Sethran? Misdirected aggression again

She knows a lot about it, but anyone may chime in.
I might just be writing for therapy though.

Jewel is in attack mode again right now.
I had been sitting outside and a neighborhood cat climbed on my lap.
Jewel knows the sight and the smell of this cat, in fact earlier in
the day he "Simba" also took a nap on my lap, and everything was fine
when I went in the house. But this time Jewel was laying right in
front of the front door as I abruptly opened it and walked into the
house. I know I scared her by that, and on top of it I must have
smelled like a big Simba, plus he almost tried to poke his head in the
door as I walked in. Jewel started the caterwauling, screaming,
yowling, and hissing, growling, etc. She attempted to attack me, and
kept me pinned to the inside of the front door for quite a while. I
finally got in a few feet and called a neighbor to come over. She had
no desire to attack him, and he kind of herded her up to a bedroom.
That was two and a half hours ago. I just tried to slide a bowl of
food and water in the room, and Jewel screamed louder than I ever
heard, and attacked the door like she was trying to tear it down.
Needless to say I couldn't get the water or food in.
I know that I need to just leave her be. The room is quiet and the
light is off.
It is hard but I will completely stay away until morning. But when I
do go to the room, should I talk to her first thru the door, crack it
a bit and talk, just open it?? It is hard to do any of those things
just calmly and like nothing is wrong, but I know my fear does not
help.
And it scares me for her so much, to see the little girl who tip-toes
on her hind legs when she comes up to me, or drops down and rolls on
her back to have her belly rubbed being in this kind of state.

Thanks,
Teri

But when I
do go to the room, should I talk to her first thru the door, crack it
a bit and talk, just open it?? It is hard to do any of those things
just calmly and like nothing is wrong, but I know my fear does not
help.

My cat went through a misdirected aggression phase when there was a stray cat
running around and spraying on my windows. It drove Boots nuts, then he'd
attack me in the middle of the night lunging at my head and tearing into it
with his claws and teeth. I'd wake up shocked and bleeding all over the place
trying to hold my head so I wouldn't ruin the carpet. I then made it so my cat
could not see or smell the other cat. I also tried to shoo it away. You need to
shoo that neighborhood cat away. Don't pet it, scare it away, close the blinds
so your cat can't see him, wipe the spray off the windows and doors so your cat
can't smell him. You could also ask your vet for some valium for him. Give your
cat a good long time to calm down. Then slowly talk to it soothingly before
opening the door, open it a crack then more as the cat appears calm. Don't do
anything to work him up like playing rough, chasing, rubbing the belly too
hard. Just try to keep him calm.

But when I
do go to the room, should I talk to her first thru the door, crack it
a bit and talk, just open it?? It is hard to do any of those things
just calmly and like nothing is wrong, but I know my fear does not
help.

My cat went through a misdirected aggression phase when there was a stray cat
running around and spraying on my windows. It drove Boots nuts, then he'd
attack me in the middle of the night lunging at my head and tearing into it
with his claws and teeth. I'd wake up shocked and bleeding all over the place
trying to hold my head so I wouldn't ruin the carpet. I then made it so my cat
could not see or smell the other cat. I also tried to shoo it away. You need to
shoo that neighborhood cat away. Don't pet it, scare it away, close the blinds
so your cat can't see him, wipe the spray off the windows and doors so your cat
can't smell him. You could also ask your vet for some valium for him. Give your
cat a good long time to calm down. Then slowly talk to it soothingly before
opening the door, open it a crack then more as the cat appears calm. Don't do
anything to work him up like playing rough, chasing, rubbing the belly too
hard. Just try to keep him calm.

pam (Mary) wrote in message ...
But when I
do go to the room, should I talk to her first thru the door, crack it
a bit and talk, just open it?? It is hard to do any of those things
just calmly and like nothing is wrong, but I know my fear does not
help.

