Expert: Becky - 5/22/2006

Question
Becky,
I have had cats my whole life and have never had one quite like the one I have now. She is about 2 years old, we got her when she was a kitten from the vet. Ever since she goy spayed she has had aggressive behavior. The first instence happened when she was startled by a loud noise made by some pots and pans and she attacked my husband. When I mad a noise, because I was startled, she came after me. The next time she did it was because my husband was being "funny" and decided to scare me and I screamed and she attacked me; hissing and scratching me. My legs were all cut up. I took her to the vet and asked about getting her declawed and he said that it would only relieve one of the problems. Recently she attacked my husband and got him on the legs. He had said something in a high pitched voice, kind of excitedly. What I want to know is, what is the best thing for us to do? We are about to move out of our apartment into a new place where we will have more people coming over. I don't want her to attack them. Should we get her declawed and see if that helps or should we give her away? I've ran out of options, if you could give me some advice I would appreciate it.

Thank you,
Rebecca

Answer
Hi Rebecca,
Having a cat spayed does not cause agressive behaviour, however, this does seem way out of the ordinary. It makes me wonder if something else may be going on. I don't know if having your cat declawed is the answer.  You might want to ask your vet if giving your cat a mild sedative might help?   I wonder if there is some type of brain damage or disease that is making your cat behave like this. This is not normal.  I'm not sure what to advise, but just giving her away is not the answer as you don't need to give a cat that is this agressive away only to have her attack another person, maybe even a child.  As sad as this may sound, you may want to consider putting her to sleep if she is so bad that you cannot keep her as a pet.  

God Bless,
Becky