# Cat gone whacko **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 16, 2005, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-gone-whacko/331411 "2005-11-16T23:50:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![femme-fatale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e4f/32.png) [@femme-fatale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femme-fatale)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-gone-whacko/331411/1 "2005-11-16T23:50:53Z")
Guys, I need some advice, because I don’t know whether giving up my cat is a prudent thing to do. I got her when she was two months old; she was the most affectionate kitty you can ever imagine. She was calm, she’d pur all the time, she’d respond and run to you once you called her name, etc. But lately, she’s become psycho cat. She bites (no, not a regular bite; i know it’s common for cats to be playful that way), but it’s as if she wants to tear you apart. At first, I thought she was in one of her weird moods, but it’s become more constant over the weeks. She almost tore my hand off today, to the point that I was bleeding. She hisses at me and my family too. She always runs away, and makes it impossible for us to actually catch her. Why the sudden change of heart? And when I tell other friends, that have cats as well, about it, they comment that it’s not really “normal”. I love this crazy cat so much, but I don’t know how to handle her anymore. Would I be a heartless person if I sent her away? Just the thought of it makes me down it. Please, share! ---
**Author:** ![Corii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Corii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corii)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-gone-whacko/331411/2 "2005-11-16T23:52:56Z")
Is she spayed? ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-gone-whacko/331411/3 "2005-11-16T23:53:45Z")
Take her to the vet. This kind of sudden personality change is associated with a cat that is in pain. ---
**Author:** ![femme-fatale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e4f/32.png) [@femme-fatale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femme-fatale)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-gone-whacko/331411/4 "2005-11-16T23:55:49Z")
> [@Corii](#): > > Is she spayed? Yeah, she was fixed two months ago. She got over the depression after two days. ---
**Author:** ![ILovCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e99b99/32.png) [@ILovCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ILovCoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-gone-whacko/331411/5 "2005-11-16T23:56:55Z")
Has anything else changed in the household? ---
**Author:** ![femme-fatale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e4f/32.png) [@femme-fatale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femme-fatale)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-gone-whacko/331411/6 "2005-11-16T23:57:49Z")
> [@ENugent](#): > > Take her to the vet. This kind of sudden personality change is associated with a cat that is in pain. I don’t think she’s in pain. She doesn’t meow, or give anything away. But i’ll go check her out, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![femme-fatale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e4f/32.png) [@femme-fatale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femme-fatale)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-gone-whacko/331411/7 "2005-11-17T00:00:01Z")
> [@ILovCoffee](#): > > Has anything else changed in the household? Nope. Nada. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-gone-whacko/331411/8 "2005-11-17T00:02:58Z")
> [@femme--fatale](#): > > I don’t think she’s in pain. She doesn’t meow, or give anything away. But i’ll go check her out, I guess. Cats are pretty stoic when it comes to pain. They don’t tend to make a big deal about it the way humans do, so you might never know. Purring can even be a mechanism for some cats to deal with pain. ---
**Author:** ![ILovCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e99b99/32.png) [@ILovCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ILovCoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-gone-whacko/331411/9 "2005-11-17T00:03:42Z")
Someone’s schedule has changed? New people in the house? New neighbors? If the only “new” thing is the kitty is now a terror get to the vet because something is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![femme-fatale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e4f/32.png) [@femme-fatale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femme-fatale)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-gone-whacko/331411/10 "2005-11-17T00:06:32Z")
> [@ILovCoffee](#): > > Someone’s schedule has changed? New people in the house? New neighbors? If the only “new” thing is the kitty is now a terror get to the vet because something is wrong. Everyone’s schedule has remained pretty consistent ever since we got her. No one new in the picture either. Let’s hope my vet will give me a thorough explanation instead of the usual: “don’t worry, it’s normal”. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-gone-whacko/331411/11 "2005-11-17T00:16:20Z")
If he doesn’t, and she’s still acting up, take her to another vet. ---
**Author:** ![Giant\_Spongess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@Giant\_Spongess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giant_Spongess)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-gone-whacko/331411/12 "2005-11-17T04:59:41Z")
It sounds like she’s in pain (for info about cat in pain behavior, go [here](http://www.messybeast.com/pain-perception.htm)). ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-gone-whacko/331411/13 "2005-11-17T05:03:22Z")
Has there been a stray cat or dog wandering through your yard? I second the “sounds like she’s in pain/sick” camp, but will add the idea that it might also be misplaced aggression. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-gone-whacko/331411/14 "2005-11-17T05:08:45Z")
[Here](http://www.flippyscatpage.com/health.html) is a collection of information about the care of cats. Check out their [behavior](http://www.flippyscatpage.com/health.html#B) section for links to advice/explanations.