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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

Any vets / nurses please.

18 replies

Namethecat · 16/01/2020 18:12

I put a post on a few weeks ago about my cat ( 6 years old).
We have had her from a kitten . No sudden changes in the house , no small children , no new pets ( only pet)
She is a house cat ( mainly her choosing) not fussed.
She suddenly had taken a real dislike to my dh, hissing growling , looking out / following him to do so . She's very occasionally is mildly like it to me .
Then within 10/20 minutes will jump up on the sofa to sit between us or on the back of the sofa directly behind his neck and will purr.
Any ideas ?

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Original poster
Namethecat · 17/01/2020 06:41

Bumping my post .

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Veterinari · 17/01/2020 07:09

What is he doing when she responds aggressively? How does he interact with her generally? Who feeds/pets/plays with her
How old is she?

Veterinari · 17/01/2020 07:10

Sorry just saw she is 6.
What is she doing prior to the aggression eg eating, sleeping, playing, looking out the window etc?

Original poster
Namethecat · 17/01/2020 16:02

Well this morning we were still in bed and she jumped up on the bed to hiss at him.
Other times she can be in a room and if he walks in , she can hiss and growl at him.
We share the feeding, he changes her litter tray. We both play with her. To say after the hissing, and once we got up she was growly, then later this morning she was fine, eating treats from his hand. He picked been up and she was purring.
We have been out and came back, she happily greeted us both . She is a calm at the mo in the same room as us.
Thanks for replying.

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Original poster
Namethecat · 17/01/2020 16:07

Another thing I've noticed , if he is out of the room she is very interested in knowing what he is up to, for example if she's on the sofa she will be looking out the door, ears pricked up and listening to him in the kitchen. She will settle and sit /lay back down.

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Veterinari · 17/01/2020 19:22

It sounds like she's frightened of him. Hissing is a fear behaviour - it only escalates to aggression if the scary human tries to interact/invade space. She sounds conflicted in that there are resources she wants (you, the bed) but is then showing fear to you DH. That also fits with the hyper vigilance when he's not visible.

Has he done anything to startle it upset her? Has he changed his smell in any way. Does he interact with other cats outside the home?

Original poster
Namethecat · 17/01/2020 20:08

I'll read that, thank you. This evening she has been head bunting him. Any idea why she is loving to him , then not ?

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Original poster
Namethecat · 17/01/2020 20:09

Jekyll & Hyde !

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Original poster
Namethecat · 17/01/2020 20:20

He doesn't interact with other cats .
But as my last post said (sorry can't link ) a month or so he stumbled in to the lounge door ( not drunk , medication !) whilst she was in the same room but not near as she was in the window looking out.

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Original poster
Namethecat · 17/01/2020 20:22

Sorry pressed send by mistake. That started her off.
He has done something like that before but after a few hours she was ok .

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Veterinari · 18/01/2020 09:14

Ah! Then it sounds like that is the trigger. If he's ever tried to 'cuddle' her whilst drunk, accidentally stumbled into her, or even just the stumbling unpredictability could be enough to upset her if she's a bit nervy.

She's not Jekyll and Hyde, she loves him and wants affection from him but he's clearly scared her and she's anxious and doesn't trust him not to be scary again. he has to work in building her trust.

Cats are also incredibly sensitive to smell and so you might find that if it was the stumbling drunkenness that upset her, she's freaked out by him whenever he's had a drink - even if he's not drunk.

The best way of managing it is to spend time building positive associations as much as possible, and for him to respect her boundaries - anytime she's upset/avoidant/hissy, then respect that and give her space.

Wilkie1956mog · 18/01/2020 09:55

Cats can behave weirdly and erratically when they are feeling ill or in pain. It's possible that your cat has some underlying issue. If I were you I'd take her for a vet check up including blood tests, to rule out anything like that. You could also try a couple of Feliway plug in diffusers which can help cats feel a bit calmer. Just for a month or two maybe until the behaviour hopefully passes.

mssally77 · 18/01/2020 10:30

I also agree with Wilkie1956mog. I used to work as a vet nurse and I saw cats do this when pain hit them, otherwise perfectly lovely cats. Maybe it coincides with your guy being around as a coincidence. But definitely have the cat checked at the vet in case there's something going on inside.

Original poster
Namethecat · 18/01/2020 12:26

Haha he stumbled because of medication ( both non drinkers)
For now he's taken over all feeding, treats, and head runs so we'll see how it goes. I'll update.
We have a plan at the vets , which gets all her vaccinations , flea treatment , worming tabs and a couple of health checks She's just had one and had a clean bill of health.

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Wilkie1956mog · 18/01/2020 14:01

Has she actually had blood tests for everything? Within the last couple of months? If so, and you're satisfied that there's no health issues, then all you can do is be patient and hopefully the odd behaviour will pass off. Your hubby should try not to react if she hisses etc, just speak to her gently. Maybe give her the odd treat (in periods when she isn't hissing or being weird with him.) And maybe try the Feliway? Cats are strange and complex creatures. They sometimes react to things we have no idea about. You'd have to be a cat to understand!

SnowyUnicorns · 18/01/2020 14:10

It is possible that the medication your husband takes has changed the way he smells and that is upsetting her. Some cats are very sensitive. She knows that she loves him but then there's something different about him from how he used to be that is unsettling her. Feliway plug ins are fab. Getting him to do all the feeding is a good idea. Give it a few more weeks to see what she does with the change in regime. If no improvement then I would suggest another trip to the vet. I'm inclined to think that if it was pain related then it wouldn't just be aimed at your husband, the entire family would see the change in behaviour.

Original poster
Namethecat · 18/01/2020 16:17

We will try the felliway.
She loves the tiny packets of dried duck you can buy. Don't read the label on the shelf as it's £120 a kilo
She took a few of them from his hand this afternoon as she is ok most of the time.

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