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Old June 16th, 2011, 06:24 PM
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ownedbycats ownedbycats is offline
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Exclamation Help! Serious Problem Behavior

Today I got a call from the family that adopted the runt of the litter, who has started attacking them. If you guys remember, I took in a pregnant stray approximately three years ago and found homes for the kittens, with instructions to the new homes to call me if there was a problem or they could no longer keep the cat.
The lady told me that until six months the cat was fine, aside from a mild allergic reaction as a kitten that cleared up with meds from the vet. Ruffles lived with the son at university and travelled back and forth with him to school. The mother was teasing her daughter with a silly voice and the cat attacked her, chased her into the bathroom, and marched up and down growling. She was good for months apparently, and then attacked the son when he cut himself shaving and made a funny noise. Since then there have been other scary attacks. In between she reverts back to being a normal friendly loving cat. Then she turns into Jekyll, and they aren't sure why, although they suspect that at least occasionally a low voice triggers it. They took her to the vet, who prescribed anti-anxiety meds. First Prozac, now something stronger (she couldn't quite remember what it is.) They have also tried Feliway diffusers and flower essences. Do you guys have any idea what this might be? Have you seen ar heard of anything like this?
I've tried to give you all the information, please if you have any ideas let me know so i can pass them on. They are really attached to Ruffles and want to help, but they don't know how and I have never run into anything like this.
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Old June 16th, 2011, 09:21 PM
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catlover2 catlover2 is offline
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It's not common, and it's usually males that do this. Ruffles is female, right? Is she spayed? If not that would be the first thing to have done. Hormones can result in strange behavior sometimes. My first stud cat attacked me out of the blue one day and up till then was a sweet loving cat. He was about around a year old, and at the time did not have a female to breed him to. So it was hormones flowing, maybe a female in heat somewhere or other male cat's spray he could smell from outside, but found out at cat shows while talking with other breeders that it wasn't that uncommon with studs who were sexually frustrated.

I did have a dog once that was like Jekyll/Hyde, but later found he was too closely inbred, and some of its relatives had the same temperament.

It's possible because of being too closely inbred. Sometimes cats attack out of the blue like that as a response to pain they are feeling, possibly a UTI, or it could be something going on like development of a brain tumor. Rabies is another possibility, as it can lie dormant for quite some time. Has she had her rabies shots? Perhaps another opinion from another vet would be a good idea. Unfortunately, if this behavior worsens and becomes chronic, for the safety of people and peace of mind for the cat, she will likely have to be euthanized. I hope it doesn't come down to that. I would try the behavior-modifying drugs first before deciding that. All the best to the family that adopted Ruffles.
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Old June 16th, 2011, 09:46 PM
lindapalm lindapalm is offline
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I know someone that tried Prozac, and it didn't work, but then tried Fluoxetine, and had good results. It might be worth a try.
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Old June 16th, 2011, 11:23 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lindapalm View Post
I know someone that tried Prozac, and it didn't work, but then tried Fluoxetine, and had good results. It might be worth a try.
Fluoxetine is the generic name for Prozac.
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