Hey everybody. I have two approx 5 year old cats, a neutered polydactyl male Tabby "Timmy", and a tiny spayed, one eyed female, "Wink". I got them in Jan and Feb of 2013, and they get along very well together. I had a huge cat previously who was very nice at home, but was 'The worst patient ever" at the vet's. A new champ has been crowned now, but I don't really understand how he could be worse, especially since he's only about half the size my old cat was.
Wink is very affectionate, she loves to be held, etc. She is never aggressive, except for a couple of times a year, when she goes totally insane, and attacks me. In all the past cases but the one last night, they were triggered by two things:
1. Timmy is in trouble, and when I try to help him, she seems to think I'm hurting him. The first attack was about six months after I got them. Timmy had somehow tangled himself up in the drapes and was hanging upside down, screaming. As I got him loose, Wink attacked me, biting my forearm twice, hanging from it the second time. That attack was over pretty quickly. The 10 or so attacks that have come since, about half of them were when I was trying to get Timmy out of some kind of situation. These make some kind of sense.
2. A loud noise. The first attack that happened without Timmy's being in trouble was when I dropped a plate I was washing onto the other plates in the sink. Wink jumped on my leg, screaming, and sunk her teeth into the back of my calf several times. I finally got her off and blocked her with a frying pan. She stopped the attack after about a minute, and a few minutes later, she seemed to be back to her normal self. This kind of thing has happened several more times, with me getting bitten on my legs, feet, butt, and arm. These make sense to me too, the one last night, by far the worst one, is a mystery.
I was making dinner, and Timmy was getting low on food, anytime he can see the bottom of the food bowl, he starts whining and whining, and won't stop until I put food in the dish. As I went into the kitchen, he ran in front of me, making all his, "Oh boy!" trillls, purrs, and grunts, all his happy sounds. I picked up the bag of food, and about one second after I topped off the food, she attacked. Her first hit was on the back of my ankle, she sunk her teeth into the back of it, and swung her back feet around and raked the top of my foot. She was screaming and hissing. I shook my leg to get her off, and she jumped up and sunk her teeth into my upper thigh, and hung there for a few seconds, and raked the back of my knee. I got her off again, and she jumped up and got my calf on my other leg. After a couple of more bites and scratches, I got a frying pan and blocked her with it. Timmy came up to her and she attacked him too! He ran and after about 30 seconds of he chasing him, she ran out of gas, and perched herself on a chair. I went and washed my bites and scratches with alcohol, and then approached her. She was fine, and before I left for work, she got onto my chest as usual and purred and gently chewed on my shirt. As I walked out the door, the two cats were grooming each other, looking totally relaxed, with their eyes closed.
Any idea what happened last night?
Wink is very affectionate, she loves to be held, etc. She is never aggressive, except for a couple of times a year, when she goes totally insane, and attacks me. In all the past cases but the one last night, they were triggered by two things:
1. Timmy is in trouble, and when I try to help him, she seems to think I'm hurting him. The first attack was about six months after I got them. Timmy had somehow tangled himself up in the drapes and was hanging upside down, screaming. As I got him loose, Wink attacked me, biting my forearm twice, hanging from it the second time. That attack was over pretty quickly. The 10 or so attacks that have come since, about half of them were when I was trying to get Timmy out of some kind of situation. These make some kind of sense.
2. A loud noise. The first attack that happened without Timmy's being in trouble was when I dropped a plate I was washing onto the other plates in the sink. Wink jumped on my leg, screaming, and sunk her teeth into the back of my calf several times. I finally got her off and blocked her with a frying pan. She stopped the attack after about a minute, and a few minutes later, she seemed to be back to her normal self. This kind of thing has happened several more times, with me getting bitten on my legs, feet, butt, and arm. These make sense to me too, the one last night, by far the worst one, is a mystery.
I was making dinner, and Timmy was getting low on food, anytime he can see the bottom of the food bowl, he starts whining and whining, and won't stop until I put food in the dish. As I went into the kitchen, he ran in front of me, making all his, "Oh boy!" trillls, purrs, and grunts, all his happy sounds. I picked up the bag of food, and about one second after I topped off the food, she attacked. Her first hit was on the back of my ankle, she sunk her teeth into the back of it, and swung her back feet around and raked the top of my foot. She was screaming and hissing. I shook my leg to get her off, and she jumped up and sunk her teeth into my upper thigh, and hung there for a few seconds, and raked the back of my knee. I got her off again, and she jumped up and got my calf on my other leg. After a couple of more bites and scratches, I got a frying pan and blocked her with it. Timmy came up to her and she attacked him too! He ran and after about 30 seconds of he chasing him, she ran out of gas, and perched herself on a chair. I went and washed my bites and scratches with alcohol, and then approached her. She was fine, and before I left for work, she got onto my chest as usual and purred and gently chewed on my shirt. As I walked out the door, the two cats were grooming each other, looking totally relaxed, with their eyes closed.
Any idea what happened last night?
