rabid cat?

I am kind of getting used to the cat attacking me but I'll probably
have to bring him to a shelter unless I can figure out how to stop his
attacks. The last time it happened I put him ouside. He stayed away
for a day and then was his sweet old self for a while when he came
back. I dont want to keep him outside and he doesnt seem to like it
either. Today we both were at home all day because of the snowy
weather. He went bonkers twice and maybe even a third time. Ive
gotten paranoid about him probably. He growled at me in the kitchen
just now. Gosh. What's happened today is that he wakes up from a
sleep, jumps out of his bed, and seems to see something then notices
me and then howls, arrays his battle fur into position and jumps on me
scratching and biting (I think. I havent been bitten yet.). I manage
to throw something at him and shoo him into another room and shut the
door. He is a small cat: 10 pounds and not at all brazen. I dont
feel comfortable with this potential time bomb. My sister in law
suggested that maybe he has rabies! He got the rabies vacine 3 weeks
ago but he lived in the wild until last September. Could he have
rabies? He doesn't drool but I did catch him one time with his jaw
hanging open. How do you know if a cat has rabies?

Given the timeframe of the aggression rabies is unlikely; it's course is fast
and devastating. But a trip to the vet is a must for a thorough check-over;
there could be an injury or some other pain.

It's interesting that he's semi-feral; he may never be a lapcat in that case
but you can interact on his terms. I assume he's neutered and had his tests?

http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/aggression.html
http://www.celiahaddon.co.uk/pet%20p.../frameset.html
http://www.fabcats.org/nervous-aggression.html
http://www.feralcat.com/
http://www.lkegan.plus.com/Stray%20c...20magazine.pdf



honeybunch wrote:
I am kind of getting used to the cat attacking me but I'll probably
have to bring him to a shelter unless I can figure out how to stop his
attacks. The last time it happened I put him ouside. He stayed away
for a day and then was his sweet old self for a while when he came
back. I dont want to keep him outside and he doesnt seem to like it
either. Today we both were at home all day because of the snowy
weather. He went bonkers twice and maybe even a third time. Ive
gotten paranoid about him probably. He growled at me in the kitchen
just now. Gosh. What's happened today is that he wakes up from a
sleep, jumps out of his bed, and seems to see something then notices
me and then howls, arrays his battle fur into position and jumps on me
scratching and biting (I think. I havent been bitten yet.). I manage
to throw something at him and shoo him into another room and shut the
door. He is a small cat: 10 pounds and not at all brazen. I dont
feel comfortable with this potential time bomb. My sister in law
suggested that maybe he has rabies! He got the rabies vacine 3 weeks
ago but he lived in the wild until last September. Could he have
rabies? He doesn't drool but I did catch him one time with his jaw
hanging open. How do you know if a cat has rabies?

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