? New diabetic suddenly becoming extremely cat-aggressive?

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panda28

panda28

Member Since 2017
Did anyone else's diabetic cats become very aggressive to other cats in the household? Dave's still being a sweetheart to me, but he's suddenly (in the last week or so) taken to constantly chasing one of our other cats, Mouse, around the house, as well as minor (so far) cat fights. This is super out of character for him; in fact, the dynamic for years has been the other way around - Mouse would try to pick fights with Dave, and Dave would just ignore him. Is this because of the increased attention Dave's getting?

It's frustrating, because one of our other cats, Ginger, is already so aggressive she can never be allowed in the same room as the other two without close supervision, and now Dave's so bad he can't be left alone with Mouse. We're running out of rooms to keep them apart in! Weirdly, his aggressiveness seems to be aimed solely at Mouse, not Ginger. I'm pretty sure it's not just playful either.

Any advice on what to do to calm him down? He's been super playful and energetic in general, so when I see him eyeing Mouse I've tried redirecting him to toys, but as soon as I stop playing with him, he's right back on Mouse again. I'm worried I'm teaching him he gets played with when he tries to attack Mouse. Is this aggression typical of diabetic cats? Is it worthy of a vet visit to check there's not something else going on?
 
panda28 said:
Is this aggression typical of diabetic cats?
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It's not typical, there could be a lot of things going on. We have issues here with "Who's the Alpha male" and it should be Noah but he doesn't want the job. Maybe he's just pissy about getting poked. How old is Dave and how long has he been diabetic?
 
Noah & me said:
It's not typical, there could be a lot of things going on. We have issues here with "Who's the Alpha male" and it should be Noah but he doesn't want the job. Maybe he's just pissy about getting poked. How old is Dave and how long has he been diabetic?
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I'm not sure exactly how old, but the vet estimated about 7-9 yrs old. He's only been diabetic for just over a month, and we've had him about 4 years. He's the newest cat in the household. It's weird, he actually seems to enjoy being pricked (because he knows he sometimes gets food after). There's definitely been problems with alpha male stuff in the past, Mouse is an incredibly territorial chronic sprayer who has pretty viciously attacked other cats and frequently gets into major cat fights with Ginger.
 
Wow, my heart goes out to you. We've had nine cats and a dog in this house and never a peep. Who knows what has happened to a cat before you got him to make him that way. They never forget. I'm assuming Mouse is a neutered male and he still sprays? And he picks on a female, that's bizarre. Obviously punishment won't work. I've had to spray Lewis with a water bottle but, I'm sorry to say this, he's the stupidest cat I've ever had in 35 years. He steals food from Noah and like you I'm at the end of my rope. I've heard that as stupid as it sounds some neutered cats need to neutered again. I'm not a vet, don't ask me that's even possible. When their weights are lifted that's it! Do you know his story before you adopted him? When we got Marco we found out he was an outdoor cat and he still howls at the door like the house is on fire. AND the very first time he saw a spray bottle that wasn't meant for anyone he hid under the bed so he was obviously not in a good place. Shelters will often fib about histories just to get a cat out the door. Ask your vet about the neuter thing. Sorry, I don't have anything better that that. Someone will mention Feliway (spelling?) which is supposed to calm down cats but this sounds pretty drastic.
 
Noah & me said:
Wow, my heart goes out to you. We've had nine cats and a dog in this house and never a peep. Who knows what has happened to a cat before you got him to make him that way. They never forget. I'm assuming Mouse is a neutered male and he still sprays? And he picks on a female, that's bizarre. Obviously punishment won't work. I've had to spray Lewis with a water bottle but, I'm sorry to say this, he's the stupidest cat I've ever had in 35 years. He steals food from Noah and like you I'm at the end of my rope. I've heard that as stupid as it sounds some neutered cats need to neutered again. I'm not a vet, don't ask me that's even possible. When their weights are lifted that's it! Do you know his story before you adopted him? When we got Marco we found out he was an outdoor cat and he still howls at the door like the house is on fire. AND the very first time he saw a spray bottle that wasn't meant for anyone he hid under the bed so he was obviously not in a good place. Shelters will often fib about histories just to get a cat out the door. Ask your vet about the neuter thing. Sorry, I don't have anything better that that. Someone will mention Feliway (spelling?) which is supposed to calm down cats but this sounds pretty drastic.
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We've had Mouse since he was a kitten, he's pretty much always been like this... I'm pretty sure he gets bad separation anxiety, and that's part of his problem. He's been through a lot - cat flu as a kitten, being attacked by a German Shepherd, getting shot by a neigbour (not an outdoor cat anymore!). He's probably been pretty affected by all that, and he's also very spoilt by my mum. Mouse is the same as Marco - he'll often yowl to go outside for HOURS (he's a Siamese, so very noisy). On some level, I do definitely get why Dave might be taking advantage of feeling better to attack Mouse, he's not exactly the nicest cat... I'll look into checking if he needs to be reneutered, anything that could make at least one of our cats non-homicidal would be great!
 
panda28 said:
We've had Mouse since he was a kitten, he's pretty much always been like this... I'm pretty sure he gets bad separation anxiety, and that's part of his problem. He's been through a lot - cat flu as a kitten, being attacked by a German Shepherd, getting shot by a neigbour (not an outdoor cat anymore!). He's probably been pretty affected by all that, and he's also very spoilt by my mum. Mouse is the same as Marco - he'll often yowl to go outside for HOURS (he's a Siamese, so very noisy). On some level, I do definitely get why Dave might be taking advantage of feeling better to attack Mouse, he's not exactly the nicest cat... I'll look into checking if he needs to be reneutered, anything that could make at least one of our cats non-homicidal would be great!
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Maybe because he feels poorly, he is trying to hide and show mouse he is fine, dont mess with me. Maybe he is tired of beine picked on. Who knows what these cats are thinking. My kitty got jumped on for 4 years and then she had enough. She retaliated. The other cat left her alone after that. They just tolerated each other. Maybe your fd kitty is feeling insecure because he feels off. Feliway spray has been successful at calming kitties. Or maybe reintroduce them as new cats.
 
Phoebes said:
Maybe because he feels poorly, he is trying to hide and show mouse he is fine, dont mess with me.
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That's a good point. Cats are still wild animals compared to dogs, having been domesticated for 1,000 years. The last thing he wants is to show is weakness Do they all have their own litterboxes and bowls. It's all part of the "This is mine, buzz off" mentality.
 
with my two cats Boo and Miss Kitty, she was older by 5 months or so and it was her house. She bullied Boo often and he usually backed down almost everytime. Except once a day he would simply refuse and a big fight occurred with him always winning. He's a big cat was 30 lb pre diabetic and now a lean mean 20. But she was just usually mean and aggressive to him always.

He now chases her around and will bully her out of his favourite spots. He definitely has more energy. I think they both enjoy the chase, it seems a bit dangerous at times for me with two big cats tearing around the house at full speed. I take it as a good thing though, as indoor cats they do need their exercise.
 
Lantus can really make some cats feel lousy as this insulin can continue to sting under the skin in the subQ depot. Lantus can also aggravate feline hyperestesia which can look like aggression. I would ask your vet and see if they will switch you to a non-stinging insulin like levemir.
 
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