# I'm thinking of taking her to the pound.



## pobalita (Jul 17, 2007)

Please help. I am nearly to the point of surrendering my cat to the pound. She is so aggressive that I doubt that she can be re-homed.

I purchased Lily (a purebred tonkinese) from a breeder one year ago. Since we brought her home, she has always been shy and skittish - she will run away if you try to pet her, bolt if you pick her up, or immediately jump off your lap if you sit down with her. On occaision, she would hiss or growl if you startled her. I strongly suspect that the breeeder did not socialize her. I have another cat from the same breeder who is also flighty, but not at all agressive.

Over the past year, I have been very careful to try "tame" or at least not aggrivate her. I have placed her cat tree in a bathroom near her food bowl and make sure that my children do not make loud or abrupt noises in the bathroom. No one uses the toilet or sink in this bathroom at all. I was making good progress and Lily was accepting the cat tree as her "safe place". As long as she was on the cat tree, she would let me pet her, purr, and even play a little. She would even let me pick her up for about a minute at times before she would climb back onto the cat tree. That all changed two weeks ago....

Two weeks ago, Lily's behavior radically changed. She came running down the stairs hissing and growling for no apparent reason. She jumped onto her cat tree and did the same. I thought that she would calm down, but she hasn't. On the evening of the first day (several hours after the running down the stairs), I tried to calm her. I basically had to pry her off the cat tree. When I held her, she was stiff and rigid and her pupils were hugely dialated. I set her in my lap and she did not move - it was as if she was frozen in fear. This behavior continued on for several days anytime I saw her and I, of course, became concerned - especially because her eyes were constantly dialated. I took her to the vet and had her checked out and had blood and urine tests run to make sure she was OK. I had the vet pay special attention to her eyes because I thought that one pupil looked very slightly smaller than the other - the vet said he thought that they looked the same size. The vet did agree that she was extremely anxious and suggested that I start her on prozac. He also said that we should look out for any other neurological symptoms (ie my concern about pupil size) and bring her back if she developed any. That was a week ago.

Lily's behavior is worse. For a few days, if she was on the cat tree, she would still let me pet her, but she was stiff and hunched and still had diatlated pupils. I could "mold her" - if I placed her on her side, she would stay on her side. If I straightened her tail, it would stay straight and she would not move it. Over the past couple of days, she has started hissing and growling when I approach her food bowl and last night I swear that she was at least thinking of attacking me (you know "the look"). When she leaves the tree, she hides continually underneath a footstool in the house and, if anyone comes near her, she hisses and bolts (I mean "shredding the hardwood floor" bolting). She won't go anywhere but to the foot stool or her cat tree.

I don't know what is happening. The vet didn't think that she is in any pain and said her physical condition is excellent. The vet said that she is defintiely eating. There have been NO changes around my home that I can think of - no food changes, no litter changes, no guests. Lily has never been outdoors, so she's not likely to have come into contact with anything that would cause illness. My children are scared to death of her so they never go near her.

I have noticed that there is a large patch of fur missing from her chest as though she has been grooming excessively -it's not a sore, just a bald spot - and that my male cat has about six or eight bites on his arms and legs and stomach. My male cat has also been overly affectionate toward me lately, suggesting that he is missing the attention from Lily. 

It did occur to me that possibly the male might be over-grooming her and biting himself and stressing her so I have begun to separate them at night so that she can at least get a partial break from him - I don't know if this is helping or hurting. I was thinking that maybe her hissing and growling at me was redirected aggression - it would be logical for her to go after me because I am the only one in the house that approaches her. 

To be honest, I am getting tired of walking on eggshells around this cat. I love my cats and do everything that I can to take proper care of them, but they aren't my "Furbabies" or "family" (no sarcasm intented - I know many people are very passionate about thier pets). I know that it will take time for Prozac to work, if it does at all, and even then she may still be aggressive. My kids come first and should not have to share their home with a "wild" and unpredictable creature that they have to fear. I honestly feel that, given her behaviour over the past two weeks, she is now entirely capable of attacking them and, the only reason that it hasn't happended yet, is that they won't go near the cat tree or foot stool where she hides. (They have no issues with the male cat and they play with him all the time.) I'm not trying to justify taking her to the pound, I'm only trying to express my concerns and stress level at this point in time; I am simply not in a situation where she can be permitted to rule the house - and that is what is happening right now. I am desperate.

Please help. Is there anything I can do to change the situation?

TIA -
Lily's mom


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## Janice (Jan 12, 2007)

Other than possibly getting the opinion of a Behaviorist for cats, I have no idea what is bother Lily. But something most definitely is because her pupils should not remain dilated like that continually....


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Wow. If a behaviorist or medications cannot help, I think it would be best to have her humanely euthanized at your vet's office, rather than let it occur at the local pound. She does sound disturbed and while it is nice to give pets forever homes, you do need to look after your children.

