cat upset

[patsyscloud]

Hi. It seems that when my husband and I get upset our cat freaks out and hisses and growels and if we move she goes to attack us. We have to stay still. Eventually she calms down. Could this be true, that this upsets her. Just before she calms down she comes over and sniffs me. I think this is because she is checking to see if I have calmed down. We are actually becoming afraid of her because she has attacked us before and yet she can be so sweet. I love her so much I got her when she was six weeks old and now she is six years old. We are thinking of giving her up to the humane society, because she is not good with other people. This would kill me. We even have to trick her to go into the bedroom so we can go out because she attacks if she sees us get dressed. When we get back and let her out she happy. I'm lost I don't know what to do. I buy head to tail calming food. I don't think this works. Does anyone else have this problem?

[Barkingdog]

Have your been to a vet for a checkup , I heard of pet acting strange when they're sick and have some kind of infection. My sweet Standard Poodle who was my hearing dog started to growl at me and act he did not know me when he had cancer. I would have the cat checked to made sure nothing is going with her .

[Reg]

Hello patsyscloud:

We haven't had this particular issue, but we have noticed with our cats, that if we have a heated discussion, it will upset them. Not to the point of hissing or growling, but they do show a lot of stress. They have never attacked us.

With strangers, a couple of our cats will tolerate them, but one just runs and hides. Strangers should be made aware of the cat and give them space and let the cat come to the stranger. I notice with our one cat, strangers are very stressful for him - even our own son.

Barkingdog makes a good point of having it checked out for any medical issues.

Has there been any minor or major changes to your environment lately - something outside your home has been moved, or furniture in your home been changed around, or something new been added to the home, is there a new human in the home, does the kitty have window access to look outside and something has disturbed her - other animals, squirrels, coons, other cats, or whatever.

Something we've found that helps to alleviate some stress is when we have to leave the house for shopping or whatever, we leave the radio on with easy listening music at a low volume. Our vet suggested the use of Feliway to help with stress. Also playing with the cat helps too. Some kind of toy on the end of a "work boot lace" or even just the lace - soft and nothing hard to hit or hurt the cat when playing with it.

If you do the vet for a checkup, question the vet about the problems and ask if they can make any suggestions.

To do the Humane Society with the conditions you speak of, they may not accept the cat. It wouldn't be fair to another owner either. And it definitely wouldn't be a good situation if there were children involved.

Maybe some of the other members could shed some light onto the subject. If I can think of anything else, I'll add it.

By the way, when did this strange behaviour start, or when did you notice it, and how long has it been going on? Has the cat been de-clawed? Sometimes this will cause behaviours not seen before.

[patsyscloud]

We took her to the vet six weeks ago nothing wrong. There are no changes in the apt. I don't know we just can't understand her.she is not a cuddly cat. She use to get up on our laps but not anymore. And yet she seems happy sometimes. She lays on her back. We play with her everyday. She even goes up to my husband and taps him to play. Its so funny she loves being chased. We have all kinds of toys for her.we made one with feathers and a stick. Sometimes she gets up on the bed and sleeps with us.she even comes over to me and taps my belly when she wants treats.

[Reg]

hello again patsyscloud:

You didn't mention how long this situation has been going on. Have you always been in this apartment or is it a new one, and if so how new? Are there new tenants in any adjoining apartments that perhaps play loud music or make noises that are strange to your cat. Cat's ears are very much more sensitive to noises than ours are - they hear a good deal more than we do.

Something we've also found is that cats do tend to change their habits. We noticed with one of our cats that when he was younger he was not a cuddly cat. However, in the last couple of years of his life, he became quite a lap cat. Their personalities change, as do ours.

It sure sounds to us as though there has been a change in your environment or your surroundings that perhaps you have not noticed or picked up on, but your cat has.

Might she have been corrected for a mistake or some such thing or spoken to loudly that she may have taken offense to. They have exceptional memories and they recall stuff that we might have forgotten.

Another thought might be to try to contact an animal behaviourist communicator type person and work through them. We did that once and it seemed to work with a cat we had.