Cat very friendly then defensive/aggressive. Help!

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Eliz+Cats
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Cat very friendly then defensive/aggressive. Help!

Post by Eliz+Cats »

I'm new to fostering. This is just the second time I've fostered a cat. (My first fosters were 2 feral kittens.)

Am very concerned about the stray that I've just fostered. When I was asked if I could foster her she was described as "very friendly". But, 2 days in, it seems she has something of a Jekyll and Hyde personality.

She was a stray who'd been taken to a vet to see if she had a microchip (she didn't).
She had treatment for a flea allergy while at the vets, and also a general health check. She's thought to be about 18 months old, and the vet thinks she's had kittens at some point.

We collected her from the vets and brought her here.
She did seem very friendly at first, and seemed to settle in almost immediately. I felt very positive because, given her friendly outgoing nature, I thought that would endear her to any prospective new owner. But a disturbing behaviour pattern seems to have emerged: She has become increasingly defensive/aggressive after being fed.

At first, when the growling and hissing started, I thought she was in pain, and thought maybe the vet had missed something during her health check. But then I realised that there was a definite pattern: She'll exhibit very friendly behaviour prior to being fed, and then becomes defensive/aggressive when no more food is forthcoming. Her personality will suddenly change. She starts growling and hissing, her tail flicks, and she tenses her body as though she's about to pounce and attack me. And she'll do this even if I'm sitting quietly on the floor some distance from her.
I'm guessing that she might have evolved the apparent friendly behaviour as a survival strategy in order to get food from people. And once she's achieved her objective she may be returning to her 'normal' state. When she was living on the streets she'd have had the option to walk away once she'd eaten. But now that she's confined to one room she can't do that.

I know it's 'early days' and I sincerely hope she will settle down in time. But I do want to try to do the best for her and not mess things up.
Has anyone else experienced this behaviour in a cat...?
Any advice...?

Thanks for listening.

Eliz
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lilynmitz
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Re: Cat very friendly then defensive/aggressive. Help!

Post by lilynmitz »

Hi Eliz. This does sound odd behaviour, but my first guess is that she is in pain, and associates it, probably correctly, with the food. I'd get her to a vet and get her checked out, as there may be a physical condition giving her discomfort after she's eaten.

Like you, I can't think of a reason why she would get so anxious when she's finished her food and wants more, but you could perhaps try putting more down in the first place so she doesn't get to this position. I have always free-fed my cats and not one of them has become overweight, or binge fed. They's all been pretty relaxed grazers, and when you think about it, most small cats only eat relatively small prey (mice etc), so eat little and often, whereas a lion will pig out on an antelope and not need to eat for quite a while afterwards.

Actually, while typing, it occurs to me that perhaps she had to compete for food in her previous life, and "blames" you for "pinching" her ration - ie she feels she hasn't got enough, and feels the need to compete for more???? Just a guess....? Even if that's the case, putting more down would probably address that.

But vet first, just to make sure there's nothing medically causing this.
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Re: Cat very friendly then defensive/aggressive. Help!

Post by johntruscott »

What you say about your cat is a bit like the way mine used to behave, and occasionally still does. He turned up starving and stray on my doorstep, and had two strategies for getting food: affectionate, by rubbing against my leg, and threatening, by hissing and spitting, and used both together, indiscriminately, so that it may not have been clear to him which was the more successful. He's now abandoned the aggressive approach for demanding food, but he's very picky and if he doesn't get the food he wants, he'll complain by spitting and leaving it , but sometimes eats the food and spits at me afterwards, as if to make it clear that he didn't like it but ate it anyway. And he'll attack my leg, spit, and run off. It's quite a performance, and I can't find much logic in it, the more so as he spits and attacks when I've offered food that he's been happily devouring for weeks but has evidently turned against, for no reason I can understand. There must be some connection between being a stray and these food-related issues, as strays obviously don't know where the next meal's coming from and are constantly and desperately anxious about being fed. I don't feel that Jordi's behaviour is "Jekyll and Hyde", though. Cats have a full range of emotions, some violent some sweet, and to them it all makes sense.
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Re: Cat very friendly then defensive/aggressive. Help!

Post by gezundheit »

i just got Darla from a shelter about 2 months ago.she is about 6 years old and a beauty,with a great
personality.the shelter discounted their normal fee because they found her "difficult".in what way? i asked.
never really got an answer.well,it's just me anyway and i would handle it. so,here is what i found:if she's
picked up,she hisses,spits and cannot be held,all the while furiously wriggling to escape.so,no pick her up.
she will come up to me and sit directly on my chest,look me in the eyes and proceed to kneed me for maybe
5 minutes.i get mixed results if i pet her head, shoulders or back.sometimes she enjoys it and then she
might swiftly turn around to me and swat with closed paws.i do all my socializing with her only when she
comes to schmooze.she is at all times very aware of my hands and where they are.i think she was
abused or mistreated at some point.i now believe her roar is bigger than her bite and can't think of a better
companion for me at this time of life.
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Re: Cat very friendly then defensive/aggressive. Help!

Post by Lilith »

She sounds just like my horrible Molly!

('Horrible' is a joke by the way - I do love her!)

