Okay, Hi Everyone!
First off, this is long but I want to give as much info as I can so I can receive ya'll's advice.
I really need some help. My husband and I adopted our cat , " Baby" around 4 1/2 years ago and she was about 9 weeks old. The place we got her from said that they had rescued her and her siblings from a farm and were born from a feral cat. She has been nothing but a joy to us! We have moved 3 times, we have always lived in apartments and she has never had contact with other animals and rarely small children. In September, we moved to a very rural area, to a house. There are plenty of other animals to see running about and though she was interested she never seemed too perturbed. Around the same time, my husband has had to travel during the week and is only home on weekends. I have noticed a difference in her behavior but not in a bad way... until the last month.
The first attack was around Xmas and I had shooed her out of the Xmas tree where she decided to perch. Not immediately, but as I came through the door from outside she flew at me and began viciously attacking my legs. She scratched quite deeply and drew blood, was hissing and screaming like a banshee. I grabbed a pillow form the couch and herded her back towards a bedroom, all the while , she kept attacking the pillow and screaming.
I was worried but let it go after she calmed down. I started to notice that she was always lurking around the entrance door ( our front door is a sliding glass door) and seemed to be searching for something as well as trying to get out. ( She has always been a strictly indoor kitty ).There are other neighborhood animals that come around our porch are every now and then. She would sometimes hiss and swipe at me but I would baby talk to her but at this point, I am feeling uncomfortable, her eyes get wild, she prowls and seems ready " to go ".
This past Saturday, after a morning of laying around and cuddling, I went to the kitchen to remove the trash, as I stepped back, she came flying at me out of nowhere and attacked my legs so bad I had to go to the E.R. My husband had to herd her back to a room and she was going completely insane.
When we came home, I tried to let her out and be around me but was so petrified and because she sensed my fear , it made her kind of stalk me. I was shaking so bad every time she would come around a corner that my husband said we had to get her out of the house because we could not risk this type of attack while he is gone.
Unfortunately, I called the local Animal Shelter, who said they could house her for a 10 day evaluation, until we decide what to do next. I felt that I had to remove her from the house for now because I am completely uncomfortable with being alone with her and I didn't want to keep her locked in her room.
I absolutely refuse to give her up, this has been such a horrible 24 hours , I don't know how I will make until next week.
I really need some advice, I have talked to mutiple vets, the Humane Society, the sheriff who picked her up and EVERYONE is at a loss.
Why is she turning on me? I am the closest to her, I have read all kinds of info on redirected aggression and all I know is that it could be a mulitude of contributing stressors.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks
First off, this is long but I want to give as much info as I can so I can receive ya'll's advice.
I really need some help. My husband and I adopted our cat , " Baby" around 4 1/2 years ago and she was about 9 weeks old. The place we got her from said that they had rescued her and her siblings from a farm and were born from a feral cat. She has been nothing but a joy to us! We have moved 3 times, we have always lived in apartments and she has never had contact with other animals and rarely small children. In September, we moved to a very rural area, to a house. There are plenty of other animals to see running about and though she was interested she never seemed too perturbed. Around the same time, my husband has had to travel during the week and is only home on weekends. I have noticed a difference in her behavior but not in a bad way... until the last month.
The first attack was around Xmas and I had shooed her out of the Xmas tree where she decided to perch. Not immediately, but as I came through the door from outside she flew at me and began viciously attacking my legs. She scratched quite deeply and drew blood, was hissing and screaming like a banshee. I grabbed a pillow form the couch and herded her back towards a bedroom, all the while , she kept attacking the pillow and screaming.
I was worried but let it go after she calmed down. I started to notice that she was always lurking around the entrance door ( our front door is a sliding glass door) and seemed to be searching for something as well as trying to get out. ( She has always been a strictly indoor kitty ).There are other neighborhood animals that come around our porch are every now and then. She would sometimes hiss and swipe at me but I would baby talk to her but at this point, I am feeling uncomfortable, her eyes get wild, she prowls and seems ready " to go ".
This past Saturday, after a morning of laying around and cuddling, I went to the kitchen to remove the trash, as I stepped back, she came flying at me out of nowhere and attacked my legs so bad I had to go to the E.R. My husband had to herd her back to a room and she was going completely insane.
When we came home, I tried to let her out and be around me but was so petrified and because she sensed my fear , it made her kind of stalk me. I was shaking so bad every time she would come around a corner that my husband said we had to get her out of the house because we could not risk this type of attack while he is gone.
Unfortunately, I called the local Animal Shelter, who said they could house her for a 10 day evaluation, until we decide what to do next. I felt that I had to remove her from the house for now because I am completely uncomfortable with being alone with her and I didn't want to keep her locked in her room.
I absolutely refuse to give her up, this has been such a horrible 24 hours , I don't know how I will make until next week.
I really need some advice, I have talked to mutiple vets, the Humane Society, the sheriff who picked her up and EVERYONE is at a loss.
Why is she turning on me? I am the closest to her, I have read all kinds of info on redirected aggression and all I know is that it could be a mulitude of contributing stressors.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks
