Uncontrolled rages.

[wilbar]

Originally Posted by Velvet

Wilbur - what about the wee man i feed do you think like Angie & i suspect, it coukd be jealousy?

Personally no ~ I don't think animals feel "jealousy" in the same way that we do.

What I think is probably happening is more along the lines of "resource guarding" ~ a more common concept with dog owners, but just as applicable to certain feline behaviours.

If you consider that you, your attention, your house(?) are possibly very important resources to this cat, then perhaps it makes more sense that the cat is trying to obtain/regain these resources. And possibly the cat considers that the dog & other cats are competitors for these resources so it tries to frighten them away. If you feel that this can be described as "jealousy", fair do's, but I think it's more accurate to describe it as protecting a valuable resource.

Of course it could also be that the cat is very protective over its personal space & if the cat perceives that it is being threatened by a dog/cat that is invading its personal space, it may lash out. Personal space can shrink or expand according to the threat the cat feels ~ so it will probably need a larger personal space for a bigger threat like a dog, whilst personal space requirements shrink if the threat is small.

And then once the cat is physiologically aroused because of these perceived threats, it takes very little to tip it over the edge into aggression. So it makes it seem like unprovoked attacks, but I bet if you study the whole sequence of behaviours, you'll see clues about the changing emotional state of the cat.

It's sometimes more revealing to closely watch the potential aggressor, than the other animals. With cats, the signs can sometimes be very subtle, just muscle tension, ear position, a quick glance, a tail twitch ~ then it can escalate very quickly. But if you are aware that a cat that can be aggressive is showing signs of stress/tension, then it's better to diffuse the situation by removing the cat or the other animals before it kicks off.

Cats can learn quite quickly that a swipe of the paw makes other animals move away ~ so if it works succesfully once, then they are more likely to repeat the behaviour.

So it can be a combination of factors that can cause aggression, from learning what has worked in the past, from the cat's perceptions of what things are important in life, from perceptions about personal space, and the current level of physiological arousal.

People are so much easier to understand, aren't they!!

[Tink]

It could also be sudden pain from a health issue and redirected agression or fear.

[wilbar]

Originally Posted by Tink

It could also be sudden pain from a health issue and redirected agression or fear.

Yes of course, that's why we all said to get a vet check at the beginning of this thread. It's crucial to rule out any medical causes first.

Redirected aggression is another possibility but is usually preceded by an event that has provoked huge emotional & physiological arousal, e.g. the sight of a rival cat in the territory. The observing cat will often make low growling noises, the tail twitches & flicks rapidly, sometime the ears flatten, muscles tense etc. The physiological arousal includes increased heart rate, increased respiration, increased blood flow to muscles, adrenaline & other neurotransmitters flooding the body to prepare it for flight/fight etc. If a cat that is this aroused is suddenly startled, touched, or approached, it can sometimes lead to quite intense attacks on whoever is closest. From the description given by the OP, it doesn't sound like redirected aggression to me.

Fear aggression is quite a sweeping description as it can include fear of losing its life, fear of being injured, fear of loud noises, fear of specific things or very general things, fear of losing important resources like territory, irrational fears etc etc. Redirected aggression is a form of fear aggression.

[farthing]

Donald had seen the vet and generally the vet is pleased with him. He has put on more weight, no signs of fluid in his abdomen, he does have marginally high blood pressure ( which of course is dangerous for his kidneys too) and we will get the results of the bloods tomorrow, depending on the blood results we may send off for a T4 check but personally I don't think he is hyper.

The vet is a little concerned that the scab on his nose may be cancerous but he says that is secondary to his renal issues because it isn't growing fast. I think it depends on how bad/ good his bloods which will determine if we do a biopsy, he says the problem with trying to remove it is that there is no skin to pull over and stitch up when it is taken away, and of course we may need to remove a big margin if it is suspected malignant.

[angieh]

Oh poor guy. I must have missed that there was a problem with his nose ..... could that be a contributory factor to his rages I wonder?

[farthing]

Yes, when Donald arrived he had a scab on his nose, the vets did wonder if it was a rodent ulcer and were not keen to investigate too much, partly because there's not a huge amount we can do and partly because he had so many other health issues at the time. The scab keeps getting knocked off and its getting bigger and as it gets bigger it is more easily knocked. His behaviour doesn't seem to match when the scab comes off, and doesn't appear sore- at least not when he rubs his bloody nose on my face!
The vet has been monitoring it but is now a bit worried it may be a skin cancer, but with all his other health issues the vet thinks we need to make sure he is as well as he can be before we think about dealing with this- obviously a GA will be risky enough for him ( oh, he also has a heart murmur! )

[Velvet]

Ah the poor wee soul. Maybe just been having some off days when he doesnt feel so good. I know there are days when Katie feels sick & off her food with the renal disease.

Its as well he has such a loving caring home. Hope his wee nose is okay.

[farthing]

Good news for Donald, his kidneys are no worse than the last blood sample, in fact the creatinine levels are slightly better, we have started him on benazacare because this should help reduce his blood pressure.
He does have an infection, again, he had a convenia injection 2 weeks ago but has started snuffling again and his white blood cell count is up, although the vet sees nothing to make him suspect there are any internal tumours. We are putting him onto baytril tablets this time to see if the will knock out this bug.
The vet wants to check him again in 2 weeks to look at his nose and depending on how it has grown we may have to think about what to do next.

[angieh]

Poor Donald - he does have an awful lot to contend with. Healing vibes for him and (((hugs))) for you farthing, for taking such good care of him.

PS. Did you ask the vet about his rages?

[farthing]

The vet said it could be blood pressure, pain or even seizures ( something we couldn't prove). He doesn't seem painful so we will see whether the benazacare reduces his blood pressure and, if it ,turn, his mood swings improve. If not we will look again to see where we go next.

The things is even though he has lots of problems he is a very loving body and ( apart from his nose) looks really good! His coat is clean and shiny and he has put on weight- he has stayed the funny colour he was- grey over most of his body but gingery marking over his back ( almost tortoiseshell like)