General Chat

I don't remove myself from the room every time it's depends on how he is and whether he is still in attack mode and coming in for a second go .
Most times it's Noooo very loudly and get up if I,m sitting and shoo him out to the garden and shut him out

If I,m standing I have found grabbing hold of my iPad and holding it's as a shield between us whilst saying firmly Nooo will stop him after a few tries to get at me

He is now 5 years old and seems very healthy. He has no problems jumping up the fences and crossing over to walk on the pergola

Indoors too he has no problem jumping up , he likes to use the back of one of the armchairs to jump to the top of the display units and look down from there and sometimes have a nap

Am not impressed with this vet to TBH . Our old one closed down as the owner retired and our vet who worked with him was put out of work as the clinics closed down.
This vet I have got him with is still a car ride away but there is parking .others in the area are on busy roads with limited parking and many are residents parking only


I will try ringing the rspca for advice

I have just ordered a set of play laser pens



:-(

I forgot to mention earlier, have his claws clipped regularly at least they won't get caught on your clothes or in your skin and would be less painful for you and less frightening for your cat.

I agree, if you walk out of the room then he's won.

I would speak with the RSPCA I'm sure they'll have come across this sort of behaviour before, so should be able to advise you better.

I see the op didn't make any difference, but it does sound like he wants to be the boss and by walking into another room that's giving him exactly what he wants, so he'll just keep doing it.

One of our cats had arthritis, she hated being picked up as it hurt her so she would attack because of the pain, of course we didn't know this at the time until we had her checked out by a vet. Maybe your cat has something similar. There must be a reason for his behaviour, it's just a point of finding out what it is. Easier said than done I know, but maybe a check up with another vet to see if it's medical and can be sorted is the answer.

I would definitely change your vet though, as it sounds like he just wants to take your money, rather than help you with the situation and definitely speak with the RSPCA as you can't carry on like this.

I think you should ring the RSPCA now. If you do nothing, then it'll never change. It sounds like you've tried everything you can think of and they may have some ideas you haven't tried yet. It's worth a call.

Sorry Shirley but the cart has won.

If you walked out of the room it knows now he can do anything to you and you won't get rid of him.

When he turns and goes into attack mode you can't just ignore him as he quickly goes into the lunging attack

No way could I pick him up to remove him from the room

What I do do is to open the back door and say out .

I often too remove myself from the room when he is being aggressive and looks like he coming in for a second go
He gets a claw stuck in my trousers leg and that enrages him even more
Have had blood raising scratches on my arms too trying to stop him or remove his paw .


Most of the time he sleeps , eats and will want a stroke ,and spend lots of time outside
He does go walkabout too so expends energy

Yes he has been " done" This was before we got him and he done by the previous owners
Cats protection don't rehome any cat without them being seen to !!

I wish I knew what the answer is and how to stop it

I'd get a second opinion, as vets shouldn't be this unhelpful.

I PM'd you the link, just in case you didn't see it on here.

Has he had the op? I know once dogs have had the op it can calm them down, so maybe it'll work on cats to. It might be worth a try. Or maybe you could seek out a cat behavioral expert. I've seen programme on TV of people who work wonders, in a very short space of time. Maybe you could put him in a different room or outside (weather permitting) each time he does it, when he realises he's not getting the attention anymore he might stop.

Ignoring him might just be the answer.

Have you got any clothes of your late husband's, or some aftershave he used. The familiar smell might work if put where your cat sleeps. It might just be he's missing your husband and blames you for him not being there anymore?

If I think of anything else I'll let you know, but I would definately seek help from a different vet. Or maybe ring the RSPCA. They deal with all sorts of animals and have probably come across this before. I'm sure they'll be able to advise you.

Ignoring your cat's behaviour will at least show him you're not willing to put up with it anymore and if he's in another room, he'll soon learn that's what's going to happen every time he attacks you. If nothing else, your arms and legs will be saved.

