Help! Cat suddenly hissing and attacking me

Skny

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Help! Today my cat randomly started hissing and attacking me, while this was happening she kept peeing and shitting all over the place! I called the vet, who has no idea why this can be happening, and i have an appointment tomorrow. My cat was hunting me for 1 hour until i decided to leave the condo to give her some time alone. When i got back there was no change, she was waiting at the door and was hissing and ready to attack. After chasing her around for a while i finally caught her and put her in the bathroom with toys, litter box, food, and water. Anytime i walk by she hisses and growls, so ive gone to bed in hopes she can relax from a stressful day.

Has this happened to any of your cats before?
 

catalinacat

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Sounds like redirected aggression to me. Maybe she saw something outside or heard something that spooked her.
She can also be in medical discomfort. She can also be stressed due to some changes in your house or changes in routine. Also can be triggered by a new scent in the house even. It can be just about anything since cats have much sharper senses than humans do, and thus can get stressed more easily especially if she's already a sensitive cat to begin with.

Nevertheless, I hope the vet helps you figure out what the specific trigger may be, and I hope your cat returns back to normal. You did make a good decision in giving her some space.
 
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Ellis75

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I met someone who had this exact situation happen with his cat, although unfortunately he wasn't able to afford any diagnostics so I don't know what caused it in that case. I agree it could definitely be redirected aggression if something loud or strange happened outside, or maybe if there are other animals in your area. Also agree it could be some sudden pain or medical issue that's causing her to lash out. Hopefully she's calm enough this morning for you to get her into her carrier. If not, you may have to trap her. A local shelter or humane society might have a cage trap you could borrow as a last resort if she's still aggressive when you try to get her to the vet. Be prepared that they may have to sedate her at the vet if she's still lashing out then.

Just to make sure, is she vaccinated against rabies?
 
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Skny

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Update
We took our cat to the vet, she gave us sedative pills (Gabapentin) and told us to be on our way. We were not happy with this so we took her to the hospital where a doctor was able to preform many tests. They were unable to find anything at first, i received a call this morning from the doctor saying there may be a foreign object in her stomach and she will need to be retested on an empty stomach to be sure. The doctor doesnt think this will be the cause of her aggression but would like to eliminate this option. So i gave her some food with pill inside and now we are waiting for the 12 hours to pass.

Thank you all for your input, i read the messages many times when i was freaking out.

This morning she is still growling and hissing at us through the door but when i went in the room, this time she was more scared of me and hiding instead of actively trying to attack me. I hope this is a good sign!
 
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Skny

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I met someone who had this exact situation happen with his cat, although unfortunately he wasn't able to afford any diagnostics so I don't know what caused it in that case. I agree it could definitely be redirected aggression if something loud or strange happened outside, or maybe if there are other animals in your area. Also agree it could be some sudden pain or medical issue that's causing her to lash out. Hopefully she's calm enough this morning for you to get her into her carrier. If not, you may have to trap her. A local shelter or humane society might have a cage trap you could borrow as a last resort if she's still aggressive when you try to get her to the vet. Be prepared that they may have to sedate her at the vet if she's still lashing out then.

Just to make sure, is she vaccinated against rabies?
yes she has been vaccinated for rabies

The someone you met who had the exact same issue, did the cat eventually return to normal? If so, how long did the aggression last?
 

Katy Perkins

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Any sudden change of behavior in a cat signifies a problem. Your cat is most likely in pain, which a multitude of medical issues could cause. Your cat is telling you it has a problem by its change in behavior. So it is up to you to listen to what your cat is telling you and helping it by getting it to the vet for a thorough check-up and diagnosis.

If the problem is not physical, then it is likely to be stress or anxiety, for which the cause is more difficult to pinpoint as cats are such sensitive creatures that they can easily be triggered into a state of anxiety by something that might seem quite innocuous. Again, the vet will advise you on this, and you may need to engage the services of a cat behaviorist. (ESAcarecom)
 
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