I am desperately seeking immediate help. Here is some information that might be helpful
Cat 1 : Dexter, neutered, male, 4yrs. indoor/outdoor working cat. Ragdoll/Blue Russian. 16lbs
Cat 2: Ophelia, unaltered(she is scheduled to be fixed, but we were waiting until she was a little older as our last kitten died on the operating table while being spayed) , female, 6 months, indoor cat Domestic longhair.
We have had our cat Dexter for 4 years. When we got him he was a barn cat, we tried to keep him inside at first and he was miserable, so he is now an indoor outdoor cat that comes and goes as he pleases. He is the best cat I could ever ask for. He goes hiking, fishing, camping, basically everywhere we go. He is known as the neighborhood cat, he gets treats daily from at least 5 families that I know of. He is very loving and acts more like a dog. He loves kids, dogs and other cats. We would find him daily outside cuddling with neighbor cats so we talked to our vet about getting him a friend. We got Ophelia about 4 months ago. We slowly introduced them as directed and its been downhill ever since. Ophelia is VERY dominant. She would take his food( we instantly started feeding them separately), attack him in his sleep ect. Dexter lost 2 lbs due to stress. Although she is starting to calm down Dexter still despises her. 2 weeks ago he started marking his territory all over the house. We knew he was upset and decided to keep them separate for a while. Now they are fed separately, and Ophelia is not allowed in my room as I think it upsets Dexter when he sees my husband and I pet or love on her. I have purposely for the last 2 weeks not let him see me giving Ophelia any attention and she now sleeps with the kids. Dexter loves his kids, they are 8,9,11, not in the crazy wild stage.
The issue:
Today my 11 year old daughter was sitting outside when I heard screaming. Dexter came out of nowhere, pounced her, held her down and proceeded to bite and claw her all over drawing blood in numerous places. She got him off and climbed up the playhouse and he waited circling her while she screamed for me. I didn't realize what had happened, I just thought she was hurt so I grabbed her and carried her inside. Upon further inspection she has 3 large gashes on her arm, stomach and leg, she also has 8 bite marks on different places of her body from head to feet that broke the skin. This was totally unprovoked. I ran back out to find him and he has not come home yet. At this point I feel like I must give up one of the cats but I just don't know if there are any other options. Who would take a cat that attacked a child? If we rehomed the kitten what if he does this again? What if he attacks someone else's child?
FYI- I immediately called the vet, first to double check his vaccination (all current) and second to ask for advice. They told me that it sounded behavioral or physchological as it was unprovoked, had he been in pain he would have attacked if bothered, not for no reason. They said if something was wrong with him psychologically there wasn't much to be done.
I am a wreck. We just don't know what to do. Do we have options? Thank you for your input
Cat 1 : Dexter, neutered, male, 4yrs. indoor/outdoor working cat. Ragdoll/Blue Russian. 16lbs
Cat 2: Ophelia, unaltered(she is scheduled to be fixed, but we were waiting until she was a little older as our last kitten died on the operating table while being spayed) , female, 6 months, indoor cat Domestic longhair.
We have had our cat Dexter for 4 years. When we got him he was a barn cat, we tried to keep him inside at first and he was miserable, so he is now an indoor outdoor cat that comes and goes as he pleases. He is the best cat I could ever ask for. He goes hiking, fishing, camping, basically everywhere we go. He is known as the neighborhood cat, he gets treats daily from at least 5 families that I know of. He is very loving and acts more like a dog. He loves kids, dogs and other cats. We would find him daily outside cuddling with neighbor cats so we talked to our vet about getting him a friend. We got Ophelia about 4 months ago. We slowly introduced them as directed and its been downhill ever since. Ophelia is VERY dominant. She would take his food( we instantly started feeding them separately), attack him in his sleep ect. Dexter lost 2 lbs due to stress. Although she is starting to calm down Dexter still despises her. 2 weeks ago he started marking his territory all over the house. We knew he was upset and decided to keep them separate for a while. Now they are fed separately, and Ophelia is not allowed in my room as I think it upsets Dexter when he sees my husband and I pet or love on her. I have purposely for the last 2 weeks not let him see me giving Ophelia any attention and she now sleeps with the kids. Dexter loves his kids, they are 8,9,11, not in the crazy wild stage.
The issue:
Today my 11 year old daughter was sitting outside when I heard screaming. Dexter came out of nowhere, pounced her, held her down and proceeded to bite and claw her all over drawing blood in numerous places. She got him off and climbed up the playhouse and he waited circling her while she screamed for me. I didn't realize what had happened, I just thought she was hurt so I grabbed her and carried her inside. Upon further inspection she has 3 large gashes on her arm, stomach and leg, she also has 8 bite marks on different places of her body from head to feet that broke the skin. This was totally unprovoked. I ran back out to find him and he has not come home yet. At this point I feel like I must give up one of the cats but I just don't know if there are any other options. Who would take a cat that attacked a child? If we rehomed the kitten what if he does this again? What if he attacks someone else's child?
FYI- I immediately called the vet, first to double check his vaccination (all current) and second to ask for advice. They told me that it sounded behavioral or physchological as it was unprovoked, had he been in pain he would have attacked if bothered, not for no reason. They said if something was wrong with him psychologically there wasn't much to be done.
I am a wreck. We just don't know what to do. Do we have options? Thank you for your input
