Calling all GTA cat fosters, rescuers, vets, or experienced cat owners. We desperately need advice/help.
Calling all GTA cat fosters, rescuers, vets, or experienced cat owners. We desperately need advice/help.
I have a 3-year-old female, spayed cat who has had a pretty sudden and extreme behavioural change, and at this point we genuinely do not know what to do.
Ever since her spay, she has seemed a little different. She became much more vocal, gets irritated more easily, but at the same time became extremely affectionate and constantly wants attention. We assumed these were just behavioural changes after surgery, and I don't know whether that's related to what is happening now.
Two days ago, I was watching a video with a dog barking in it. My cat has NEVER cared about dog/cat noises from phones or videos before, so I didn't think anything of jokingly reenacting the barking sound. Shortly afterward, I got up to pet her and she completely lost it.
She full-on attacked me. Not a warning swipe or normal irritated-cat behaviour. She chased/attacked me hard enough to leave a large scratch/scar down my calf and was hissing, growling, screaming/yowling and acting like she genuinely wanted to hurt me.
The strangest part is that the next morning she was completely back to normal. She wanted affection, was behaving like herself, and everything seemed okay. Then I went to grab a hair tie and something seemingly triggered her again. She attacked me and immediately went back into the exact same aggressive state.
She has now been like this for roughly a day and a half. We cannot safely approach her, pick her up, put her in a carrier, or even get her to a vet. She can go from seeming interested in affection to becoming extremely aggressive, so we genuinely don't feel safe around her right now.
From what I've been reading, this sounds like it could be redirected aggression, fear, pain, or something medical, but obviously I'm not qualified to diagnose her.
The biggest problem is our living situation. We're in a two-bedroom apartment and both bedrooms are occupied. We don't have a spare room where she can safely decompress for several days while we continue living normally. Right now, getting around our own apartment involves trying to lure her away and then running into a bedroom and closing the door. I work from home, we have work/school obligations, and this simply isn't sustainable or safe.
We need help figuring out what to do next.
If anyone in the Greater Toronto Area is a vet, vet tech, experienced foster, rescuer, behaviourist, or has dealt with severe redirected aggression, I would REALLY appreciate hearing from you.
We're open to basically any realistic option: someone experienced who can help us safely contain/transport her, veterinary help for a cat that cannot currently be handled, an experienced foster/rescue who can take her temporarily, or, if there truly isn't another safe option, surrendering her to a reputable/no-kill rescue that is equipped to deal with behavioural cases.
We love her and this isn't a decision we're making lightly. I understand that giving her time and space may be ideal, but our current setup makes that incredibly difficult, and we're honestly scared of her right now. We also don't want to make the situation worse by trying to force her into a carrier ourselves.
If anyone in Toronto/GTA knows a rescue, foster, vet, mobile service, behaviourist, or ANY organization/person equipped to physically help with a severely aggressive cat, please comment or DM me.
At this point we really just need someone who knows what they're doing to help us figure out the safest option for both her and us.