Help my cat is gone crazy....

bobbygirl

I have a 1 1/2 year old cat who lives indoors and doesn't have contact with any other cats at all. She is really affectionate and playful most of the time and haven't had any problems with her really ever except for her once using our bed as her litter box.
Until this morning when everything was going as normal with her getting brushed etc and suddenly out of nowhere she starts this really high pitched screeching and growling for no reason. She wouldn't let me anywhere near her and actually followed me around for about 10 mins growling and spitting continuously and trying to bite my legs. Now this might sound funny but I was trying to get to work and needed to go upstairs so she ran up ahead of me and only way I could get into the bedroom was to use the sweeping brush to chase her into the spare room!!! Even when I was heading out the door she was still doing it.
I was still shaking by the time I got into work . Anyone any ideas why this would suddenly happen and what I should do? I've had cats my whole life and never seen one acting so vicious before.

sophie1234

bobbygirl wrote: »

I have a 1 1/2 year old cat who lives indoors and doesn't have contact with any other cats at all. She is really affectionate and playful most of the time and haven't had any problems with her really ever except for her once using our bed as her litter box.
Until this morning when everything was going as normal with her getting brushed etc and suddenly out of nowhere she starts this really high pitched screeching and growling for no reason. She wouldn't let me anywhere near her and actually followed me around for about 10 mins growling and spitting continuously and trying to bite my legs. Now this might sound funny but I was trying to get to work and needed to go upstairs so she ran up ahead of me and only way I could get into the bedroom was to use the sweeping brush to chase her into the spare room!!! Even when I was heading out the door she was still doing it.
I was still shaking by the time I got into work . Anyone any ideas why this would suddenly happen and what I should do? I've had cats my whole life and never seen one acting so vicious before.

maybe when you where brushing her she had a sore on her side and you hurt it! cats get very defensive (well mine does) if i touch somewere where she has hurt her self? when you get home from work give her a once over checking if she has any cuts or bumps that you may have irritated when brushing her!

bobbygirl

No she definitely doesn't have anything like that and she was fine with me for ages after that. Literally just came out of nowhere!!! Might be best to bring her to vet I think...

MsFifers

Thats really odd behaviour and I can only think that it's down to pain - I'd definitely go for a vet visit.

sophie1234

yes i reckon you would be best the bring her to vet it could really be anything but i no with a sore somewhere on my cats body leads to a reaction like that even if its not noticable to us!

bobbygirl

Thanks yeah I did a bit of research and found the below which describes exactly what she was doing so hopefully will have calmed down when I get back!!! Cat psychology !!!

Fearful or Defensive

Fear aggression can occur when a cat perceives a threat, and it escalates if he can’t escape. The more threatening the person, animal, object or sound seems to the cat, the more heightened his fear reaction will be. Typical body postures associated with fearful or defensive aggression are a combination of defensive signals (such as crouching, flattening the ears, tucking the tail, leaning away or rolling onto the side, and pupil dilation) and aggressive signals (such as hissing and spitting, piloerection, growling, swatting, biting and scratching). Aggressive signals are especially likely to be displayed if a cat can’t escape the thing he fears. Often, the best way to deal with a defensively aggressive cat is to simply avoid him until he calms down.

sambuka41

My little fella done this a while ago,he was hissing at me and was aggressive when i went near him. Its not in his personality at all. It turned out to be an infection in his lungs,he was in a lot of pain

I would definitely recommend a visit to the vet.

bobbygirl

Well I brought her to the vet on Friday evening and they said she was in perfect physical health and that it definitely sounded like a behavioural issue. She was fine all weekend and even when I got home Friday evening she jumped onto my lap to be brushed. Then again this morning it started again but luckily my boyfriend was there so he was able to put her in the spare room until I left for work . She was fine with him so the problem is definitely with me.
The vet suggested getting a spray with pheromones that might calm her down but can't see this working as the whole thing is so random. Don't what to do if this doesn't work as I'm already starting to become a nervous wreck not knowing when it's going to happen again....

