I no longer want my cat....kind of..

Jamz3k

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Guys sorry if this is the wrong section for this but I’m struggling with my cat at the moment.

A bit of backstory. I live with my 7year old cat Token, who I’ve had since she was a kitten. She has always been the apple of my eye and no one has ever came between us to the point I’ve been accused of loving her more than any person. She’s always had aggression problems, mostly directed at others but sometimes at me as she’s a very nervous and anxious girl but I’ve always stood by her and loved her no matter what.

Unfortunately that changed 2sundays ago. Out of the blue Token attacked me viciously and kept on attacking me even after hours of chill out time etc. I’m a grown man but the viciousness of these stalked attacks put fear in me and has damaged my feelings for Token and for the first week after I tried to avoid my own thoughts. 2 trips to the vets, feliways, calming food later, toys and loads of playtime, Token as of yesterday has started to come around and now we are amicable and I’m no longer being constantly watched, growled and hissed at but I just don’t feel the same about my Token.

I really don’t know what to do, I don’t want her in my house anymore after that attack. I don’t trust her or infact feel anything for her currently other than mistrust. It’s tearing me apart, this is a cat I have adored for 7years! I have tried playing with her etc and it is very forced, I don’t want to be in her company and I’m sure she senses it.

Moreso, I worry that if I do give her up she will be abused and euthanised and die feeling unloved. In all honestly I don’t think she is suitable with her behaviour problems to be rehomed and again if terribly honest, if she attacked me with the same viciousness again I would have her put to sleep.

I hope someone can give me some words of wisdom to help me through this as I feel like a terrible human being right now.
 

crystal dawn

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Don't be so hard on yourself. After an attack by your pet it's understandable and normal for things to be tense for a while until trust is rebuilt. Figuring out what triggered her to attack like that may help so you can either be prepared for another attack or avoid the trigger or maybe reprogram her response to that trigger if it's not something avoidable. Try to give things some more time. After a while of her being her normal self things should be better. Jackson Galaxy's channel may also be helpful or even as silly as it sounds my cat from hell episodes.

I too live with a cat that can be aggressive and she's attacked me several times leaving scars. We've figured out how to work together as she's my mom's cat but it took us a few years to figure each other out.
 
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Jamz3k

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I have spent over a week reading articles and watching the likes of Jackson Galaxy and seeking professional advice, looking for that one nugget of information to fix this situation and if anything I think it’s made me less optimistic :(
 

fionasmom

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What did you think was the cause of the attack after visiting the vet and watching videos, etc? Did you have, or were you given, any sense of medical conditions, seizure activity, redirected aggression from some other source that you might not be aware of? When you watched the Jackson Galaxy videos, given that he more or less specializes in cats who are terribly aggressive to owners, what made you feel that your cat was not going to respond to his suggestions? I am not trying to put you on the spot, but just to get more of a sense of what happened. Where were you when the attack started?

I have only ever worked with ferals and strays, so aggression is always on the table for me. Years ago I owned an unreliable Jack Russell as well. In the short term, keep up your guard. If you have to alter some of your lifestyle behaviors, like sleeping with the bedroom door closed, do that. Keep up some pretty intensive playtime to tire her out and help with her prey drive. As JG says, to a cat play is prey and this is absolutely true. Does she have cat trees, or places to go for herself?

Did the vet recommend medication of any kind?

My cat is being aggressive towards me, what should I do? – RSPCA Knowledgebase
You probably read this, but did the aggression fit under any of these categories?
 
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Jamz3k

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I’m not sure what caused it but she was very very scared and even urinated and defecated herself during the experience. I was walking down the stairs and she was waiting for me and attacked.

Honestly, I watched Jackson Galaxy’s video and all of them seemed to show aggressive cats being provoked and getting defensive trying to stay away. My cat came hunting me on the second round of attacks which was much more vicious than anything I seen in his videos.

I have tried a lot of his methods over this past couple of days and I assume that these and the feliways etc have helped get to the point I’m at now but my trust and love for Token has completely gone. This is a little cat that until now has meant the world to me and now I just don’t feel a thing. I was explaining to my girlfriend yesterday that it felt like the same feeling you have when you’ve already broken up with someone in your head but haven’t got the guts to tell them yet.

The vet gave me Calmex which she wouldn’t eat and recommended the Feliway defusers on the first visit. On the second after she attacked the vet, they gave me Royal Canin Calm dry food which again....she won’t eat although I’ve bern mixing it in with her wet food and she has ate a small amount.

Just as a side note I think my upstairs hall is hotpoint. She is very weary and aggressive and blocks your movement in the hall. I have seen her do this with my girlfriend before but now she is trying it with me and gets very aggravated when I go into the spare “her” room.
 
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Jamz3k

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Also, I would definitely say it’s fear aggression and a bit of Napoleon complex
 

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Could it have been redirected aggression? Are there roaming cats in your front or back yard? If so secure your yard with things like motion activated sprinklers & maybe block out her view of the windows with poster board (at least the bottom 3-4 feet of them so she can’t see other cats outside her house.)

⭐Does she suffer from hyperestia? If so you need to treat it (& disregard the rest of my advice.) You will need to address this in an effort in reducing her daily attacks.

For an aggression issue that has lasted years, I think you may need someone like Jackson Galaxy! Please don’t blame yourself! I hope you don’t give up on her!

I would put her on kitty prozac cream (yes your vet can prescribe your cat mood stabilizers like prozac!) I would play her out 2-3 times a day (with wand toys) then feed her. I would also invest in making/buying interactive toys. Ideally you will reach a point where she can play with a different interactive toy every day for 14-30 days in a row. When not in use, hide the interactive toy. ⭐Prozac takes a couple of months to work completely, it isn’t an instant fix.

