Pet question!!!

We have a cat and dog. Our cat(Olivia)is 2, our dog(Princess) is 3. We have had both simce they were babies. They have both been to the vet regularly, both have been vaccinated and are healthy. They are both indoor animals and except for Princess being walked, never go outside. In fact, Olivia (our cat) has never been outside. They have happily co-existed together until today.

This evening, Olivia went off on Princess. All that was lacking was the 360 degree head turn and accompanying pea soup vomit. We separated them and let both chill for a while. Didn't help, Olivia still several hours later was hissing and growling anytime Princess came anywhere near her.

Now, Olivia caught a mouse in our garage last weekend. Even though Olivia has been vaccinated for rabies is it possible for her to have contracted it from the mouse?

Olivia is spending tonight in the garage because we are afraid to have her anywhere near our children or Princess.

Obviously, we will bring her to our vet Monday but (par for the course for us) this has happened on a Saturday when of course she is unavailable. Does anywhere here have experience with cats suddenly turning like this and what was the cause and more important, the solution.

Any thoughts from pet owners?

of a rodent giving anyone rabies.

Maybe be a smell thing? :shrug:

I know they get and transmit rabies.

I don't think that's the case here but she (Oliviakitty) is certainly acting strange.

Bats are their own thing, not rodents.

Also, don't quote me on this, but I think bats only get and give dumb rabies.

Guess I deserved that for asking a question on dul and thinking i'd get an intelligent answer.

Have a great evening :-)

:(

It's hard to convey tone of voice here.

:(

If the cat had dumb rabies, she'd be sitting in the corner drooling, not attacking the dog.

All I wanted was some information.

I don't know what to do with Olivia. Our 8 y/o loves her and will try to grab her up and bring her into his room and I don't think it is safe for him to do so right now. We just don't know what's wrong with her. And can't find out until Monday, hence my query here and in other places.

I spoke with a friend who is an RN and even she didn't understand why Olivia just went after the dog and was so violent in her stance so suddenly. (she's also an animal advocate)

I apologize if I came across as a troll or something...

Didn't cross my mind that you were a troll for a second.

Trolls don't post threads about their cats. ;-)

Rodent - Human rabies transmission is exceptionally rare and has never been reported in the *United States*. It has been document in Europe, however.

I was going off the CDC website. :P

is that her natural primal instincts have come out since she has tasted blood so now she thinks shes animal kingdom kitty.
my suggestion just wait till you speak to the vet but I wouldn't keep her in the garage don't you think that would bring out her freakish behavior a little more. a good spanking can also help.

Pfft! I'd love to witness that (safely from another room, of course!).

Cats can be especially odd and will freak out for what seems like no reason at all. (I have two elderly fixed boys and a female dog that they "helped raise" when she was a puppy)

Olivia may have transferred aggression onto Princess for some reason - she may have been scared (caught in something or fell off something when startled) or hurt (her tail may have been stepped on or she could have stepped on something sharp) and decided Princess was to blame.
Princess may have startled her when Olivia was "hunting" and did not show what Olivia may have considered proper respect.
Or Princess could have just intruded on Olivia's space when she was feeling moody. She could have blocked access to the litter box or food, or decided to sniff Olivia's butt when a cold nose would not be appreciated.

The best thing to do is to keep them somewhat separated, but not do it obviously. Just have the kids (if they're old enough) have Princess play time in a different area out of view of Olivia. Treats are very handy distractions if Olivia sees Princess. A squirt gun is also very handy if she decides to get pissy.

Olivia won't understand why she's being kept in the garage, though - and if that's not something that's usual in her routine, it could freak her out and cause her to act even more aggressively.

The main concern would be if Princess can't leave Olivia alone and becomes aggressive in return.
Shari (our dog) knows "Leave the kitties alone!" and will go sit in her corner if we say that. She also knows she'll get a bloody nose should she continue to bug them if they hiss at her. The only time she gets in their face is when she's jealous of food or attention they've got; we make sure that feeding is at different times and is separated.

I don't think there's a problem with rabies from mice or even rats; squirrels, bats, or raccoons, yes - but not mice. And a week is a bit long for a hunt aggression reaction to appear (If Princess is close to size with Olivia, she may attempt to "hunt" Princess; if Princess is significantly larger, she would appear to Olivia as a competition); I'd expect the longest lapse would take around 48 hours.

By all means, take Olivia to the vet for a checkup - a cat that feels sick will act out with aggression if she wants to be left alone - but if things have settled down, I wouldn't make her stay in the garage any further.

Good Luck

Haele

for your insight.

You know, last week our 8 y/o was messing around with both pets and was putting Olivia right under Princess and she (Olivia) just sat there scared. I had to remove Olivia and send DS to his room. It might be a reason, who knows.

