wave

A lot of the behavior the LW is writing about is pretty standard behavior for a lot of cats I know. Depending on the individual, cats can be extremely territorial (which is why he views anyone entering the appartment as an intruder), getting into things that you don't want them too and generally being a pain to deal with. To deal with the more extreme behavior, you need to get a behavior specialist involved who will teach you how to deal with these less than charming traits and manage his worst behaviors.

I own a cat myself and as much as I love her and think that she is a pretty well behaved animal she does do some very similar things, though not to as great a degree. She views anyone that is not one of her people as a threat and will either hiss and snarl or hide. When my neice and nephew were infants, she saw them as another animal invading her territory and would jump onto a chair so she could hit them in the head. To this day, she still doesn't accept them. We tried to bring a kitten into the house, thinking that she might want the companionship. After a week we gave up because in between bouts of attacking the kitten she would perch on a shelf in the kitchen and hiss at anyone who came near her - we gave up trying to force the issue because she stopped eating. If I leave my cabinet open by even a tiny amount, she will push her way in and sleep on my clothes, which means everything will be covered in cat hair. There is no such thing as sleeping in on the weekends because she insists on me waking up to feed her breakfast at the crack of dawn, and throwing her out of my bedroom winds up with her sitting outside my door whining. One night after we put up fresh wallpaper, I came in to find her spider climbing the wall! And we've finally gotten vet appointments to be merely unpleasent and not torture for everyone involved.

These are normal behaviors. The trick is knowing how to deal with them. Getting a specialist in cat behavior involved will go a long way towards getting Oliver back towards acceptable behavior.

All animals that live and hunt in groups - dogs, cats, and humans alike - are wired for a hierarchal society to a greater or lesser degree. They'd starve to death if they weren't. The primary job of the top cat is to keep the other cats safe.

mattwa33186

This is not, in fact, true. Cats do not hunt in groups, and though domesticated cats can live in groups (and do so very successfully, because the modern cat is a most adaptable creature), it's not generally their first choice. The African wildcat, from which the modern housecat evolved, is the single most solitary animal on the face of the Earth. They get together to mate, and that's it. Otherwise, each cat has its own territory which they will defend to the death. This, if you know housecats, explains a great deal. Many cats are amazingly sociable, of course, and this is because we've bred them over the years to be docile, friendly, and amenable to groups--more kittenlike, in a word. But the process isn't infallible.

The letter-writer's cat is not trainable and it is not tamable. I have known such cats, and they're permanantly unhappy living in a household. They're a lot closer to their wild ancestors than the friendly, cuddly cats we love and cosset. LW's cat will never be happy with another living thing in proximity to itself, and it's probably not going to be able to adapt to an outdoor life. That means only one thing.

I think you should buy a big cage or kennel, somthing that a litter box/food will fit in (or a small bathroom) to lock the cat up in. If you know you have people coming over or the super to check things - lock the cat up. Make sure he has a safe place to hide if strangers are coming over (a tall cat tree, or shelf). If you are petting him and he begins to get agressive/tense, put him in the cage. Be 'over the top' happy with praise when he's being good & give him a treat or some cat nip (somthing he likes). You can do it, It'll take time to change his behavior. But cats can be trained.

If you're avoiding putting the cat down because you think it will be horrible for the cat, talk to your vet and you'll be reassured.

Several years ago we had to have a beloved pet euthanized after she developed epilepsy late in life. The vet was a friend and we discussed the options and felt it was kindest for her, given that the seizures were terrifying to her and didn't respond to medication.

We took her to the clinic, petted her as she sat on the table and he gave her an injection, just as he had before. She died almost instantly, with no pain.

If you sedate the cat to take it to the vet anyway, the process itself should not be painful, nor should it be the deciding factor. I believe the comments about feral cats are very important. This may not be domestic cat at all but in reality a wild animal who feels it has been trapped by predators and caged in a house for its whole life.

Good luck.

I just adopted a cat I named Oliver. Honest. He's an elderly guy and doesn't have that much longer to live. My other cats are not pleased. Last night, one of the males came into the livingroom where I was watching TV and urinated on the TV stand, his eyes locked on me the entire time. This was the first time he's ever sprayed inside. Cats are adorable but also incredibly annoying. It's important to listen to what they're trying to tell you, but none of us are entirely fluent in speaking cat.

If the cat wasn't able to be with his mother through the usual nursing and weaning period, perhaps this is part of the root of his aggression. Kittens learn behavior from mom and those who are prematurely separated can have problems.

None of this is very helpful, I'm afraid. Maybe your cat would do better with a companion, if it is introduced slowly. Expect some fighting, but this can pass if you're patient. Or maybe he'd do better in an entirely different home. This doesn't mean you were a bad owner, just that animals are as different as we are when it comes to getting along.

I know people who've put their pets on Prozac, though that probably sounds like a drastic step. Personally, I wouldn't, but it's an individual decision. If you've tried everything, though, and failed, it's okay to give the cat to a shelter. But please don't abandon it, it's not likely to survive long.