I got a cat way back in October of 2006. Tiffany and I named her Mao Mao, and she has been the sweetest cat I have ever owned. She very well balanced but leans just alittle on needing attention from Tiffany and me.
She has always been very curious and friendly to people we have over, especially my best friend.
But for some reason last week everything changed. My brother was holding her in his lap as he has done MANY times before and suddenly out of the blue she hissed and him and took a swipe at his face. Since then she has been very hostile towards him. She will still play with him if he drags a bit of string across the floor, but if he tries to pet her she looks threatened and hisses.
From that point Mao Mao won't let anyone except me and Tiffany touch her. She has not lost ANY of her affection for us, but her hostility towards anyone else has gotten very strange.
My sisters came over from Japan and last night they visited. I warned them to just not approach Mao Mao but if she comes to them they should be OK. Mao Mao rubbed up against my brothers leg, and jumped up on her hindlegs to get a good sniff of my youngest sister. My other sister sat down at the computer and started instant messaging her friends. Mao Mao with a friendly meow jumped onto the table and pattered over to the edge of the table where the keyboard is. She jumped up and put her front paws on my sisters shoulder (with her hindquarters still on the table) and started sniffing her face. My sister just kept typing and didn't do anything to Mao Mao.
Within 3 seconds or so she lunged back and hissed loudly twice. I watched the whole thing carefully.
What is going on with my cat?! My best friend has yet to come over since this all started, but Mao Mao has now hissed at,
1: My brother who she has seen MANY times and cuddled without incident.
2: My sister in law who she has seen a handful of times.
3: My two sisters who she met when we first got her but for all practical purposes has never met.
And this all started about 10 days ago, is it a phase? What is going on with my sweet kitten!?
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
The only time I've seen my cat have such huge mood swings was when she became pregnant or went into heat. I've heard that it's possible for cats to have a very quiet heat, but don't know for sure. Is she old enough for that?
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
It's possible that she's in pain. Cats tend not to express pain in ways that are intuitively apparent to humans, so it can be easy to miss, but one of the warning signs of a cat in pain is a change in behavior like this. Her affection for you and Tiffany may just be enough to override her instinctive response to the pain. Might be a good idea to take her to the vet for a quick checkup.
It's also worth pointing out that trying to give her an OTC pain killer without guidance from your vet is probably a bad idea. Common pain killers that are harmless to humans can be dangerous for cats, and even if you were to use a drug that they tolerated well, determining dosage could be problematic.
Posted by MattP (Member # 10495) on :
Hopefully it's just a phase or a correctable illness, as I've found cat "personalities" to be pretty rigid once they've developed.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
I second what vonk says (although I have never in my life seen a cat have a "quiet" heat -- not to say it doesn't exists - I've just never seen it).
Either way (what vonk or Jake says) - have a vet check her out.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
Well, my friend once told me that her cat kept getting pregnant but they never once heard the telltale sounds of mangled children that normally herald a heat. The answer was obviously to get the cat fixed. But, yeah, I wouldn't stake my life on it.
Posted by ludosti (Member # 1772) on :
I would second Noemon and suggest that you take her to the vet. Sudden changes in behavior are often the first and sometimes only indication that something is wrong. Cats (like many animals) do everything possible to hide weakness/illness, so it's a good idea to take them in as soon as you notice a change. Hopefully she's just going through a weird phase, but it would be good to make sure the cause isn't physiological.
Certainly, if she hasn't been spayed by now, she should have that done also. Waiting to spay and neuter can have unpleasant behavioral side effects.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
Mao Mao is now 8 months old, but cats become sexually mature at about 4 months. Mao Mao definitely started having heat symptoms at 4 months.
We were told she was spayed when we purchased her from Petsmart, to be frank I am not sure however, the guy who sold Mao Mao to us could not even correctly identify the sex of Mao Mao. Apparently even if spayed a cat can have symptoms of being in heat. Mao Mao once in a while does show signs of being in heat, i.e suggestive stances, purring, meowing in a distinct tone, RARELY making loud noises if touched. But she never in the past has she hissed at anyone while in heat, if anything she is more affectionate while in heat.
I suppose something could be wrong physically but I keep a pretty close on on Mao Mao and she is just as active and lively as she has always been. She eats and drinks without any problem, and her gums are still pink instead of a sickly grey.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
i also suggest vet, better to be safe then sorry.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by Zeugma: Another vote for taking her to the vet ASAP, sudden defensive behavior like this is a huge red flag.
But shouldn't she be acting reclusive or generally stand offish? Besides the hissing she is not acting ANY different then when we bought her.
