Severe Redirected Aggression - need of desperate help

[carrots47]

Hello. My cat Rikku has redirected aggression. The first time it happened was when she was 2 years old. She and her sister (litter mates) were looking out the window. We're not sure what they say but Rikku out of nowhere attached her sister Lulu. It was not just a normal cat fight. She was out to murder. Blood gets drawn. Lots of peeing, screaming, and yowling. She goes feral (she is not a feral cat). After re-introducing, vet visits, medication, and many many months, we were able to get them to be ok. One day something spooked her and again she went after Lulu. Lulu is so sweet and confused she doesn't even fight back. I tried to intervene then RIkku redirected that aggression to me. I was attacked. I had to go to the ER and they gave me a with a tetanus shot.
I didn't have the heart to let her go. We also saw a pet therapist and a pet behavioral specialist. They both told me the same thing I've read online and what the vets said. We couldn't take the heartbreak anymore. Each time, Lulu was traumatized, Rikku gets traumatized because she doesn't really realize what had happened, and we get traumatized. So my partner and I decided to keep them apart at all times. Swapping them and spending equal time with them. I also had to re-introduce myself to her. We were good living like this for 2 years. But few days ago, my partner didn't realize she snuck by him while he was leaving a room. We heard screaming and yowling and saw that she got out. Same thing. Screaming, peeing, yowling, and about to attack.
My partner tried to intervene and she started attacking him. He managed to get her to backup into a room and close her off. He gave her some time and went in to check on her and she was so glad to see him at first but 2 seconds later, started screaming and attacking him again. He gave her more time. Approx. 3 hours. Same thing. So happy o see him, rubbing against his legs, meowing, purring... then couple seconds later aggression. We set up a different room with a litter robot, auto feeder & water fountain. He saw that she was sleeping in a little dome bed so he quickly went in, covered it, moved her to the room we set things up with. He wasn't sure if she would do the same to me due to our past history so we gave her a day. 1 day of no meds and 1 day of not seeing her humans, she cried all day. She did not sleep or eat. I felt so bad for her but we knew we had to give her time. We both asked our work if we could WFH the entire week. We are fortunate enough to work for two different companies that understood. The next day, I slowly went in to see how she would react. She was timid at first but she was really happy to see me. I spent some time with her and got her to eat her meds. We knew we had to get her used to the house and smells so our next step was to lock my partner and Lulu in a room and have have Rikku's room door open so she had access to the house. I stayed in Rikku's room so that I am not there for her to redirect anything. So I stay in her room and she explored. Whenever she was a bit scared to go a bit further, she came back to me and got pets. We did this a few times a day. Also, with vet's approval, we upped her medication. We are now on day 4. We know we can't live like this long term. We're no sure what to do from here. She now has no one in the house she fully trusts. We are all comprimised. Even things to back to liveable, there is always a big chance it will happen again. I don't know if I can go through it all over again. I too deal with my own anxiety, depression and ptsd. I also had to go see my doctor to get description to deal with my own due to this. I am so devastated and desperate for help. I don't know what is best for her. Will she be living a happier life elsewhere? I love her so much and I don't know what is more selfish. To let her go or to keep her. Can someone please help me?

 

[ArtNJ]

This isn't on you. You know that, but I wanted to reinforce it. Rikku has a very unusual, very very high predisposition to this. There may or may not be some underlying medical or mental health cause, but you've been to the vet and seen a behavioralist. You've done everything you can.

Here is the reality: you've done everything you can, and its not working. This is a situation where EVERYONE, human and pet, will be better off if Rikku can find an only pet home in an area without much in the way of other animals that invade the yard. I know its incredibly hard to accept, but your at the stage where you have to find a way to do that.

I do have two last resort options. I doubt they are much good, but if you cannot part with Rikku maybe one will help. Firstly, can you use the airlock method so that there is zero possibility of escapes? In other words, wherever Rikki is, there is ALWAYS a closed door between Rikku and the other cat, even when you open the door to go see Rikku. This would probably be a huge PITA, but maybe its workable in your setup.

