Problems with my cat

[yellow_rat_gal]

Hiya,

I'm starting to get to the end of my tether with my cat, Frankenstein (Frankie for short).

I adopted him from the CPL mid 2007, and he was approx 18months-2 years, and he's been with me coming on 2 years now. Only recently he's turned into the cat from hell.

I have a cat flap, and normally he's in & out as he pleases, but recently he'll go for 2-4 days at a time, I get phonecalls from all over from people saying he's in their houses, or following them around, and when I go to get him he'll get in the front door and immediately start hissing and growling at me, and scratching at the door to get out.

If I keep him in for over a week he'll turn on me and scratch me, and try at every opportunity to get out the door (so I have a struggle getting in/out the door to go to/from work!)

Last night I collected him from someone's house (who had phoned me numerous times!), he happily followed me home, and the MINUTE he got to the front door he turned, wouldn't come inside, and started hissing. I managed to get him in, but he was up scratching the front door for over an hour at about 4am, and when I tried to stop him all I got was hissing again.

To be honest, I'm getting to the point where I want to rehome him cos I don't think either one of us is happy and I'd prefer he was somewhere where he didn't behave so badly.

I've taken him to the vets about this - before anyone asks - and there are no physical problems with him that would be affecting his mood in this way.


If anyone has any other ideas I'd love to hear them, cos I'm stressed, losing sleep and running very very low on patience.

[feorag]

sorry dashing off to work, so have just rushed through your post.

He sounds very stressed about something in the home. Why don't you try a course of Zylkene - you can buy it online without a prescription.

It's a natural calming product for stressed cats - might be worth one last try before you give up???

[Pipkin28]

Just wondering if another cat has come through the cat flap without you knowing and maybe scent marked or beaten him up?

Is there anyone else in your home who may have done something to upset him, because it sounds like he's happy to get as far as the front door with you, so he has no issue with you but maybe someone else?

Has anything changed to upset his routine, such as a new partner, baby or pet?

[fenwoman]

What could it be in your home which is upsetting and scaring him so much? Any other pets or grabbing children?
I would also like to point out that you cannot rehome him. If you no longer want him with whatever little 'issues' he has, you have to return him to the CPL.
For my own part, having any animal means that you deal with or live with any 'problems' it may have. Crikey if I didn't think that way, I would have got rid of my Bertie 10 times over initially when we were getting used to each other cos he bit and scratched me loads of times.
Did the vet give you no advice at all about what could be causing the problem? I would try phoning the CPL also and ask for help or advice and perhaps they could recommend a behaviourist. You never know, a behaviourist might walk into your home and say "ahhhh I can see why he is doing this".It may be some little thing which hadn't occured to you.
As well as the zyclene which has been recommended, perhaps you could try a feliway plug in pheromone thingy. I got one off ebay for one of my son's cats and it worked wonders.

[yellow_rat_gal]

Originally Posted by fenwoman

What could it be in your home which is upsetting and scaring him so much? Any other pets or grabbing children?
I would also like to point out that you cannot rehome him. If you no longer want him with whatever little 'issues' he has, you have to return him to the CPL.
For my own part, having any animal means that you deal with or live with any 'problems' it may have. Crikey if I didn't think that way, I would have got rid of my Bertie 10 times over initially when we were getting used to each other cos he bit and scratched me loads of times.
Did the vet give you no advice at all about what could be causing the problem? I would try phoning the CPL also and ask for help or advice and perhaps they could recommend a behaviourist. You never know, a behaviourist might walk into your home and say "ahhhh I can see why he is doing this".It may be some little thing which hadn't occured to you.
As well as the zyclene which has been recommended, perhaps you could try a feliway plug in pheromone thingy. I got one off ebay for one of my son's cats and it worked wonders.

To be honest, giving him away isn't really an option, I'm just exhausted and ranting. Do you not ever get to the point when you consider just packing it all in?! And no - I don't mean because he has said issues, there are many other factors involved which have left me exhausted and stressed.