I don't think it is fair. Either for your children to have to be frightened of her or for the poor kitty to feel so, aggressive and on-edge, all the time with no apparent reason or decrease of tensions. Your family isn't enjoying her and she isn't enjoying herself.

She is spayed, isn't she? If she is, I am out of suggestions.
Best of luck to you,
Heidi


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## CataholicsAnonymous (Dec 4, 2006)

Long shot, but you might have a hormone assay done to test for a hormone imbalance. An ovarian cyst can also cause aggressive behavior.


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## pobalita (Jul 17, 2007)

*thanks for the ideas*

Hi -

Thank you for the fast replies. 

Yes, she is spayed. She is small and didn't come into heat until 9 mo. old, so she was spayed then. (18 mo. old now) Her behaviour did become more aggressive after the spaying but she was still somewhat lovable until this past two weeks. I discussed hormones with the vet, but he didn't have much to say about it.

She does seem very disturbed and the fact that her pupils are dialated all the time is worrisome to me; at first, I feared she hurt herself and suffered brain damage. I have seen a that her pupils constrict normally in brighter light, but they seem unusually large in normal light (fear?). It seems like there isn't really anything that I can do to help her right now other than continue to give her the prozac. I will continue with keeping her separate from the male for at least part of the day in the event that he is grooming her to the point of anxiety; that is the only external stressor that I can think of (even though I am not sure if he is the cause of her hair loss or if she is the cause of her hair loss).

If it comes to euthanizing, I will take her to the vet if it is the kinder thing to do. I wasn't aware that it would be harder on her at the pound; thank you for telling me. I don't want that at all. What I'd really like is my old Lily back...


Lily's mom


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I think your key to this is trying to figure out what happened to her upstairs. Was anyone up there with her that might provide a clue?

One possibility I'm wondering if maybe she chewed an electrical cord and got a big jolt. I'd check all the cords very carefully, even the ones you think aren't accessible to her...you never know where cats squeeze into. 

Any stray cats outside that she could reacting to and exhibiting some form of re-directed aggression? 

It's probably worth a conversation with a behaviorist.


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

I would definitely look into her hormone levels and get a second opinion. Try keeping her in a quiet area of the house, away from kids and noise and see if she calms down. Perhaps it's just too much stimmulation for her and she'd do better in a no child/no other pet home, in which case rehoming her privately to a single person or childless couple would be an option. Can you take her to a behaviorist? 
If none of that works and she is still very agressive then, sadly, putting her to sleep may be the kindest thing.


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## Mom of 4 (Jul 29, 2006)

Did the vet happen to mention that Prozac takes several weeks to start working? As in 4 to 5 weeks? I get very frustrated when they "forget" to mention that and people stop it because they don't think it is working. You need to give it time.


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## gunterkat (Aug 19, 2006)

Are there any strays in your neighborhood that might be spraying around your house?


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## pobalita (Jul 17, 2007)

*more information on Lily*

Thank you all again for more replies.

I don't know if there are any strays in the vicintiy. I live in a city at the intersection of two very busy streets and I never see cats outside. Besides fear of disease, fear of one of my cats getting hit by a car is a major reason my cats are indoor-only. 

There were no family members upstairs when she bolted downstairs two weeks ago. Maybe Simon (the male cat) was up there, but I am not sure. Nothing unusual was happening in the neighborhood. I will check the electrical cords - I hadn't thought of that. My upstairs is all bedrooms and bathrooms. Most cords are behind dressers. In my home, upstairs is generally very calm and downstairs is where the family "action" is. Simon is almost always downstairs with the family and Lily seems to prefer my youngest son's bedroom which is very quiet.

I do know that Prozac will take a few weeks, so I do intend to give this time. Please believe me when I say that I have a very good understanding of how this medication works. My concern at this point is that the behavior has gotten markedly worse since the vet visit on last Wed. I am hoping that maybe she is feeling the Prozac and it is making the anxiety temporarily worse as she adjusts. 

Tonight when I got home, she was on the cat tree and growled at me as soon as she saw me. I immedialtely removed her and took her up to my youngest son's room. She got upset when I gave her the Prozac (what cat likes pills?), so I placed her on my lap. She just sat there and let me hold her for about an hour. She could have left my lap, but didn't - she seemed almost catatonic. She was still stiff and anxious. Her pupils were mostly dialated, but at times they went to normal. She sighed and relaxed to the point of almost falling asleep a few times as well. She didn't seem to mind my son petting her and her ears perked up to hear his voice.

I have considered that this just might not be the right household for her. She hasn't really seemed to have any obvious issues with my kids. My kids don't usually interact with her because she is so skittish. As I mentioned before, I am really the only one who plays with her besides Simon (male cat). I realize, however, that something here may be making her very unhappy. I just wish I knew what it was.

