misplaced feline aggression and you will get lots of similar
stories.

Good luck!

-mhd

  #3  
Old January 26th 04, 05:48 AM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

(L.S.) wrote:

So I will call the vet and spca tomorrow and get some advise but at
this point I don't know what to do except put her to sleep. It so
unfair because this behaviour was brought on by something external (we
do not even know what is was that attacked our cats in the yard) but
if we cannot trust her with the smaller cat (and ourselves) bailey may
have to go. I do not know if we could try to give her away when she
behaves like this.
Any advise?


It's called misplaced aggression and just the sight of another cat
through a window can cause one of your own cats to go ballistic on the
nearest object (feline or human). Quite often owners have been known
to shout to break up the fight and this has stressed the cat even
further and as in your case an owner can be attacked as well.

It requires patience and a very slow reintroduction after several
days separation. Do not cheat on the time or else you will be back to
square one. What we did after about 3 days was to hold the cats in our
laps and sat beside each other on the couch. After about 15 minutes we
separated the cats again. We learned from experience that allowing
them to free roam was premature and ended up with all the signs of an
imminent attack. Many vets will give a prescription to mellow the
aggressive cat out but it is advisable to put both on it as the victim
cat will exhibit defensive stress thus triggering the other cat's
aggression.

This is not reason to ever get rid of a cat as it is treatable, Google
for misplaced feline aggression and you will get lots of similar
stories.

Good luck!

-mhd

  #4  
Old January 26th 04, 06:17 AM
MacCandace
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

But to be discussing putting her to sleep at this point is
unconscionable.

Laura

I believe that everything Laura said is correct as far as segregating her then
reintroducing her and just keeping her calm. Although I have not experienced
this myself, I have read of it before in this newsgroup and it was resolved by
following that advice. Please do not have the cat euthanized for this. Call
the vet and get some tranqs, if needed, and get the Feliway. The poor cat
shouldn't have to die because it got scared.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other
than human." (Loren Eisely)
  #5  
Old January 26th 04, 06:17 AM
MacCandace
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

But to be discussing putting her to sleep at this point is
unconscionable.

Laura

I believe that everything Laura said is correct as far as segregating her then
reintroducing her and just keeping her calm. Although I have not experienced
this myself, I have read of it before in this newsgroup and it was resolved by
following that advice. Please do not have the cat euthanized for this. Call
the vet and get some tranqs, if needed, and get the Feliway. The poor cat
shouldn't have to die because it got scared.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other
than human." (Loren Eisely)
  #8  
Old January 26th 04, 07:14 AM
m. L. Briggs
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On 25 Jan 2004 18:24:58 -0800, (L.S.) wrote:

We have to cats (tiki and bailey) and although they are indoor cats we
usually let them out in our fenced in backyard everyday. Two nights a
go both cats where out and we were sitting inside and we heard the
loudest scream we ever heard from a cat. We thought the cats were
being attacked by another cat or some animal and my wife kind of
panicked and run straight towards the noise (it was dark) and probably
scared the cats even more. She got bitten pretty bad in the hand and
scratched up all over. The smaller cat, Tiki, is fine but the bigger
one, bailey, a siamese (and something) female would not let us near
her. We had her in the bedroom for the night (I slept in there as
well) and she seemed to have calmed down, she slept next to me. The
next morning we let her out of the bedroom and she imediately attacked
the other cat while screaming like a banshee ( and this scream is like
nothing I ever heard before, much louder), the smaller cat is faster
and escaped on to the kitchen cabinetts. While our Siamese was chasing
the the smaller cat she sprayed pee and also defacated on the floor
and then hid in the bedroom.
At this point she's OK with me, very loving actually, but will get
bushy tail and start running towards my wife as soon as she sees her,
I had to shoo her away from my wife today with a broom. And she will
attack the other cat on sight. She's always been pretty social, always
hangs around where we are and observes the goings on. She may hiss
occasionally when she gets irritated (when I try to clip her nails)
but she has never been anywhere close to this,
she is like a different cat.
Anyway I feel that we cannot trust this cat anymore, my wife really
loves the smaller cat more, it's her baby who sleeps in her arm every
night.
So I will call the vet and spca tomorrow and get some advise but at
this point I don't know what to do except put her to sleep. It so
unfair because this behaviour was brought on by something external (we
do not even know what is was that attacked our cats in the yard) but
if we cannot trust her with the smaller cat (and ourselves) bailey may
have to go. I do not know if we could try to give her away when she
behaves like this.
Any advise?

Thanks / LS

My first thought is to keep her in a cage for a couple of weeks. I'm
no expert, but thought this might give her time to calm down and get
over the scare. Have the cats been neutered?
  #9  
Old January 26th 04, 07:14 AM
m. L. Briggs
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On 25 Jan 2004 18:24:58 -0800, (L.S.) wrote:

We have to cats (tiki and bailey) and although they are indoor cats we
usually let them out in our fenced in backyard everyday. Two nights a
go both cats where out and we were sitting inside and we heard the
loudest scream we ever heard from a cat. We thought the cats were
being attacked by another cat or some animal and my wife kind of
panicked and run straight towards the noise (it was dark) and probably
scared the cats even more. She got bitten pretty bad in the hand and
scratched up all over. The smaller cat, Tiki, is fine but the bigger
one, bailey, a siamese (and something) female would not let us near
her. We had her in the bedroom for the night (I slept in there as
well) and she seemed to have calmed down, she slept next to me. The
next morning we let her out of the bedroom and she imediately attacked
the other cat while screaming like a banshee ( and this scream is like
nothing I ever heard before, much louder), the smaller cat is faster
and escaped on to the kitchen cabinetts. While our Siamese was chasing
the the smaller cat she sprayed pee and also defacated on the floor
and then hid in the bedroom.
At this point she's OK with me, very loving actually, but will get
bushy tail and start running towards my wife as soon as she sees her,
I had to shoo her away from my wife today with a broom. And she will
attack the other cat on sight. She's always been pretty social, always
hangs around where we are and observes the goings on. She may hiss
occasionally when she gets irritated (when I try to clip her nails)
but she has never been anywhere close to this,
she is like a different cat.
Anyway I feel that we cannot trust this cat anymore, my wife really
loves the smaller cat more, it's her baby who sleeps in her arm every
night.
So I will call the vet and spca tomorrow and get some advise but at
this point I don't know what to do except put her to sleep. It so
unfair because this behaviour was brought on by something external (we
do not even know what is was that attacked our cats in the yard) but
if we cannot trust her with the smaller cat (and ourselves) bailey may
have to go. I do not know if we could try to give her away when she
behaves like this.
Any advise?

Thanks / LS

My first thought is to keep her in a cage for a couple of weeks. I'm
no expert, but thought this might give her time to calm down and get
over the scare. Have the cats been neutered?
  #10  
Old January 26th 04, 06:00 PM
Barb
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Siamese can get very emotional. I had a Siamese named Bandi who would go
berserk any time I came into the house with another cat's scent on me. She
attacked me regularly about once a year. One time I set her off because I
came home from Motor Vehicles (NY) in a rage and was in my closet looking
for some paper they wanted. She attacked. Her bites actually made black
and blue marks. Her screams would be terrible. I loved this cat with my
whole heart. She saw me through two marriages and the birth of my son.

The good news is that not only was she wonderful most of the time her rages
stopped after a few years. Maybe by 5 or 6 years she calmed down.

Kill her for this? NEVER.

--
Barb
I can only please one person a day.
Today is not your day.
Tomorrow doesn't look good either.


 




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