My once sweet cat now hates me

[rbnum1fan]

I am at my wits end and am hoping someone can help. I have an Angora rescue that for 7 years has been the sweetest,most loving cat I have ever had. However about 3 weeks ago he suddenly decided that if I walk thru the house,come up the stairs or sometimes for no reason whatsoever I am a threat and he growls,hisses and sometimes will attack me with his claws. He can be purring and loving one second and literally in the blink of an eye become enraged.  He dosent act scared, he acts MAD and has demonstrated fury that he has never ever shown before.i am truly frightened when he becomes enraged.

He is only demonstrating this behavior with me,and is still very loving with my wife and daughter.  I have knowingly  done nothing to provoke him ,hurt him or scare him at any time,and when he gets mad I try my best to remain calm and talk to him in soothing manner,but very often wind up calling my wife to come get him as he is out of control with me.

any ideas for help will be GREATLY appreciated!!!

thanx

Scott

 

[desigirlmonica]

Well most people have put their cats on anti anxiety medicine. Have you tried cat calming treats?

 

[rbnum1fan]

Well most people have put their cats on anti anxiety medicine. Have you tried cat calming treats?

thank you, I have never heard of them but am certainly looking into them

 

[desigirlmonica]

Cats can even drink chamomile tea

 

[bigperm20]

I would book him a visit at the vet ro rule out any medical issue. It's possibly a mental health issue as someone mentioned.

It could also be environmental in nature. For instance another cat outside who's spraying around your house or some other change to his environment or routine.

Has anything changed around the house? Have you done anything different with your routine? Is he your only cat?

 

[rbnum1fan]

I would book him a visit at the vet ro rule out any medical issue. It's possibly a mental health issue as someone mentioned.

It could also be envioronmental in nature. For instance another cat outside who's spraying around your house or some other change to his environment or routine.

Has anything changed around the house? Have you done anything different with your routine? Is he your only cat?

He is the only cat we have and is a strictly inside cat. The only changes that have been made is one of our dogs passed away October 28,but the cat and dog while not enemies were certainly not close. 

 

[bigperm20]

I would book him a visit at the vet ro rule out any medical issue. It's possibly a mental health issue as someone mentioned.

It could also be envioronmental in nature. For instance another cat outside who's spraying around your house or some other change to his environment or routine.

Has anything changed around the house? Have you done anything different with your routine? Is he your only cat?

He is the only cat we have and is a strictly inside cat. The only changes that have been made is one of our dogs passed away October 28,but the cat and dog while not enemies were certainly not close. 

It could be a health issue then. It wouldn't hurt to try Feliway and a calming collar first. But most likely a trio to the vet may be required.

 

[flowerdew]

This is going to sound really silly, and before I ask, I want to say that I am so sorry to hear about your dog passing away. But: is there any chance he might think that you had something to do with the dog no longer being there? Or is it possible that while your dog was sick, you spent time at the vet's office and came home smelling that way?

We have two dogs who aren't fans of each other at all, but one becomes frantic any time we take the other to an appointment or to be groomed without her. We think she thinks we're throwing dogs away, and she has to be on her best behavior or she's next :lol3: And one of my kittens is very wary of any creature, canine, feline or human, who suddenly shows up smelling like the vet.

Even if your cat didn't care for your dog much at all, it's probably still upsetting to suddenly find his (distant) companion missing.

This is all just conjecture based on what you've told us, but even if your cat seems angry, chances are that that's based in fear. My kitten responds to most things that frighten her by trying to kill them or scare them away; when I was younger, I had a rabbit that did the same thing, would leap straight into my cat's side to drive him off. If it's not related to the passing of your dog, it could be any insignificant-to-you thing that terrified him and he's associated with you - a pot falling loudly in the kitchen, a door slamming nearby, seeing a strange animal outside and you coincidentally come in smelling like a strange animal. But my best guess is, your cat is frightened of you or something he associates with you.

Here's something that feels kind of similar to me: I had a cat for almost 19 years who was just the coolest, most confident, in control cat I've ever met. He had no anxiety about other cats, but also considered himself far, far above them. He could walk into a room with unfamiliar resident cats in it, and immediately that whole room would become his. Other cats didn't stress him out at all, he barely noticed them, but every other cat he met hated and feared him.

And I've always been something of a cat magnet myself - whenever I visit homes with cats, they're in my lap and on my shoulders. I get along very well with cats - right up until any other cat met my cat. And after that, it didn't matter how much those other cats had loved me in the past. They wouldn't come near me. They would hiss and hide. My sister's cat used to leap at my legs and punch them with his front paws. If they could smell my cat on me, they were terrified of me. Three or four months after my cat passed away last year, my sister's cat was suddenly once again my best friend.

My advice would be, introduce yourself to your cat again. Be slow and patient and careful about it. Speak softly and bring treats. Sit in the same room with him but at a distance, and read the newspaper out loud quietly to him. Don't try to spend any more time with him than he's comfortable with - stop holding or petting him the instant you suspect things might turn bad in a moment. Watch for his eyes dilating, his ears tilting back and his tail swishing, be conscious of any tenseness in his muscles. Try playing with him with things that let him interact from a distance - fishing pole toys, etc. Give him lots of low-stress, happy associations with you. Take over feeding him, if you don't already, and leave the unpleasant, stressful chores to the family members he trusts right now.

And make sure his claws are clipped (though probably it's best if it's not by you right at this moment). He sounds a little unpredictable right now, and you don't want to be injured.

I've had a small bit of success with Feliway and Anxitane (I believe this is Composure, only in pill form) and larger successes with Tryptophan treats and the Sentry calming collar. These might be worth a try, too - talk to your vet to get their opinion. And one other thing to consider - I'm not sure how old your cat is (at least 7!) but as cats move past 10 years old, senility becomes a bigger possibility. I hope this isn't the issue in your case, but it is something to ask the vet about.

 

[rbnum1fan]

Thanks very much the reply. He seems  to be mellowing out and we have an appointment with our vet later today to check the mental state of him. hopefully we can get him back to his old self

 

[bigperm20]

Thanks very much the reply. He seems  to be mellowing out and we have an appointment with our vet later today to check the mental state of him. hopefully we can get him back to his old self

I do think @flowerdew makes some good points. Rigorous play seems to heal a lot of anxieties I'm cats. My cats are very partial to a toy called "Da Bird". Petco sells them and you can also buy them online. Get the one with the solid pole piece.A laser pointer is also a great form of exercise for kitty. Be sure to treat them with a couple of kitty treats or kibbles of dry food afterwards.