# very aggressive cat



## matw01 (Aug 21, 2011)

hi everyone, i have a 3 year old cat who has always been an inside cat and therefore not had any interactions with other cats.

we have recently started leaving the door open with a gate on due to hot weather, this can cause my cat to get quite aggressive if you go near her but it has now got to the point where she will chase you across the room to attack. 

She has just had one of these reactions and i have had to shut her in the front room in at attempt to hopefully calm her down, for the first time i was generally afraid of my pet. 

we did lock her upstairs but she would pounce at the door when you walked past and after half an hour she hadn't calmed down at all.

anyone any suggestions, she can be such a lovely cat.


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## gloworm*mushroom (Mar 4, 2011)

When you mention laving the door open, has your cat been going outside or have other cats been coming inside your home at all?

I would have her at the vet as sudden unexplained aggression could mean a cat in pain.

Is she spayed, and have you tried a feliway diffuser to help calm her down?


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## matw01 (Aug 21, 2011)

no she hasn't been going outside and no cats have been in as there is a gate in place but there are various cats that pass by outside. 

she only seems to get like this when the door is open, she is generally quite calm. 

i have not come accross the feliway diffuser, what does this do?


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## gloworm*mushroom (Mar 4, 2011)

It releases some sort of pheremone I believe which is calming to cats.

it may be that she feels more vulnerable when the door is open if it only happens when the door is open...

If she isnt spayed there could be other issues, but if she is that shouldnt be an issue.


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

From reading this thread and what you have said ,there are two possibilities,1 is that she has a medical issue which is causing her to react in this way.2 is that the open door is causing her stress and making her defensive.If you are certain that there is no medical issue then I would stop leaving the door open for a week and see if this has any infuence on behaviour,but I wouldnt rule out medical problems without having her checked out by your vet.You didnt say whether or not she is spayed.


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## matw01 (Aug 21, 2011)

yeah sorry i forgot to answer that question, yes she has been spayed.

we never used to have the the door open and she has been fine but when open she sits in front of the gate and sometimes meows and then when you go near to her she hisses at you and in the case of earlier on today she chased me across the kitchen! she doesn't always do this when the door is open but definitely more often than not. 

she is still locked in the front room for the moment i plan to let her out within the hour and if she has still not calmed down i will leave her in the kitchen overnight.


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## matw01 (Aug 21, 2011)

just a quick update, i have just opened the door and she was still very upset and hissing allot. 

we have put her back in the room for now, im hoping it will just take longer for her to calm down.


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## gloworm*mushroom (Mar 4, 2011)

matw01 said:


> just a quick update, i have just opened the door and she was still very upset and hissing allot.
> 
> we have put her back in the room for now, im hoping it will just take longer for her to calm down.


Please take her to the vet to make sure you are not punishing her for being ill or in pain.


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## matw01 (Aug 21, 2011)

im honestly not trying to punish her but she is scaring us at the moment which is why we locked her in the room in the dark to calm her down. 

i can take her to the vet tomorrow but it seems odd this only happens when she has access to outside and it does seem to be caused by her seeing/smelling another cat.


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

matw01 said:


> im honestly not trying to punish her but she is scaring us at the moment which is why we locked her in the room in the dark to calm her down.
> 
> i can take her to the vet tomorrow but it seems odd this only happens when she has access to outside and it does seem to be caused by her seeing/smelling another cat.


To be honest locking a stressed cat in a dark room alone will only add to her stress,Im not really surprised she is upset.


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## matw01 (Aug 21, 2011)

well she was not safe to be around so i saw no real alternative, i didn't want to do it. 

i felt there wasn't really another option.


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## maryrose1977 (Aug 7, 2011)

I dont see a problem with taking the cat out of the situation and placing it in a quiet dark room. 

You did what you did to stop yourself being hurt.

You said your taking her to the vet for a check up and to discuss the situation with him/her so your really doing the best you can do.

If you know the front door is going to be opened can u close the kitchen door or whichever inner door is nearest so the cat doesnt see that the door is open?

good luck and i hope a solution is found soon for you and your cat.


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## matw01 (Aug 21, 2011)

its difficult because the kitchen is the room that the front door opens to and then the living room is to the right so you would have to lock her in the living room whilst the door is open or upstairs but then she can see the door but not smell other cats. 

she is downstairs in the kitchen now which is where she normally spends the night so i hope she will have calmed down by the morning. 

it will be very difficult to transport her to the vet in her current mood. 

thanks for your suggestions, i hope i can find a solution she can be such an affectionate cat.


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## matw01 (Aug 21, 2011)

just a another quick update, i came downstairs this morning and she was rolling over and purring, i then let her upstairs and she went into my brothers room and rubbed round him purring as she normally does.


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## matw01 (Aug 21, 2011)

and now after sniffing the door she's gone insane again attacking anyone that comes anywhere near!


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## maryrose1977 (Aug 7, 2011)

wow something really seems to have upset her, am i right in thinking the door isnt opened and she is just aggressive?

I would pop her to the vet and see what they think. 

Only experience i have with aggressive cats is the first one i ever had. He had recieved a nasty knock on the head before we rescued him and it had caused his issues. 

I do hope this situation is sorted tho because cats dont usually behave like this unless there is a reason.

Good luck and please keep us posted.


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## koekemakranka (Aug 2, 2010)

Sounds like the door may be the culprit. Has another cat perhaps sprayed the door on the outside? We have a local tom who does this and drives my indoor neutered male crazy.


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## Philski (May 28, 2010)

matw01 said:


> and now after sniffing the door she's gone insane again attacking anyone that comes anywhere near!


As Maryrose said, is the door open or shut? Reading through the thread, it did occur to me that there is one very simple test - shut the door and see if she calms down...


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## Ianthi (Oct 21, 2008)

koekemakranka said:


> Sounds like the door may be the culprit. Has another cat perhaps sprayed the door on the outside? We have a local tom who does this and drives my indoor neutered male crazy.


This is exactly what I was going to suggest. Also the aggression is essentially misdirected at you- hence the term misdirected aggression. This is quite common with cats even with each other-usually another, unfamiliar cat scent is the trigger.


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## maryrose1977 (Aug 7, 2011)

As above poster said if you suspect its that try preparing some biological washing powder and washing your door and the surrounding brick work.

It must be a very stressful time.


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## matw01 (Aug 21, 2011)

It does seem to generally be when the door is open or when she smells the door, I think a cat may have sprayed the door.

the vet I spoke to said she sounds like she feels unsafe in her own home, shes acting a bot strange now but no where near as agressive as she has been.


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## matw01 (Aug 21, 2011)

she's doing better than she was, much calmer but she is still acting a bit strange. 

she goes from fussing round you to hissing at you moving toward you at speed and then two minutes later she'll let you stroke her again. 

really not sure what started this behaviour.


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