Older Cat Now Attacking His Best Friend Cat

[RufusGizmo]

I have two older cats, about twelve or thirteen, and two kittens that I have been getting integrated over the last 10 months. basically they were all ok together, we also moved at the same time so it was definitely not that easy. one of the older cats had to be put on buspirone for a tail biting problem that seems to have corrected itself. the problem with that same cat is he used to be great friends with the other older cat, and was up until a few days ago when he started attacking his best friend. its heartbreaking. He gets super over stimulated if I am cleaning or something, and moving around too fast, he simply gets kinda nuts. then he follows me around and i'm kind of afraid of him. If I sit down he calms down a bit, but not sure if he needs to go to a vet? he was there about 5 months ago, and had clean bill of health. is thirteen considered old? I only had one cat before this, and he lived until he was 16.

 

[Kieka]

I would go to a vet and ask specifically that his thyroid be checked. Sudden behavior changes plus his age make Hyperthyroidism a real possibility. There are other things like diabetes that can cause behavior changes and aggression as well. You'd need to get a blood panel that checks for thyroid and blood sugar, my vet calls it a senior blood panel.

 

[RufusGizmo]

thanks. I will. thankfully my husband can get him in the cat carrier. I can't.

 

[Kieka]

Do let us know how it goes. If it isn't medically based we can float some ideas for helping out behaviorally. It's just always best to rule out medical.

 

[RufusGizmo]

thanks, we are going to watch him for a couple days and see if he calms a little. with this new house we have been having a lot done as well, new roof, furnaces, floors so maybe he will calm now that the projects are done. i could barely stand it. husband is retired and home a lot so he can keep a good eye on him. i'll let you know what happens.

 

[1 bruce 1]

If this were my cat, I would be concerned about hyperesthsia. The tail biting, the "getting kind of nuts" and over stimulated, following you around in a somewhat aggressive/predatory manner and attacking a cat he's always been happy to live with is worrisome (it's not a death sentence, but treatment must happen.)
Since the tail biting stopped, that's good, but now it sounds like he's re-directing this on other beings vs. his own self and it can be controlled but you MUST have a vet that is familiar with this condition and doesn't wave it off like it's bogus.

For ours, what helps calm him down is a quiet, dimly lit or somewhat dark room (NOT pitch black, like a closet, his makes him WAY worse) and just leaving him alone for awhile.

 

[RufusGizmo]

thanks, my husband told me he did put him in the basement for awhile today, and he was sound asleep on the couch down there when he went back down to get him. he really is way overstimulated, and you would think at this age he would sleep way more then he does. i'll keep you posted.

 

[1 bruce 1]

thanks, my husband told me he did put him in the basement for awhile today, and he was sound asleep on the couch down there when he went back down to get him. he really is way overstimulated, and you would think at this age he would sleep way more then he does. i'll keep you posted.

Ours is almost 12 that has it. He's a super sweet cat, but when he's flaring up it's like he's a different cat. He has never bitten me or another person, but goes after his tail and will sometimes attack a female cat he dislikes (no blood, but just a lot of screaming and stress and not nice behavior.)
The first signs I usually notice is the back rippling, his ears slant back and his eyes "stop focusing" and he's staring at something that isn't there, eyes dilated etc. It's totally a weird condition.

 

[RufusGizmo]

Yes that is what he does. And usually of our four cats he is the sweetie. Does your cat take medicine?

 

[RufusGizmo]

Going to get Tuesday will keep posted

 

[RufusGizmo]

Get tuesday

 

[RufusGizmo]

Ha this phone won't let me write vet

 

[1 bruce 1]

Ha this phone won't let me write vet

Ours is not on medication at the moment, but we've treated him with other ways. Amazingly, chiropractic really helped him.

 

[RufusGizmo]

so we are holding off on the vet, he seems a little better and don't want to upset him with a trip to the vet. made an appointment for next week, in case he gets bad over the weekend, but for now it may have just been because of all the work we have been doing on the house. we will definitely get him in for the senior blood work at some point, but for now I think we are going to let him chill for awhile. I checked back and he did have it last year but they did not do it this year for some reason.