Is there any hope for our psycho cat?

[Ivan Seeking]

We have a male cat that was kept in a room for the first six months of his life. This happened before we got him. By the time we did get him he was already extremely aggressive, but we hoped that with time he would calm down. Well, he's not. He is intent on running off any other cat, which is a problem since we have 3 females. He is far stronger than the rest and pretty much just terrorizes any cat in sight. In fact, the reason I moved Little Tyke down to my office was a real fear that Jack might kill her before she could fend for herself. We were lucky he never seriously injured her.

It is sad because he is extremely affectionate with people. He could be a great pet. But I don't trust him.

From what I have read, his personality suggests that he was damaged by his early confinement. The only option I've seen is the Feliway synthetic hormone, which is available in collar form now. We're going to try it but I don't have a lot of hope. It is going to take a big change in his behavior if we are to have peace in the house.

Any other suggestions? If this doesn't work we're going to have to get rid of him. We've never been forced to consider this option before.

 

[Lisa!]

A male and 3 females?
That makes any male crazy!

 

[zoobyshoe]

Is he neutered?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

A male and 3 females?
That makes any male crazy!

Actually, you would think he'd have at least one favorite. But all he does is terrorize them with fierce attacks on sight.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Is he neutered?

Oh yes, that's always the first requirement.

I keep wondering if something grew back! But you would think he would tolerate the females better in any case.

 

[Office_Shredder]

They're probably hitting on him and he's trying to cover up his condition with the minimal embarrassment possible. Poor fella.

I've only known one cat with, for lack of a better term, emotional instability. 12 years later and he wasn't any better I'm sorry to say

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I took this shot with the intent of emphasizing the point, but he even looks psycho, doesn't he? Honestly, he has the same look in his eyes as many of those gang members I've mentioned. It's not like he looks and thinks, what's that? It is more like he's always sizing things up and deciding whether to attack or not.

http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/318/jacklc.jpg

 

[Drakkith]

Perhaps a good kick across the room whenever he gets too rowdy will help. Or a good backhanding.

 

[zoobyshoe]

The fact he's affectionate with people is greatly in his favor. I think your best bet is to find him a home where he'll be the one and only cat.

 

[MarcoD]

We have a male cat that was kept in a room for the first six months of his life.

I, and my then partner, once tried to take care of a cat who was either psycho or maltreated. If the beast is anything like that, you'll never find out where the problem arose, and it's probably too late anyway.

We ended up giving the beast away to a horse-riding school. Lots of space to dwell by itself, other cats, and nobody to harm. It'll have a shorter life span, probably, but I suggest you do the same.

Btw.

Perhaps a good kick across the room whenever he gets too rowdy will help. Or a good backhanding.

Guess it was a joke, but in my experience cats are not dogs. They respond poorly to punishment except for marking the borders of territory. When I had cats I preferred to pet them or toss them around. They usually land on their feet and walk off offended, it seemed to work.

 

[Proton Soup]

maybe put him in a carrier so that the other cats can approach safely, give them a chance to familiarize themselves without harm.

 

[Monique]

Is your house big enough for all the cats? They should all have access to a separate room to reside in. A friend of mine also had a cat with similar issues, when she moved to a bigger house the cats started to get along a lot better.

My parents once owned a psycho cat that would attack anyone who would dare to tell her what to do. If she was in the kitchen and I would tell her to go to the hallway she would enter full-attack mode and I had to jump on the furniture for safety. It was likely due to a brain tumor that was causing the impulsiveness, unfortunately.

I don't think your cat has the same, it's likely a territorial issue.

 

[Evo]

Aww, he's a pretty cat. Have you consulted a "cat whisperer"? They've got skunk whisperers.

I hope the hormones work, you and tsu really go above and beyond caring for your anilmals.

The answer may be to try to place him with a family where he will be the lone cat.

