So I've been on this site for a while but am an infrequent poster...most of the posts I *have*made though have been about Boris...
Boris is a neutered male, about 14 pounds and he is now nearly 8 years old. He has been on Amitriptyline for several years after it was prescribed to him by the vet for anxiety that was believed to have played a role in a serious urinary tract issue he suffered for several months in late 2007 and early 2008. He has a bit of a history of aggression and anxiety. Feliway has been tried without effect.
As examples:
2007 - Odd levels of aggression with toys: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/120729/toy-turns-kitten-vicious#post_1677639
2007 - Obsessive-compulsive litter box digging http://www.thecatsite.com/t/135065/aaaggghh-stop-it-excessive-litter-box-digging#post_1888128
(he still does this, he doesn't track it around the house anymore but he still rakes obsessively at the sides of the box rather than the litter and will usually fail to cover anything up, then he sometimes goes over to the food and water dishes and rakes at those too.)
2008- Attacking me while i'm on the computer: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/155149/why-does-this-one-thing-trigger-such-agression#post_2140273
2009 - general anxiety issues: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/195175/help-me-before-i-strangle-him#post_2607688
2013 - Tantrums after coming indoors: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264123/preventing-tantrums-after-trips-outdoors#post_3402811
his periodic episodes of aggressive behavior began when he was about a year old and remain a serious problem. Long story short various things can trigger outbursts of violent behavior in Boris. One of the main things is when I don't pay sufficient attention him, such as when i'm on the computer or otherwise busy. Boris seems incredibly fixated on being in close proximity to me or in contact with me and if I do not give him my undivided attention he becomes agitated, getting very vocal and sometimes becomes angry enough to attack and physically injure me.
As an example, I'm convinced one such violent episode occurred because I remained sitting upright on my couch rather than laying down on it, Boris likes to lay alongside my legs on the couch, and when I did not "assume the position" so that he could sit with me in the way that he likes he gradually became more and more agitated until he finally began hissing at me and became violent.
I'm assuming I am part of the problem here as my GF says that he is well behaved when I am gone but turns into a whining, demanding pain as soon as I walk in the door. She moved in to my apartment about a year ago and she and Boris do not like one another.
Luckily he only rarely ever behaves aggressively toward her, and when he does it's usually only a single hiss or even more rarely a quick swat and he gives way to her. She is also able to move him out of her way and whatnot without any kind of aggression from him usually, something I can't do. As you can see from the threads I linked to above, Boris' aggression problem predates her moving in with me so I doubt she is much of a factor in this.
Boris also suddenly decides to attack his sister Olga without warning, which is a longstanding problem. One minute they will be fine and the next she will sense something in his body language and run, and he will chase her and attack her. A new twist though is redirected aggression. if Olga escapes him, or I intervene, he will now also sometimes become aggressive with me, clawing and biting (often vocalizing angrily *while* he bites).
He becomes downright dangerous during these "tantrums" and the only way I can figure to handle him is to scruff him and roll him on to his side and hold him to the floor for several minutes to let him "cool off". He thrashes his tail during this but usually doesn't fight, he also purrs, which I'm assuming is for the purposes of calming himself rather than an expression of happiness or friendliness. Often it works and he does calm down afterwards. I understand that cats don't respond well to physical discipline but I also can't let him run loose when he is in this state of mind as he will either hurt me, my other cat, or work himself into a frenzy.
Is there some other way I should be handling this? I'd like to prevent these tantrums from happening. Overall he is a good cat but there are times when he becomes pretty darn dangerous to have in the house.
Boris is a neutered male, about 14 pounds and he is now nearly 8 years old. He has been on Amitriptyline for several years after it was prescribed to him by the vet for anxiety that was believed to have played a role in a serious urinary tract issue he suffered for several months in late 2007 and early 2008. He has a bit of a history of aggression and anxiety. Feliway has been tried without effect.
As examples:
2007 - Odd levels of aggression with toys: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/120729/toy-turns-kitten-vicious#post_1677639
2007 - Obsessive-compulsive litter box digging http://www.thecatsite.com/t/135065/aaaggghh-stop-it-excessive-litter-box-digging#post_1888128
(he still does this, he doesn't track it around the house anymore but he still rakes obsessively at the sides of the box rather than the litter and will usually fail to cover anything up, then he sometimes goes over to the food and water dishes and rakes at those too.)
2008- Attacking me while i'm on the computer: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/155149/why-does-this-one-thing-trigger-such-agression#post_2140273
2009 - general anxiety issues: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/195175/help-me-before-i-strangle-him#post_2607688
2013 - Tantrums after coming indoors: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264123/preventing-tantrums-after-trips-outdoors#post_3402811
his periodic episodes of aggressive behavior began when he was about a year old and remain a serious problem. Long story short various things can trigger outbursts of violent behavior in Boris. One of the main things is when I don't pay sufficient attention him, such as when i'm on the computer or otherwise busy. Boris seems incredibly fixated on being in close proximity to me or in contact with me and if I do not give him my undivided attention he becomes agitated, getting very vocal and sometimes becomes angry enough to attack and physically injure me.
As an example, I'm convinced one such violent episode occurred because I remained sitting upright on my couch rather than laying down on it, Boris likes to lay alongside my legs on the couch, and when I did not "assume the position" so that he could sit with me in the way that he likes he gradually became more and more agitated until he finally began hissing at me and became violent.
I'm assuming I am part of the problem here as my GF says that he is well behaved when I am gone but turns into a whining, demanding pain as soon as I walk in the door. She moved in to my apartment about a year ago and she and Boris do not like one another.
Luckily he only rarely ever behaves aggressively toward her, and when he does it's usually only a single hiss or even more rarely a quick swat and he gives way to her. She is also able to move him out of her way and whatnot without any kind of aggression from him usually, something I can't do. As you can see from the threads I linked to above, Boris' aggression problem predates her moving in with me so I doubt she is much of a factor in this.
Boris also suddenly decides to attack his sister Olga without warning, which is a longstanding problem. One minute they will be fine and the next she will sense something in his body language and run, and he will chase her and attack her. A new twist though is redirected aggression. if Olga escapes him, or I intervene, he will now also sometimes become aggressive with me, clawing and biting (often vocalizing angrily *while* he bites).
He becomes downright dangerous during these "tantrums" and the only way I can figure to handle him is to scruff him and roll him on to his side and hold him to the floor for several minutes to let him "cool off". He thrashes his tail during this but usually doesn't fight, he also purrs, which I'm assuming is for the purposes of calming himself rather than an expression of happiness or friendliness. Often it works and he does calm down afterwards. I understand that cats don't respond well to physical discipline but I also can't let him run loose when he is in this state of mind as he will either hurt me, my other cat, or work himself into a frenzy.
Is there some other way I should be handling this? I'd like to prevent these tantrums from happening. Overall he is a good cat but there are times when he becomes pretty darn dangerous to have in the house.
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