Olivia is used to the garage. It is heated and her food and water are kept out there in the pantry so Princess won't eat it and so she (Olivia) has her own space.

Princess is just a bit larger than Olivia. She is an all black Cocker Spaniel, was the runt so she is pretty small.

The strange thing is they always have gotten along so well until tonight.

Try to calm down. If you are so scared tell your child to leave the cat alone for the time being, but get her out of the garage. And spanking? After all that times has passed? Please don't. She probably just thought "now I've been putting up with this damn dog forever and I'm FED UP with him!"

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Remember Fallujah

Bush to The Hague!

comforts or luxuries or rewards involved. A cat will go off if someone gets in their way of comfort or food.

My cat Sunday Girl did something similar years ago. It was spring and I had opened the window so she could look out into the back yard. She saw me petting the outdoor strays and I thought nothing of it at the time. When I got inside the house, she went ballistic. She cornered me at first until my aunt and my mother tried to get her off of me. She didn't really attack as far as biting or scratching, but she was hissing and growling and spitting and yelling at me. I took my clothes off where I stood and handed them over to get the scent off of me. I took a shower while my mother and my aunt dealt with her. In other words, she cornered them. After they put my clothes in the washing machine, they still had the scent of the stray cats on their hands and didn't quite know what to do with her. After I got out of the shower and put fresh clothes on, she calmed down.

It turned out that she is a very very jealous woman (cat). Anytime I leave the house and come back home, she will sniff me to see if I pass the "have you been cheating" test she has devised for me. That's what it was in my case. She's super jealous.

When I went to New York back in 1995, my aunt had a situation where she petted a cat outside and Sunday Girl corndered her. She finally got stern with her and said she didn't care what kind of hissy fit she was throwing, and that she wasn't afraid. Apparently, it halfway cured Sunday from the worst of her behaviour. However, to this day, when I pet Yogi or Domino, she will grumble under her breath. If you listen pretty close, you can hear her.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/ques&ans/q&a.htm#What%20animals%20get%20rabies
Maybe your dog got into some smell your cat doesn't like? Like, maybe the dog got into another cat's smell?

I have no comment about your cat, though. It is very strange. I don't see how your cat could have rabies, though.

Giving up a 21-0 lead against the fish no less :-(

Still I see promise in Losman-to-Evans. Could be in a few years the next Kelly to Reed?

Man, Losman has quite an arm! I couldn't believe some of the passes he was throwing.

3-13 both years.

Losman to Evans is a tandem in the making.

We need to dump Donohue, get rid of Moulds, and re-sign Nate Clements.

Do you know if London Fletcher will be a Bill next year? I thought he was only signed for 3 years. Mayhaps giving his grousing of last week he needs to go as well.

Oh and keep Aaron Schoebel at all costs!

Olivia continues to act goofy for her. Not as bad as Sat night though.

Our vet wants to do blood tests on her to rule out any medical causes. After that she suggests behaviour therapy. For a cat. I don't think so...

I'll post our vet's findings tomorrow.

lwbaby's mom

My dynamic duo:

"

What a great pic!!!

Olivia looks just like the kitty part of your duo.

The used to snuggle like that until Sat. They seem to now be tentatively be checking each other out now.

Best of luck sorting it out. Sometimes time is the best medicine.

My dogs occasionally bicker amongst themselves. Maybe Princess stepped on Olivia or ate her snack or something. Maybe Olivia is having a health problem and is feeling defensive.

:shrug: I don't know what to do, except ensure that Olivia is healthy and to watch her like a hawk for a few days.

One time my dog stepped on glass. She growled and almost attacked the other two dogs, because she was hurt and felt threatened. As soon as her foot was better, they got along fine.

Olivia has been favoring her right front paw this whole time.

Either way, the vet will check it out tommorrow

Thanks for your post. This whole thing has just freaked me out because I've had various cats for over 20 years and nary a problem and this is just odd to me.

cats tend to be stoic about pain.
she might be hurt somehow and is feeling defensive.
Good luck with the vet and I hope all of you feel better.

my son has two cats, brother and sister, about 2 years old. They are very compatible and close. The boy got an infection and had to go to the vet and from that day on the girl hisses at him and won't come near him. However my son tells me that now that the boy is better they are starting to get along. Maybe one of the animals is sick, but don't assume it is the cat. I would watch them both carefully. I know my animals react to a sick animal as well.

you're right, maybe Princess has an illness that Olivia has picked up on.

Thanks, I'll mention that to the vet tomorrow.

I have two cats who have hated each other from the time they were little. They are both altered males, but they will fight anytime they are near each other. I have patched each of them up before.

The only time they can seem to get along is when it is freezing out. Then they seem to get along in the same house as long as they are in different rooms. It is a pain.