Expert: Dear Tabbi - 12/11/2008

Question
I have a male cat that is a little less than a year old. He has been neutered.  He is big for his age and also very mean. We have two other cats in the house and he is very mean to them. One is a kitten 5 months old and the white cat just constantly attacks him and makes him scream in pain. The other cat is a female she is spayed. He is also very mean to her. She is normal size for a cat her age, but the white cat is still a whole lot bigger than her. It is not just the other cats that he is mean to, he is also very mean to us. He will attack us and scratch us until we bleed. Sometimes he just attacks us for no reasons and sometimes he attacks us when he gets in trouble. When he gets in trouble we don't hurt him or give him a reason to attack us we just say "No Cotton." Could you help me i don't know what to do with him?

Answer
Christin,

You may cause emotional problems and personality changes to the kitten and the female cat who may be nice and loving NOW. Also you are looking at possible large vet bills and/or doctor or emergency visits. Why would you keep a cat that can injure a member of your family or your other cats? This cat does not sound like he is the right cat for your family.

If he were the only cat and you loved him a lot, then you could take the time and patience to try to understand why he is behaving like he does, besides possibly putting him on kitty Prozac to help calm him. White cats have a high possiblity of being deaf. That could be why he acts like he does. He could be very nervous and defensive. He could also be in pain which causes aggression. You may want to have a vet check him out.

But my personal opinion, which you may not agree with, is to take him to a no-kill shelter or to a farm or ranch, and keep your cat family, and your human family happy and safe.

Tabbi