Possibly The Weirdest Behavior Ever..

[catloveerrr]

Hi guys,
So I have 2 cats, well a cat and a kitten.
Abbie is my 2 and a half year old female cat and we've had Oscar for 6 months now (got him at 6 weeks old).
Everything was normal, Abbie had some dental issues and some irritation around her ears and chin (the vet said it was feline acne) which has been on and off for her.

Now here's the weird part, one morning I was cleaning her litter and my son (who is an adult not a baby or anything) was standing next to me then Abbie just aggressively bit his leg and hissed like nothing we've seen before, now everytime we walk in the house she just stares at our leg/foot and runs to us to attack it aggressively, hissing and all. We decided to walk with slippers in the house now and it actually worked, she never comes near our leg, which is SUPER weird because she can be playful and purring and so cute with our upper body, AS SOON as she sees the leg it's like she see's something else. She can literally attack my legs and simultaneously be happy with me..? like she never hisses at me, only the leg..
We thought it was because of her dental issues and such that were annoying her and we had already booked an appointment with the vet and she had dental surgery the following days after the attack.
It's been now 2 weeks since she had dental surgery, and we've still been wearing our slippers as precaution, but today we decided to test it and I took the slipper off, she came and sort of pushed her face on my leg.. hissed and bit it again.... We have feliway as well which doesn't seem to do anything.
She can be so aggressive towards our legs and still play with our 6 month old kitten.. literally no aggression towards him or redirected anger... it is nothing but our legs. ALSO she seems to ONLY go for my son and I, my other son and my husband can walk barefoot and NOTHING... any suggestions? because this is the weirdest thing and I can't even find anything relatable online. The vet said if it persists we should see a behaviorist which is 900$ for a consult... I'm willing to see them after if I can't get some sort of reply from the internet. Thank you.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi - welcome!! We're so glad you're here!!
I don't know if I can save you $900, but there are other calming products, including other diffusers, treats, collars available that have numerous types of different ingredients such as L-Tryphophan and casein.
Composure is a product to look at, Pet Remedy (it has valerian) is another, as is Essential Pet Pet-ease, Only Natural Pet has one, and Lambert Vet Supply is a website to look at.
Even prescription if nothing else works, --Gabapentin is good for travel, amitriptyline can help with general anxiety and OCD (like excessive grooming).

Cat Aggression Toward People
How To Stop Playtime Aggression in Cats
Re-directed Aggression in Cats
When Physical Problems Turn into Behavior Problems

 

[catloveerrr]

Thank you for the reply! I actually forgot to mention I'm not 100% sure, neither is the vet.. But we feel like she may have slight anxiety.. almost anything she see's outside triggers a reaction from her and she gets too invested, and she's not the type of cat to shy away and hide in a corner. She's not aggressive at all, never been. But I think she needs to be calmer at times. The thing we just simply don't understand is why is she calm with us but not our legs? it's very frustrating. I guess we can wear slippers all the time..

 

[Furballsmom]

Well, give one or two of the products a try, also maybe fill a can half full with coins and when she starts up, shake it hard, loudly and abruptly, or even throw your keys on the ground, hard, somewhat close to her. The idea is to sort of re-wire her little brain and get her out of attack-the-legs mode.

There's no telling why she's going after legs - for all we know, there was a pant leg that had an odor of vet clinic, other cat(s), a dog or dogs, and now she's thinking she needs to protect herself from all pant legs without making the distinction between pants, shoes, bare legs....and your slippers smell so much of you that she's ok with those.
Best of luck - let us know how things go!
Bottom line, and this is said with all the love in the world....cats are weird.

 

[catloveerrr]

haha I agree, thank you very much for the replies. However this all happened before the vet.. so my leg shouldn't smell of that haha, but I will try those out, thank you.

 

[LAL]

Do your one son and you use a different soap or lotion than the rest of the family? Is there something that makes just the 2 of you smell different?

 

[catloveerrr]

Do your one son and you use a different soap or lotion than the rest of the family? Is there something that makes just the 2 of you smell different?

No, nothing is different. This is why it's so odd. I mean if I'm thinking hard enough there was a wall at the back she used to stare at, and that's where the first attack happened to my sons legs. It seems like she's made a connection to whatever it is she thinks she saw at the back to mine and my sons leg. Also with my son it seems like she only attacks the right leg?.... again it's beyond me and it's super odd.

 

[humanracer]

My cat is super friendly too but has a thing for attacking toes and I don't know why. It's like he doesn't realise they are are a part of my body. He doesn't hiss though.

 

[catloveerrr]

My cat is super friendly too but has a thing for attacking toes and I don't know why. It's like he doesn't realise they are are a part of my body. He doesn't hiss though.

is it an aggressive attack of your toes? or playful? because she wants my foot dead haha

 

[Tobermory]

You mention Feliway but not if it’s the one of the two that are for either stress reduction or for aggression via diffuser or if it’s the spray. If you haven’t tried the spray, you might give that a shot. You would spray it on your legs actually. That’s not its usual purpose; it’s usually sprayed on an object or small area to reduce scratching or spraying. (Never spray it on kitty.) However, at the animal sanctuary where I volunteer, we have a kitty who hates other cats so much that the staff had to bring him to live in to the office until he gets adopted. They were afraid he was going to kill one of the other cats in his “suite.” But here’s the thing: When you’ve been with the other cats and then go into the office, Rio will smell your legs and then attack them. We’ve started spraying Feliway on our pants legs before we stop in at the office. It seems to be helping. Just a thought!

 

[Hellenww]

Do you see her coming or is she on you before you know it? Can you distract her with a toy before she attacks? Maybe you and your son can try giving her more play time. How did your son react the first time she bit? Could she have liked the reaction and wants to make it happen again? Our Yoshi loves to be chased down the hall and has been very creative in getting us to play his game.

 

[maggie101]

I have used the Jackson Galaxy spirit of essence. It does work. My cat Peaches will sometimes bite my legs. Maybe she needs attention or wants something. Also if I accidentally step on my cat Josie's tail, Josie gives a loud screech and if Peaches is near by she will wrestle her to the ground. Does not like the loud noise

 

[Furballsmom]

there was a wall at the back she used to stare at, and that's where the first attack happened to my sons legs. It seems like she's made a connection to whatever it is she thinks she saw at the back to mine and my sons leg.

...Heard or smelled - if there was a dog that lived in the house prior to you it might have pee'd there, or some critter was in the wall at some point, from a snake to who knows - cats' noses are pretty darn good.
In any case, hopefully you can retrain her brain to realize that you-all aren't part of the ghost-smell. Good luck!!

 

[maggie101]

They are able to hear a tiny fly on the wall. Cat got too excited about it. I stay away from my cat Peaches whenever that happens. No need for an exterminator! Take care of roaches too. Years ago I had to stay at my parents house with my cats locked in the bedroom. Dad allergic. Late at night they kept banging on the door. When I opened it they would run one way,pause,run the other way. They heard the roof rats!

 

[1 bruce 1]

This is going to sound nutty but do you notice her acting strangely before these episodes, like her back is twitching or her tail is twitching or her eyes look dilated and "off"?
I only ask because we have a dude here with a disorder that will cause him to lash out (usually at himself), but some cats will lash out at anything or will consider whatever they were near during their first episode to be the source of the problem.
It's a total shot in the dark and even I'm doubtful, but this just sounds so weirdly familiar...