Gill
Tried the diffuser but made no difference he still had the switched into aggressive mode times

He used to do the crouch position tail switching bum wriggling mode and jump at me but he was doing it as play . I would laugh at him when he did it .
Now it's done with intent of hurting me and have had several scratched legs that drew blood . Plus scratched arms when I have tried to fend him off

Jackson Galaxy tells folks to get the vet check them out but mine just replied oh he shouldn't be doing that !! and didn't give any advice at all
He seemed to just shrug it off TBH

Get a water pistol, which won't hurt him, or give him a slap. Either way he will learn. ;-)

I've not read all the post so don't know if this has already been mentioned, but you can buy a plug-in diffuser which looks a bit like an air freshener, it's designed to calms animals down. I used to have a cat similar to yours and the plug-in work within a week, she was a completely different cat.

https://www.feliway.com/uk

I hope this works. Has he had the op? This might help too. Good luck. Let us know how you get on.

I like to watch the Jackson galaxy shows

Nearly all the cats he sees are indoor cats and yes more interaction with play often calms them down .

I admit I don't play with him .but in my defence he doesn't seem that interested anyway
The feather thing on the line he will take a few swipes at then loses interest

My mobility is impaired at the moment whilst waiting for the knee replacement op.

The laser thing sounds a good idea as I can sit and use it in play with him

Will look into getting one

Will try anything to help him and myself

Thanks folks for all the input

Sounds like he wants you to play with him more. Maybe buy a laser pointer for him to chase.

Try watching some of the Jackson Galaxy shows called "My Cat From Hell" on YouTube. Aggression is covered a lot.

Rose

Sorry to read of the trouble you are having, Shirley. Maybe you need to wear some thick knee length socks under your trousers to protect your skin while you find a way to stop your cat being aggressive. It's such a shame this is happening, what an ungrateful cat! I have seen programmes on tv about animal behaviour and I am sure there was a cat there which was aggressive but I can't remember how they dealt with it .

How about getting one of those bright plastic flyswats to swish at your cat if he starts, not to hit him, but let him feel the rush of air as you flick it.

Good luck

Lizxx

I found a water pistol works or the behaviour spray in a can that makes a loud hiss. Our black cat was a b****r for having a go but it sorted her. I also use one finger to tap my other 2 between the ears if they misbehave a bit like I was taught with the horses :-D :-D

So, he actually goes in to 'stalk and attack' mode?
How about having a few pom-poms handy, and throwing them to/just past him when he gets like this, see if he goes for them, rather than you?
...or you could throw them at him if he's aiming for you!

George forgets he's 13, and sometimes comes in full of testosterone (he is neutered), he then 'stalks' Betty - who's not too happy.
I've been known to throw a bit of material over George at such times.
Sometimes I just move him towards the stairs and close the door.
He knows I'm not too happy.

Now, I just shout 'stairs' - and he knows where to go :-D

About 20 years ago, there was a cat coming in and out of all the gardens. I didn't know whether it was a feral cat or if it was suffering the trauma of someone having been awful cruel to it.

It was so thin and hungry that it would look up at the sky, trying to watch the birds, knowing that they always flew to a garden where food was being thrown out. This cat was so starved that it was eating bread meant for the birds. I'd never heard of such a thing but that was what it was doing - anything to fill its stomach. A cat eating bread - I could hardly believe it. Very VERY unusual!

It was terrified of people. If I approached it, it would immediately run away. But I also regularly threw out bread to the birds, so it was drawn to my garden.

I wanted to try to make it less afraid. I tried to feed it some cat food or left over chicken, but I didn't have any success. It kept running away. Then I tried throwing a bit of chicken to the far end of the garden, which is as close as it would come. Very tentatively, it would come and eat the food - or it would grab it in its mouth and scamper off. As time went by, I didn't throw the food quite so far, and it gradually got closer and closer to me each feeding time.

There was a small hut near our back window, which our own cat (now dead) used to use. It used to jump onto the hut roof, onto the window ledge, and then come into the house when we opened back window.

To cut a long story short, it was summertime, so that window was often open - and eventually, to my amazement, I lured it (with food) to come in that window. One day, it jumped in the window and actually came and sat down on a comfy armchair next to the TV. Next to the chair, the TV on, and it was a sheepdog trials competition that was on screen. The sheepdog was running around, chasing and rounding up the sheep.

The cat sat there, absolutely captivated by the dog chasing the sheep. I sat in the other armchair watching this with glee. The cat made jerking movements with its head as it followed everything that was happening on-screen.