 

[AlephZero]

Cat territories are as weird as cats. A friend of mine has a big house and garden, and a couple of cats. They get along fine together everywhere except in the kitchen, which is divided into goodness knows how many bits individual cat territory with invisible boundary lines between them, defended with teeth and claws. They even eat out of the same food bowl ... anywhere in the house except in the kitchen. Go figure.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Is your house big enough for all the cats? They should all have access to a separate room to reside in. A friend of mine also had a cat with similar issues, when she moved to a bigger house the cats started to get along a lot better.

Two of the four, Little Tyke and Bun, now live in my office, which is a separate building. I had to intevene to prevent him [Jack] from taking over my office as well. But I seem to have won that battle. At the moment it is only poor Zoobie [our cat, not her namesake, Zooby] who lives in terror, though Zooby may live terror as well, but that's another issue.

So yes, they have plenty of room.

it's likely a territorial issue.

Yes, it seems to be.

Aww, he's a pretty cat. Have you consulted a "cat whisperer"? They've got skunk whisperers.

The vet. They recommended using the Feliway collar. You may remember that we tried the Feliway diffuser with Isaac to stop him from spraying, and it worked. He would lie by the diffuser and was as happy as could be. But I don't have a lot of hope for Jack because he didn't seem to be affected by the diffuser.

I hope the hormones work, you and tsu really go above and beyond caring for your anilmals.

At least now that we're down from 13 to 4, things are easier to manage. When we had the dogs, goats, sheep, horse, cows, rabbit... what else?... it was a lot of work and tremendously expensive.

We call him Big Bad Jack. I should post a photo of his scratching post. Unlike anything I've ever seen in over 40 years of cat ownership, that post was virtually destroyed in no time. This is one seriously strong and tough cat. On the up side, we haven't seen another stray around here in three years. THAT is actually a good thing!

Edit: You know, we've had a bear on the property lately... Jack might be able to take care of that.

 

[KingNothing]

You know, we've had a bear on the property lately... Jack might be able to take care of that.

http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/funny-pictures-gif-cat-bear-viasp.gif

 

[rhody]

http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/funny-pictures-gif-cat-bear-viasp.gif

Can you feel the love, boo boo kitty !

Rhody...

 

[ThomasT]

If this doesn't work we're going to have to get rid of him.

That's too bad. Hopefully the hormone collar will work, but if not there's the hope of finding a caring family or person with no other cats.

Can Jack freely roam outside and inside? Just curious. I don't know if that freedom would help in your situation, but we've had cats before and allowed them that freedom and never had any problems of the sort you're describing (just that they would get killed in traffic or whatever periodically).

 

[zoobyshoe]

At the moment it is only poor Zoobie [our cat, not her namesake, Zooby] who lives in terror, though Zooby may live terror as well, but that's another issue.

I do, but not from cats. At any rate you shouldn't let one pet terrorize another, and Jack needs to hit the road. Advertise him honestly as very affectionate to people but not to other cats, and he should be adopted soon. Alternately, you could build him his own 3 bedroom house and let him live alone.

 

[turbo]

I do, but not from cats. At any rate you shouldn't let one pet terrorize another, and Jack needs to hit the road. Advertise him honestly as very affectionate to people but not to other cats, and he should be adopted soon. Alternately, you could build him his own 3 bedroom house and let him live alone.

Ooh! A cat-house! That could be a popular attraction!

 

[lisab]

Cat territories are as weird as cats. A friend of mine has a big house and garden, and a couple of cats. They get along fine together everywhere except in the kitchen, which is divided into goodness knows how many bits individual cat territory with invisible boundary lines between them, defended with teeth and claws. They even eat out of the same food bowl ... anywhere in the house except in the kitchen. Go figure.

I saw a documentary a long time ago about domestic cats. When they are densely populated, their territories take the shape of areas; when there's space to roam, their territories are lines. I can't find a reference for that, but it seems to fit feline behavior I've observed.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/funny-pictures-gif-cat-bear-viasp.gif

Haha, look at that bottle-brush tail!

Turns out Feliway doesn't make the collar for cats. It is another brand but the same thing. And I said hormone, but I should have said pheromone - the facial pheromone.

I put it on and don't notice a difference. Maybe I should try putting it on the cat?

 

[Evo]

I put it on and don't notice a difference. Maybe I should try putting it on the cat?

