Expert: Ali - 3/19/2011

Question
QUESTION: I am a cat mom,I rescued some years ago a male russian blue who was dumped in the street and at that time my girl who was 16 was getting ready to pass, it was a miracle that he came when he did and has been with me now for 5 years. Now a year and a half ago, my best friend had a female silver long hair and they had her since she was a kitten, she was peeing everywhere and they took her over and over to the vet but no help came, she is a single mother of 2 teen daughters and taking care of her 91yr old mom, she had decided to take Duchess to the pound which really angered me and I ended up adopting her. She has never got along with Buddy (my boy) he is gentle, but she became aggressive more and more and they have had full on fights too many times, he is suffering and fearful of her and she has become more aggressive and is now attacking me. I was in bed 2 nights ago sleeping and she full on attacked me ripping my arm from shoulder to the hand. I am full of puncture wounds. I very upset got out of bed and went to stop the bleeding...This morning she jumped my leg and dug in again..I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO..I CAN'T LIVE LIKE THIS AND MY BABY BOY CAN'T EITHER. I have been laid off and don't have any money to spend at the vet. My question is though: would prozac make a differance? or am I going to have to do the unthinkable? I have shown this cat so much love over the last year and I am sick of the thought of having to put her down. Please help me...

ANSWER: Alexandra,

I believe that there are ways to help Duchess that don't involve psychotropic drugs like Prozac - in fact I generally don't recommend those types of drugs unless they're absolutely a last resort because I believe that in general there are gentler ways of helping pets behave in the ways we'd like them to. In order to best help you, Duchess and Buddy through this I need a bit more information so that I can assess what type of aggression we're dealing with (yes there are different types and each requires a different approach to treat effectively).

- How did you introduce Duchess into your household?

- How long has Duchess been behaving aggressively towards you?

- What leads up to the 'attacks' that you describe that are directed towards you?

- What leads up to incidents between Duchess and Buddy?

- Do you have the room to temporarily separate Duchess from Buddy while you work with her in order to improve her behaviour?

- Are you willing to try homeopathic remedies? I know this might sound like an odd question, but in my experience the right homeopathic remedy can work wonders in terms of changing behaviour or medical status (we've got a fantastic holistic vet who practices homeopathy)

- What have you tried in order to discourage Duchess from biting/scratching you or behaving aggressively towards Buddy?

- Can you describe in as much detail as possible what happens when Duchess is going to go after you?

- Can you describe in as much detail as possible what happens when Duchess is going to pick on Buddy?

- How does Buddy react when Duchess picks on him?

- Does Duchess do a lot of hissing/growling directed towards you and/or Buddy?

- When you brought Duchess home did you have her examined by a veterinarian to determine whether or not there was a medical reason for her to be urinating around your friend's home?

- When was the last time that Duchess saw a vet?

- Is Duchess eating, drinking, using the litterbox, playing and acting as she always has since you've had her aside from the nasty behaviour towards you and Buddy?

- Are you frightened of Duchess? The reason that I ask this question is because cats are exceptionally tuned into body language and human energy so if you are fearful it may be making her bolder and we may have to work on strategies to lessen your fear.

- Does Duchess have any other behaviours that concern you aside from the aggression?

I look forward to hearing from you soon, hopefully we'll be able to get things settled down relatively quickly with a few inexpensive and effective training techniques. The more information that I have the more that I can help you and your feline kids so please be as detailed as you can. I'll get back to you just as soon as I can - this situation is clearly serious and it is a priority as far as I'm concerned to help get these issues solved, particularly since you've mentioned euthanasia.

Kind regards,

Ali

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Alexandra,: ALI MY ANSWERS ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS EMAIL...ALEXANDRA

Alexandra,

I believe that there are ways to help Duchess that don't involve psychotropic drugs like Prozac - in fact I generally don't recommend those types of drugs unless they're absolutely a last resort because I believe that in general there are gentler ways of helping pets behave in the ways we'd like them to. In order to best help you, Duchess and Buddy through this I need a bit more information so that I can assess what type of aggression we're dealing with (yes there are different types and each requires a different approach to treat effectively).

