I seriously need some aggressive cat advice from some of the resident DU cat experts!!

[Siwsan]

My tortie has gone berserk. She went into a frenzie, yesterday afternoon, I'm pretty sure after spotting the neighborhood feral. That used to happen before I got her spayed, but this is the first time, since, that it's been this bad.

I really am terrified that she will seriously injure my other little cat because she goes all evil medieval on her. Hissing, clawing, growling, snarling, chasing at a full run - absolutely terrifying to witness. She will hiss and growl at me, but not every time - before she was fixed she would attack me, too. I took her to the vet, but they couldn't find any physical problems - just that she's probably very territorial. Getting her spayed would probably help and it did, for a while.

Anyway, I have her segregated in the 3 season room with lots of food, water, and a fresh litter box. I tried a slow re-introduction between the cats but it didn't go well. I'll try again when I get home from work, tomorrow. These are two rescue cats, from the same house. They usually get along, just fine, but now some sort of cat demon attaches itself to the tortie, and all hell broke loose

So, any advice on what else I should be doing/trying/buying???

[TwilightGardener]

1. I don't know. I have an old-man cat who didn't like my other cat

using the litterboxes. Got very territorial about it, would attack my other poor kitteh WHILE SHE USED IT--he would ambush her, you would not believe what a mess would result from two cats wrestling among cat poo, and she became afraid to use the litterbox at all. I would have to go into the basement with her and "guard" her. But he wasn't aggressive in other situations. It did get worse when they all started being "indoor" cats exclusively after having been indoor/outdoor at our last house. Hope someone else has more insight.

[Cleita]

2. You should have the vet check her for hidden ailments.

My cat is very aggressive and it turns out much of it is caused by underlying chronic medical conditions I have to medicate him for. I go to a vet that's a cat behavior specialist too as the rank and file vets were no help to me and I kept going to the ER because of his attacks on me.

[Siwsan]

4. She check out ok with the vet, the last time, but who knows

If this doesn't subside in the next day, or so, I'm going to take her back. She let me pick her up and pet her so she's not in pain, and she isn't consistently growling or hissing at me - just at poor Sophie! I'm pretty sure she saw the feral and maybe it got aggressive towards her, so she 'projected' her reaction onto Sophie.

Maybe I need to get her to a good cat psychiatrist!

[bettyellen]

6. get the second opinion, a nail trim and application of "soft claws" caps while you are at it....

that way she can't dig in and puncture anyone for a while.
Have you watched any of "My Cat From Hell"? That guy is amazing figuring out what a cat needs to chill out.

[Cleita]

8. His name is Jackson Galaxy and he's amazing in his work

with unhappy kitties and their unhappy human parents.

[bettyellen]

11. yeah, I followed a few of his suggestions, and my cats get along so much better now.

[Ruby the Liberal]

3. Honestly - get a second opinion

They didn't find anything wrong with my (now) cat before the first owners returned her to the breeder. I got her as a 4.5 year old once-homed "uncontrollable" rescue. My vet didn't see it at first either.

Turns out she had polyps in her ears that grew to where they burst her ear drums. Once removed, she went from aggressive and angry (from the pain) to the sweetest cat you could ever dream of, and she is 80% wild (80% asian leopard/ 20% egyptian mao).

Boggles the mind what happens when you find the thorn and take it from the cat's paw.

It could also be a kidney/bladder issue causing pain/aggression - or any number of things.

Find another vet and get a second opinion.

[Siwsan]

5. Great advice!

Thanks

[Le Taz Hot]

7. I have one like that.

Loki. We refer to her as "Her Darkness," because of her personality and the fact that she's all black. She was a rescue at 5 weeks old and was always VERY aggressive both to humans and other animals. She can be sweet, loving, and mellow and out of nowhere try to tear your face off. She had to become an outside kittie. The other cats, including my alpha female, give her a WIDE berth. She is my psycho baby. I've thought about putting her down but, since the outside thing seemed to work, we feel like we've found the solution that works for us as putting her down would have broken my heart. I do love her even though she is crazy.

[Siwsan]

10. Both of my cats were rescued from a drug addicted hoarder's house

The tortie was pretty feral, living in the piles of clothes and junk and hiding when anyone came by to check on things. Once I got her here, she seemed to do really well, until she sees an outdoor cat.

I think I'll give this a couple of days and then if she's still trying to kill poor little Sophie, she's off to the vet. Maybe I'll also stock up on "kitty calm".

[tblue37]

24. Darth Loki? nt

[joeybee12]

9. I have 3 torties...they're all nuts

My suggestion is to put her into a small room, maybe even the bathroom, with food, water and a litter box, and visit her there often and give her lots of affection, but don't let her out for a few days...I have to do this with feral kittens...smaller areas make cats feel more secure...she won't like it, but you probably will notice a difference, and she should be calmer...it will take re-introducing to the others, though, but it shouldn't be awful.

[Siwsan]

12. Torties are, indeed, nuts

The 3 season room is pretty small. I put Sophie's Winter time kitty bed in there, with her, so she will stay familiar with her scent without actually seeing her.

I went in and gave her attention and she's quieter. Most important, the blinds are down and the window ledges are too narrow for her to make a perch. She's not one of those nimble cats. So, hopefully that 'trigger event' will fade from her memory.

[joeybee12]

13. Scarlet, who is now in kitteh heaven with her sister Melanie,

used to get in moods sometimes...she was a classic calico, but could be very skittish...took the 2 to a new vet's when I moved, and she got very upset, threw up and pooped on Melanie on the way home, and then for a week hissed at Melanie whenever she came near, as if it was Melanie's fault. She got over it in a week...just stopped doing it...hopefully that will happen with Sophie in a few days...good luck.

