Biting At My Heels

[relienna]

Hello fellow cat lovers!
It's been awhile since I've posted. But, a new-ish issue has come up in our house hold.

Little bit of backstory:
I posted 2 years ago about my crazy play-aggressive kitten who grew up to have real aggression. He was a bottle baby who didn't get a lot of time with his siblings and it caused him to be NUTS as a kitten and once he hit around a year of age he became needy with random instances of attacking me. He would jump up and attack me - usually going for my shoulder when I was relaxing in my computer chair. Or sometimes when I would be laying in bed looking at my phone or reading he would jump up and go for me then. Full on ears back, crazy eyes. He drew blood multiple times. I tried time outs, I tried wearing him out regularly, we worked on training. He would still do it. It was like some random anxiety trigger that neither me or my veterinarians (I'm a vet tech) could figure out. And he would only do it to ME. My boyfriend is immune to his fits of rage, lol.

Me and the Vets decided to try him on Fluoxetine (Prozac) and it worked GREAT. The instances dwindled down to only occasionally. He seemed much more laid back. And I had him on it for a year. As it got closer to the year mark it would become difficult to give him the medication. He would let me give it to him, but I would often have to sneak up on him because if he saw me grab the medicine or the syringe he would run away and hide for long periods of time. It got to the point where I was only able to give it to him basically every other day. So, since it had been awhile the Vets said I could try weaning him off and stopping it.

Well, good news! He's been off his Prozac for about a month. Bad news, he has jumped at me a few times. But, still not at the frequency he was doing it before the medication.

Now, with all this backstory info about my crazy feline I can inquire about the NEW behavior he is doing. New-ish. He has always occasionally come up and gently bitten the back of my heel when I'll be sitting in my computer chair.

Since stopping the Prozac he does it at least once a day, sometimes multiple times a day. And now it's not always as gentle. He hasn't broken the skin, it's still pretty tame - but he does it a LOT. To the back of my heel, to my calf. Earlier he tugged on my jeans. -.-

He has food, he has water, we play.
What is he trying to tell me!? lol

And of course everyone's favorite thing - cute pictures of the little man himself! This is Gage

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Sounds as if (and mind, I am NOT a vet) the Prozac is finally out of his system, and you are seeing the old behaviors, but at a FAR lower level. Before putting him back on the Prozac, you might try 1-3 teaspoons of chilled chamomile tea up to 3 times a day. It is much milder than the Prozac, but with the reduced amount of aggressive activity, it may just do the trick!

 

[relienna]

Sounds as if (and mind, I am NOT a vet) the Prozac is finally out of his system, and you are seeing the old behaviors, but at a FAR lower level. Before putting him back on the Prozac, you might try 1-3 teaspoons of chilled chamomile tea up to 3 times a day. It is much milder than the Prozac, but with the reduced amount of aggressive activity, it may just do the trick!

Hmm, I'm not quite sure I could convince him to drink that. Or let me syringe it to him I should say, haha! Yeah, I was suspicious that he clearly still has some mental issues that are re-popping up now that he is med-free! Bleh. Thank you for the suggestion! You bring up a good thought: There are some supplemental calming stuff at my work I could try first instead of going straight back to the medicine. I might be able to convince him to drink the NutriCalm since it's chicken flavored.

Ugh, my boy is such a problem child.
Love him to pieces, though! Known him since he was 3 weeks old! <3

Thanks again - for both the advice and taking the time to reply!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

That's what we're here for. I just wish I had had some more concrete ideas for you. And do try the NutriCalm. If he goes for it, you might be able to avoid the more intense Prozac.

Let me know how he's doing. I'm a bit invested in him now! I answer questions, then it KILLS me when I don't know how a cat is getting along!

 

[Elfilou]

Ha! He looks so innocent and cute. Supplements do sound like a good idea for him. Having been on mind altering medications myself I'd say it took months, in my case, to learn how to manage my thoughts without meds. Hard to explain, but I can imagine he's going through an adjusting period and could use some help with calming down! Biting is usually associated with wanting attention or play, but in his case it's hard to say. Good luck! He's lucky to have you.