- How did you introduce Duchess into your household? I brought her in and kept her locked in a hallway with bathroom for 2 days she wanted out, so I let her out to integrate.

- How long has Duchess been behaving aggressively towards you? The aggression started early on but not violent, now it has become violent.

- What leads up to the 'attacks' that you describe that is directed towards you? This bad one that happened was early in the morning, I was asleep with Buddy in my arm and she was on the other side sleeping she started growling and then just attacked me. She will sometimes try to block Buddy and/or me from walking by and then attack my leg when I do.  I know it is jealousy but there is no place to put her, I live in a small one bedroom apartment.

- What leads up to incidents between Duchess and Buddy? She tries to block him from going to the litter box or getting in the bedroom, she always spits and growls constantly.

- Do you have the room to temporarily separate Duchess from Buddy while you work with her in order to improve her behavior? NO…

- Are you willing to try homeopathic remedies? I know this might sound like an odd question, but in my experience the right homeopathic remedy can work wonders in terms of changing behavior or medical status (we've got a fantastic holistic vet who practices homeopathy) I have tried homeopathic, like rescue remedy for cats and other things, pheromones, Bach flowers, something called good kitty, I have tried. I am laid off from work and cannot afford major vet bills. I once tried compound homeopathies with another cat and they just don’t work. What other suggestions?

- What have you tried in order to discourage Duchess from biting/scratching you or behaving aggressively towards Buddy? Talking, petting her I don’t know what to do.

- Can you describe in as much detail as possible what happens when Duchess is going to go after you? She starts growling and hissing her eyes get big and she lunges..and she makes whining sounds.

- Can you describe in as much detail as possible what happens when Duchess is going to pick on Buddy? Pretty much the exact same thing, she makes some really loud guttural sounds.

- How does Buddy react when Duchess picks on him? He cries and his scared, I come and rescue him, but when she has attacked  me he takes her down.

- Does Duchess do a lot of hissing/growling directed towards you and/or Buddy? YES..ALL THE TIME

- When you brought Duchess home did you have her examined by a veterinarian to determine whether or not there was a medical reason for her to be urinating around your friend's home? As I said, she was my best friends cat since being a kitten actually her daughters who are young teens, they had taken Duchess to the vet many times and there was no UTI or anything wrong with her blood, so the vet felt it was either hormonal with behavior or one or the other. She apparently was aggressive with the vet too.

- When was the last time that Duchess saw a vet? Before she came to me. 1 year ago.

- Is Duchess eating, drinking, using the litter box, playing and acting as she always has since you've had her aside from the nasty behavior towards you and Buddy? YES and she has never urinated outside the box with me.

- Are you frightened of Duchess? The reason that I ask this question is because cats are exceptionally tuned into body language and human energy so if you are fearful it may be making her bolder and we may have to work on strategies to lessen your fear. Well I am a little at this point, I have never been attacked viciously by a cat it is a bit daunting.

- Does Duchess have any other behaviors that concern you aside from the aggression? No, she comes and sits on my lap and gets loving, but she does drool which I have never seen in a kitty and constantly gulps…oh and she has never been with any other cats before she came to me.

I look forward to hearing from you soon, hopefully we'll be able to get things settled down relatively quickly with a few inexpensive and effective training techniques. The more information that I have the more that I can help you and your feline kids so please be as detailed as you can. I'll get back to you just as soon as I can - this situation is clearly serious and it is a priority as far as I'm concerned to help get these issues solved, particularly since you've mentioned euthanasia.

