What is wrong with my crazy cat?

Question

I've had my cat for a little over a year now. I got from a friend of a friend and apparently she was abandoned by her momma cat. So she was out on the streets very young. She is about a year and a month or 2 old now and she can be pretty aggressive towards me and other people except for my mom which is weird. Even taking her to the vet is impossible. 4 people have to hold her down just to check her or clip her nails. When i just try to pet her or hold she'll try to bite or scratch me and hiss. I don't know why then sometimes she'll be so sweet and rub against my legs and actually let me touch her. Is my cat bi-polar or something? Please help!

Answer 1

Yes your cat is ill but I doubt it is as serious as BPD. She has suffered alot in her youth and as a result is emotionally unstable. From your description, she seems very anxious and nervous. She sickly fears being abandonned and hurt. Could she sees your mother has hers because she's the one who feeds her?

Great now you've learned your cat suffers from rather severe anxiety... Now what?

Basically, treat her just like you would treat a human suffering from panic/anxiety disorder.
+ A trip to the vet... even if it's hard to make her go! Good vets will generally ask you questions about her behavior, her habits and how you treat her. He will mostly give you anxyolitics or sedatives-hypnotics.

+ try to be reassuring and calm arround her

+ Never surprise her, especially from behind

+ Minimize anxious situations... she must ALWAYS feels she has full access to food, water and litter. Maybe keep her inside, if meeting other cats and animals is a problem.

+ When she doesn't behave right, leave her alone. Don't give her attention or bug her... Being pet when having a panic or anxious moment isn't very amusing.

+ Last but not least, no introduction to strangers and visitors until she is well. And by that I also mean noisy children running everywhere seeing your cat has his next toy.
If necessary, confined her to a room or a floor to avoid confrontations and out of control cats and child fight. Chances are she won't attack if she doesn't feel attacked of trapped.

Hope she gets better;)

Answer 2

Sometimes a cat is touch-shy; after a while of touching, it has had enough and lashes out at the person petting it. You can predict this because the cat's body will stiffen a little, which to another cat would be a clear signal but of course, to a human, isn't clear at all. It happens often in kittens who were poorly socialized when they were young--that is, they didn't have enough handling from humans and so aren't used to it.

Regarding the vet's, I am pretty sure your vet can prescribe a sedative to be taken pre-visit, depending on what needs to be done--most of the time, unless there is a blood test to do, this is a relatively inexpensive option, and keeps you on the vet's good side.

A cat often trusts people who feed it; the cat takes food as proof that the person can be trusted. You could try giving the cat treats; depending on just how anxious this cat is, don't try to actually feed it out of your hand at first--just put a treat down near it, sit down across the room, and wait for it to go to the treat. You could also begin to give the cat its meals.

At first, when you get to know a shy cat, you have to be very "polite", in cat terms--move steadily, with no sudden movements; don't sneak up on the cat from the back; don't confront the cat head on; don't block off any escape routes; don't stare at the cat (these are all aggressive moves, if you are a cat). Generally the best way to approach a frightened cat is to come up alongside it, look in its general direction, but not directly at it, and then look away in an unconcerned, calm fashion. You might try talking in a matter-of-fact sort of voice--just greet the cat, basically say "good day" to it, so that it can get used to your voice too.

Your cat may never truly love you; some cats remain one-person cats all their lives. (Conversely, some cats mellow out with age and accept the whole family. You never know.) However, even if your cat remains a one-person animal, you and she can coexist peacefully, accepting each others' presence in a cordial manner, rather like two families in the same apartment building. This is the way most cats relate to each other when they are not hostile.

For now, you are trying for a cat who is calm enough not to lash out in defensive aggression; so generally the goal is to make her world predictable. Once she knows what to expect, her fear should diminish.

Answer 3

The first clue to your dilemma is that, "...she was out on the streets very young."

The second clue is that she is, "...aggressive towards me and other people..." and, "...even taking her to the vet is impossible..."

The third clue lies in her defensiveness, as evidenced by your statement, "...she'll try to bite or scratch me and hiss..."

What you are describing is, in essence, a semi-feral cat; those cats who have survived on the streets by having to, literally, fight and claw for their food while fending off other semi-feral cats, too. So, she has learned that other life forms are hostile and should be attacked lest they themselves get attacked. It's a learned behaviour that has served her well throughout her career as a street wanderer. Most feral cats cannot co-exist peacefully with humans in any way whatsoever. The fact that she periodically reacts positively to you is a good sign.

Cats are still capable of learning new behaviours, as evidenced by your statement that, "...sometimes she'll be so sweet and rub against my legs and actually let me touch her." So, she is (s-l-o-w-l-y) learning that not all humans are nasty and that you and your mother are safe to be near...sometimes...

About all you can do is to continue to reinforce the fact that you are safe and loving people. That's no guarantee that your cat will turn into a perennially content fuzzball, but it will certainly help.

Answer 4

Wow,
You described my cat, hes the same way. He will be all loving one minute and want to strike you down seconds later. Its just how cats are and can be. Maybe it was treated roughly when it was a baby or it just doesn't like affection all the time. Like people, cats have personalities too, some want attention, others want you to stay away. My cat follows me to everyroom meowing at me, I'll pet him and show him love but if I do it too long he goes crazy and tries to bite off my arm. Its nothing to worry about, just love your cat the best you can.

Answer 5

It is totally normal. My cat Tiffany does it all the time--but she will jump off both the sofa and walls,then run so fast like she's in a race then she will repeat all those steps about 4 more times..finally she ends by jumpping up and down catching her tail.

Answer 6

Cats can take a long time to trust you. I have 2, 9&10yrs. and sometimes I know they don't trust me because I've had to trick them to get in carrier to go to vet or give them meds, things like that. Also aggression can be a sign of fear.

Answer 7

All my cats seem to be bi-polar. No seriously it's not uncommon for cats to have "favorite" people.

Answer 8

At some stage she must have mistreated by her former owner.It will take time for the kitten to trust you.You will have to earn its trust somehow.

Answer 9

Most cats are.