I have no idea what the triggers are that have left him stressed, however he's been like this on and off for the past month or so, and the vet said there was nothing wrong and gave me no help whatsoever.

I'll look into the Zyclene and Feliway, see if they do anything. That's all I was looking for really, some options to try and sort it.

[fenwoman]

Originally Posted by yellow_rat_gal

To be honest, giving him away isn't really an option, I'm just exhausted and ranting.

Do you not ever get to the point when you consider just packing it all in?!

Honestly? Never.

And no - I don't mean because he has said issues, there are many other factors involved which have left me exhausted and stressed.

I have no idea what the triggers are that have left him stressed, however he's been like this on and off for the past month or so, and the vet said there was nothing wrong and gave me no help whatsoever.

I'll look into the Zyclene and Feliway, see if they do anything. That's all I was looking for really, some options to try and sort it.

.
There are times when I wish things were going right, or that dogs didn't bring so much mud in the house when it's wet out, or that the cats didn't leave half chewed rodents right in front of the door to the scullery, ready to squish between my toes, but not for one instant do I ever think that life could be better if I didn't have them all.
But I'm not your average person. I tend to look for solutions and deal with it. I know it can be frustrating sometimes and you are absolutely doing everything right by asking here and seeing the vet etc. Certainly the zyclene and feliway are a simple and inexpensive start to resolving the problem.

It might even be worth contacting the CPL to see if they know whether he has any 'previous form'.
Are there any other pets in the home? Or perhaps a human who doesn't like the cat? Or do you have those nasty smelly chemical plug ins in the house?
As I said, it could be something which you didn't even consider significant.

[yellow_rat_gal]

Originally Posted by fenwoman

Honestly? Never.



.
There are times when I wish things were going right, or that dogs didn't bring so much mud in the house when it's wet out, or that the cats didn't leave half chewed rodents right in front of the door to the scullery, ready to squish between my toes, but not for one instant do I ever think that life could be better if I didn't have them all.
But I'm not your average person. I tend to look for solutions and deal with it. I know it can be frustrating sometimes and you are absolutely doing everything right by asking here and seeing the vet etc. Certainly the zyclene and feliway are a simple and inexpensive start to resolving the problem.

It might even be worth contacting the CPL to see if they know whether he has any 'previous form'.
Are there any other pets in the home? Or perhaps a human who doesn't like the cat? Or do you have those nasty smelly chemical plug ins in the house?
As I said, it could be something which you didn't even consider significant.

I know he was found on someone's doorstep, so the CPL have no idea of his previous owners or character... I quickly learnt he hates being inside for too long so he's always been an outside cat!

Other pets, well I have another cat but had her since a kitten (16 months now) and never had issues.

No plug ins (I get sinus headaches so stay well away from them), no obvious changes in the flat over past month, the routine's stayed the same as far as I can tell and it's just me on my own, so no other humans to affect him (as far as I'm aware).

Will try and sort it... Thanks for letting me rant! lol

[freekygeeky]

zingi is now currently the same.
he was better with feliway i have to admit, but wasnt ever in..
now he goes out from about 7 in the morning till about 5 pm.
if you dont let him out he will scratch hiss bite and so on.
lost my baby.

[butterfingersbimbo]

Originally Posted by yellow_rat_gal

I know he was found on someone's doorstep, so the CPL have no idea of his previous owners or character... I quickly learnt he hates being inside for too long so he's always been an outside cat!

Other pets, well I have another cat but had her since a kitten (16 months now) and never had issues.

No plug ins (I get sinus headaches so stay well away from them), no obvious changes in the flat over past month, the routine's stayed the same as far as I can tell and it's just me on my own, so no other humans to affect him (as far as I'm aware).

Will try and sort it... Thanks for letting me rant! lol

We all need a rant every now and again!

[blazingtortoise]

When he ends up at other peoples houses, does he get fed? Have they got other cats? Are both the cats neutered? Must be very puzzling.