Expert: Dear Tabbi - 2/11/2009

Question
Hi---I have 2 yr old female cat that I have had since she was a kitten.  She
has always been very mellow and docile and loving.  She had a litter of kittens
on Oct. 31.  We gave one kitten away, but the remaining 3 have stayed with
us.  She was an excellent and attentive mother while the kittens were still
nursing and has continued to "hang out" with them and even play with them.  
I had her spayed about 4 weeks ago without complications.  About 2 wks ago,
she started acting very restless and not as affectionate. Suddenly, she has
begun to attack the kittens. This is not play fighting.  She is truly in
attack/fight mode.  I have to intervene because she wants to really fight.  
Then, last night, she woke us up howling.  She was carrying one of the dog's
fuzzy toys around in her mouth and making these strange meowing noises.  
Today, she has vacillated from being her old self to the mean, kind of
paranoid cat that I just described. Any ideas on what's going on here????

Answer
Anne,

That is not normal behavior. It sounds like she may be in pain. I would contact the vet that spayed her and explain her behavior. She may have developed an infection from the spay, or something else may be wrong. Or I would contact your regular vet if different than the one who spayed her.

It is possible that they did not get all of her ovaries when they spayed her which would make her come into heat, especially if she smells a tomcat.

I would get the kittens fixed too. They can start coming into heat at 4 months and she would react to that too. I adopted a mother cat who had kittens and the SPCA neutered them at 11 weeks!

Also, is a storm coming? Some cats can get really weird and act bizarre when the atmosphere changes.

Tabbi