Need cat advice, for a friend.

[conuly]

Okay. She has a cat named Jareth. He's fixed, maybe about a year and a half old? Undersized.

He used to be madly in love with her roommate, but recently, he's been weird. He'll alternate between friendly and homicidal - not playfighting, either, actually trying to attack her, and hissing and growling. We've got no idea what's wrong. His diet *seems* to be normal - purina, with a few treats. He will eat mice, but only when they don't stop him first. Roommate doesn't seem to be provoking Jareth, either - he'll just attack her.

Darkly (my friend) is worried it may actually be something neurological. He used to run into walls all the time as a kitten, and he still does sometimes. I have *absolutely* no idea, so I thought I'd see if anybody has any clues. She is, of course, taking him to the vet - but knowing what might be the problem could speed up the healing process here.

Comments

[xiggaroo.livejournal.com]

I think Angel's rubbing off on 'im.

[xiggaroo.livejournal.com]

Mmm... homocide...

[naive-notstupid.livejournal.com]

a cat's nose is extremely sensitive... has roommate changed perfumes or something to that effect? it may be something as simple as that. i would think that if it were a neurological disorder, that the cat wouldn't single out the roommate. either something about the roommate has changed, or something happened and the cat's holding a grudge. just my opinion though.

[moggymania.livejournal.com]

Well, kittens slamming into things is fairly normal, so that part I wouldn't worry about.

The drastic behavior change I would wonder about:

It could be that the roommate did something as subtle as change her body soap, perfume, shampoo, or similar -- cats will react very strangely to some of those. If he's not acting oddly in any other ways then I'd guess the roommate changed something nobody is even particularly aware of. Could even be something like spending time with another cat and picking up its scent, or time in a location that has a scent that freaks cats out. Easiest way to solve this aspect would logically be to think back to when the attacks started, then consider what might have changed around that time period.

On the other hand, if he is showing any other odd signs -- drooling, change in thirst/hunger, aggression towards others, lethargy, yowling, trouble balancing, or anything else that doesn't seem quite normal... With Purina and similar foods, there is an increased chance that he has developed neurological cancer (due to use of BHA, BHT, and other carcinogenic preservatives) or what is best described as a feline "mad cow" type disorder (use of rendered shelter pets).

If he's allowed outside, there is also the possibility of at least one disease that does cause that kind of behavioral sign before reaching a point where there are physical symptoms. If he is sneezing or showing any signs of a respiratory illness along with this aggression, I'd consider checking for FIP, which is a mutant form of the common coronavirus. (Unfortunately the coronavirus test isn't all that conclusive since it will indicate if the cat has ever had any CV, rather than a FIP strain in particular. There are more detailed tests, but they're expensive, and if he has FIP you'll find out within a few weeks anyway.)

Otherwise, as you probably guessed, it could be any number of things, since cats do show physical pain/discomfort by behaving oddly...

Keep us updated on what's going on with him, I hope everything does turn out to be okay!

[malantha.livejournal.com]

That's interesting about the Purina food. What should you feed cats then, to avoid those preservatives?

[kibbles.livejournal.com]

They used renderered shelter pets in pet food?

[wakasplat.livejournal.com]

Look for foods similar to Felidae. (I don't think moggymania uses Felidae, but my cat loves it.)

[leora.livejournal.com]

The only time I've ever seen a perfectly wonderful, loving pet go suddenly violent is when I tried giving him catnip. He was my pet, and a great one. But catnip turned him violent. I avoided letting him anywhere near the stuff again, and he was fine. So, like the others said, I'd look for something chemical that may be affecting the cat.

[the-turtle-girl.livejournal.com]

You think like me. That's what I was going to say.

Great minds......

[mortaine.livejournal.com]

Get that cat to the vet. It could be a chemical thing in the house, or it could also be a medical-related behavior problem. Allegro started peeing on the bed all of a sudden, and we thought it was behavior-only, and related to an incident with one of the dogs. It took us several days before we took him to the vet and discovered he had a urinary tract infection.

Bottom line: any time there's a sudden change in a pet's behavior, take him to the vet to rule out medical problems FIRST.

