Aggression is a special interest of mine, and I would be delighted to help. The result: a happier household, much happier cat… and perhaps saving a great deal of money in vet bills–and, especially, saving your cat’s future.
As a professionally-trained, specifically cat behaviorist with over 40 years’ experience, I also manage other problems and fears; the aging cat, the feral and the stray, for examples, can present special challenges of their own. These are the types of issues that require the skills of an experienced cat behaviorist.
Aggression towards another cat is the second biggest behavior problem after soiling. Indications of an overly-aggressive cat include prolonged periods of hissing, swatting, growling, biting, hiding, or fighting with another feline member of the household. This problem can occur when you bring a new cat into the home or even after the cats have been together for some time.
Aggression towards you or other humans always has fear as its source. Whether there’s physical injury or only outbursts of hissing and growling, there are triggers for, and signs of, both defensive and offensive aggression.
- Defensive aggression: cat wants to appear larger; the ‘Halloween Cat’: sideways posture, ears and whiskers forward and tail puffed.
- Offensive aggression: whiskers and ears are flattened, tail is low; Noodles wants to protect them from the “enemy” when fighting. The goal: calm the cat’s anxiety and ease the conditions to which he’s reacting.
Possible Causes
Because treatment varies depending upon the cause of the aggression, it’s crucial to identify whether your cat’s aggression is due to territorial, petting, inter-male, pain, maternal, redirected, or for other reasons.
Potential Solutions
Once the reason for the aggressive behavior is diagnosed, possible solutions include:
- Observing and learning from the cat’s body language in order to anticipate potential outbursts
- Counter-conditioning
- Altering the owner’s behavior
- Changing the cat’s environment
- Employing de-stressing tactics
- Remember: yelling at or hitting the cat not only won’t help, but will definitely hurt; s/he will learn to fear or even hate you.
Book an Aggression Consultation
***Regarding the COVID virus:
I continue to do home visits if you are vaccinated (as I am), but I’m happy to do phone consults, if you prefer. We can ‘video conference’ (via Skype, FaceTime, Messenger, etc.) where we’ll discuss the problem, observe cat’s behavior live or video, and then we can work out a plan.
Initial Telephone Chat: Complementary (Contact to Book) Let’s discuss the issues.
Short Consultation (30+ mins): $95
After initial consultation (the more information I have, the better I can help), we can discuss certain problems that may not need a longer consultation.
In-Depth Consultation (60+ mins): $190
This includes in-depth questioning during a one-hour telephone call, plus an email follow-up report, with recommendations. Telephone follow-up is included. Especially useful for national and international consults.
In-Home Consultation: $425
This includes extensive questioning by telephone, a one- to two-hour visit to your home for in-depth discussion and observation of your cat’s environment, and e-mail/phone follow-up with further recommendations. If needed, a follow-up visit is included.