Graces7

bobbygirl wrote: »

Well I brought her to the vet on Friday evening and they said she was in perfect physical health and that it definitely sounded like a behavioural issue. She was fine all weekend and even when I got home Friday evening she jumped onto my lap to be brushed. Then again this morning it started again but luckily my boyfriend was there so he was able to put her in the spare room until I left for work . She was fine with him so the problem is definitely with me.
The vet suggested getting a spray with pheromones that might calm her down but can't see this working as the whole thing is so random. Don't what to do if this doesn't work as I'm already starting to become a nervous wreck not knowing when it's going to happen again....

Bizarre and scary.

Maybe she has taken against being brushed? My two will not let me near them with a brush.

Maybe ask the boyfriend to try brushing her and see?

Or are you using a new perfume etc?

And no that spray would not help as something is triggering her specifially; but it will not be random.

bobbygirl

No she came over to me a couple of times to be brushed over the weekend and was loving it as normal and no new perfume or anything like that.

Only thing that has changed is that the boyfriend has been feeding her in the morning for the last week whereas I usually did so might go back to me doing it and see if that makes a difference as the behaviour seems to start around the entrance to the kitchen and her trying to block that.

Here's a pic of her . So cute most of the time which makes it all the more disturbing

Graces7

bobbygirl wrote: »

No she came over to me a couple of times to be brushed over the weekend and was loving it as normal and no new perfume or anything like that.

Only thing that has changed is that the boyfriend has been feeding her in the morning for the last week whereas I usually did so might go back to me doing it and see if that makes a difference as the behaviour seems to start around the entrance to the kitchen and her trying to block that.

Here's a pic of her . So cute most of the time which makes it all the more disturbing

Bizarre indeed; not even a full moon either Keep trying!

MsFifers

Cats sometimes do this "displaced anger" thing - eg they see a cat out the window in their territory, get riled up and then turn around and lash out at their owner/another pet etc because they can't get at the original cat that is making them mad.

My two do it all the time - when the stray comes into our yard, one will turn around and whack the other, who was quietly minding his own business up to then.

See if you can notice anything else happening in the vicinity just before your cat goes crazy - something on the TV, out the window etc.

Also - watch out for fast tail wagging - a sure sign of an impending angry outburst!

bobbygirl

Thanks will keep a lookout .I'm finding once the eyes go totally black it's a bafd sign!!

theghost

I know this is going to sound daft but could it be that she doesn't want you to leave her and is trying to stop you going out?

bobbygirl

I thought that too at first but the level of aggression makes it seem more like she wanted me to leave.

I got up first this morning and fed her and no problems so I'm going to do that for the next while and see if going back to the old routine will work.

Mink

I had a tortoiseshell cat who would do this sometimes out of nowhere. Is your cat a tortie (they are known as naughty torties or that they have tortitude). Anyway, for about 2 years if we were walking around with bare legs, she'd go for them & even if you shouted or growled at her to get her to leave you alone, she wouldn't back down. She grew out of it by the time she was maybe 4 or 5! It would just be random & she could have been all cuddles & then be all cuddles after. Sometimes they just snap & you have to be prepared for it.

Graces7

Mink wrote: »

I had a tortoiseshell cat who would do this sometimes out of nowhere. Is your cat a tortie (they are known as naughty torties or that they have tortitude). Anyway, for about 2 years if we were walking around with bare legs, she'd go for them & even if you shouted or growled at her to get her to leave you alone, she wouldn't back down. She grew out of it by the time she was maybe 4 or 5! It would just be random & she could have been all cuddles & then be all cuddles after. Sometimes they just snap & you have to be prepared for it.

Sounds like exaggerated kitten play? NB is she spayed? Maybe, if not, something hormonal?

Mink

She was 2 when we got her from the pound and they said she was spayed. But we thought she might not be because of the behaviour so we had them check & she was. She didn't grow out of it until she was about 4!

We just put up with it & got dressed quickly when getting out of the shower!

Graces7

Mink wrote: »

She was 2 when we got her from the pound and they said she was spayed. But we thought she might not be because of the behaviour so we had them check & she was. She didn't grow out of it until she was about 4!

We just put up with it & got dressed quickly when getting out of the shower!

I meant the OPs cat thoiugh....