Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde
Does this look like the face of a vicious, aggressive cat to you?
No? Well, you should see her behaviour this week then. Our lovely, cat-loving friend, Laura, came to visit us from Vancouver and Reese is very unhappy about it. This behaviour started when I still lived in Edmonton but has become progressively worse lately and is very distressing and concerning.
How scary can a cat be, you ask? Very scary. More than one person has phoned in tears, locked in a room, afraid to come out because of her. At first I thought that these people were over-reacting but then I saw it first-hand and was horrified. She hisses, growls, and threatens people. In addition, and far more concerning is the fact that she stalks strangers and attacks when unprovoked. She gets so upset that even I am not safe when she gets herself that worked up.
I called a couple veterinarians today to get some advice and both advised that this is very serious and needs to be dealt with as soon as possible or it will escalate. Apparently, every time people cower at her aggressiveness it is providing positive reinforcement and lessens the likelihood of being able to break the behaviour. The veterinarian is going to refer her to a cat behavioural therapist (yes, my cat requires a kitty psychologist) where they will evaluate whether this is something fixable or not. She outlined quite clearly, however, that some animals have untreatable problems with aggression and need to be put down.
I know that some of you reading this are probably thinking "it's just a cat" and wonder why I would invest time or money into an aggressive animal. Without wanting to sound like a 'crazy cat lady', all I can say is that I am devastated at the idea of possibly having to part ways with Reese. She is part of my family. She is my loyal companion and makes me happy in ways that are tough to express. I brought her home from the SPCA during an incredibly dark and dreary time in my life and she was a loving, always-there-for-me friend to come home to each day. In her kittenhood, she was playful and happy, mischievous and smart, and irresistibly cuddly.
On a day-to-day basis she is a beautiful creature and I love sharing my home with her. She makes us all laugh with her antics. It is only when strangers come over (and only certain strangers) that she transforms into her vicious alter-ego. We love Reese but we also love having friends over to our home and would ideally not have these things be mutually exclusive.
I called Eli in tears today and he reassured me that we'd try the behaviour modification before we made any decisions about Reese's future. Always the optimist, he told me that although there are *some* cats that it doesn't work for, there are also *some* cats that it does. As silly as it sounds to type this, we will take our cat to therapy and hope that we can address her issues. In the meantime, we're going to keep her separated from strangers - it's all we can do.
Meow for now.
No? Well, you should see her behaviour this week then. Our lovely, cat-loving friend, Laura, came to visit us from Vancouver and Reese is very unhappy about it. This behaviour started when I still lived in Edmonton but has become progressively worse lately and is very distressing and concerning.
How scary can a cat be, you ask? Very scary. More than one person has phoned in tears, locked in a room, afraid to come out because of her. At first I thought that these people were over-reacting but then I saw it first-hand and was horrified. She hisses, growls, and threatens people. In addition, and far more concerning is the fact that she stalks strangers and attacks when unprovoked. She gets so upset that even I am not safe when she gets herself that worked up.
I called a couple veterinarians today to get some advice and both advised that this is very serious and needs to be dealt with as soon as possible or it will escalate. Apparently, every time people cower at her aggressiveness it is providing positive reinforcement and lessens the likelihood of being able to break the behaviour. The veterinarian is going to refer her to a cat behavioural therapist (yes, my cat requires a kitty psychologist) where they will evaluate whether this is something fixable or not. She outlined quite clearly, however, that some animals have untreatable problems with aggression and need to be put down.
I know that some of you reading this are probably thinking "it's just a cat" and wonder why I would invest time or money into an aggressive animal. Without wanting to sound like a 'crazy cat lady', all I can say is that I am devastated at the idea of possibly having to part ways with Reese. She is part of my family. She is my loyal companion and makes me happy in ways that are tough to express. I brought her home from the SPCA during an incredibly dark and dreary time in my life and she was a loving, always-there-for-me friend to come home to each day. In her kittenhood, she was playful and happy, mischievous and smart, and irresistibly cuddly.
On a day-to-day basis she is a beautiful creature and I love sharing my home with her. She makes us all laugh with her antics. It is only when strangers come over (and only certain strangers) that she transforms into her vicious alter-ego. We love Reese but we also love having friends over to our home and would ideally not have these things be mutually exclusive.
I called Eli in tears today and he reassured me that we'd try the behaviour modification before we made any decisions about Reese's future. Always the optimist, he told me that although there are *some* cats that it doesn't work for, there are also *some* cats that it does. As silly as it sounds to type this, we will take our cat to therapy and hope that we can address her issues. In the meantime, we're going to keep her separated from strangers - it's all we can do.
Meow for now.
posted by Leah at
12:45 a.m.
2 Comments:
I don't think that's silly at all. I'm ridiculously attached to our cat and would feel the exact same way at the possibility of him not being around.
Here's hoping that the kitty pyschologist can break Reese's aggressive behaviour and bring back the playful/loving all-the-time cat you know is in there.
I agree--not silly! Pets are family. Period. Our 2 "fuzzy brothers" are endlessly important and loved (a fact that is difficult to explain to non-cat people) and if therapy they needed, therapy it would be!
Once, one of our cats developed a nasty bladder illness and was hospitalized and operated on several times. I was even told I had to put a price on his life. Well, we went into what was serious debt at the time, but he is still with us and since then has grown into a wonderful companion.
He does try to bite strangers and family members from time to time, though. Maybe you should forward any advice you get! :)
Hope you are well and that condo stuff goes awesome.
xoLisa (from Edmonton, where it is STILL winter)
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