You may need a cat behaviorist for this one.
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crystal dawn

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Reading more, this sounds like redirected aggression and her trying to protect her territory from something she sees as threatening it.
 

fionasmom

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I have been attacked by ferals who were completely unsocialized and never would be, but none of them ever defecated or urinated on themselves. This is really fear, unless it is also connected to something that she sees that you are not aware of. It could even be something that she senses...not like ghosts....but movement nearby that you cannot hear, something outside.

danteshuman danteshuman makes a good point about hyperesthesia. Did the vet rule that out? One of my cats has FHS and is frankly dangerous to try to touch when an episode starts. I would consider medication for her. If she is having an issue where medication is needed, that is no different from a person who needs some help in order to maintain mental health and stability.

You may start to feel differently toward her as time passes. This has only been about two weeks which is not long to work something like this out.


I am not sure which videos you watched of JG; you might have to sort of combine techniques from several of them.
 
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Jamz3k

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fionasmom fionasmom i really don’t know what could have scared her, she leads a life of luxury and I’ve never raised a hand to her.

I’m not sure of hyperesthesia, tbh my vet wasn’t the most helpful and didn’t really care.
 

fionasmom

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Thank you so much for doing this! You are giving your friend Token another chance. Please let us know what happens. In my experience, an animal who reacts this way has some underlying issue such as fear. Probably Token herself was terrified beyond belief to have done what she did and that makes me feel sorry for her....and you, as well.
 

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fionasmom fionasmom i really don’t know what could have scared her, she leads a life of luxury and I’ve never raised a hand to her.

I’m not sure of hyperesthesia, tbh my vet wasn’t the most helpful and didn’t really care.
You can research hyperestia and look for those symptoms. Like rippling in her back before she attacks your or her tail.

That said, it sounds like you need a new vet, ASAP!
 
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Jamz3k

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Token has always had an anxious side all her life, I adopted her from a less than desirable home and have always assumed that this was the cause. Sadly as Token has got older her aggression has got worse in my opinion which does worry me as soon my girlfriend plans to move in with us.


But to end on a positive, whilst writing all this thisevening I heard my little cat snoring her head off across the living room and I got some of them feels back! She’s currently lying beside me in bed purring away as happy as Larry:)
 

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Forgive me if I missed something, but I didn't see anywhere in these posts what kind of tests have been run on your cat. A cat whose of the age of yours can be affected by health issues - they are heading into their senior year, where a lot of issues begin to manifest themselves. That is always the first action to be taken.

However, having said that, I do think this might be either redirected aggression or a similar form of it. New animals, strays/ferals, etc. outside your home can set off such a reaction - and, you may not even know it is happening. You mentioned the hallway - could there be critters lurking about in the walls? Cats are really so much intuitive/instinctive/reactive to things we humans take for granted. The fact that she can return to 'normal' means there is some 'outside source' that is provoking her.
 

Mamanyt1953

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And remember that "redirected aggression" means that you did nothing to cause it. It was something else, possibly outside, that caused the "fight or flight" instinct to go amok, and her to attack.
 
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Jamz3k

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Forgive me if I missed something, but I didn't see anywhere in these posts what kind of tests have been run on your cat. A cat whose of the age of yours can be affected by health issues - they are heading into their senior year, where a lot of issues begin to manifest themselves. That is always the first action to be taken.

However, having said that, I do think this might be either redirected aggression or a similar form of it. New animals, strays/ferals, etc. outside your home can set off such a reaction - and, you may not even know it is happening. You mentioned the hallway - could there be critters lurking about in the walls? Cats are really so much intuitive/instinctive/reactive to things we humans take for granted. The fact that she can return to 'normal' means there is some 'outside source' that is provoking her.
I actually don’t know what all they checked, due to covid, I wasn’t allowed in. The checkup didn’t last anymore than 20minutes but the vet was certain my cat was fit and healthy.

Definitely no critters in the house of that I am certain. She’s pretty much back to normal now and by that I mean aloof and running around like she owns the place. Unfortunately I think it is now me that has the problem as I am struggling to rebuild my trust in her not to attack, show aggression.


And remember that "redirected aggression" means that you did nothing to cause it. It was something else, possibly outside, that caused the "fight or flight" instinct to go amok, and her to attack.
I would tend to agree but what I don’t understand is her severe reaction to me over the week after the event. She just seemed so scared of me and would not let me out of her sight for a second, it became very unsettling.

Luckily heading into week 2 now and that has eased, she seems happier letting me out of her sight.
 

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Have you changed anything about your appearance ? Like shaving a beard off or a hat you don't usually wear ? Perhaps there was something that triggered a memory of a bad experience with her previous owner....

Just a thought, I hope that she continues to improve...
 
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Jamz3k

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Have you changed anything about your appearance ? Like shaving a beard off or a hat you don't usually wear ? Perhaps there was something that triggered a memory of a bad experience with her previous owner....

Just a thought, I hope that she continues to improve...
Nope not a thing, I’m just my normal fugly self. Really oddly before the attack we were upstairs together and she was hanging around my feet as normal snooping at what I was doing and she walked off calmly down the stairs. She could not of been out of my sight for more than 2minutes.
 

fionasmom

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In many cases where Jackson Galaxy has been called, he does suggest that the vet evaluate and use medication if necessary. There is a well known episode of a cat named Gizmo who repeatedly attacked the owners and part of the solution was medication.
 
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