Please forgive my ignorance, but I have no idea what a pet behaviorist is. If I were to locate one, what could he do to help Lily? Could this person also assist in determining if some kind of disease or illness might be causing the problem?


Thanks,
Lily's mom


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## Janice (Jan 12, 2007)

I'm not up to snuff on what a "behaviorist" can actually do, other than they are great at identifying "behavioral problems" in cats and dogs and give ideas on how to change those behaviors. They watch their body language and their reactions. I've heard great success stories from people who have used their services..... might be worth a call to one.

Now, Lily being on these drugs may also make her eye's dilated... did the vet say anything about that???


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## gunterkat (Aug 19, 2006)

The only advice I can offer is a trick I had for giving kitties pills. Their favorite treat was braunschweiger, an inexpensive type of pâté you can get in the grocery cold cuts section. I made a little ball of the braunschweiger, stuffed the pill into it and viola, the pill was wolfed down and I had a happy kitty.


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## Tigonie (May 21, 2007)

I had a couple of thoughts:

I don't know about cat behaviorists, but dog behaviorists usually cost $150-300 an hour. At least, that's how much I was quoted when I was researching them about 5 years ago in the Washington, D.C. area. Your vet might be able to give you some referrals, if you want to go that route. Personally, I'd take the medical angle before the behavior angle, but that's just me.

As for second opinions and follow-up checks, look in your Yellow Pages for Veterinarians and check for ones who specialize in cats. If you live in a city, it is likely that there are a few vets who only see cats. At one point, we had a cat-only vet, and she didn't charge any more than a regular all-pet vet. This would not be a "specialist," per se, but a vet who only sees cats. A cat vet may spot something that your all-purpose vet missed.

Good luck, and I hope you are able to resolve this and keep your kitty.


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## Heather102180 (Nov 19, 2003)

I don't know if "agressive" is the term I would use with your cat....when I started reading, I thought I'd read about a cat who attacks you, claws, bites, etc. If anything though, she sounds like a deathly scared cat and is very weary and afraid of her surrondings. 

If you've done all you can, and you think it's time to take her to the pound, I'd suggest just having her put to sleep at your vets....I know nobody will really agree with me on that one except Heidi. However, I've been there with an aggressive cat...I know if I tried to adopt out mine, he'd never become adoptable, and if he did, he'd be treated very unkind because he is a very unkind cat. 

Prozac might do the trick like others have suggested. I, however, have my cat on Valium...it's called Diazapam for cats, though. It works wonders....he sleeps a lot and is not as nearly freaked out by our company as he used to be.

Good luck and keep us updated...sounds like you are a very good cat mommy and doing all that you can!


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## AddFran (Jul 10, 2004)

Just curious, have you discussed this with the breeder at all? 

I agree with Heidi and Heather if the medicine doesn't work, it seems that both you and your cat are living pretty miserably right now and it's not humane to let this continue on. 

I'm sorry you are faced with this. I have a cat that is like yours but on a much milder scale. She gets worse as she gets older and I'm worried we will come to a day like this. I hope whatever happens, you'll have peace back in your house soon.


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## pobalita (Jul 17, 2007)

Thanks for more information everyone.

I did take her to a cats-only vet - it's called Cats Exclusive. I had a cat with megacolon and kidney failure that required specialized care in the past, so I made sure we got a vet that understood the problem. I finally had to have him euthanized when he became too ill, but now use this facility for both of my cats. 

I agree that aggression may not be the right term for the problem as a whole. More accurately, she is petrified with fear and seems to want to attack to protect herself even though there is no obvious threat to her. If she doesn't have that "don't make me use my claws" look, I can pick her up and hold her for quite a while. When I do, her body is entirely rigid. She will make a low meow from her throat when I hold her, but won't growl or hiss. I never restrain her when I hold her, but she won't move off of me by herself. I would think that if she was angry, she would try to attack me or at least run away, but she doesn't - she is absolutely rigid. When I set her down, the hissing and growling immediately starts again. 

I do plan to call the breeder and understand the need to do so. I was hoping that I could provide her information about what the problem is instead of just telling her that there is "some kind" of problem. I regret to admit that I wouldn't be surprised if there is something that the breeder might already know about. I know that at least one other person had refused to take Lily after meeting her and the breeder discounted her price for me. I took her home when she was eight months old and I truly believe that she wasn't socialized properly. The breeder had A LOT (over 50, I think) of cats so I don't think there was any way that they all could have possibly recieved the human attention required to socialize a kitten (if only I had known that then...). We have had issues with her since Day 1 - but before, she was just really skittish and shy.

If the prozac doesn't work, my doctor did mention possibly placing her on Xanax. I have taken that before and know that it would knock her out. I don't know if this would offer any quality of life on a long-term basis. Does anyone know if a cat can be content in this condition?



Lily's mom


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