? Help, Anyone, please? Cat Biting

Status
Not open for further replies.
sandscout

sandscout

Member Since 2018
My kittie attacked me again, last night, when we went back to bed after his middle-of-the-night feeding. He was purring, then started going after the blanket with his teeth and then went after me. I stood up, pulled the blankets up off the bed so he would have to land on the floor. But when I tried to get back in bed he jumped right back too and he acted just as aggressive. I ended up shutting him in the bedroom and going to the other bedroom to sleep.

This has happened 1-2x a month since April this year. He saw the vet, had a really thorough exam and she ruled out any medical problems. She has no ideas as to why he’s done a complete 180. No new people in the house, no new pets, no new nothing.
He had 4 teeth extracted in March & we talked to the dentist veterinarian. He ruled out any dental problems that would make him lash out like this.
We’ve had Scout since he was a kitten, he has never done anything even the tiniest bit aggressive . He has always been extremely easy-going, extra docile.We play together, I’ve tried increasing his amount of playtime, not over-petting him, using the Feliway plug-in.
It’s because of the biting that I only do the 2 pre-shot tests daily, sometimes I can get 1 more.
He was diagnosed with feline hyperesthesia, but that was over 6 years ago, maybe that could be a contributing cause? I just don’t know.
Has anyone had this problem with their kittie and had any luck with anti-anxiety meds?
 
Last edited:
I noticed his numbers started getting higher in August. Has he had any blood work since then? You dose increases since then do not seem to have much affect on his readings. I wonder if maybe he has and infection or something else going on that is also causing the personality change. My recommendation would be to take him back to the vet for another check up and have them do blood work too. If nothing is found then maybe have the vet can prescribe something.
 
That’s awful. I’m sorry you and Scout are going through this. One of my older kitties had hyperesthesia and she had seizures and incontinence. She stopped showing all symptoms when I switched her off of friskies. Maybe switching food would help, odd as that seems.
 
@Lisa and Witn (GA) thanks for taking the time to answer. I really appreciate it. :) He was at the vet in July and had a full panel + SDMA + fPL. His #’s got higher because I stupidly put him on a steroid the vet prescribed that caused him to go out of remission.
what kinds of meds do vets prescribe for aggression/biting?
 
For some reason, although my experience with hyperesthesia was different, I think that sounds like a likely cause. It’s like the cat is in a trance and growls, etc. You might try searching the site for hyperesthesia to see what other people have tried.
 
Yes! A trance. Although he doesn’t growl, he looks like he’s in a trance, like he’s in a hypnotized state and something inside him is telling him he has to keep going until he’s sunken his teeth in my
forearm.
 
sandscout said:
Yes! A trance. Although he doesn’t growl, he looks like he’s in a trance, like he’s in a hypnotized state and something inside him is telling him he has to keep going until he’s sunken his teeth in my
forearm.
Click to expand...
The vet led me to believe nothing could be done for hyperesthesia, or she might have offered cortisone shots, but it did resolve itself after I switched foods for another reason. Another member here had a strange situation in which their cat was attacking her own tail due to hyperesthesia. She was seriously harming herself and they had the tail removed. It can cause all sorts of weird behavior.
 
Thank you Margie, this hyperesthesia link has got a lot of information. Hoping that I might be on the right track. This biting and attacking is so so sad to bear, we were best of friends, soulmates and now I find myself being afraid of him. Awful feeling that I never thought I’d have, not in a million years.
 
sandscout said:
Thank you Margie, this hyperesthesia link has got a lot of information. Hoping that I might be on the right track. This biting and attacking is so so sad to bear, we were best of friends, soulmates and now I find myself being afraid of him. Awful feeling that I never thought I’d have, not in a million years.
Click to expand...
I can only imagine. I hope you find a solution.
 
Could it be a medication making him aggressive? I know when Katie was given a painkiller (buprenex), she was much more aggressive. Once the medication wore off, she was back to normal. Just a thought.
 
katiesmom said:
Could it be a medication making him aggressive?
Click to expand...
Hi, he’s not on Buprenorphine now, and none of his “incidents “ have happened when he was on it. I use it only for p’titis flare-ups, and he gets very drowsy on it. But thanks for replying. :)
 
I would try the Prozac (You really want fluoxetine which is the generic). It is cheap is you find the right place. I can get 90, 10mg capsules from Harris Teeter for $10. That last for 180 days. My Stuffles mis on it for aggression to my cats and dog and for biting me. I add 1/2 capsule (5mg) to his food one a day. It is helping a lot. I would go to goodrx.com to find best price. You can get tablets too.
 
