I'm out of ideas on what to do, Advice??

[Fox-Gal]

I hesitated even posting again, but I'm out of idea about what to do with my Lita. So I come back to PT for help or ideas.

My husband says Lita has to go. She just become so mean to the other cats, that he's had it with her.

It started months ago, her picking on the other guys. At first it was just Trouble and Monkey. Now it's all of them. Poor Sassy, see her now and goes right into defense mood. Lita wont let anyone come near the house if she's outside and when she in, hairs fly around here.

We have done everything we can think of, seem the Vet, spent more time with her, limit her time in the house with the others, by putting her in another room. We now have to replace the carpet at the door where she tried to claw her way out.

She not sick or under loved, that for sure. As a matter of fact because of all this she been given more time with us then anyone else, thinking she might be jealous. She had more checkup then she's really needed. All in all she's fine, she has just turned mean for some reason.

But the last straw came with my husband when she attacked Bunny Butt. You don't mess with Bunny Butt and let my husband know about it, Bunny is his babies, when it comes to the cats and no one messes with her. So now he says she has to go.

I don't know what to do, I can try to find a home for her, but we all know that could take a long time and until then, we have a attack cat on our hands. I WONT TAKE HER TO A SHELTER!!!!!

Anyone with an idea on what to do or how to control her, please share it!!!!

BTW: Lita's is my black and white cat in the sig, in case your wondering.

[Karen]

Is there any room in the house where she could be an "only cat" until you find her a new home?

Any elderly folk in your church or neighborhood that might take her as an "only cat"?

That's all I can think of besides drugging her into submission, which is an awful alternative.

I wonder what has caused this turn in her behavior, but there's no way of knowing for sure.

Poor you, poor sweet Bunny Butt, I don't know what else to say other than offer my sympathies.

[moosmom]

Fox Gal,

Some cats are meant to be "only cats". That's just the way it is. No matter how hard you try. I would definitely try to re-home her. It's nothing you did or didn't do. Believe me.

I had a cat, his name was Tucker. He was a beautiful grey kitty who needed to be an only cat. He would terrorize my then kitty, Casey (RB, 2002). I wound up rehoming him with a couple who are my close friends. It was the best decision I ever made. Tucker, aka Otto, is now in a home all by himself with two people that love him dearly. I have never regretted my decision. Plus his humans give me frequent updates as to how he is doing, as well as giving me visitation (although I live in Michigan, which is 663 miles from Connecticut).

Good luck. Please keep us posted. We do care!

((((hugs))))
Donna

[Fox-Gal]

Originally posted by Karen
Is there any room in the house where she could be an "only cat" until you find her a new home?

I wonder what has caused this turn in her behavior, but there's no way of knowing for sure.

Poor you, poor sweet Bunny Butt, I don't know what else to say other than offer my sympathies.

There's lies the problem, room for her. Sense the hurricanes we have been confined to only 3 rooms in our home, because of the damage. I haven't sleep in my own bedroom sense Sept., let alone have a room for her. I so wish I did.

We have been trying to figure out what changed her also, if we only had some clue, maybe we would know what to do.

We did try putting her in my husbands office for awhile..........That didn't work. She just gave us more damage to fix.

Bunny Butt is ok, thank goodness, just some fur loss and a damaged ego. Her fur is so thick, I think it saved her from anything really bad.

Some cats are meant to be "only cats". That's just the way it is. No matter how hard you try.

Yes, I know thats true, but Lita has always had other cats around her, we've had her for 5 years now, never a problem.............till now. I just wish I knew what turned her.


I just know I have to do something soon. My husband is ready to take her to the shelter. One more attack and I believe I'll have no more say in the matter and he will take her.

I see a big fight in my future, coming up.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

First of all Libby I want to say I've missed you. I'm sorry you've been having so much trouble with Lita. I would try to rehome her to a home where she would be an only cat. How old is she? Does she do well in the house other than fighting with the other cats? If so I *may* possibly even have a home for her. If you'd like I can call the couple and see if they are interested , but I'll need a little info on Lita first. They are an amazing couple. They just lost their cat (to cancer if I remember right) before the holidays. Anyway let me know if you decide to rehome her and if you want me to call that couple.

[DogLover9501]

I don't have any advice, but I want to say that I'm so sorry that your having trouble with Lita and I hope you find a solution.

Also, I have REALLY missed seeing you around, Libby! A few times I was going to make a thread asking about you, I hope you stick around

[Fox-Gal]

KBlaix, Thank you, One for saying you missed me, I've been very down lately, sense everything thats happened in my life, so I have stayed away, it means alot that someone missed/thought about me.

Second, thanks for the offer to try to help with Lita. If you think of anyone that might like to give Lita a home, that's great. We have to do something.

Lita is a great cat, very very lovable. Sometimes to lovable, if she had it her way, you would never be allowed to stop petting her. lol She is 5 now and does fine in the house besides the new fighting thing. She was littered box trained, but she is now trained to go to the door and go outside when nature calls. So I'm sure going back to a litter box would be no problem again. She smart enough to know when I'm not around to let her out, to go in the tub, so she knows whats going on. Never pees on the floor.

She is more of a inside cat, then out. Out is for nature calls and then she wants right back in, So she'd make a good full time house cat with no problems. It's just with 10 cats, at one time 15, kitty litter boxes got to be too much, so outside bathroom breaks came into play. We are luck on where we live that we can do that. But I would never re-home her to anyone that was wanting a outside cat.

She does the normal cat things now and again. I have to remind her sometimes to get off the table or counter, but all in all she is a good cat.