 

[caelesto]

Not sure if it's been suggested before, but those Feliway air freshener things have helped with a lot of our kitty behaviour issues.

We had a super cute petite tortie years ago (very creatively named "Tortie") who attacked EVERYONE. Especially ankles and legs. She left me and my one sister [mostly] alone, but everyone else ran around the house terrified of being mauled by our psycho Tortie. She mellowed out a little when she was getting really old, but my goodness that cat was a sadistic lunatic. And we just put up with it. This is not a solution, I just wanted you to know you are not alone, and I would not think you a crazy cat lady if you decided to just put up with it.

 

[relienna]

Well,
I talked with my vets and they said I could try Solliquin - which is a chewable supplement. They aren't sure Nutricalm really works in cats, I guess it's more of a dog supplement.

But, since my cat literally wakes me up at 6:00am every morning now with constant meowing and biting at my feet. (which is new, believe it or not)
Yowls at me when I'm washing the dishes (like, what??)
And is currently running top speed across the apartment, slamming into furniture, and jumping up to bite at me..
Oh, wait, he stopped to pass out all pathetic-like on the coffee table and start chewing on the mail. -.-

I think my special boy just needs his Prozac. lol

I try not to be a quitter, but I have a feeling that supplement usage might not help with his level of coo-coo-bananas. Hahaha.

The funny thing is, when he's not being a little monster he is actually the BEST cuddler! <3

But, I do have some great pics of him with the crazies!! lol

 

[relienna]

Also, in response to another person - I have used Feliway multiple times!
We have a diffuser and a giant spray bottle of it in this house hold! Haha
It helps him out if we have to leave on trips, keeps him pretty calm. I don't notice too much of a difference when we have it going on regularly in the house. And my boyfriend can't stand the smell of it. *eyeroll*

But, even recently when we had to visit some family and my co-worker came over to feed him she said he was a lot more wacky than usual! >.< Gah! lol

 

[Mamanyt1953]

SIGH...if he needs the Prozac, he need the Prozac. Some kitties are just like that. Poor babies, they can't help their oddball brain chemistry any more than humans can. Maybe, just maybe, the Solliquin will do the trick! I'm just so thankful that he is with someone who loves him regardless of his madman ways!

 

[relienna]

SIGH...if he needs the Prozac, he need the Prozac. Some kitties are just like that. Poor babies, they can't help their oddball brain chemistry any more than humans can. Maybe, just maybe, the Solliquin will do the trick! I'm just so thankful that he is with someone who loves him regardless of his madman ways!

Haha thanks! <3
As a person diagnosed with pretty severe anxiety issues - I totally understand not being able to control your brain! It's like he was meant to be with me for this reason!

When he was a kitten we almost re-homed him several times. My boyfriend would have claw marks and bite marks all over his legs, I would have wounds and it was HELL. (Weirdly as an adult Gage only gives ME a hard time now, but sometimes he'll bite my boyfriend if he tries to pet him and he's not in the mood! lol) But, every time the conversation came up of "Ok, we can look into finding him a home somewhere", we just couldn't do it. We constantly kept saying "Well, you know, let's give him another month". Because we were just so worried that he would end up in home to home or even just forever at a shelter/rescue because no one wanted to deal with him. And, as someone who loves animals and works in the veterinary field I have ALWAYS said that animals are family and (unless the situations are severe) you should never give up on family.

So, when I tried everything in my power and the Prozac seemed to be what help - I took it!
I, of course, feel like medications should always be a last resort. But, like you said: Some cats just need help with their crazy brains!

And we definitely love Gage to bits - flaws and all! <3

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Awwwwwwwww! No, you don't give up on family. Sometimes you make hard choices but you never, ever give up! He's a sweetie when he can be, isn't he? Keep me posted on how you guys are doing! I'll be checking here whenever there is a new post, so feel free to just natter away, even if you just need to vent to someone who gets how important our cats are to us, flaws and all!