The entire day if its just us she does not even exhibit signs that anything is amiss, why would visitors or even people she is normally friendly with set her off?
edit: Also is there something I could ask the vet to look for? I don't want to drop $60 just to have the vet take her temperature, feel her insides alittle and then say, "Well I am not sure what's wrong, but we can take a look inside I guess."
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
Symptom of contagious lycanthropism amongst your kith&kin. Cats really HATE werewolves.
Posted by ludosti (Member # 1772) on :
In my past experience, cats aren't necessarily reclusive or stand-offish when something is wrong. If you're reluctant to take her in for an exam, you can at least call and talk to the vet (or one of the techs) and see if they have any ideas or more specific things for you to look for.
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Definitely take her to the vet. I expect something is hurting her at random times, and whomever she happens to be around right then she thinks they did it to her somehow.
You're her human, please get good medical care for her. They might not be able to find out what's wrong, but they might find something huge that really needs to be fixed. Cats are like children. They are living beings utterly dependent on you in sickness and in health. You owe it to them to be a good substitute parent.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I say take her to the vet. At least they will find a way to let you know if she has been spayed. If Bernie stops eating for one morning, it's off to the vet with him. That's because if rabbits don't eat for a whole day it's a very bad thing.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
You ask your question online and you can choose from 1 of 3 vets. They respond to your questions after a few minutes and you don't have to pay them unless you are satisfied with their advice.
If your problem is not simple and requires extended queries then they ask you leave a deposit of (in my case) $15 but you get it back if ultimately you are not satisfied with their answers.
They have a $9/$15/$25 option and if you pay in advance they get to your questions better. On the average during my exchange it was about 15 minutes to 40 minutes for a response, and I did not pay in advance.
If you are cheap you can avoid paying them completely, but that's pretty rude IMO. Once you are satisfied with your answers you simply say, "accept" and they keep your deposit along with a bonus if you wish to leave one.
I had a very positive experience and after about 5 rounds of back and forth feel like I know what my cat needs.
I highly recommend the sight, it definitely saved me alot of money. The vet says it is doubtful that my cat was properly spayed, and that her behavior is most likely a hormonal imbalance. She explained to me how to check for her surgical scars and suggested I take her to a vet where she can be spayed. She even recommended programs that will do it for free! She said it should take about 6 minutes for the hormones to get washed out after surgery.
One of the better $15 I have spent. I'm really feeling alot better about Mao Mao.
Posted by RunningBear (Member # 8477) on :
Excellent!
I cannot help but like a cat named Mao Mao, makes me think of a little chubby cat who wants to control China.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by RunningBear: Excellent!
I cannot help but like a cat named Mao Mao, makes me think of a little chubby cat who wants to control China.
We occasionally call her Chairman Mao, if we get another cat we already plan on calling him/her "En Lai"
50 points to whoever figures out the significance of that name.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
Do I count?
Chou/Zhou En Lai is a very popular Premier/Foreign Minister basically one of the Moderates who helped to try to stem and prevent the Cultural Revolution from going out of control as best as he could. Zhou was instrumental in the Communist Party's rise to power, and subsequently in the construction of the Chinese economy and reformation of Chinese society. On the international scene Zhou was a skilled and able diplomat, having advocated for peaceful co-existence and been a participant at the Geneva Conference in 1954. As a result of his moral character, he was very popular with the Chinese public, and Zhou's death brought an outpouring of support which turned out to be crucial in China's transition of power between Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.
If only Zhou had lived another 10 years Posted by Stray (Member # 4056) on :
I've also heard that improperly spayed cats can show heat symptoms now and then; it comes from a piece of an ovary being left inside, so it's still making the heat hormones. I'm pretty sure one of my cats is like that; every so often she'll start the running-around-howling-for-no-reason, demanding-constant-lavish-attention, assuming-the-position-when-petted routine, though I haven't seen her get to the presenting-to-anything-that-moves stage of heat. You say this condition is correctable? I should look into that.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
I thought about disqualifying you right off Blayne for excess knowledge of Chinese communist history, but here are you 50 points, spend them wisely!
Indeed, unfortunately for all of Zhou's virtues self confidence was not one of them, he let Mao walk all over him.
He is probably the only Chinese communist leader that I like, besides pre tian an men square Deng Xiao Ping.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
Actually thats not entirely clear whether he ordered it or not, Bill Gertz's "The China Threat" at least implied it was a secret order to the garrison commander by one of the hardliners and never mentioned which one.
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Waiting to spay and neuter can have unpleasant behavioral side effects.