Really besides the fighting, the only thing that can get on your nerves is the loving. I never thought I's say this about love, but she can go overboard with it. Her idea of love is to get in your face and rub her head all over you. It's sweet, but......... sometimes 15 min.s of cat rubbing on your face when your trying to do somethings can try your nerves. I have never had a cat this lovable before.

Lita is a sweet heart and I really love her and this whole thing is killing me.

Just to see, here are a couple pictures of her. She has always taking bad pic, but she is a cutie. She just like her mom and takes bad pic. lol

[catcrazylady]

I know how stressful it can be when you have all that fighting going on. When Magoo first came to us and we had to deal with the constant attacks it was maddening! It created tons of stress for the other cats and it kept us on the constant alert to try to keep it from happening. As most people know I almost returned him to the shelter because hubby and I didn't feel like we could put our other kitties through it any longer. Not to mention the stress we were constantly under. I understand how you are feeling because you don't want to get rid of her but you come to a point where you just don't know what else to do.
And then along came some PT experts that saved the day!!! It was suggested to me to medicate Magoo. I did not want to do that but it was the last resort. I'm so glad that I did now! What a difference it made for everybody! Something is obviously stressing Lita and you may never ever know what or why she is acting the way she is. She can't possibly be happy when she is so upset with the other kitties either. Maybe she could be like Magoo and need some meds for awhile to knock the edge off of her frustration. I was able to wean Magoo off after several months and I have had no problems since. I do, however, keep a bottle of meds handy just in case!
Maybe you should try this before rehoming. As we all know its very hard to find a good home that you would trust to let her go live in. The meds were a life saver for Magoo and my entire fur and skin family and I hope you give it a try.

If I can answer any questions about the meds or anything else just let me know and I will check back in when I can.
Good Luck!

[catmandu]

WE hope,that you can finmd a home for that poor scared Cat,as she is attacking,out of fear.

[Fox-Gal]

catcrazylady, Thanks for the advice. I think I'll call the vet and see what he says about meds. He did talk, once about a kind of Ritalin for pets, but all I could think about was children in my old center on Ritalin, that where like zombie's. I hated the thought of turning Lita into a Zombie cat, thats no life also.

What was the meds that Magoo was on?

WE hope,that you can finmd a home for that poor scared Cat,as she is attacking,out of fear

Scared? of what? 5 years of a happy life. Why all of a sudden would fear come into play?

Jalousies we thought of...........but fear has never crossed my our minds. Something new to think about, now.

[Prairie Purrs]

My guess would be that she's reacting to all the upheaval and stress that your family has suffered since the hurricanes. Cats definitely pick up on our feelings. I'd think medication would be worth a try.

[Fox-Gal]

Thank you every one. After some thinking and talking I decided to try meds first. I have been fighting the idea of meds for fear that she will be like a Zombie cat. And never knowing any other cat on the meds, I never had any one else to judge by, if it was fair or right for my baby. Drugging your pet, just really bothered me.

But I can't get ride of her without trying ALL other means first. Monday morning she goes back to the Vet and we will take it from there. Fingers crossed, this will do the trick and she wont be so druged she can't enjoy her life.

My guess would be that she's reacting to all the upheaval and stress that your family has suffered since the hurricanes. Cats definitely pick up on our feelings. I'd think medication would be worth a try.

I have thought about that a lot lately too. It all has effected me, more then I could ever explain, so yes why not her too. We all have had to make some major changes in our life's because of the hurricanes and damage and it has put me in a depression of sorts, so maybe her too.

[rosethecopycat]

I would go along with the meds idea, but I would also do a complete re-integration with her. The trigger of her attacks, may not be the victim of her attacks. Cats redirect their anxiety to a target that they think they can have success with.

I would use, in addition three tools. Feliway diffusers, Bach rescue remedy and vanilla.
I would isolate her, and start putting daily drops of vanilla (the purest vanilla you can get, I have Mexican vanilla, which is not artificial, and very strong) at the top of the base of her tail. Keep her isolated for 7 -10 days, if possible. (Use plastic carpet runners, anchored through the doorway, if she is going to dig her way out of the room.)
Then put the vanilla on one other cat (or animal she has attacked) probably the one that will not back down to easily. (attacking cats love when their victim runs)
The point of the vanilla is: that now the other cat smells like her, and she can't differentiate scents.
Put the Bach rescue remedy in the drinking water, and keep the Feliway diffuser on. Re-introduce one cat at a time to her, and see if she attacks them individually, trying to determine WHO is the trigger. If the trigger is not present, she may have no reason to attack the cat in the room.
Make the encounters brief, and intervene only if the fight gets out of hand, hissing growling and spitting are normal. Try to make the visits longer, and in other territories than the isolation room. Maybe it is a territory thing, that she is trying to protect, and not a cat that she's trying to attack.
(I had a foster who claimed a 6x6 ft square of territory in the family room, all cats were safe, if they did not enter the square)

PM me if you have any questions, and please, check with your vet to see if my advice is appropriate. I am not a preofessional. I DO do a lot of integration though.

Rehoming is also an appropriate choice, and that is entirely up to you.

Best of Luck.

p.s. I'm right here with you, with that hurricane thing, neighbor.

[mspepper]

good luck with the meds, let us know how it works..I am so glad your not giving up.... My pepper would be the same way if I ever brought a new cat into the house.. She would make that cat's life hell. I know that with every fiber of my being.... We have a cat outside we feed named Spade.. I would love to bring him into the fold but no way could I ever.. Pepper has her boy Dude and she bully's him sometimes... but dude is family... A new cat, no way would she tolerate that... good luck
patty pepper and dude

[mspepper]

Lita is a beauty....