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a home cat that attacks

September 6th, 2004, 04:17 PM
Here is the question to cat owners and lovers (special respect to LR :-))

My mother-in-law has a female cat about 3 y.o., not spayed as far as I know, this cat is an absolute housepet, lives in apartment and doesn't go outside (she looks scared of going outside).
here is the problem - despite this cat lives in the same family sinse she was a kitten, sometimes it behaves like a feral cat. Yes, I know that not all cats love to cuddle (my own doesn't), but this cat sometimes attacks people for no reason! She hides under the furniture and attacks (scrathes like a wild and sometimes bites) people who are passing by near that place. Recently there was a serious injury for a toes of the guest of that house (guest is limping now and her hand is scrathed too), not counting bites and scratches of the owner. This is not a game, she is really aggressive when she does that.
Any ideas what is going on with this cat?
She was not abused or beaten, did not starved, her owner is a very gentle woman, we all just have no idea why the cat is so aggressive last year. Maybe spaying her could help?
If it have happened suddenly I even could think about rabies, but no rabies can take place for a year or even longer, so it's not a health but a temperament issue....

September 6th, 2004, 04:35 PM
I think spaying would help. It's possible that there's too many hormones after all this time. Cats are known to become more affectionate after spaying.

Just to be sure, get her checked over by a vet, incase there's an underlying health reason that's not visable with the naked eye. Ovarian cysts, an ongoing bladder infection, .....................the list could be vast.

Lucky Rescue
September 6th, 2004, 06:26 PM
Agree with SSAC. Unspayed cats can be unpredictable. It could be hormonal, or it could be neurological. Vet needed.