If the airlock method cannot be used or would just be unbearably burdensome, it is possible to train the cat that the door is a bit scary. Well, its possible to train a bonded normal cat. I'm not sure this method will be safe with Rikku. But what I do is keep a broom or similar object by the door. I bang the door a few times, open and closed fast. Then I peek. If the cat is there, I stick the broom in first, and whack the floor. If the cat is still too close, I gently broom him back a bit. It works for me, with my current fearless escape artist cat, but Rikku is different enough that I dunno.

 

[fionasmom]

I agree with A ArtNJ and just wanted to offer a little moral support.

We have a 2 year old flame point boy named Rikki, only one letter different from yours and named after the mongoose of the Kipling story whose eyes turned red when he fought the cobra. Rikki has the albino gene which makes his eyes red in certain lights. Famous last words. He does not have redirected aggression, but more of what we call "Here's Johnny" moments a la Jack Nicholson. He is a sweet little boy right up until he isn't. I have been to the ER with cellulitis from an unprovoked bit and have had cat scratch fever with the pustules, swollen glands, and fever from an unprovoked scratch. In his case I do not suspect a medical issue because that has been investigated, but possibly careless breeding or some other issue in that general category. He particularly dislikes two of the other cats, one the sweetest little girl imaginable. Enough about Rikki.

We have used the airlock method effectively. The house can be more or less shut into two large sections, so no one is suffering for lack of space. It becomes tedious to always open and shut a door, but it works. When we have to do this, we use a pig board which he recognizes as meaning "no entry."

If you were to rehome Rikku, I also suggest an only pet, possibly no children home.

One other tip...a tennis racket is a very good thing to have around to intervene safely if you have to. They are lightweight with no sharp edges and I am not suggesting that you ever hit him with it. It is very effective in separating cats without sticking you hand in between. One cat can be humanely redirected away from another cat.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I'm sorry, did I miss what medication Rikku is on? How much, and are there other medication options to try?

I am not suggesting that all of the above information isn't very valuable and very well may be the answer. But, I am also wondering if she has been seen by a vet neurologist. Could this be some form of seizure activity or similar condition? Certain stimuli can bring about seizure related activities, including aggressiveness. There are other brain disorders besides seizures that can provoke what you are describing.

 

[Hellenww]

I think of re-directed aggression and over-stimulation as very similar. The only real diiference is one is brought on by sight or hearing and the other usually by touch. In both the cat is overwhelmed by the energy inside themselves and acts out. The usual way to deal with this is calming techniques, and they work with most cats. Sometimes they get so overwhelmed that the only way forward is for them to release that energy and learn to do it with nobody getting hurt.

Whats happening when you go in her room sounds like over-stimulation. She's really happy to see you and works herself into a bit of a frenzy, then attacks. We hear about this a lot with new kittens and resident cats when the kitten comes out of their safe room and is excited to play.

When you first go in give hello pats then try to get her to play with a string or tossed toy. The idea is to have her run off her happy energy before it overwhelms her. Then feed her and try quiet time.

After Rikku has checked the house for danger, on her turn to have it, try catnip. Keep a kicker toy in a bag of catnip, give it to her in her safe room, and encorage/hope she'll want to have zoomies. Just stay out of her way and have toys to toss. Keep fionasmom tennis racket nearby.


Have you tried the vanilla trick? With Rikku's level of anxiety I'd try a dot on pieces of papertowel and putting the house besides on her and Lulu. It would dry on paper but probably hold enough scent for a cat to smell.

Ode to vanilla extract

 

[carrots47]

She used to be on Fluoxetine but it made her into a zombie. She would never get out of bed. She wouldn't eat so they switched her over to Paroxetine. 10mg but only 1/4 pill a day. We upped it to 1/4 pill twice a day after speaking to the vet few days ago.

We do not over pet or over stimulate her since we know how she is. We only give her attention when she wants and try not to get her overly excited. We watches birds/squirrels out the window which she really enjoys. We try to play with her but I think due to the meds, her motivation to play is low. When she was younger she played a lot.

She does not work herself up to a frenzy and then attack. It is only when something sets her off. For example, few days ago it was due to seeing my other cat. For some reason, no matter how much we try to re-introduce, it flips a certain switch and she goes feral.

We use Feliway infuser and the Feliway spray.

We have been using the airlock method for 2 years now. It's just my partner slipped up and didn't shut the door tight few days ago.

 

[carrots47]

Thank you for the moral support.