I am looking for factual information as well as general advice or opinion, and realize that this is mundane & pointless to everyone but me, so if this is in the wrong place, please move to the most appropriate forum.
All critters mentioned are adult, previously healthy, fully vaccinated cats.
Last night, 10 pm-ish, Incerta (4 years, bottom of the 3 cat hierachy) started the “cat fight yowl.” I got up, yelling for “everybody” to knock it the hell off. Monsterkitty (very mellow, top of the feline hierarchy, 15 1/2 yrs old) was cowering in a corner, growling that low, scared-cat growl, and occasionally hissing. I picked him up and carried him back to bed with me. He was acting like a frightened kitten again (trying to hide under my hair, trembling, etc.), but eventually (11:30-ish) calmed down enough to stop growling, and even stopped hissing at the mere sight of Incerta.
1 am: Awakened by Monsterkitty growling & yowling – while still purring and hiding under the blankets – at nothing. He was trembling & panting. Of course, Incerta comes to see what the fuss is about, and MK completely freaks. So I locked her in the basement, and went back to trying to keep him calm.
3 am: MK finally stopped growling & yowling, and we all got almost a whole hour sleep.
3 am to now: MK is curled up under the bed, Incerta is being strangely aggressive, and Bat is staying well away from both of them. Incerta is currently locked in the basement (with food, water & a litter box), but that is not a reasonable solution for more than a few hours.
I’m trying to avoid taking MK to the Vet – he is very traumatized by car rides, and I’d really rather not do that to him if I don’t have to. His vet is 30 miles away, and treats small animals only as a courtesy to her large animal owners. I have a call in to her answering service, but she is not in the office today. She does not make small animal housecalls.
Husband is threatening to take Incerta to the pound, for “turning mean.” It’s an empty threat, but this is not a tolerable change in her behavior.
The only thing I can think of (with my sleep-deprived brain) is that MK had a heart attack, and that stupid, neurotic Incerta is reacting to him being very ill.
I’m hesitant to call a new vet for emergency phone advice. If I don’t hear back from his old vet soon, or if he gets bad again, I will probably take him in to the nearest small animal practice that answers the phone. Is there anything that can be done for a cat having a heart attack? If it just making the end easier, I think he’d be better staying here. Or maybe the stress of the car would make it faster anyway.
I do have one acepromazine (sp?) left, prescribed for transport to his yearly vaccination appointment. Is it considered generally safe to give it to a cat exhibiting these types of symptoms? Should I give it to suddenly aggressive cat instead?
Any ideas or advice?