"bipolar" Cat Help?

[spyce]

I don't use that term to be offensive, but I'm not really sure what else to call it.

My cat (Tiramisu, or Su for short) is 13 years old. She's never really been fond of anybody other than myself. I've always lived alone, and she's always been right there with me. That's probably why she only takes to me. She'll go up to strangers and brush against them or roll over like she wants to be pet/stroked, but as soon as they go to touch her, she lashes out. I tell them to only pet her head, but even still, she lashes out. Bug-eyed, ears layed back, growling and hissing, and will attack you.

In 13 years, she's never been this way with me. She's very sweet and cuddly, she'll allow me to pet her anywhere. But lately (the past week), her attitude is shifting dramatically. I'll be petting her and cuddling her as normal, and out of nowhere she'll lash out at me. As she's growling and hissing at me, she'll approach me to sit on my lap but if I touch her or move... she attacks. Just a few minutes ago I was sitting here at my computer reading when she lashed out, and then she lunged forward to attack me.

She's healthy, had all her shots, spayed... she's slightly overweight but other than that, a clean bill of health (she just visited the vet this past winter). I don't know what's going on with her and it's getting scary. I'm afraid to even touch her anymore.

Does anybody know what might be going on? Any ideas, thoughts, suggestions... anything at all? Thank you in advance

 

[sparrowhawk]

Did you change anything about your appearance and/or scent? New haircut? Shampoo/Perfume? I have seen cats not recognize owners on even small, weird things, and some cats see past some changes others can't.

You say the cat is healthy, but have you taken her to a vet since she started acting like this? While not terribly old, she is old enough that she could be developing problems - even if not sick, if her vision could be going bad, her nerves might be becoming over-sensitive, or she could have an internal problem that is just causing pain.

 

[Kieka]

Given her age my immediate thought is arthritis. When you are petting her you hit a tender spot and she lashes out. The second thought is a thyroid problem as those can cause dramatic personality changes. But given that is seems to be a reaction to petting or when you move when she is settled I would lean more heavily towards arthritis (or something physical).

Cats are experts at hiding pain and illness. Remember they are technically a prey animal so a sign of weakness could bring a predator down on them. So it is not uncommon for the first sign of a problem to be when whatever it is is more advance. Especially with arthritis the first sign is usually a knee jerk pain reaction (like lashing out at whatever is making it hurt more) or severe mobility issues when it has progressed. Hundreds of cat owners are surprised every year when their healthy cat suddenly has an illness that is severely progressed and they never noticed. My boy broke his leg last year and moved around so well that even my vet thought it was just a sprain (luckily my fur mom senses were tingling and I insisted on a x-ray).

If it were me, I would get a vet appointment and ask for x-rays. Specifically mention if there is a spot where she seems to trigger to attack you if you touch. If the x-rays show no sign of arthritis or anything else that could physically explain the reaction then blood work. Specifically ask they they run tests to check her thyroid but also anything else the vet may think of.

If all of that truly shows nothing physically wrong then you would need to look at your home and changes to it to see if something has her on edge. Usually though something truly behavioral would manifest differently. I have a strong suspicion that either x-rays or blood work will show something to explain the behavior.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

It's a good thing you know Tiramisu so very well, and can tell when she's doing things that aren't quite her usual behaviors -- although, who can miss a kitty lashing out and upset!

A lot of vets recommend seeing cats in their senior years at least twice a year for wellness checks. If Su was in to the vet "last winter", maybe it's time for another vet check. Sometimes certain illnesses or issues can progress very quickly.