@Larry and Kitties, that’s good to know. You mentioned that your cat Stuffles was aggressive toward you? Do you mind sharing with me how that presented? And how did the medication change that? ( if this is too long and you’d rather that I PM you, I can, thanks.)
 
Last edited:
I will reply here since others may be interested. He has bitten me a little when trying to get him to test him. Also, sometimes right after I test him he will try to attack me when I try to get out of his room. But the worse was when I was in his room just sweeping up my his litter box. That time he just attached my legs. Part of the problem is that he is a front declaw so he seems to use his mouth when others would use their claws. In the day I can go in and when I sit down he will jump on my lap and be a nice, normal cat. The firt one was when sweeping and the only one that required dr visit. The others were minor whne trying to test.
IMG_1184.jpg
IMG_1146.jpg
IMG_1234.jpg
 
Any time a cat's personality changes dramatically, I think it's important to take note and search for causes.

Is there a certain time of day the aggression tends to happen? I'm wondering if there's something outside (stray cat, raccoon, whatever) that's triggering him. You'd be surprised what they sense that we're clueless about.

Did the vet run a thyroid panel?Hyperthyroidism can cause aggression, though I'm not sure if it would manifest so intermittently. At 13, however, Scout is at an age where thyroid issues can come into play, so it might be worth ruling out. Thyroid panels aren't always included in "standard" bloodwork.
 
Larry and Kitties said:
I will reply here since others may be interested. He has bitten me a little when trying to get him to test him. Also, sometimes right after I test him he will try to attack me when I try to get out of his room. But the worse was when I was in his room just sweeping up my his litter box. That time he just attached my legs. Part of the problem is that he is a front declaw so he seems to use his mouth when others would use their claws. In the day I can go in and when I sit down he will jump on my lap and be a nice, normal cat. The firt one was when sweeping and the only one that required dr visit. The others were minor whne trying to test.
View attachment 48677 View attachment 48678 View attachment 48679
Click to expand...
Larry and Kitties said:
I will reply here since others may be interested. He has bitten me a little when trying to get him to test him. Also, sometimes right after I test him he will try to attack me when I try to get out of his room. But the worse was when I was in his room just sweeping up my his litter box. That time he just attached my legs. Part of the problem is that he is a front declaw so he seems to use his mouth when others would use their claws. In the day I can go in and when I sit down he will jump on my lap and be a nice, normal cat. The firt one was when sweeping and the only one that required dr visit. The others were minor whne trying to test.
View attachment 48677 View attachment 48678 View attachment 48679
Click to expand...
Larry thank you for replying and for posting the pictures. I know very well how that feels. Did your regular vet prescribe the fluoxetine? I am curious how you went from the biting incidents to the medication that did the trick, if you don’t mind sharing?
In gratitude,
Susan & Scout
 
JL and Chip said:
Any time a cat's personality changes dramatically, I think it's important to take note and search for causes.

Is there a certain time of day the aggression tends to happen? I'm wondering if there's something outside (stray cat, raccoon, whatever) that's triggering him. You'd be surprised what they sense that we're clueless about.

Did the vet run a thyroid panel?Hyperthyroidism can cause aggression, though I'm not sure if it would manifest so intermittently. At 13, however, Scout is at an age where thyroid issues can come into play, so it might be worth ruling out. Thyroid panels aren't always included in "standard" bloodwork.
Click to expand...
JL, the IM vet ran a thyroid panel in August when I took him in because of the biting,and his T4 was 2.1, so that’s not in the picture as a cause. You’re right, it’s important to take note and search for causes when a personality change as drastic as this occurs. And displaced aggression...he’s never had this before, I’m wondering if it could come about with old age and diminished mental capacity?
 
Last edited:
sandscout said:
Did your regular vet prescribe the fluoxetine? I am curious how you went from the biting incidents to the medication that did the trick, if you don’t mind sharing?
Click to expand...
Yes, Stuffles regular vet prescribed it. The vet previously prescribed it for another of my cats, Patches II (GA), and I had some left over. I also used fluoxetine from my Smokey (GA) many years ago for aggression, actually biting badly some of my other cats and it worked well.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top