:rofl:

 

[e^(i Pi)+1=0]

The fact he's affectionate with people is greatly in his favor. I think your best bet is to find him a home where he'll be the one and only cat.

seconded

 

[Ivan Seeking]

He is definitely acting differently. He's never worn a collar before so that could be part of it. But he is purring a lot! And he is lying in new places. So that's encouraging. I haven't seen any cat-cat interactions yet but there are hopeful signs.

I got one for Zoobie as well. My thinking is that if they smell the same [or whatever the pheromone sense is called], it may help. Also, Zoobie has her own issues and the collar may be helpful for her. [We take in almost all strays, so they're usually a bit messed up]

When I stopped by the vet's office to get the collars, I got the rest of the story. I guess there are a few regular drugs that can be tried, including Prozac. I don't know if I care to go down that road but the drugs are mostly inexpensive. I guess that would be a better option than handing him off to a bad home.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I guess that would be a better option than handing him off to a bad home.

Actually, you could hand him off to a good home.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Actually, you could hand him off to a good home.

Sometimes easier said than done. A lot of people around are constantly trying to get rid of cats. And many people see them more as farm animals, than pets.

There is a woman at the vet's that tries to give me a cat every time I go in. We've been going in there for over twenty years and they know we're total suckers. When I turned the tables on her yesterday, she laughed at me!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

So far things are extremely encouraging. Tonight Little Tyke decided she wanted to come up to the house. At one point I was lying on the couch and had cat bookends - Tyke on one end of the couch and Jack on the other. That has never happened with Jack and any other cat. He not only tolerated Tyke, he actually turned his back to her and went to sleep.

Tsu got home tonight after being gone for two weeks. She commented immediately that Jack's not acting like himself. He seems like an entirely different cat.

This is the Nature brand pheromone calming collar.

 

[zoobyshoe]

So far things are extremely encouraging. Tonight Little Tyke decided she wanted to come up to the house. At one point I was lying on the couch and had cat bookends - Tyke on one end of the couch and Jack on the other. That has never happened with Jack and any other cat. He not only tolerated Tyke, he actually turned his back to her and went to sleep.

Tsu got home tonight after being gone for two weeks. She commented immediately that Jack's not acting like himself. He seems like an entirely different cat.

This is the Nature brand pheromone calming collar.

Glad to hear it's working so far.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Glad to hear it's working so far.

Yes, this is quite a surprise. The diffuser didn't seem to affect him at all. The collar may be a much more effective delivery method, which isn't surprising I guess. And I didn't like the idea of filling the house with cat facial pheromones, indefinitely.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Yes, this is quite a surprise. The diffuser didn't seem to affect him at all. The collar may be a much more effective delivery method, which isn't surprising I guess. And I didn't like the idea of filling the house with cat facial pheromones, indefinitely.

I wonder if you rubbed one of these vigorously on someone's shoes they would be followed down the street by every cat in the vicinity.

 

[QuarkCharmer]

http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/funny-pictures-gif-cat-bear-viasp.gif

http://gifs.gifbin.com/012010/1264682426_cat-attacks-dog.gif

 

[rhody]

I wonder if you rubbed one of these vigorously on someone's shoes they would be followed down the street by every cat in the vicinity.

Ok Ivan,

You have an experiment challenge, how about giving it a go and report back, who would have guessed that a certain pheromone could totally relax a cat's behavior, pretty cool.

Rhody...

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Can Jack freely roam outside and inside? Just curious. I don't know if that freedom would help in your situation, but we've had cats before and allowed them that freedom and never had any problems of the sort you're describing (just that they would get killed in traffic or whatever periodically).

Sorry, I had missed this. Yes, they are all come-and-go-as-you-please, indoor-outdoor. And they have five acres with their own forest and pasture. They really couldn't have it much better!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I heard one little skirmish with Zoobie, but so far so good. He is even noticeably less aggressive with his scratching post. Now he just stretches instead of attacking it with a fury.

I guess the real test will be whether the effects last long enough to establish a new pattern of behavior. We are trying to be smart about using a lot of positive reinforcement to aid in the process.