...It wouldn't come into the house for long periods of time though. In the wintertime, I made a trap-door in the greenhouse and taught the cat how to use it, and it slept there all winter in a comfy cat box I made for it. I would go out to feed it and by now it trusted me and didn't run away.

I was lucky. I think there was something deep down in the nature of the cat that made it come round. Maybe other cats just don't respond.

Oh yes he is neutered

He had been "done " before he was taken in by cats protection

They don't rehome them uneutered or unspayed

He was ok till the last year when the odd occasion has built up to several times a week and comes completely out of the blue as he goes on the turn

Has he been nutered? Might calm him down a bit.

I would hate to get so frightened of him that I am i need to protect myself

Most times he is ok , he wiil eat and sleep and seem very laid back and placid . He wiil wander around and want a pat as he winds himself around my legs
It's the sudden turn and stalk mode with lashing tail that I know he has gone on the turn and its me that needs putting in line

I have never neglected him or been aggressive to him so why he wants to attack me is a puzzle

Sadly if it becomes too much and I get too frightened of him then it's a one way trip to the vet

Really don't want to do that but it may come to being the only option

Actually, we also had a vicious cat when we were children.
Mickie moved all around with us, various places in Scotland, down to Cornwall, Devon, Cornwall again, then a few places in Hampshire and stayed, where she could have run off - but she was a bit unpredictable.
I Scotland, I thought she loved me, because she would get into bed with me, but she would make her way down to the hot water bottle, and if I moved, she bit.
I did get quite badly scratched, but I did dress her up :-\
However, she'd attack others who didn't dress her up. Hide behind things, jump out and claw!
When we lived in Southampton, my sister and I (and Mickie) shared a house.
A group of friends stayed over one night, in the living room.
Mickie got in there the next morning and went around systematically scratching them! That was the sort of thing she did.
Anyway, when Mickie was about 16, my sister had a baby - too much for Mickie, who moved in with an elderly couple up the road. The lady was very apologetic. Her husband was frail and blind, and spent the day in front of the fire - with Mickie on his lap.
Apparently she was a 'gorgeous, affectionate' cat, and her husband had fallen in love.
We told her not to worry - Mickie could stay with them - and we used to buy cat food for the couple to give her. The husband died, but Mickie stayed with the lady. Mickie was over 20 when she died.

My sister has a cat like that, Shirley. :-(
Similar situation to yours, too.
My niece gave the kitten to my sister and brother in law about 13 years ago.
Missie was definitely my BiL's cat. BiL then became ill.
The cat would lie on his bed constantly, then BiL died.

You can go to stroke Missie (or Miffy, as I call her) - and she will just lash out and bite and scratch. She even sits on my sister's lap - and attacks her!
Unfortunately she's an indoor cat, so never gets rid of energy, and gets treats for the slightest thing - like my sister going into the kitchen. :-S

When my sister has visitors, Missie is locked in a bedroom - for everyone else's safety. I once caught her hiding by a chair. My nephew looked down and Missie went for his face - but I'd seen her, and as she went for him, I put my hand out - and she hit her face on my hand, then ran off.
One day she appeared downstairs when there were visitors. Without thinking, I picked her up to put her back in the bedroom.
I was halfway up the stairs when it dawned on me, this wasn't one of my cats.
I looked sideways, and she was about to lash my face, I quickly moved my hand onto her chest and spread my fingers out so she couldn't move her front legs - she couldn't bite me from there either.
She immediately calmed down - defeated! I did wonder what she'd do when I put her down - but she just strolled off.
I think Missie just needed 'thwarting' a few times, so she realised she wasn't in charge, but at 13, I think the time is past.

I've had 5 cats of my own, plus two a friend could no longer look after, and the neighbours 'vicious' cat that they abandoned when they moved.
Once I let her in the house, and removed her collar, she was sweetness itself.
None of my cats have ever attacked anyone.
If the children teased him, or peed him off, the big ginger would 'bop' the child twice, then the third time, he'd 'catch' their hand, put it to his mouth and bite!
He never bit hard - never broke the skin, but the children soon learned. :-D

At one point I had 2 of my cats, the friends 2, next doors cat - and a GSD/collie cross dog I was looking after - oh and 2 children. There wasn't enough room for any bad behaviour.