Cat behaviour specialist

Hi

I’m wondering if anybody knows of a cat behavioural specialist in Dublin/Ireland. Does such a profession even exist? I had a google and couldn’t find much.

My cat is about 6.5 years old, female black cat. I found her out in the snow a few years back and after searching for some time, couldn’t find her owner.

As a kitten, she bit and scratched quite a lot. I tried to discourage this behaviour and eventually had her neutered. I tried letting her go outside but it was really stressful for her. She loved going out but once out she would just hide until I went and found her. Eventually I just kept her indoors.

I’ve tried playing with her many times but she tends to get quite bored quickly. These days, she’s ok at home for the most part, but if anyone comes to visit she’ll get aggressive so we have to put her away in 1 room.

Occasionally, she’ll swipe at my wife for no real reason which really upsets my wife. Sometimes she does it to me as well but it doesn’t bother me.

I brought her to the vet before, a cat only vet. They had no suggestions but insisted she be sedated if they ever had to see her again.

I’ve tried many other things but I could be typing all night!

The big problem is, we are hoping to start a family soon. I couldn’t honestly trust my cat around a baby. Really hoping to get some help from an expert.

Stratvs

https://www.maowcare.com/

Not sure if they can help but maybe worth a call.

I’m also surprised and somewhat concerned at a cat only vet with no suggestions other than sedation if they had to see the cat again.

This lady is one of, if not the, leading feline veterinarians in the country ( she’s also our vet )
Unfortunately she’s a bit far away from you. However she may have contacts that she could possibly refer you to.

https://thecathospital.ie/

tracey01

If you have the space have you considered an outdoor enclosure for the cat? We lock our cat up at night. We have a garden shed that has a cat flap into a cat proof fence (purrfect fence is the one we bought).
My cat isn't a fan of being in the house especially now we have a child. This set up was definitely worth the money.

tracey01

tracey01 wrote: »

If you have the space have you considered an outdoor enclosure for the cat? We lock our cat up at night. We have a garden shed that has a cat flap into a cat proof fence (purrfect fence is the one we bought).
My cat isn't a fan of being in the house especially now we have a child. This set up was definitely worth the money.

I actually did look up professional cat fencing for the garden. That would allow her to go out without getting away. I’m going to be sending them dimensions of the garden and they’ll quote me.

Hopefully it’s not too expensive but would help the situation quite a bit I think.

tk123

One of the nurses at our vets is a "cat friendly veterinary professional" and has done cat courses - I don't know how much she could help with behaviour but you have nothing to lose by calling and asking? It's CaraVet - http://www.caravetgroup.com

decky1

what a world we live in when we have to bring Cats to a 'Behaviour Specialist' is it going too far?, when i was a child i had loads none of which showed any signs of needing a Specialist of any sort, they stayed in the yard and would sleep outside winter and summer [cos cats love to hunt at night] they just hung around the back door during the day in the hope of the odd bowl of milk, maybe the odd time one would get run over by a car but even this did'nt faze the others they just carried on as if nothing had happened,maybe this said cat just needs to be left alone and let out to do it's own thing, but then again i'm no 'Specialist'