My cat went through a misdirected aggression phase when there was a stray cat
running around and spraying on my windows. It drove Boots nuts, then he'd
attack me in the middle of the night lunging at my head and tearing into it
with his claws and teeth. I'd wake up shocked and bleeding all over the place
trying to hold my head so I wouldn't ruin the carpet. I then made it so my cat
could not see or smell the other cat. I also tried to shoo it away. You need to
shoo that neighborhood cat away. Don't pet it, scare it away, close the blinds
so your cat can't see him, wipe the spray off the windows and doors so your cat
can't smell him. You could also ask your vet for some valium for him. Give your
cat a good long time to calm down. Then slowly talk to it soothingly before
opening the door, open it a crack then more as the cat appears calm. Don't do
anything to work him up like playing rough, chasing, rubbing the belly too
hard. Just try to keep him calm.

We have a cat that can be very aggressive toward other cats but not
toward us. Does your cat (both owners) get outside much? I've
noticed our cat tours the immediate area, perhaps 'replacing' any
smells with her own and that might settle her. Just a guess from
observation though. She can just about bear the neighbours cat as
long as the other cat keeps a suitable distance, which the other cat
wisely does.

Our cat appears happiest when having equal access to the house and the
immediate surrounding area, she's not a wanderer, but i think she
needs to know she can go out and reclaim some territory now and then.
If anyone in the home smells of other cats she just 'replaces' the
offending smell by rubbing herself on the visitor.

I wouldn't feel confident advising anything though, just sharing some
other experiences

pam (Mary) wrote in message ...
But when I
do go to the room, should I talk to her first thru the door, crack it
a bit and talk, just open it?? It is hard to do any of those things
just calmly and like nothing is wrong, but I know my fear does not
help.

My cat went through a misdirected aggression phase when there was a stray cat
running around and spraying on my windows. It drove Boots nuts, then he'd
attack me in the middle of the night lunging at my head and tearing into it
with his claws and teeth. I'd wake up shocked and bleeding all over the place
trying to hold my head so I wouldn't ruin the carpet. I then made it so my cat
could not see or smell the other cat. I also tried to shoo it away. You need to
shoo that neighborhood cat away. Don't pet it, scare it away, close the blinds
so your cat can't see him, wipe the spray off the windows and doors so your cat
can't smell him. You could also ask your vet for some valium for him. Give your
cat a good long time to calm down. Then slowly talk to it soothingly before
opening the door, open it a crack then more as the cat appears calm. Don't do
anything to work him up like playing rough, chasing, rubbing the belly too
hard. Just try to keep him calm.

We have a cat that can be very aggressive toward other cats but not
toward us. Does your cat (both owners) get outside much? I've
noticed our cat tours the immediate area, perhaps 'replacing' any
smells with her own and that might settle her. Just a guess from
observation though. She can just about bear the neighbours cat as
long as the other cat keeps a suitable distance, which the other cat
wisely does.

Our cat appears happiest when having equal access to the house and the
immediate surrounding area, she's not a wanderer, but i think she
needs to know she can go out and reclaim some territory now and then.
If anyone in the home smells of other cats she just 'replaces' the
offending smell by rubbing herself on the visitor.

I wouldn't feel confident advising anything though, just sharing some
other experiences

My cat went through a misdirected aggression phase when there was a stray cat
running around and spraying on my windows. It drove Boots nuts, then he'd
attack me in the middle of the night lunging at my head and tearing into it
with his claws and teeth. I'd wake up shocked and bleeding all over the place
trying to hold my head so I wouldn't ruin the carpet.
** ohh, too funny - the carpet part only, of course**

I then made it so my cat
could not see or smell the other cat. I also tried to shoo it away. You need to
shoo that neighborhood cat away. Don't pet it, scare it away, close the blinds
so your cat can't see him, wipe the spray off the windows and doors so your cat
can't smell him. You could also ask your vet for some valium for him. Give your
cat a good long time to calm down. Then slowly talk to it soothingly before
opening the door, open it a crack then more as the cat appears calm. Don't do
anything to work him up like playing rough, chasing, rubbing the belly too
hard. Just try to keep him calm.

