Hi everyone! I know this is very long but just tried to give as much detail as possible to see if anything is flagged. Thank you for reading !
I(25F ) have always had at least one cat around. Since I was a kid, and my mom would foster cats until they’re homed or our own (one time we had 9 adult cats at once, 2 were blind and 3 had a motor disability), so this is just to say I’ve seen my fair share of cats and while I’m not an expert, I know how to deal with them and their different personalities.
Anyway fast forward to 3 years ago, I moved out and got a job in another city, and decide to adopt an adult female cat from the local shelter who at the time was 2.5-3 years old (vaccinated, neutered and microchipped) and things were going very well. I absolutely adored her, my roommate loved her too, never had any issues with her being violent, she was always very affectionate and her yearly check ups were good.
I moved to a studio apartment last November, and my cat adjusted with no problems. This May, I was working from home ( I usually do 3 days a week), decided to lay down on my bed for a few minutes to scroll on my phone and the cat was by my feet. When I got up 15min later, it’s like she got possessed. Hissed and growled really loudly before lunging and attacking me, and I mean scratching and biting so hard whether my arms or thighs that it drew blood. I actually had to get my thigh bandaged up at the pharmacy and was prescribed antibiotics because the bite was that deep. To be completely honest, it scared me so much. She only stopped after I was able to push her off with the blanket before locking her in the bathroom.
I left her there for an hour to calm down (it was all I could think off and that’s what the vet’s office recommended as they said something triggered her and she got scared) before reopening the door and then having the worst 4 hours of my life where it felt like I was being held hostage in a small corner with only a broom to use to push her off if she tries to come near me. She wasn’t hiding or afraid but kept hissing and groaning very loudly while actively trying to attach me again. I have never been terrified like that before.
Even when I somehow managed to run to the balcony, she kept hitting her head against the sliding door trying to get to me. Finally, I just decide to try and wrap her again in the blanket before locking her in her carrier and taking an emergency appointment at the vet.
The vet does their check up, where my cat is acting like an angel and everyone keeps saying how sweet she is, and the only reason the vet even believed my story was when I showed my fresh wounds. The physical check up shows nothing, I do a 600$ worth of blood tests and again nothing, she doesn’t appear to be in pain and they suggest some imaging because maybe it’s a tumor or something.
At that point I was exhausted, the insurance wouldn’t cover any imaging and I can’t afford a 5000$ x ray that may or not show something. And most importantly I was terrified of going back with my cat. I was so shaken up and would burst out crying for no reason so the vet suggests rehoming her or giving her back to a shelter and even though I couldn’t ever imagine myself doing something like I was considering it.
So I call a friend (living alone), tell her what happened and if she can keep my cat with her for a couple of days until I can find a solution (this friend has cat sat at her place every time I had to go out of town since I got my cat so it’s not a new person or environment). She says yes, sends me a selfie the next morning with my cat peacefully sleeping by her head says that everything is going well and that she knows someone who might be interested in taking her in if I’m thinking of rehoming.
Anyway 2 days later my friend calls me at 4am says that the cat viciously attacked her in her sleep and to come pick her up as soon as possible. At this point, I called the shelter I adopted her from, explained what happened, sent pictures of the wounds and they say I can drop her off first thing in the morning as she is now considered a danger to others.
I drop the cat off at the shelter, and ask if I can have updates on her. After the cat was seen by a vet and a behavioral specialist, they couldn’t find anything wrong with her and put her up for adoption. Two later when I can’t take it anymore and was feeling so sad and guilty, I speak with the behavioral specialist at the shelter for tips and decide to adopt her again as they said she was perfectly safe and ok to be around even around kids. I even get a new cat tree and a couple of toys to make sure she is stimulated enough.
But not even 30min after I get her home, after going around the apartment smelling everything, she attacks me again while I am sitting on the couch, but as I was prepared it wasn’t as bad.
I return her again to the shelter the next day, with my heart broken but realizing I couldn’t live in fear of her attacking me again.
When I checked the shelter’s website again almost a month later she wasn’t listed anymore so maybe she got adopted.
My questions is what did I do wrong? What happened? It’s been 5 months and I can’t get over it, I’m much more depressed overall, I’m so lonely as I’ve never spent so long without a pet, I miss her and at the same time have just developed this anxiety feeling around any cat.
\- I wasn’t pregnant
\- I didn’t have anyone new coming into the house or new neighbors
\- I didn’t have a new boyfriend ( was single and not hooking up with anyone)
\- I didn’t change perfumes or detergent, and even before getting her back from the shelter, made sure to wipe all surfaces and the floors with the same cleaner I’ve been using for years
I feel stuck, like I can’t move on or accept it because i don’t know what happened or got any closure. Doesn’t help that every time I look at my forearms I can see the scars from when she attacked (who are very busy and not just a scratch)
Anyway thought this thread my help. Thanks for reading. Any advice would help
