Heartbroken about rehoming our cat

[thesilver]

We have 2 cats, sisters. 10 years old. About a year ago one of them became very aggressive, she has badly attacked me at least 6 times. I've had injuries, infection, tetanus jab etc.

Vets say there is nothing wrong. The cat is nervous and jumpy, we are scared of more aggression. More than anything I'm worried about my 4 year old. I wouldn't forgive myself if she was hurt or scarred for life.

I have tried friends, acquaintances, cat charities and vets. No one can help. Now the cat and dog shelter have got in touch and they can take her at the weekend. I know (think) it's the right thing to do, but I can't bear the thought of it. Has anyone had a similar situation?

Well, at least rehome them together! Don't make matters worse by splitting them up.

Please home them together. Especially after 10 years. It would be cruel not too

Oh! They are sisters but can't stand each other. It's the thought of her being scared or lonely or cold 😥

How do the ‘attacks’ happen , can you not just keep away from her ?

Just keep her and stay out of her way. She is 10. Won’t get rehomed and will die in a shelter.

When you say the cat attacks you, do you mean when you try and pick her up, give medicine etc? Or just totally out of the blue?
It seems really sad to give her up if she's been with you so long. But it's your decision. It's just that she's very unlikely to be adopted at that age so will probably live out her twilight years in the shelter in a cage.
But if you have genuine concern for your family safety then I can see why you might feel that way.

Did she just suddenly become like this?

There is almost certainly something wrong with her. Probably some kind of dementia. I would have her PTS. I think rehoming at this stage would be cruel, and probably unlikely to work out as nobody will want to take on an aggressive cat.

You are all echoing my fears. The 'attacks' have been out of the blue. She is now jumpy and nervous, very sensitive to sound or movement. I had some really nasty injuries and I would definitely keep her if I didn't have a small child.

The vets say she is healthy, they would not put her to sleep.

can you get a cat trainer/behaviourist? No idea if that even exists. Could a family member or friend take the cat on?

It really isn’t the vets decision to make , if this is a new thing there is obviously something wrong with her albeit may be a mental issue . Is there any way you can restrict her to one room in the house and make sure your child doesn’t go near her ?

It does sound like she would be extremely distressed by moving into a shelter and extremely difficult to re-home.

Maybe ask to speak to one of the senior vets. We kept our problem cat largely outside, with our vet's endorsement and plenty of warm bedding, acclimatising etc. It sounds cruel but better than the alternative.

If you do give her up please be completely honest about why, so that anyone taking her on is not shafted (as I think we were!)

The vets may not be able to find anything physically wrong but she's clearly not well and certainly not happy. I doubt their attitude towards having her PTS would be the same if she was a dog attacking and injuring in the home. A cat behaviourist is a good idea but if you exhaust the options for trying to resolve her aggression I'd seek a further opinion from another vet as being PTS may be kinder than subjecting an already stressed out older cat to probably failed attempts at rehoming.

Thank you for all the replies. I am going to take her back to the vet and try again. Then try a different vet. We don't have a huge amount of money for behaviourists but willing to try anything.

I have been completely honest with the shelter. People seem to think it's not serious when it's a cat rather than a dog.

Unfortunately in our little house we can't really keep her in one room.

It's not the vet's decision to make on whether or not she should be PTS. Just because their tests haven't found anything, it doesn't mean that there isn't anything wrong with her.

If she's suddenly started attacking out of the blue, then she must have some kind of cognitive problem, even if she's not in physical pain. Multiple/failed rehoming attempts will not be good for her, and will likely cause a lot of stress and suffering.

I had to do this a couple of weeks ago. Although I'd only had the other cat four months. Resident cat was absolutely terrified him. Although he was never aggressive to her, he just wanted to play. I tried everything. He went t bask to the rescue, they already had a match for him and he's doing brilliantly now, with another cat to play with. It was horrendous and absolutely broke my heart because he is a wonderful boy. I found it harder than when I had previous cats PTS, because of the thought of not knowing if he was ok etc.

However, the other cat has blossomed and taken control of her house again, and he's got someone to play with.

10 years old and unpredictably agressive, to the length of causing serious injury?
Very, very few people would be willing to adopt that cat. With so many other cats in shelters desperate for homes that will have much better temperaments, it would take someone specifically looking to mercy adopt so she doesn't rot and die in the shelter to take her on over someone wanting an actual companion.

Have you tried feliway plug ins? Anti anxiety medication for the cat? Something triggered this change in her, can you think of anything at all around the time her personality changed that may have caused this that might seem trivial to you, but could have seriously affected the cat? Your child hasn't gotten rough with her for example?

Has the vet done a brain scan, as severe mental changes and unprovoked agression is a common sign of brain tumours in animals.

I really think you need a second opinion from another vet, focusing on if this is a tumour and if not can it be controlled with medication. The cat deserves you trying absolutely everything before abandoning her to what will probably be the rest of her life suffering in awful conditions alone. Thats the promise and comitment we make when we take on a pet.

The cat is jumpy and nervous and there is no mention of anti-anxiety meds. Has the vet even tried something simple like amitriptyline?