Well... she did a lot of meowing-crying overnite while in the room.
It sounded like the usual cry she has if she has to be closed in her
room for some reason (very rare). Around 3:30 I figured she sounded
like the aggressive part had ended, so I opened the door a crack - and
the scream and door attack happened again. I did manage to toss a few
pieces of hard food in, and she continued to growl and hiss while she
chewed them. At 7:30 this morning I caught the same neighbor who
helped last nite on his way to work (ok I sat out on the porch waiting
for him), and he opened the door to her room slowly while I was around
the corner. Jewel came out slowly and walked around a bit timid, but
not aggressive. I went up to her after a few minutes and she had a
soft purr. By now she as eaten a little, gotten on a windowsill or
two, and is quietly checking out the house.

I certainly agree that I am not going to be petting cool ole Simba
anymore, I think it is strange he has never before had any effect on
her, (he is around a lot and I pet him alot) so I think that it was a
combination of me startling her when I came in the door, plus Simba's
scent. So three times now this has happened when I had just handled
other cats, and once with noise. Two episodes where pretty mild, she
just followed me around while yowling hissing and growling, and two
where she screamed and tried to launch full scale attacks which had me
cornered and rendered motionless until she was contained - for those
she didn't "come down" for at least 6 hours.
And two of the big and one small episode have all happened in the past
three months.

I am now thinking about medication for her, but of course am afraid of
the other effects they may have on her, along with side effects.
Any thought on meds? I know Sethran used Valium for a while.

Again, thank you.
Teri
and Jewel and Seamus.

My cat went through a misdirected aggression phase when there was a stray cat
running around and spraying on my windows. It drove Boots nuts, then he'd
attack me in the middle of the night lunging at my head and tearing into it
with his claws and teeth. I'd wake up shocked and bleeding all over the place
trying to hold my head so I wouldn't ruin the carpet.
** ohh, too funny - the carpet part only, of course**

I then made it so my cat
could not see or smell the other cat. I also tried to shoo it away. You need to
shoo that neighborhood cat away. Don't pet it, scare it away, close the blinds
so your cat can't see him, wipe the spray off the windows and doors so your cat
can't smell him. You could also ask your vet for some valium for him. Give your
cat a good long time to calm down. Then slowly talk to it soothingly before
opening the door, open it a crack then more as the cat appears calm. Don't do
anything to work him up like playing rough, chasing, rubbing the belly too
hard. Just try to keep him calm.

Well... she did a lot of meowing-crying overnite while in the room.
It sounded like the usual cry she has if she has to be closed in her
room for some reason (very rare). Around 3:30 I figured she sounded
like the aggressive part had ended, so I opened the door a crack - and
the scream and door attack happened again. I did manage to toss a few
pieces of hard food in, and she continued to growl and hiss while she
chewed them. At 7:30 this morning I caught the same neighbor who
helped last nite on his way to work (ok I sat out on the porch waiting
for him), and he opened the door to her room slowly while I was around
the corner. Jewel came out slowly and walked around a bit timid, but
not aggressive. I went up to her after a few minutes and she had a
soft purr. By now she as eaten a little, gotten on a windowsill or
two, and is quietly checking out the house.

I certainly agree that I am not going to be petting cool ole Simba
anymore, I think it is strange he has never before had any effect on
her, (he is around a lot and I pet him alot) so I think that it was a
combination of me startling her when I came in the door, plus Simba's
scent. So three times now this has happened when I had just handled
other cats, and once with noise. Two episodes where pretty mild, she
just followed me around while yowling hissing and growling, and two
where she screamed and tried to launch full scale attacks which had me
cornered and rendered motionless until she was contained - for those
she didn't "come down" for at least 6 hours.
And two of the big and one small episode have all happened in the past
three months.

I am now thinking about medication for her, but of course am afraid of
the other effects they may have on her, along with side effects.
Any thought on meds? I know Sethran used Valium for a while.

Again, thank you.
Teri
and Jewel and Seamus.

Your kindness toward other cats is "misdirected affection" if it results in
your cat going a bit berserk. Cat's are HIGHLY dependent on their sense of
smell to handle and react to their environment. By getting the other cat's
smell on yourself, and then startling him/her, you confused your kitty. Not
fair to then blame your cat for being upset! To your cat, you were just a
big animal that scared it and didn't smell right. If you were in your cat's
paws, you'd have spit and screamed and clawed too. No "misdirected
aggression" here - just misdirected responsibility.

