Aggressive Burmese…what do I do?

[brogueish]

This is a really horrible situation so please be kind.

Our cat came to live with us 2 years ago. She was 2 at the time and was a retired breeding queen - had eaten her two litters so clearly not the maternal type. The breeder told us she absolutely could not live with other cats, which was fine with us but really should have rung alarm bells.

She is very attached to me but has become increasingly aggressive to others, especially my nearly 5 year old son. He always has at least one scratch on his face from her, my husband often has scratch/bite marks. She will actively seek out company, she loves a lap, but will then swipe with claws completely out of the blue. Genuinely from purring to actual scratching in a heartbeat. She can be so sweet but I cannot allow my son to be attacked several times a week like this.

Ive taken her to the vet and they said she’s perfectly fine, on their advice we have feliway plug ins throughout the house and she takes natracalm every day but if anything it’s getting worse. We have feather wands etc so she gets stimulation, and two big cat trees. She is an indoor cat.

Is there anything I’ve missed or could try before we rehome her? I am really uncomfortable with letting her go but at the moment I can’t see another option sadly.

Burmese need a lot of exercise and stimulation, her aggression may stem from not getting enough and being frustrated

Why was she made to have a second litter if she'd ate the first?

You’d have to ask the breeder that. I don’t know.

We play with her a lot, I’m not sure we could any more! Good point though thank you.

Yes rehome her in an adult only home. Cat bites can become septic and can be particularly dangerous around hands. It’s too risky with a young child.

Ask the vet if they know anyone in their network who would take her- eg an experienced vet nurse.

Or speak to a cat shelter who are used to dealing with ferals and can put her with an experienced foster carer.

The other option might be to post in a Burmese specific group. There might be a rescue one for this breed.

Have you tried Zylkene in her food in the mean time?

You need to get her away from your son, she could scratch his eye.

Does she absolutely have to be an indoor cat? We had a Burmese and she was so clever and active. She loved being outside and I’m not sure how she would have coped being indoors all the time - she needed a lot of action. She used to sit behind our low garden wall and jump out at passing dogs on leads, hit them on the nose and jump back. She didn’t attack us though.

@Wishona thank you. No I’ve not heard of zylkene before. Would it come from the vet or can I buy it myself?

@DustyLee123 yes that’s what I’m really worried about. He has two inch long scratches right by his eye from this morning. Our home is pretty much open plan so unless I lock her in the kitchen or a bedroom I can’t physically keep her away from him. thank you.

@brogueish its a capsule you open over their food and it has an accumulative effect… over a week or two.
Can use it before a planned change like a holiday or moving house.

Pets at Home sell it.

The other thing which any good, non guilt tripping rescue would say, is that you run the risk of your child developing a real fear of cats.
You do need to be responsible in ensuring this cat gets a good suitable home. Don’t offer for free or sell on. But you also have a duty to your child.

Cat proof your garden and try expanding the territory abit see if that helps

She needs to be let outside. I have oriental cats who are very timid but destroy the house when they are kept in and wee everywhere. They need a lot of stimulation which they just can’t get indoors. I worry about them but they go crazy if kept indoors.

@Wishona !thanks, that’s really helpful, I’ll get sone today. Oh absolutely, I wouldn’t just pass her on to a random. I know a few of the rescues locally so I’ll contact them tomorrow. Ironically we chose our cat rather than a rescue bc after looking into it we thought a slightly older cat, and this breed specifically, would be good with kids. Always had rescues in the past. It’s so sad that it’s not working out.

@Taptap2 @Theunamedcat @lilyfire Thank you for this. I’ll have a chat with DH, we can definitely look at catproofing the garden but in the meantime the risk to my son remains. She is ridiculously pro social but also so aggressive. Where we live I don’t think I could just let her roam free due to traffic, unfortunately.

In my experience, most cases of cat aggression are solved when the cat is allowed outside to roam.

I know you're worried about the roads but a cat who is displaying such severe levels of stress/aggression isn't happy.

You need to consider whether a happy, but potential shorter life outdoors is better for her than a miserable life indoors.

Why are you keeping her indoors?

I totally agree with this. It may resolve it completely.

I would try letting her out. My parents cat was supposed to be an indoor cat. But made it very clear that he wanted out. It calmed him down a lot. I found Pet Remedy more effective than feliway for my two..

Even my wannabe indoor cat goes a bit nuts if she doesn't go outside everyday.

Just 20 minutes of being outside, sniffing at all the smells, mooching through hedges and generally just catting does wonders for her.

An oriental needs so much stimulation that I'd have thought it was a struggle to do it indoors.

Cats don't have the same perspective about how long their life is as we do. They just live in the moment and want to enjoy it. Having lost one cat on the road, I'd rather my cats lived at full happiness (which that cat certainly did) than keep them in because of my human worries.

Another vote for letting her out, she's clearly not happy indoors.

As an aside, how on earth do people cope with having indoor cats? Not an adverse reflection on this OP, or anyone else with indoor cats, just a personal musing. Do you not have your doors and windows open all summer? The whole house is always open here.

I love the idea of having a cat or two, but my husband's previous one caught everything and brought it in to the house - birds, mice, frogs, fish. I could never quite decide whether it was worse when they were fully dead and you trod in entrails, or alive and you had to catch the buggers and assess the damage before release. Not sure cat-proofing the garden would even help if I got a hunter, as all those things bar the fish could be caught in this garden anyway.

All that said though, I do think there are breeds that are far more suited to an indoor life - and Burmese are not one of them for a peaceful life!

I completely agree that she’s not happy. It’s horrible, it feels like a bad relationship where we’re all making each unhappy.

Thanks for these thoughts and it’s a good question. When we took her, the breeder stipulated that she was not to be allowed out at all - she says this to everyone not just us. We agreed, firstly bc of the traffic here, secondly bc we felt we could give her adequate stimulation indoors, thirdly bc we felt that she was so people-focused that she’d want to stay put, and lastly bc my dear old girl (moggy) had been happily indoor by choice for many years.

Honestly and sorry if it’s a drip feed but, she has had a few “garden days” over the Easter break and she hasn’t seemed that excited by it. I’ll talk to DH again this evening. I think he’s reached his limit though tbh.

@Sarvanga38 yes, it’s a nightmare! There are windows that have barely been opened since we got her. But we have dealt with it and that’s not a consideration here.

I just wanted to add that her only signs of stress are directed at people and mainly my son. No problems with toileting, no scratching furniture or anything like that. Not sure if that makes a difference. Thanks again for all the advice and posts.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't say it makes much of a difference.

Scratching furniture isn't a sign of stress in itself, and most cats will do all they can not to toilet inappropriately as they are, by nature, very clean animals.

Cats are natural roamers and they don't all suit a life confined to a house and/or garden - some settle and adapt very well, but others will never be happy, no matter how much time you spend playing and stimulating their brains.

The fact that her aggression is directed at multiple people and not just (for example) men or children, says to me that she would benefit from being allowed to roam and explore outdoors - a few odd days in the garden aren't really a substitute for the miles cats can roam in the "wild".

We have flat cat window screens, our moggy girls indoor only. If someone rings the doorbell she runs upstairs like her tails on fire.

Id cat proof too. Intelligent breeds need stimulation. We couldn’t keep our Bengal in he would’ve destroyed the place.

Honestly contact the UK Burmese Cat association or Burmese Cats Association. (Both have websites) They both have a welfare officer and will be really happy to advise or help. If it comes to it they do rehoming and have experienced foster homes.