[Siwsan]

14. Thanks - Sophie is a tiny little tuxedo cat, no match for a burly tortie!

I just spent some quality scritching time with Boud (the tortie) and maybe got a very half hearted hiss, thrown my way, and no growling.

See, they used to be buddies!

[joeybee12]

21. They were! And they're both thinking...

Get that damn camera outta here!!!

[tblue37]

26. Beautiful babies--especially the tortie! nt

[tblue37]

25. My large 9-year-old tortie Maine Coon is the sweetest, most submissive of all my 4 cats.

It is my 9 1/2-year-old dilute calico angora who bullies and dominates all my other (younger, larger) cats.

Three of my 4 cats are rescues. My tortie, though, was a feral. She was found in the engine block of a truck in the Topeka warehouse district, where many feral cats have nests. It seems her mother went out hunting one day and didn't return, so Tango went looking, and since it was chilly, she crawled up into the engine block to get warm. Just before turning the ignition, the driver heard her squeaking.

She was just 2.4 pounds when I got her, so we thought she was maybe 6 weeks old, but she doubled her weight to 5 pounds within a week, after I got her worms, fleas, and ear mites treated. After two weeks, she was almost 7 pounds. It turned out that she was actually about 10 weeks old when I first got her, but so malnourished that she was severely underweight.

But although she is 4 pounds heavier than Paris, and only 5 months younger, Paris bullies and dominates her.

The fact that a cat is a tortie doesn't mean it will be aggressive or wild. I have never had an aggressive or uncooperative tortie.

[Hatchling]

15. Feliway sometimes helps with aggression.

My little tabby is a very territorial little girl and occasionally attacks her big brother who then proceeds to throw her down and chew on her. But the Felliway had lessoned this behavior and as you have seen it is usually provoked by outside cats coming to close to windows and doors.

Most pet shops carry it. It's not cheap. (at least for me)

[Orsino]

32. I know Feliway helped my two cats calm the fuck down...

...when the second was introduced to the household.

[freedom fighter jh]

16. I wonder if it's displaced aggression.

My sister has two male cats, both indoor cats. Once she saw them looking out a big window when something juicy went by -- I don't remember what, but it was the kind of thing cats like to chase. The cats were stuck. There was nothing they could do. So one of them swatted the other and hissed at him.

People do this sort of thing all the time, so why not cats?

So maybe the torte just feels real aggressive toward the neighborhood feral and needs an outlet for her hostility. Is there something you can give her, maybe a toy cat or something? Or do that laser beam thing and let her take it out on the elusive spot? Maybe after some catharsis she can go back to her sister in peace.

[Siwsan]

17. Funny thing about the laser light - the tortie ignores it!

Maybe she's color blind. But Sophie absolutely LOVES to chase the red dot.

I kind of suspect it is displaced aggression - it's just that we've had about 18 months of peace since the last explosion. Hopefully I'll be posting a positive update, in a few days!

[4139]

18. Tartar control treats! Had an outdoor cat name Anthony ...

.. We called him tony for short. Gentlest cat on the planet.... One day tony ran across the street and attach a lady who live up the street.... He had been acting a little different lately. I forget had I came to figure it out but tony was having gum/mouth pain... Tartar cont treats!

[Corgigal]

19. Happened with cat, Cleo

after some weird behavior, to include crying and tearing stuff up, I took her to my vet. She's diabetic and now on insulin. Might want to take a look into that. Now Cleo is back to being her normal, but always hungry, self.

[SoCalDem]

20. Our Sweetie Pie did the same thing, and went into a psychosis

The vet rx-ed him with kitty-Paxil and after a few tense weeks, where we just isolated him from his fears (everything inside the house and near the screen door), he snapped out of it, but it was intense..

[Cleita]

22. Any update on your kitty? eom

[MohRokTah]

23. I use this stuff to keep my huge boy tabby at bay from attacking others

http://www.feliway.com/us/

[kiva]

27. We got

Natural Pet Anxiety & Stress, a homeopathic remedy, from PetCo. We used it when one cat started having some issues, just put it on the food; as picky as cats are none of them seem to taste it (we gave it to all of them over July 4th). It did seem to calm them.

Good luck.

[eShirl]

28. call Jackson Galaxy

seriously, this sounds like an episode of his show on Animal Planet

http://jacksongalaxy.com/category/aggression-problems/

[gollygee]

30. There was an episode with this specific issue

Where a cat got spooked (by a feral cat I think even) and then after that became a little kitty terrorist.

[Politicalboi]

29. My female cat used to scream

When she saw the black feral male cat outside our window. She hasn't been screaming lately even when she's outside and he appears. Our cats are indoor outdoor, and become very upset when they have to stay inside. They all take it out on each other. The feral kitten I have is the baby from the feral male cat my female screams at, he gets along with everybody, even though everybody doesn't like him. Hiss!

The kitten likes one of our male cats Victor. When he sees him, he hugs him around the neck till Victor hisses. I still need to get rid of this 4 month old kitten. He likes to hang with his pop as of late. Your cats will be fine. Since I've had this kitten, they all seem to get along better. Maybe you need this cute kitten I have. He "may" have magic powers.

[Siwsan]

31. Boud has stopped hissing and growing at me - still hissing at Sophie

I'm seeing less aggressive behavior but Sophie is scared to death of Boud. I've decided to block the bottom section of the screened in porch, since the feral tends to slink across my back yard. Hopefully it will be 'out of sight, out of mind', for Boud.

I'm really a one-cat sort of person and Boud was only supposed to be a foster but the person who was supposed to take her, never did and the people who were sorting things out just sort of walked away from the situation.