Your story reminds me of a situation I was told about by a secretary a few
years ago. She was complaining about her young boy being overly energetic
the previous evening, difficult to get to go to bed, and then not going to
sleep until late. When I asked the simple question, "What did you give him
to eat or drink after dinner?" I was astonished at the answer. She'd given
him a can of Coca Cola and a chocolate donut - both of which contain the
stimulant caffeine. She then expected her son to be quiet and go to sleep!
In short - she dosed him up with stimulants and then was ready to punish him
for acting stimulated!!

When you "dosed" your kitty with stimulants by startling it and bringing
"other cat" smells into its environment, you shouldn't have been surprised
that the kitty got upset. I think you're the one who's responsible for the
problem here, not your cat. Consider yourself scolded. Don't inflict such
confusing sensory signals on your cat, and I'll bet your kitty will be just
fine.

Moreover, if your cat has any problems with its eyesight, it relies even
more on its hearing and sense of smell to deal with its environment. If
your cat has given you any indications that it isn't seeing clearly, then
you really have to refrain from doing things that will confuse its senses of
smell and hearing.

Psychiatric drugs for your cat - humph! From your kitty's point of view,
you acted in a threatening (and IMHO, thoughtless) manner. Try
understanding how cats live and react to survive, and try treating your
kitty like a cat instead of expecting your cat to understand you (no matter
what you do), and everything will be fine.


"teri" wrote in message
news
She knows a lot about it, but anyone may chime in.
I might just be writing for therapy though.

Jewel is in attack mode again right now.
I had been sitting outside and a neighborhood cat climbed on my lap.
Jewel knows the sight and the smell of this cat, in fact earlier in
the day he "Simba" also took a nap on my lap, and everything was fine
when I went in the house. But this time Jewel was laying right in
front of the front door as I abruptly opened it and walked into the
house. I know I scared her by that, and on top of it I must have
smelled like a big Simba, plus he almost tried to poke his head in the
door as I walked in. Jewel started the caterwauling, screaming,
yowling, and hissing, growling, etc. She attempted to attack me, and
kept me pinned to the inside of the front door for quite a while. I
finally got in a few feet and called a neighbor to come over. She had
no desire to attack him, and he kind of herded her up to a bedroom.
That was two and a half hours ago. I just tried to slide a bowl of
food and water in the room, and Jewel screamed louder than I ever
heard, and attacked the door like she was trying to tear it down.
Needless to say I couldn't get the water or food in.
I know that I need to just leave her be. The room is quiet and the
light is off.
It is hard but I will completely stay away until morning. But when I
do go to the room, should I talk to her first thru the door, crack it
a bit and talk, just open it?? It is hard to do any of those things
just calmly and like nothing is wrong, but I know my fear does not
help.
And it scares me for her so much, to see the little girl who tip-toes
on her hind legs when she comes up to me, or drops down and rolls on
her back to have her belly rubbed being in this kind of state.

Thanks,
Teri

Your kindness toward other cats is "misdirected affection" if it results in
your cat going a bit berserk. Cat's are HIGHLY dependent on their sense of
smell to handle and react to their environment. By getting the other cat's
smell on yourself, and then startling him/her, you confused your kitty. Not
fair to then blame your cat for being upset! To your cat, you were just a
big animal that scared it and didn't smell right. If you were in your cat's
paws, you'd have spit and screamed and clawed too. No "misdirected
aggression" here - just misdirected responsibility.

Your story reminds me of a situation I was told about by a secretary a few
years ago. She was complaining about her young boy being overly energetic
the previous evening, difficult to get to go to bed, and then not going to
sleep until late. When I asked the simple question, "What did you give him
to eat or drink after dinner?" I was astonished at the answer. She'd given
him a can of Coca Cola and a chocolate donut - both of which contain the
stimulant caffeine. She then expected her son to be quiet and go to sleep!
In short - she dosed him up with stimulants and then was ready to punish him
for acting stimulated!!

