Expert: Dear Tabbi - 9/12/2008

Question
Hi,

I have a three year old domestic tabby that is an inside cat. She is very affectionate and even sleeps in our bed every night (in our arms). In the last few months if she sees the neighbours cat outside she starts to howl, hiss and attack the cat through the window she will then run up to us and start taking swipes at us (to the point I had to lock myself away from her) she is sterilised and it only happens when she sees a cat outside.

We do let her out of small amount in the backyard supervised about once a week.

How do I break the behaviour?

Answer
Vanessa,

It is a common behavior problem called Redirected Aggression. Normally a cat will get aggressive with another animal in the home, but if there aren't any, they can attack their owners. She is not attacking you, in her mind she is attacking the stray cat she can't get to to defend her territory. It is a reaction, not a behavior.

The way to stop that is to cover the window that she can see the other cat out of. If her actions are allowed to continue, then it can cause permanent behavior problems. Also,  she may start eliminating inappropriately also due to the stress of the other cat.

There are calming aids that you can use for her also:

"Bach's Rescue Remedy" is extremely effective in the relief of stress or trauma, both in humans and in animals. Two or three drops in a bowl of water often provide quick relief. If your cat does not like the taste (the alcohol content is almost negligible after dilution), you can rub one or two drops behind the cat's ear. People who have tried Rescue Remedy on their cats, swear by its effectiveness. You can get it at a people's health food store or online.

"Feliway" spray is a "friendly pheromone, developed by Farnam, Inc. It mimics the facial pheremones cats use to rub against things and leave their scent (which is calming to them). Feliway is believed to be effective in reducing  stress-related behaviors. Or "Comfort Zone with Feliway" is a wall plug-in which diffuses the pheromone throughout a room. You can get it from a vet (they use it too), PetSmart, Petco, etc., or online.

If your cat is still being very stressed the vet can put her on "kitty Prozac" for a short term (usually 2 weeks) until she calms down. It is a common prescription for cat's stress and/or emotional issues. You may want to speak to your vet about it.

I am including links to 2 good articles on Redirected Aggression that may be helpful to you:

http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/aggression3.html

http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=redirectedagr...

I hope this helped answer your question.

Tabbi