Excessive Aggressive Behavior Of Loving Cat

[mr Worried]

I hand raised my cat since the first days of her life. She is a 4 year old female, and very attached to me, as I to her. She is not neutered.
Since a kitten she was fearless.

There are instances that she becomes ultra aggressive, at the levels that feral cats become aggressive when their life is threatened. These cases are 3-5 per year but each year they become more intense.

Each instance has a common beginning - I do something that she is not used to (sneezing, dripping water after a shower, being half naked etc) and she suddenly gets confused. Her eyes get dilated, each single hair on her tail aroused. She watches me in shock, sometimes she cautiously approach to sniff me. End result is the same. She starts by growling and hissing like I am a mortal threat to her, pouncing scratching whatever she can.

I have tried sweetalking, avoiding her gaze, withdrawing, or yelling. Nothing works. I often spent an hour trying to lure her to her room. Only thing that works is luring her to her room, closing her in and after half an hour of isolation she transforms to the loving pet she is.

As I said the cases get worse as the years pass. Day before yesterday I was forced to withdraw to my terrace, so I couldn't escape her sight. She was so stressed at my prolonged sight that I heard some weird noises coming from her mouth. The worse; While hissing at me she pooped on the floor. I was shocked. I don't know if she did that out of her stress or as a punishment to me.

Whats more worse for me is that today I had another incident. First time with 2 incidents in 3 days. I was fixing my chair, took a look at her and she looked at me with the usual pre-berserk look. Whats even worse is that today, after I closed her in her room for a time she came out and kept on it.

Her aggressiveness is incomparable to anything I've seen in videos, or heard from other people. Please believe me. Nothing comes close to that. I think that if this continuous I am an animal attack victim in waiting. It just takes 1 time to not spot the signs and she might leap and tear my face.

I know. She is not neutered, this might be the case, but it seems the cause is she not recognising me. Also the severity of the cases. I fear she is psychotic. What can I do?

 

[Hellenww]

It sounds hormonal. I remember PMS and if I had sharp teeth and claws even my closest loved ones would be full of scars.

 

[danteshuman]

LOL back when I was a teen & PMS? If I knew how to throw knives... OI!

I think you need to spay her then if it is still there 2-8 weeks after she is spayed, then you can work on her behavior. If you need it most places have low cost spay/neuter clinics. It might be worth googling your area to see if there is a low cost spay/neuter clinic around you.

 

[abyeb]

I agree with other posters’ assessments that this could be hormonal behavior. Female cats will often act aggressively while in heat. Spaying your cat will help her behavior and long-term health: Why You Should Spay And Neuter Your Cats

 

[mr Worried]

Ok, I need to spray her. Money isn't so an issue, more is that it is near impossible to cage her. Whenever I manage it she tries to rip the metal bars with her teeth - I get scared she will damage herself and I let her out. She causes so much wreck inside the cage that I doubt it wouldn't fall apart even during a short car trip.

So two questions:
Do vets do the procedure in house calls for a higher fee?
Does the procedure have an immediate effect on aggression?

And I must add something more. I closed her in her room. After half an hour she whined. I let her out and she went berserk again. Then closed her in her room. This happened four times - she is still in. Its like the switch in her brain stuck on me being an enemy. I don't know if I over dramatize it but this has never happened before. I am quite devastated.

 

[danteshuman]

You might be able to have the vet prescribe a sedative to help her travel to go to the vet (yes they have vets that come to your house but I'm not sure they do spays.) Another option. Take the crate & have a friend drive you. Keep her in a kitty burrito (wrapped tightly in a towel with just her head showing.) If she is calmer that way, that may be a way to get her to the vet to get her spayed. You can try wrapping her in a towel at home to see how she does.
How to Gently Restrain Your Cat

 

[abyeb]

What I found helps the most is to leave the carrier out all the time. That way, cats don’t associate it with going to the vet; it’s just a fun box, so she won’t run and hide or lash out if she sees you bringing out the carrier. You can also spray the carrier with Feliway before heading to the vet.

 

[mr Worried]

Sedative might help, burrito thing not a chance. Tried everything with a carrier. I had it for about 6 months in the same spot and her food bowl in it. For a period she was sleeping in it. As soon as I closed its door to carry her all hell broke out.

Is this prolonged viciousness I described, continued even after long breaks of isolation, something normal? Could maybe someone tell me if its a strong indication of mental problem or if I overdramatize?

Also the hormonal cooldown after spraying a female? Is it instant or gradual?

 

[Hellenww]

It's posssible the isolation is making her worse. Cats in general don't like closed door. When she is locked on her room the energy in her is builing up so when you open the door she explodes out and you are the first moving thing she sees so she explodes on you.

When she is not in attack mode have active play sessions with her. Do you have some stuffed animals about her size you could redirect her aggression to. A lot of people like the kickeroos.

Kickeroo – Pattern 1 - KONG

Here are so articles that may help:

Cat Aggression Toward People


How To Stop Playtime Aggression In Cats