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Hi all,
I'm new here, so please forgive the length of this post. I think a bit of background is required.
I am a cat foster, and this past winter I got a stunning large tabby named Bengal who had a bum leg, and amputation was strongly recommended. Bengal is an incredibly friendly boy who loves his humans and always wants to be next to someone. Before his surgery, Bengal lived peacefully on my foster floor, which had 6 other adult cats (half neutered males), his sister, and his sister's kittens. Right after surgery, I moved him to his own room for about a month so he could convalesce in peace. Once he was healthy, I brought him back to the foster floor, and things did not go well. Thus usually self-confident cat curled up in the corner and hissed and growled, calming down only when I petted him. He was clearly terrified of the same cats he had just been living with. Long story short, over time he regained his sense of territory on my foster floor and was able to be fully reintegrated (although he became aggressive toward one of the cats he used to get along with). He was happy; in fact, when he did escape the foster floor, he always returned a few minutes later and asked to be readmitted. My job as a foster is to determine if a cat should be the only cat in the house or if they can tolerate other cats. His fear was so great post-amputation I thought that he might now need to be a solo cat, but once he readjusted to his roommates and was happy again, I determined that with slow introductions he would be fine with other cats in the house.
Bengal was adopted to a wonderful couple a few weeks ago. I took him to his new house and he walked around like he owned the place in five minutes. There are two other resident cats, and luckily the new moms are very cat-saavy and educated in the methods of slow introductions and integrating cats into a new environment with resident cats. I got glowing reports until today, when they e-mailed me that Bengal was getting very wound up, and in fact bit them a couple of times. All three cats had had some good, short introductions, but recently Bengal charged out a slightly open door and badly attacked a resident cat. This is all very concerning, and I made several commendations for calming sprays and such.
QUESTION (finally!) Have other people noted a new anxiety/aggression in their cat post-amputation? Especially around other cats? If so, can you tell me what you may have done to help the situation? I'm assuming that this is stemming from the fact that cats hate vulnerabilities and Bengal is aware that he now has a disadvantage compared to other cats, but maybe I'm wrong. Any stories/suggestions/reassurances that I could share with Bengal's new family would be most appreciated. It would break my heart to have to take Bengal back into my foster care and rehome him. I thank you in advance.
12:40 am
Team Tripawds
Administrators
25 September 2009
Offline
Hi and welcome! I was just about to check out for the night when I saw your post, glad I was able to approve it tonight!
You're pretty pawesome for being such a great foster parent. Sounds like you have a ton of experience, which is terrific.
Regarding your question:
QUESTION (finally!) Have other people noted a new anxiety/aggression in their cat post-amputation? Especially around other cats? If so, can you tell me what you may have done to help the situation
Typically when a pet lashes out unexpectedly like this after a major surgery like amputation, it's a pain indicator. When was his surgery? And how was his pain managed afterward?
Also, how active is Bengal? Is it possible that he is getting too much activity too soon after surgery? Is he allowed to free-roam in a large area on his own?
Have Bengal's new people gently palpated around his body to see if he reacts to touch in certain areas?
Finally, what's his weight like? Any extra weight puts tremendous stress on a tripawd's body, which can result in pain.
These are all things to consider in trying to decipher his behavior. It's definitely worthy of a veterinary visit just to rule out things that could be hurting him right now.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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