She arrived three years ago, of spayable age, but her previous owners hadn't bothered and were at their wits' end with her. She was very aggressive and they feared for their baby - with good cause. 'Gangsta' Moll will tackle anybody, even after 3 years in a quiet home where she's not roughnecked with or teased (which was what I thought had caused her aggressiveness, but I'm not so sure now.)

She will scratch, bite, attack for no reason, even after 3 years. She hates to be picked up, but if needs be I do pick her up; a case of I love and understand her but if I have to be firm, I'll be firm; if scratching and biting make her feel better, well so be it. She is also the most attention-seeking, the most possessive, most loving creature you could imagine. She follows me about like a dog; she sleeps snuggled up next to me; she OWNS me. My other cats just sort of roll their eyes and tolerate her; her previous owners' cats moved out! She will ask for and permit stroking and cuddling - but only on her terms! She is incredibly intelligent! She looks like a ginger striped Burmese; I do wonder if she's a crossbred; have heard Burmese can be a handful lol. (I used to breed Siamese but no Siamese was ever like Moll!)

So your girl's not alone. If the problem is psychological and not medical, she will need careful rehoming, but there are people who enjoy a challenge (or have it forced upon them like me and my awful Moll lol!) I'm ashamed to say there have been times when I wished I'd never set eyes on her but truly I don't think I could live without her.

I wish I could take on your girl myself - but Molly wouldn't let me! (We operate on the terms of, 3 cats in the house and room for a stray, like so many multi-cat households, but it would have to be a placid young adult male, who would be young enough to play with Moll and respect the older lasses. He will arrive, I've no doubt...)

But there will be others out there who can provide an understanding home for your 'wildie'.

The difficult ones are the most rewarding, talk about being a headache but never a bore eh?

Good luck with your girl, do hope you find the right home for her :)
Last edited by Lilith on Sun Mar 22, 2015 11:04 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Sage
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Re: Cat very friendly then defensive/aggressive. Help!

Post by Sage »

Darla sounds adorable! I don't know if you want advice, but I'd just keep letting her approach you. If she swats after 4 pets, only pet 3 times. I've had some success hiding my hands when approaching cats that have been abused. I'll just stroke them with my nose or cheek when they curl up. That might work for you. Hope that helps!
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Re: Cat very friendly then defensive/aggressive. Help!

Post by Crewella »

I agree with Sage. My Grumpy Nellie doesn't like to be picked up and only likes to be stroked on her terms, but she can be very loving and affectionate. She was 10 years old when I adopted her, and I don't know much of her history, but I just follow her rules and we get along fine. A couple of my cats don't like to be picked up, so I don't pick them up. I don't like people touching my feet, and I know how I'd react if someone insisted on doing that! :D
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Re: Cat very friendly then defensive/aggressive. Help!

Post by Animal lover »

In MHO, it sounds as if these poor cats were not socialised correctly. The optimum time for socialising is between 2 to 8 weeks in order to get them used to being handled. If they do not have that and then if they live feral or are abused, any contact with people is stressful. I think you have all done amazingly in order to get them to the point of being with you. Some points sound as if the cats had also been separated from their Mum too young - the following around and the kneading are classic signs. My two cats were born wild and were found by some boys who chased away the Mum and then took the kittens. It looked as though the Mum was moving dens as the kittens were clearly opposite ends of the litter, my boy was much bigger then my girl. They were around one week old and had to be fed by a syringe every two hours. They both followed me around and would knead on me all their life's. My boy sucked my thumb from about two weeks old until he passed away, and my girl sucked on my clothes for sometime. They never did that to anyone else. I was Mum.
The issue with food could be due to physical pain after eating. Is she wormed? Did the vet do a full blood work? Does she pass stools normally? Is she showing any straining, blood, etc., when she goes? She could have ingested something as a stray. It could also be that she used different signs to get food. Now she has a home she is not sure which to use. However, if the aggressive behaviour is only after she has eaten, I would rule this out. It could be as cats eat according to status and are naturally protective over their food. Are you always in the room when she eats? Have you left the room and listened to see if she hisses, etc? She could just be saying 'Back off, give me space, you are lower ranking than me' etc. This could be the case if she does not eat everything each meal. One thing you can do, is just let her come to you, do not force yourself on her. This will just make her stressed, more wary and associate you with causing her harm. You could try positive reinforcements. A clicker and some titbits are great for this. You can start by just being in a room with her and when she is calm and showing no aggression, reward - (click, say 'Good cat'), then drop the titbit near her or throw it her way. This will get across that being calm and near you is a good thing. You can be in the room for hours or just walk in, stay a few minutes, and then leave. When she is ok with this, by sitting either on the floor or sofa, do the same. Then you can throw the titbit a bit nearer to you, to encourage her to come closer and that it is a good thing. She should then be willingly coming nearer to you, reward as she does. Then you can do the touching is good in stages. It all takes time. You could also look out for the following, see what they flick their front paws at, this means they do not like something, etc. Also, do they look at you and half close their eyes? This means they accept/love you, see you as part of their family/colony. You could also try doing this to them, look at them and half close your eyes, you can either open them again straight away or have them half closed for a few seconds. Socialising with any adult animal takes work, repetition and patience, especially when that animal is feral, stray or has been abused. They may never be able to be picked up, which seen through their eyes is their predator scooping her up, but if you can get them to be near you and have a stroke, that is amazing.
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