Originally Posted by Ally Cat's Mommy
Thank's everyone for their concern, PM's etc - it really means a lot to me!!
I have a doctor's appointment later this morning, so I'll let you know how that goes. Just some background:
- Ally HAS bitten me before - and BADLY. The first time I posted about it was in response to Lisa's thread when Mr Magoo bit her so badly.
- She only started to bite me after Connor came into the house - of course he has now been here for 10 months, so I was hoping she would have settled down a bit by now.
- when she does bite it is totally RANDOM - this one happened whilst I was dishing up supper in the kitchen, the one before was whilst we were relaxing watching TV - one minute she is normal then she goes crazy! I can't connect it to any particular event, and I do avoid excessive excitement / aggressive play with her
-my tetnus is up to date - I checked when I started helping with trapping for the shelter, and I'm still covered from my last jab
- we OFTEN have visitors in the house - very often with several young noisy children, so I can't really see a connection with visitors resulting in her getting upset. She has always had people in and out of the house. My In-Laws are quiet, and my MIL spoils Ally quite a bit - they have "naptime"every day, as my MIL loves Ally to bits, having met her when she was a kitten, so I can't imagine their being here would cause this.
- the vet prescribed an anti-anxiety medication for Ally, but she is the worst cat in the world to pill. The stress level was higher after a couple of days on the meds, as Ally would freak out every time I took a step towards her, thinking another pill was coming, so that just made matters worse.
- I would gladly pay for a cat therapist, but we don't have any on the island
- the vet has suggested hormone injections - but I can't find much info on the web, and I don't know when the long-term side effects are
Another frustration is that all the books I have talk about agression, and the web sites too, but they describe the problem without offering any suggestions as to how to resolve it.
I think that, as some of you have said, the BIG hurt is at an emotional level - Ally is so close to my heart, and I am devastated when she does this! It also erodes the trust I have with her, so for weeks after I will be mentally checking where she is, to make sure I don't turn my back on her.
This morning she is once again as sweet as sugar! I'll let you know how the Doctor goes!
Thanks again to everyone for caring - it really makes this easier to deal with.