I apologize for all this Boots reporting but every time something different happens, I want to share in hopes someone will come up with something I’m not thinking of. Today a reader mentioned overstimulation and I googled that and it may be the problem.
Here’s what happened today. I usually close the door to our bedroom but he does like to go in there and sleep . . somewhere . . I haven’t figure out where. Also, since our bedroom, even though it’s the main level, it’s the second floor since it’s a basement house. Our windows are up where he’s not ground level with whatever is going on. I fixed a Rubbermaid tote in front of the window, put a quilt on it and a sheet on top of that so he can sit there and look out the window without being eyeball to eyeball with any critters out there. I figured . . if he’s happy in our room and that helps him calm down, I can live with it.
I wasn’t sure where he was so I went in to see if he was in there and he was on our bed sleeping. After while, I decided to take a nap so I crawled in under the covers and he came over and curled up next to me. He was above the covers, I was underneath them. I read and never did go to sleep but the phone rang and I talked to a friend for a couple of minutes. Boots grabbed my foot, through the covers and started biting. I stopped him but then he came at my arm and was making that growling sound, ears back, pupils big and black. He was very angry and he was making sure I knew it. I had to hold his head against the bed to keep him from really biting me til I could get out of the bed, get a safer hold on him and take him downstairs.
I think I’m going to assume it may be overstimulation and try to work towards reducing the stimulants.
In Texas, there were no cars he could see. Here, from the windows in the bedroom and the side windows in the sewing room, he can see the street though there isn’t much traffic, there is some. He can hear sirens occasionally, which he couldn’t hear in Texas. Last night I even heard a dog bark. The two back windows have shrubs and trees close and there are lots of birds out there .. way more than he probably ever saw in Texas.
Upstairs he has me, laundry noises, toilets flushing, dishwasher running, oven timers going off, mixer, Rita – noises he never heard in Texas, plus my phone didn’t work in the sewing room so he never heard me talking on the phone. I was either talking to him or it was quiet.
I am going to leave him in the sewing room til Vince gets here. I’ll continue to go down there and knit or stitch. I keep projects down there so I don’t have to carry things back and forth upstairs/downstairs.
Maybe being upstairs is just too much for him to handle since he’s 8 years old and never been around this much activity. If he can happily live the rest of his years in the sewing room, we can spend time with him there and all will be well. I cannot go on being afraid of him. I am feeling better about the overstimulation possibility than anything else I’ve considered so far.
Joyce says
I was wondering if you had looked outside when he acts that way to see if there is anything close to the house that he is hearing.
Maybe the phone/tablet emits a sound that he can hear (that you can’t) that bothers him?
Judy Laquidara says
Most of the time when it happens, we’re in the family room and he’s nowhere near a window. The laptop, tablet and phones were always in the sewing room. The phone didn’t ring in there but I used it to take pictures and every now and then a text would sneak through but he never seemed to have a problem with any of those things.
Last night I heard a dog barking so I went downstairs to make sure Boots didn’t seem scared. He seemed fine in the sewing room, happy to see me but not afraid. I have no idea.
Kathy says
I have experienced similar incidents with our cat. There are times when it is simply not safe to move if he is on my bed. Then there can be long periods when he will simply go find another place in the room to lay if I move too much. I have never been able figure out what makes the difference. There have been times when I was lying quietly on the bed and he jumped up on the bed with aggression in mind. Thankfully that has only been a few times in the time we have had him. I hope you find a solution that works for all of you. I’m open to learning from what you share. Kathy
Cheryl says
Cats are extremely territorial. I think Boots might be happier in the sewing room. That sounds more like his
living arrangements in Texas. Good luck with your experiments.
Judy Laquidara says
If he’s happier in there, I can definitely live with that arrangement. I just want my sweet kitty back.
Teri says
Sending positive thoughts that this works out.
Carolyn Sands says
Have you sprayed him with a water bottle when he gets aggressive? Maybe he will understand that its not ok to bite.
Emma says
Hi Judy, I suggest you check with a vet. Ours has a unit plugged into an electrical outlet. It looks like a small air freshener, but it releases some kind of pheromone that helps to calm cats. I hope Boots adjust soon. Poor little guy. It’s all quite a transition for him.
I’m happy to read that you and Vince are ok…at least as ok as possible.
Take care.
Nancy H. says
I was wondering if is was redirected aggression since he might not be able to get at what is upsetting him. Possibly that cat outside. It might not happen right away after he has seen the cat. You know how passive aggression people will stuff anger and then suddenly explode that is sort of what I thing redirected aggression might be like.
Cindy F says
I wish I had some suggestions for you but I think your plan of keeping him in the basement until Vince arrives is a good one. I hope he settles back to the sweet kitty he was.
Erin Bennett says
Hmmm does he get treats? Or is he hungry? I had a male ragdoll that did that. We went to a special vet, cat only vet. Turned out my cat wanted more treats…more wet food, not the dry that we left down all day too! And he (cats) loose eye sight as they get older so get startled. We stopped treats. Increased wet food. Big change.
Judy Laquidara says
He will not eat treats. We’ve tried everything. The vet tried two and then said “Oh, I have one you can’t turn down” but he wouldn’t eat that either. Boots also won’t eat wet food. He likes one we’ve been giving him that has soft pieces and hard pieces. Sometimes he picks out all the soft pieces and eats them first, other times, he leaves those behind and comes back and gets them later.
Maybe I’ll try wet food again. It’s been a couple of years since we tried that. Thanks. Any particular brand you recommend I start with?
Sheryl says
I think you’ve found your answer. I believe he misses his privacy. He may be in “sensory overload” due to such a different style of living. I bet he will calm down by staying in the sewing room with things he was used to living with. You may be able to gradually re-introduce him to family life after a time-out period. Good luck. He’s such a beautiful boy.
Linda in NE says
One of my cats, the one that hops on the bed to lay by me, would want me to pet her but all of a sudden it was like she got startled and would grab my hand with her claws and try to bite. Eyes black & ears laid back like Boots. After several scratches that bled and several bites, one that broke the skin, I was good and tired of it. The next time she did it I gave her two good slaps while yelling NO! at her. She hasn’t done it since. Cats can learn what is acceptable and what isn’t.
Judy Laquidara says
I wouldn’t hit him. I feel like there’s an underlying reason why he’s doing it since he’s never done it before. I do keep a spray bottle my chair and he plans his attack to see if he can get to me before I can get to the bottle so he definitely knows there are consequences for his actions . . but, that still isn’t stopping him.