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- Jun 20, 2014
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Hi!
'm desperate for answers and am hoping someone here can help me. My vet has no answers and I am at a total loss. I have a 5 year old neutered male cat who is normally the sweetest cat imaginable. He was bottle fed and is very snuggly and affectionate, loves to sit on my lap while I work, sleeps with me nightly, etc. I am a photographer and work late hours in the summer since it's easier to judge color once the sun in down, and in the past several weeks, he has started attacking me viciously, around the same time every night, starting at midnight or 1am.
It usually happens while I am editing on my laptop, so sitting totally still and not moving. First I will notice him staring at or stalking me, and he gets closer and closer, and then finally, when I am looking away, he will launch himself at me, sinking teeth and claws into my arm/leg hard enough not only to draw blood, but also to leave bruises from the force. A few hours later, and he acts perfectly fine, and is his normal, loving self all day long. But, like clockwork around 12 or 1am, I can see him get restless and start giving me the "I'm going to murder you, mom" stare.
I know that responding with aggression can make it worse, so I have tried ignoring it (and then get attacked), moving him to another room (he comes back angrier), talking to him gently and doing the slow blink (continued stalking), and getting on the ground and trying to pet him (I get a few snuggles, and he acts like he likes the attention, but then recoils like a little cobra and lashes out at my hand). The first time or two it happened I did panic and yell and chase him off, and he ran away but then came stalking back angrier. I thought maybe I was in "his" chair, so I have tried relocating my editing to different places in the house with no change. He has even attacked me once in my sleep, clawing my face, and I'm scared he'll do it again.
A few facts that may or may not be relevant: We have lived in the same apartment for almost two years and there have been no major changes or moves. The vet cannot find anything wrong with him and suggested that he may be reacting to cats outside. However, it's a second floor apartment, he is indoors only, and I live in an area with cold nights so the windows are closed after sundown. It is only me and him in the apartment - no other humans or animals. I had a similar issue last spring and the vet suggested Feliway. It seemed to be helping and the problem went away for awhile, but it came back recently stronger, and the Feliway seems to make no difference despite fresh refills. He's in good health and eating well, and other than these insane Jekyll/Hyde midnight attacks, he's his normal loving self.
Please help! I love him like my child and would never give him up, but he is really starting to frighten me.
'm desperate for answers and am hoping someone here can help me. My vet has no answers and I am at a total loss. I have a 5 year old neutered male cat who is normally the sweetest cat imaginable. He was bottle fed and is very snuggly and affectionate, loves to sit on my lap while I work, sleeps with me nightly, etc. I am a photographer and work late hours in the summer since it's easier to judge color once the sun in down, and in the past several weeks, he has started attacking me viciously, around the same time every night, starting at midnight or 1am.
It usually happens while I am editing on my laptop, so sitting totally still and not moving. First I will notice him staring at or stalking me, and he gets closer and closer, and then finally, when I am looking away, he will launch himself at me, sinking teeth and claws into my arm/leg hard enough not only to draw blood, but also to leave bruises from the force. A few hours later, and he acts perfectly fine, and is his normal, loving self all day long. But, like clockwork around 12 or 1am, I can see him get restless and start giving me the "I'm going to murder you, mom" stare.
I know that responding with aggression can make it worse, so I have tried ignoring it (and then get attacked), moving him to another room (he comes back angrier), talking to him gently and doing the slow blink (continued stalking), and getting on the ground and trying to pet him (I get a few snuggles, and he acts like he likes the attention, but then recoils like a little cobra and lashes out at my hand). The first time or two it happened I did panic and yell and chase him off, and he ran away but then came stalking back angrier. I thought maybe I was in "his" chair, so I have tried relocating my editing to different places in the house with no change. He has even attacked me once in my sleep, clawing my face, and I'm scared he'll do it again.
A few facts that may or may not be relevant: We have lived in the same apartment for almost two years and there have been no major changes or moves. The vet cannot find anything wrong with him and suggested that he may be reacting to cats outside. However, it's a second floor apartment, he is indoors only, and I live in an area with cold nights so the windows are closed after sundown. It is only me and him in the apartment - no other humans or animals. I had a similar issue last spring and the vet suggested Feliway. It seemed to be helping and the problem went away for awhile, but it came back recently stronger, and the Feliway seems to make no difference despite fresh refills. He's in good health and eating well, and other than these insane Jekyll/Hyde midnight attacks, he's his normal loving self.
Please help! I love him like my child and would never give him up, but he is really starting to frighten me.
