Hi all! I’m hoping someone has some insight or suggestions, about 2 months ago I adopted a cat- who I knew upfront would be a challenging cat, but after months at the shelter and an increasingly bad rap (fighting other cats when the shelter tried to socialize him, bit employees) I decided I had to save him before he became unadoptable in their eyes. I adopted him knowing he hated cats- and I do have other cats. Shelter knew this as well- and we all agreed we could keep him seperate and away from cats.
Background on Whirl (aggressive cat): he came to the county shelter as a stray- not neutered, with an “obvious gait abnormality”. They did all sorts of labs, xrays, etc. Couldn’t find a reason for his abnormal walking.They deemed it an unknown neurological issue, and also said he seemed very dizzy. I didn’t see how he walked when the shelter took him in, but he walks normally at home and shiws no signs of dizziness. He’s not good at jumping- he often jumps a little short of his target and flops back onto the floor. Shelter estimated him at 1 year- my instincts say he’s a senior. One of his eyes has a slight haze, and he just looks older to me.
Okay back to behavior, I keep him in my room/bathroom most of the time, he’s content but gets bored. He’s very affectionate and sleeps at the end of my bed. Loves people but will get into “attack mode” and bite- not hard occasionally. I have tried to socialize him with my cats. Sometimes he can make it an hour without fighting, but I have never in my life seen a cat so intent on fighting another cat, immediately. Most times when I let him out with the other cats- he immediately starts stalking and attacks a cat- and this is not playing- he is out for blood. He literally huffs and puffs when he sees a cat and it’s only a matter of time before he attacks them. Both my spouse and I have been bitten- extremely hard, when breaking up a fight. Whirl does NOT come out of fight mode. He will swing around and bite so hard and so quick. Now I have learned to pick him up with a towel mid fight and he won’t bite me then. He really only viciously bites in situations where a cat fight has to be broken up- but he absolutely “snaps” and he doesn’t snap out of it easily. Now I know I signed up for a challenging extreme alpha cat with potential neurological issues- and I keep him seperate from my other cats any time I can’t be right there to keep everyone safe, but I guess I’m wondering if such a cat aggressive cat is totally hopeless to socialize? It would have been more ideal for him to be in a cat free home, but his time was running out at the shelter and the shelter and I both knew it. And because he showed aggression and signs of neurological or unknown disease- the shelter had to tell everyone that upfront making him even more unappealing, and I just couldn’t not save him- there’s so much good in him, despite his issues. I just wish I understood why he hates cats so viciously, and why it seems like he almost enjoys fighting- because it’s his absolute immediate instinct when he sees a cat here’s a few pics of my challenging guy: he has a permanent grumpy expression but there’s a people loving cat in there!
Background on Whirl (aggressive cat): he came to the county shelter as a stray- not neutered, with an “obvious gait abnormality”. They did all sorts of labs, xrays, etc. Couldn’t find a reason for his abnormal walking.They deemed it an unknown neurological issue, and also said he seemed very dizzy. I didn’t see how he walked when the shelter took him in, but he walks normally at home and shiws no signs of dizziness. He’s not good at jumping- he often jumps a little short of his target and flops back onto the floor. Shelter estimated him at 1 year- my instincts say he’s a senior. One of his eyes has a slight haze, and he just looks older to me.
Okay back to behavior, I keep him in my room/bathroom most of the time, he’s content but gets bored. He’s very affectionate and sleeps at the end of my bed. Loves people but will get into “attack mode” and bite- not hard occasionally. I have tried to socialize him with my cats. Sometimes he can make it an hour without fighting, but I have never in my life seen a cat so intent on fighting another cat, immediately. Most times when I let him out with the other cats- he immediately starts stalking and attacks a cat- and this is not playing- he is out for blood. He literally huffs and puffs when he sees a cat and it’s only a matter of time before he attacks them. Both my spouse and I have been bitten- extremely hard, when breaking up a fight. Whirl does NOT come out of fight mode. He will swing around and bite so hard and so quick. Now I have learned to pick him up with a towel mid fight and he won’t bite me then. He really only viciously bites in situations where a cat fight has to be broken up- but he absolutely “snaps” and he doesn’t snap out of it easily. Now I know I signed up for a challenging extreme alpha cat with potential neurological issues- and I keep him seperate from my other cats any time I can’t be right there to keep everyone safe, but I guess I’m wondering if such a cat aggressive cat is totally hopeless to socialize? It would have been more ideal for him to be in a cat free home, but his time was running out at the shelter and the shelter and I both knew it. And because he showed aggression and signs of neurological or unknown disease- the shelter had to tell everyone that upfront making him even more unappealing, and I just couldn’t not save him- there’s so much good in him, despite his issues. I just wish I understood why he hates cats so viciously, and why it seems like he almost enjoys fighting- because it’s his absolute immediate instinct when he sees a cat here’s a few pics of my challenging guy: he has a permanent grumpy expression but there’s a people loving cat in there!
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