[ladydiana.livejournal.com]

Get him to the vet for sure, but...like...is he jealous about something? Has she stopped spending so much time playing with him, does she have a new boyfriend, or a new baby, or something?

[conuly]

As far as we can tell, no. In fact, Darkly's been making an extra effort to spend time with him since I told her I thought that was maybe why he'd been making an extra effort to piss on her towels.

[xiggaroo.livejournal.com]

rawdogs

[xiggaroo.livejournal.com]

I think Angel's rubbing off on 'im.

[xiggaroo.livejournal.com]

Mmm... homocide...

[naive-notstupid.livejournal.com]

a cat's nose is extremely sensitive... has roommate changed perfumes or something to that effect? it may be something as simple as that. i would think that if it were a neurological disorder, that the cat wouldn't single out the roommate. either something about the roommate has changed, or something happened and the cat's holding a grudge. just my opinion though.

[moggymania.livejournal.com]

Well, kittens slamming into things is fairly normal, so that part I wouldn't worry about.

The drastic behavior change I would wonder about:

It could be that the roommate did something as subtle as change her body soap, perfume, shampoo, or similar -- cats will react very strangely to some of those. If he's not acting oddly in any other ways then I'd guess the roommate changed something nobody is even particularly aware of. Could even be something like spending time with another cat and picking up its scent, or time in a location that has a scent that freaks cats out. Easiest way to solve this aspect would logically be to think back to when the attacks started, then consider what might have changed around that time period.

On the other hand, if he is showing any other odd signs -- drooling, change in thirst/hunger, aggression towards others, lethargy, yowling, trouble balancing, or anything else that doesn't seem quite normal... With Purina and similar foods, there is an increased chance that he has developed neurological cancer (due to use of BHA, BHT, and other carcinogenic preservatives) or what is best described as a feline "mad cow" type disorder (use of rendered shelter pets).

If he's allowed outside, there is also the possibility of at least one disease that does cause that kind of behavioral sign before reaching a point where there are physical symptoms. If he is sneezing or showing any signs of a respiratory illness along with this aggression, I'd consider checking for FIP, which is a mutant form of the common coronavirus. (Unfortunately the coronavirus test isn't all that conclusive since it will indicate if the cat has ever had any CV, rather than a FIP strain in particular. There are more detailed tests, but they're expensive, and if he has FIP you'll find out within a few weeks anyway.)

Otherwise, as you probably guessed, it could be any number of things, since cats do show physical pain/discomfort by behaving oddly...

Keep us updated on what's going on with him, I hope everything does turn out to be okay!

[malantha.livejournal.com]

That's interesting about the Purina food. What should you feed cats then, to avoid those preservatives?

[kibbles.livejournal.com]

They used renderered shelter pets in pet food?

[wakasplat.livejournal.com]

Look for foods similar to Felidae. (I don't think moggymania uses Felidae, but my cat loves it.)

[leora.livejournal.com]

The only time I've ever seen a perfectly wonderful, loving pet go suddenly violent is when I tried giving him catnip. He was my pet, and a great one. But catnip turned him violent. I avoided letting him anywhere near the stuff again, and he was fine. So, like the others said, I'd look for something chemical that may be affecting the cat.

[the-turtle-girl.livejournal.com]

You think like me. That's what I was going to say.

Great minds......

[mortaine.livejournal.com]

Get that cat to the vet. It could be a chemical thing in the house, or it could also be a medical-related behavior problem. Allegro started peeing on the bed all of a sudden, and we thought it was behavior-only, and related to an incident with one of the dogs. It took us several days before we took him to the vet and discovered he had a urinary tract infection.

Bottom line: any time there's a sudden change in a pet's behavior, take him to the vet to rule out medical problems FIRST.

[ladydiana.livejournal.com]

Get him to the vet for sure, but...like...is he jealous about something? Has she stopped spending so much time playing with him, does she have a new boyfriend, or a new baby, or something?

[conuly]

As far as we can tell, no. In fact, Darkly's been making an extra effort to spend time with him since I told her I thought that was maybe why he'd been making an extra effort to piss on her towels.

[xiggaroo.livejournal.com]

rawdogs