Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I adopted a kitten a few years ago. She was a stray and about 5 months old. She's 3 now. She's an indoor cat. She does not have actual contact with any other cats. If she sees a cat while looking out the window she becomes upset. She meows alot. She'll walk over to me and bite me hard. Goes back to the window. Meows more. Is obsessed with the cat outside. At best sometimes I can get her to give her misplaced agression to a toy and she'll go after that. But lots of times, if I don't realize what is going on right away, she'll get me. And I yell and I've got a bleeping puncture wound to deal with that I know will hurt like crazy the next day. I keep my apartment filled with Feliway which she likes. But it is not a cure all. A cat outside will still upset her and I might be the object she takes it out on. What can I do? My impression is that dicipline on a cat won't work. I never swat her or anything. I just try to remove myself or divert her attention. Can she be trained to not bite me? We've got many years ahead of us together.

A few weeks ago I described how I handled a very similar situation on the general board (Opinions on simulated facial phermones)in the end, I let my cat go beat up the cat who was tormenting him. (not recommending you do the same)

If the wandering cat has an owner, see if you can talk to them about keeping the furball indoors. If that isn't possible, could you block your cat's view of the outdoor cat? If she only spots the other cat from one or two windows, could you switch to down-up shades so you enjoy the light but never see the outdoor cat?

bach flower essences, Rescue Remedy, will work for aggression. I rarely used it in the water dish because one cat had heart problems, but when given directly to an aggressive cat it worked wonders. I pick it up at a local new age shop, but Madame Alto may have a link to buy it online.

She is displaying really strong territorial and over stimulation - have you asked your vet about anti-anxiety meds?

Your right - discipline is not going to work. You're dealing with strong instinct, not rational thought. I can understand your frustration with all this!

Purrs,
Elizabeth

Hi There,

You are doing the right thing by attempting to distract your cat from biting. It might work better to try this before she gets into "attack mode". I'm not big on using a spray bottle to discipline a cat, but some owners swear by it. If you want to try this, I would spray her at a time when she won't realize that it's coming from you, like while she is still looking out the window.

As the other poster stated, you can try using Rescue Remedy. This product can be found at health food stores and can be added to water or applied to an ear and absorbed through the skin. My own experience with Rescue Remedy has been mixed and I'm not wild about the alcohol content in the liquid type. I believe that the cream form is alcohol-free.

If you are willing, you can talk to your vet about prescribing something for anxiety. Clomipramine works very well in cats and they can be on the drug long term, if necessary. I have a cat that has been on this drug for a couple of years for aggression towards me and the other cats. He has hyperesthesia syndrome so he may need meds for the rest of his life.

Take care, and please keep us updated.

Regards,
PHKitkat

Thank you both for your suggestions. I bought a bottle of Rescue Remedy on the way home from work and gave her some. Now, that cat isn't out tonight but Jools is looking for it. I squirted it in her mouth and she jumped off my lap and ran into another room. I'm not sure if she absorbed it or not because I haven't seen any change. I was thinking that she might be in a drunken stupor but she isn't acting any more laid back at all. The truth will tell when that cat comes around. (The cat lives across the street and it's companion man lets it out when he is sitting on the front porch. So the cat stays around the house and doesn't cross the street at least.) I'm going to keep working with the Rescue Remedy for a while then if necessary look into kitty Kalmers from the vet. I'll keep your notes handy to refer to cause you both gave me several good suggestions. Thanks again.
Julianne's Mom.

(The cat lives across the street and it's companion man lets it out when he is sitting on the front porch. So the cat stays around the house and doesn't cross the street at least.)
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Another thought - cats like schedules, if this guy is fairly predictable in when he appears on the porch with his cat, could you 'train' Jools to move to another room? Say if he shows up around 7pm each night for an after dinner smoke, then a half hour before lure Jools to a room with a door you can close with a tasty treat. Shut her up for a short while with her treat and a toy. Let her out when it's no longer likely she'll see the other cat. It will only take a week or two before she'll walk you to the other room to get her treat.

And i'm not sure how you'd train a cat to redirect the aggression, but one of my cats, Annie, for years "killed" a beanie baby whenever she was stressed and needed to dominate something. Annie learned this trick from a foster kitty who stayed with us and arrived with his own beanie baby. Even today, if there is a lot of posturing between Annie and Stinky Cat I can be pretty sure Annie will drag a stuffed animal or three out of the nursery to slaughter in the bathroom after we all go to bed.

As for the Rescue Remedy, it didn't really make any difference in Annie's usual behavior - it just ended the attacks on Romeo for a day. It was like she was affected by a case of "I don't care" while she went about her business.

keep us posted

Purrs,
Elizabeth