Hello, I know there have been a lot of aggressive cat posts and I tried to read through them but still feel at a loss.
We inherited an approx. 8yo male (neutered) cat from my hubby's grandmother after she passed away. Grandma got Rudy as a small kitten and Rudy lived with two small, aggressive dogs (don't think he's ever seen another cat). Grandma died unexpectedly in the home and Rudy lived there alone for a month after (my MIL did go and feed him).
We had four cats when Rudy came to live with us. We kept him isolated for almost a month, following slow intro protocols. After a month with us he got blocked but has pretty much recuperated from that. He is on special food although I think the blockage was totally stress-related. he was good at his last checkup.
AGGRESSION: Rudy's aggressive behavior is something I have never seen. He is usually calm, sleeps with me, comes when called, likes to be with me and will follow me, etc. But, when he sees our one female cat all hell breaks loose. It's like he's in a trance, his tail is going wild and his body is like a brick. He hears no noises and nothing can break his concentration on her. He hasn't attacked her yet......but has chased her and I know he will if he could get the chance. We have tried to shoo him away only for both my hubby and I to be attacked, even a broom doesn't work. Rudy will not back away, but rather stands up and then lunges at us. God forbid you point a finger at him and say "no", he will lunge for it. Same with feet. He is not aggressive with any of our other cats, though he tried with one but that cat hissed back and no problems since. He is afraid of our other female cat as he steers clear from her and she doesn't even blink at him.
I actuallly thought Rudy's aggression issues were getting better as I kept reinforcing "no" if he started to come look for her. For the past week or more, he had been listening and would walk away calmly. However, today was different. Today, I told him "no" and he came back. I repeated it and then stood up to block his view and get his scruff. My hand slipped from his scruff and he attacked my arm. I have two very deep puncture wounds on my inside wrist from his first bite and then he bit down even harder the second time. Like I was a mouse he was trying to give the final kill to. I also have cuts all along my arm.
I am at a loss. We have tried Prozac for him (which he won't eat in his food), redirecting with toys (he doesn't really play with any), Feliaway plug ins and firmly saying "no" each and every time we see him starting his trance. I'm going to ask for transdermal gel Fluoxetine but really don't know what else to do. Not fair to my female kitty and not fair to him to keep him locked away in the basement, but we are at our wit's end. Most of the time he is sweet, extremely smart and very personable...yet at these times he is an absolutely violent aggressor.
Someone told me his trances could be seizures? Never had a kitty like this one.............we need help/ideas. Thanks!!
We inherited an approx. 8yo male (neutered) cat from my hubby's grandmother after she passed away. Grandma got Rudy as a small kitten and Rudy lived with two small, aggressive dogs (don't think he's ever seen another cat). Grandma died unexpectedly in the home and Rudy lived there alone for a month after (my MIL did go and feed him).
We had four cats when Rudy came to live with us. We kept him isolated for almost a month, following slow intro protocols. After a month with us he got blocked but has pretty much recuperated from that. He is on special food although I think the blockage was totally stress-related. he was good at his last checkup.
AGGRESSION: Rudy's aggressive behavior is something I have never seen. He is usually calm, sleeps with me, comes when called, likes to be with me and will follow me, etc. But, when he sees our one female cat all hell breaks loose. It's like he's in a trance, his tail is going wild and his body is like a brick. He hears no noises and nothing can break his concentration on her. He hasn't attacked her yet......but has chased her and I know he will if he could get the chance. We have tried to shoo him away only for both my hubby and I to be attacked, even a broom doesn't work. Rudy will not back away, but rather stands up and then lunges at us. God forbid you point a finger at him and say "no", he will lunge for it. Same with feet. He is not aggressive with any of our other cats, though he tried with one but that cat hissed back and no problems since. He is afraid of our other female cat as he steers clear from her and she doesn't even blink at him.
I actuallly thought Rudy's aggression issues were getting better as I kept reinforcing "no" if he started to come look for her. For the past week or more, he had been listening and would walk away calmly. However, today was different. Today, I told him "no" and he came back. I repeated it and then stood up to block his view and get his scruff. My hand slipped from his scruff and he attacked my arm. I have two very deep puncture wounds on my inside wrist from his first bite and then he bit down even harder the second time. Like I was a mouse he was trying to give the final kill to. I also have cuts all along my arm.
I am at a loss. We have tried Prozac for him (which he won't eat in his food), redirecting with toys (he doesn't really play with any), Feliaway plug ins and firmly saying "no" each and every time we see him starting his trance. I'm going to ask for transdermal gel Fluoxetine but really don't know what else to do. Not fair to my female kitty and not fair to him to keep him locked away in the basement, but we are at our wit's end. Most of the time he is sweet, extremely smart and very personable...yet at these times he is an absolutely violent aggressor.
Someone told me his trances could be seizures? Never had a kitty like this one.............we need help/ideas. Thanks!!