Sudden change in agressive behavior

hi everyone!

1st time posting, but I am an avid 'lurker' of the forums lol great help in my time of need! So first off thank you! *tips hat*

My question isn't so much a 'civies' question.. but I wasn't quite sure which category this would fall under. SonnyRoo was diagnosed with diabetes back in April 2009.. since then, he's been regulated with diet, and the insulin intake came to a full stop last August. thank God for that...

anyhoo yeah, my question..

He's normally an agressive cat. Doesn't let just anyone pet him... and if he does, he'll let you know when to stop. He's been rough housing with my other cat (Lucky) who was also diagnosed with diabetes in late July... but it gets to the point where one yelps and sounds like it could be getting serious. He'll just walk right up to Lucky... and BAM grab him by is neck! They play around.. but then as I mentioned, it seems to escalate. I don't know why he suddenly is recacting a bit more ggressive than normal. He used sleep in the bed with me, and now he sleeps in living room (by his choice of course). I often wonder if perhaps he's jealous of Lucky? But why now?? I was wondering if it had something to do with the diabetes? Or maybe as he gets older.. this is what is to be expected. The grouchy old man version of a cat? (he's going to be 10 btw)

help! Please tell me I am just paranoid or overreacting? That this is normal older cat behavior? :cry: I am very tempted to just take him to the vet.. but I dont think its THAT severe... at least not yet.


thanks in advance!

 

Your civvie is being more aggressive to your FD? Just want to make sure I'm reading that right.

There can be causes and it can also be normal part of aging.

For instance, Tucker used to chase after Keesha(GA) a lot, always cornering her and bothering her. He did this because she was sick. She had kidney issues and HyperT. So the cause of his chasing her was she was sick.

Could be the jeolousy factor too. Are you hometesting your FD? Giving treats at test time like many of us do? (if you're not hometesting, please read about it, it's very important) Your civvie could be upset about the extra attention your FD is getting, try giving them both extra attention at test/shot time or make a special time for your civvie to get some extra special time.

One thing I follow as a rule of thumb in my home, any change is a change. Whether it's good or bad change it should be noted, unless it's something I've been encouraging and working towards.

 

I had a similar situation years ago. When Remi(GA) went OTJ he started being a little more aggressive towards my civie Phoebe. She had been the dominant one for a while but I guess when he started to feel better he didn't want to take it anymore. So maybe yours are working out the "clawing" order. But like Jenn said...good to keep an eye on it since it is a change, but hopefully it will get better.

 

Has a new cat moved into the neighborhood?

 

I'm quoting Jill/Remi cuz that's happened to us too.

My civvie was the dominant one, hitting Luna on the head for no reason, but after Luna's DX, as he got better, he became sort of like "standing up for himself"

now he picks the brawls or gets in civvie's face and space too. lol
I'm proud of him! :lol:

 

Thank you everyone for your replies.. :smile:

I don't know if I confused everyone lol but BOTH my cats have FD! And now (thankfully) they are regulated at this time. Its only recently that Sonny is acting out on Lucky. Sonny has always been the more dominant... but,never like this. I am going to take your advices and keep an eye on him more closely. If he continues... he leaves me no choice but to take him to the vet! lol

thanks again everyone! I will keep you posted.

 

My dominant cat Buster became much more aggressive when he became Hyperthyroid. Now that he is on Tapazole, he is no longer as mean to the other cats or beans.

 

This is a fascinating thread. Our FD Miles was super submissive pre-diagnosis, once he was regulated on insulin he started wrestling (playfully, but I think also to establish dominance) with his civie brother Raja. Now that he's OTJ, he is totally dominant. We're a little shocked. He will just decide when it's time for Raja to get off the couch, happens once or twice a day.

Question: how are we humans supposed to react? My husband thinks we should let them establish dominance so they can move on, I tend to want to intervene. Shouldn't we be the dominant party, or is that dog psychology?

 

I second Phoebe's post. You should take him in for a Hyper-T test. Before my cat, Beeker was DX'd with that he would be playing and then it would turn into full blown attack mode. I swear you could see his face completely change from playing to really wanting to hurt us or the other cats. When we would stop playing and turn away from him he would stare us down and continue to attack. When we started treatment it all stopped and he went back to being his normal, loveable, sweet self.

 

Aggression can be a sign of hyper-t, so if other signs are there I would definitely get him tested. However, even after we treated Phoebe, civie, for hyper-t she is still the most aggressive one we have right now..of course my other 2 are pretty docile.
And I think we are supposed to let them work out their heirarchy(sp)...as hard as that can be sometimes. And I can't say I abide to that every time either

 

I let them work it out unless their bickering gets a little too loud or too violent. Spats, squabbles, etc I just let happen, but when one of them starts hissing to tell the other to back off, I usually stand up for the hissing cat and tell the other cat to back off.

I figure they spend a great deal of the day in the house unsupervised, so squabbles will happen with out me there, so it is good to know that they work it out normally with out too much intervention.

Connie

 

woooo! Its been a long time since I posted, so allow me to update!

Well, Sonny continues to 'rough house' with Lucky. Not as much as when I first posted, but he still wrestles. I have noticed that his appetite seems to be a bit 'bigger'. And by this I mean he seems to be scarfing down his food when its its meal time as opposed to before.. he would eat at a normal pace. Sometimes I feel like he is always looking for food. I keep telling myself that its just a phase, but after re-reading this thread, and listening to my gut more closely... I think its time I see the vet. Am I over reacting? Or reacting too late? Everything else seems normal.. his water intake is good. He's going to to litter box like normal as well.. but, I just dont understand why he seems to be so hungry all the time. (or so it seems)

nailbite_smile

again, thanks to everyone... you guys are a plethera of info!!! xoxoxoxo

-C

 

Maybe get a T4 or free T4 done at the vet. Sounds like he needs his thyroid checked if he is still regulated with the diabetes.

 

I vote for a thyroid panel as well, to test for hyperthyroidism. Cats can manifest this disease in different ways, but the symptoms you're describing (possible increased appetite, increased aggression, etc.) are both symptoms that led me to the diagnosis in my own cats. Let us know what you find out.

 

Thanks everyone!

Calling the vet tomorrow morning, ASAP! ;-)

I will definitely keep you all posted! You've been most helpful :YMHUG:

-Cams