Redirected Aggression (Probably)

[momstiel]

My cat is nine years old, and in the entire time of knowing her, she’s been a relatively chill cat. However, two years ago, I was sitting on my chair, I moved, and she viciously attacked me. After that incident, nothing like that happened again. I assumed it was an isolated incident, until I moved out for college and put her in care of my mother. In a months time, she managed to attack my mom twice- completely feral, wild, and out of control. She was moved into her own bedroom and only came out at certain periods. It was really hard for me to know my cat was relatively isolated.

About a year down the road, I got my own place and I moved her in with another female adult cat (they lived at my moms together, and she appeared after the first attack) and two male kittens. They all get along relatively well, and even on a regular basis, she cuddles with the kittens.

Up until about a month ago, she has been living just fine with my partner and I. However, out of the blue, she attacked my girlfriend and I when we moved. Then, from that point on, she’s gotten more and more irritable. Multiple times, my girlfriend has had to step in, put her in her own bedroom (with all the necessities, and toys, of course). We are scratched and bruised to no end, so we decided to turn to alternatives and research.

From what we researched, her behavior aligns closest with redirected aggression. Her vet cleared her as healthy and said that she was one of the sweetest cats he visited all day. So we were only left to assume it wasn’t induced by any health concerns. We are unsure what originally triggered her attacks, we can only assume it was sudden or loud noises that got her stressed. We made extra effort to be quiet, we got her catnip, as well as a collar and a spray to help calm her. It worked for a bit, but we noticed she was still getting stressed and attacking at seemingly random intervals. The kittens appeared to be a calming force for her, as she attacks less in their presence.

Usually she’s calm after we put her in the room for a little bit (security camera aimed in there just in case) but lately she has been all riled up. I’m not here to start a debate or discuss whether ghosts are real or not, but on camera we have caught orbs harassing her, and unexplained loud noises caught on camera that rile her up. We believe that whatever is causing this, is stressing her. After this started, she has been on edge almost constantly. We have been unable to let her out without her going to attack either my partner or I.

Does anyone have any suggestions? My girlfriend is planning on setting up a call with the vet to discuss more behavior management and possible medication but in the meanwhile, we feel a little stuck in this. I don’t want to give up on her, and I won’t, but I have been living in constant stress worrying about her.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I can't offer much, but wanted to know if you are living in an apartment. If so, is it possible someone new moved in that is making some sort of noises (not necessarily that you can always hear, but sounds your cat can pick up on)? Or, scents she can smell from the new neighbors that you wouldn't necessarily be able to detect since cats can smell so much better that we can)?

I would say she sounds like she is a highly anxious cat, just because she reacts negatively to things the other cats don't seem to mind. But, there is likely something new (if not a new apartment neighbor with - or without - pets, perhaps new cats or other animals roaming about outside your house) that she can sense.

When you say: "but on camera we have caught orbs harassing her, and unexplained loud noises caught on camera that rile her up." Real actual orbs that you can see or ones you think she sees because of how she is reacting to whatever it is? Could these orbs be some sort of lights shining into that room from some location outside? The loud noises, again, could be from another apartment.

Notwithstanding any of that, it might be worth it to try anti-anxiety medications to see if that would help calm her. But, I still wouldn't give up on searching for a source of the intermittent aggression.

 

[momstiel]

FeebysOwner Hi! I definitely understand how bizzare my situation sounds. I actually live closer to the country side, and it is not an apartment. These orbs are things I’ve dealt with my entire life, and they pick up on camera. They can be seen flying in and out of my cat (as well as other locations of the house). The same time this occurs, there is running sounds all around, voices whispering, and knocking coming from the attic, basement, and other locations. While I definitely understand not everyone has the same viewpoints on ghosts that I do, I really don’t see any other explanation (I’ve already relentlessly debunked other ideas in weeks past). There are no windows in the places they occur in my house, the orbs manifest around the same time at night (if possible I could always attach a video, but I don’t want that to be the topic of the discussion).

I definitely don’t mean it in any dismissive or aggressive manner, I just want to focus on my cat and not the validity of the presence of lack thereof paranormal. I really do appreciate you taking the time to post, though!

I would definitely agree with you, she is very anxious and all of these loud noises and nightly occurrences haven’t been allowing her to sleep. My family members and friends have suggested a medium and a vet. I just hope to find a place that will be relatively quiet to put her in the mean time. Thank you!! This might be a shot in the dark but do you know any products (or strategies we can implement) that have been known to soothe anxiety ridden cats?

 

[FeebysOwner]

This might be a shot in the dark but do you know any products (or strategies we can implement) that have been known to soothe anxiety ridden cats?

Not all calming products work on all cats, so do an internet search on 'cat calming products' to see what other ones are out there that you haven't yet tried.

Also, some members find cat music helps to soothe anxious cats - Cat In My Arms on spotify and elsewhere, youtube has hours-long compilations of relaxing cat music, and there's also RelaxMyCat and MusicForCats (courtesy of another member). This might also be an option to help drown out other noises and make them less bothersome to your cat.

If there is a particular room that seems to be less impacted by the nightly goings-on, I would use that room for her (and maybe you can join her part of the time) in the hopes she can better settle down there. Again, maybe music, or TV, videos would help as a distraction.

Based on what you have said, I think it would be helpful if you could find some calming techniques for yourself as well. If you are a bit anxious because of what is happening, that anxiety is easily transferred to some cats, and especially yours since she seems to be overly sensitive as it is.

Good luck!

 

[momstiel]

Thank you so much for your suggestions! I’ll definitely look into them FeebysOwner