Kind regards,   THANKS ALI… I would appreciate all the help I can get asap…

Ali

Answer
Alexandra,

There are a few of your responses that make me think that there are some little things that we can do to at least begin fixing the issues that Duchess has. Unfortunately I generally recommend introducing a new cat into a household with one or more cats already in residence over a period of about 2-3 weeks and this would have been a really great basic to go back to if you had more room to work with. I generally suggest keeping a new cat isolated in a room of their own for at least 2 of those 3 weeks, some cats may need a bit longer so the third week they can either begin short supervised interactions with the other cat in the house or they can remain in their temporary quarters. There is a possibility that this is part of the reason for Duchess' bad behaviour with Buddy. It's a good idea to have one litter box per cat plus one specifically to prevent the type of issues you're describing where Duchess tries to prevent Buddy from getting to the litter box so I would go ahead and pick up at least 2 more litter pans even if they have to be put in rooms of your home besides the washroom - trust me this is preferable to having an anxious Buddy start urinating or defecating outside of the litter pan! Ideally you'll want to spread the litter boxes out so that Duchess can't possibly police all of them at the same time, that may help with the confrontations with Buddy. Feeding these kids separately would also be a good idea. Since Duchess has had issues with attacking you it's not a bad idea to invest in a squirt bottle (like those for misting plants, most dollar stores sell them, simply fill it with water and set it on stream to squirt Duchess when she's behaving badly) and maybe even a can or two of compressed air like those used to clean computer keyboards. If the water doesn't work short blasts of compressed air aimed at the ceiling (never point these cans at your cat since they contain propellents that can cause freezing of skin) should immediately get the message across to Duchess that her behaviour is completely unacceptable since you're communicating with her in a language that she understands. It may also be worthwhile to get a large kennel (one big enough to accommodate a small litter tray, a soft blanket/towel for comfort and a water bowl - you can have Duchess sleep in the kennel at night to stop her attacks on you and Buddy when you're vulnerable and sleeping. I would recommend that you consider consulting a veterinary homeopath when you've got more financial resources to work with since homeopathy works best when the right remedy is administered at the right time - unfortunately the wrong remedy won't produce any results at all. For now the large kennel/bathroom can serve as a time out room for Duchess when her behaviour warrants it - for example when she attacks you or Buddy, at night, etc. When you do have the money for a veterinarian I would strongly suggest having Duchess seen because there is a possibility that her drooling is related to dental disease which can be exceptionally painful and have serious effects on a cat's overall health over a period of time. Another important thing to consider is that if Duchess isn't spayed getting her spayed will help to alleviate hormonal causes of aggression and frustration. For now ultimately you'll need to handle her calmly and assertively and immediately react to threats of violence, signs of aggression or attacks with tools like the spray bottle or compressed air as well as time outs. This is a case of aggression severe enough that if a veterinary homeopath or holistic vet trained in homeopathy can't turn things around with a more natural approach you may have to consider getting a veterinary behaviourist to come in and help you develop a solid behavioural program for Duchess which may include medication such as Buspar or Prozac for Duchess, but hopefully it doesn't come down to that. I'd like to be able to offer more detailed advice on behavioural programs but without actually seeing your set up, Duchess' behaviour or knowing her current health status I'm not entirely comfortable saying beyond a shadow of a doubt that her issues are purely behavioural. If Duchess is found to have painful dental disease when she's examined by a vet (some cats simply drool when they're happy, but it's less common in cats than it is in dogs) then my recommendation would be to get her mouth cleaned up and treated and see how her behaviour changes over the course of the first month or two after her mouth is feeling better - if it doesn't improve substantially then you can move forward with other options such as medication. I don't necessarily think that Duchess is a candidate for euthanasia based on her behavioural issues, what I do think is that she needs some work but if you're willing to be patient, calm, assertive and consistent with her I think she'll come around nicely in time. It's important not to react to any of Duchess' bad behaviour with fear, anger or aggression because that has the potential to seriously increase the intensity of her attacks so if you must meditate or do deep breathing exercises before dealing with her then by all means go ahead and do that. If you have any further cat related questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me again at any time - I'm more than happy to do whatever I can to help you, Buddy and Duchess live a happier and more harmonious life together.