When you "dosed" your kitty with stimulants by startling it and bringing
"other cat" smells into its environment, you shouldn't have been surprised
that the kitty got upset. I think you're the one who's responsible for the
problem here, not your cat. Consider yourself scolded. Don't inflict such
confusing sensory signals on your cat, and I'll bet your kitty will be just
fine.

Moreover, if your cat has any problems with its eyesight, it relies even
more on its hearing and sense of smell to deal with its environment. If
your cat has given you any indications that it isn't seeing clearly, then
you really have to refrain from doing things that will confuse its senses of
smell and hearing.

Psychiatric drugs for your cat - humph! From your kitty's point of view,
you acted in a threatening (and IMHO, thoughtless) manner. Try
understanding how cats live and react to survive, and try treating your
kitty like a cat instead of expecting your cat to understand you (no matter
what you do), and everything will be fine.


"teri" wrote in message
news
She knows a lot about it, but anyone may chime in.
I might just be writing for therapy though.

Jewel is in attack mode again right now.
I had been sitting outside and a neighborhood cat climbed on my lap.
Jewel knows the sight and the smell of this cat, in fact earlier in
the day he "Simba" also took a nap on my lap, and everything was fine
when I went in the house. But this time Jewel was laying right in
front of the front door as I abruptly opened it and walked into the
house. I know I scared her by that, and on top of it I must have
smelled like a big Simba, plus he almost tried to poke his head in the
door as I walked in. Jewel started the caterwauling, screaming,
yowling, and hissing, growling, etc. She attempted to attack me, and
kept me pinned to the inside of the front door for quite a while. I
finally got in a few feet and called a neighbor to come over. She had
no desire to attack him, and he kind of herded her up to a bedroom.
That was two and a half hours ago. I just tried to slide a bowl of
food and water in the room, and Jewel screamed louder than I ever
heard, and attacked the door like she was trying to tear it down.
Needless to say I couldn't get the water or food in.
I know that I need to just leave her be. The room is quiet and the
light is off.
It is hard but I will completely stay away until morning. But when I
do go to the room, should I talk to her first thru the door, crack it
a bit and talk, just open it?? It is hard to do any of those things
just calmly and like nothing is wrong, but I know my fear does not
help.
And it scares me for her so much, to see the little girl who tip-toes
on her hind legs when she comes up to me, or drops down and rolls on
her back to have her belly rubbed being in this kind of state.

Thanks,
Teri

"teri" wrote in message
...


I certainly agree that I am not going to be petting cool ole Simba
anymore, I think it is strange he has never before had any effect on
her, (he is around a lot and I pet him alot) so I think that it was a
combination of me startling her when I came in the door, plus Simba's
scent. So three times now this has happened when I had just handled
other cats, and once with noise. Two episodes where pretty mild, she
just followed me around while yowling hissing and growling, and two
where she screamed and tried to launch full scale attacks which had me
cornered and rendered motionless until she was contained - for those
she didn't "come down" for at least 6 hours.
And two of the big and one small episode have all happened in the past
three months.

I am now thinking about medication for her, but of course am afraid of
the other effects they may have on her, along with side effects.
Any thought on meds? I know Sethran used Valium for a while.

Again, thank you.
Teri
and Jewel and Seamus.


I think you have written about some previous episodes with both Jewel and
Seamus. Did you ever try Feliway? I would certainly try that (using
several of the plug-in dispensers) before I would move in the direction of
medication. Also, do you have any way in which you could keep other cats
out of your yard? Some cats do manifest misdirected aggression, even after
years of seeing other cats -- and yours have shown this tendency on other
occasions (such as the time you dropped something when coming upstairs, and
Jewel apparently had such an episode). If your yard is fenced, it is
possible to reinforce it with an outward-facing apparatus at the top to keep
other cats out. Here are some illustrations of methods used to keep cats
*in*; reverse the idea to keep cats *out.*
http://www.lisaviolet.com/cathouse/backyard.html and
http://www.catfencein.com/ I have seen some sites where inward-facing
fencing is available commercially, but it would be a lot less expensive to
do it yourself or hire a neighborhood "jack of all trades" to do it for you.
If you do not have a fence, there is a Scarecrow motion-activated sprinkler
that some people use http://www.biconet.com/critter/sprinkler.html.

MaryL