Adopted blind cat - way too aggressive

Hi guys!
I need urgent advice; last week my mom found a blind cat wondering around a bank, near the vet clinic I work at. He comes when called but doesn't allow to be held. My mom couldn't catch her and asked me to do it so I did, brought it to the vet, cleaned, vaccinated and castrated it and brought it home.

At first, it wasn't too aggressive (though it did rip my hands to bits while being vaccinated) and my two cats home were hissing and hitting it (we cut their nails before introducing the new cat so as to avoid injuries) but by the second day, they were getting along pretty well.

It's been 5 days now and while he is making himself home (jumping on couches, sleeping on blankets and beds etc.), he is hissing at us even when we walk by. If Jon (though he acts more like Joffrey) is sitting in the doorway, we can't enter the room because he bites and scratches our legs, even if we don't touch him.
He jumps on my lap and sleeps there, rubs against my legs and purrs and I don't even breathe but he suddenly starts biting for no reason.

He is particularly aggressive and visibly uncomfortable when my little brother is around although he hasn't even touched him.

We are all getting paranoid, even the cats, and my mom wants to take it back where we got him before he gets too accustomed to indoors (I contacted the rescues I worked for and they all say that if he is THAT aggressive it either won't be adopted or will be kicked out of whatever home it finds).

He is the least aggressive when around me but I will leave for a week for an interview (overseas student) and my mom really isn't comfortable with the cat. She is afraid that he might attack my brother when he's asleep (my other cat likes sleeping next to him so we have to leave the door open), and that might very well be the case.

I don't want to give him away or drop him off (he has access to food there as the shops around feed him).
Oh, and he is 1.5-2 years old and has been blind since it was a kitten, maybe even born blind.

What should I do?

Reply 1

l'etranger

That's quite sweet :colondollar:

We have a cat who was abused before we adopted him and he was very shy and didn't trust people and it took maybe 1-2 years before he was fully comfortable around the house, in fact for the first 6 months his behaviour was very odd :tongue:

If he's damaging the upholstery you could get some matching covers until he calms down and until then wear jeans around your legs.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 2

shawtyb

id feel angry too if i was blind and dumped on the streets.
give him time

Reply 3

silver001

Original post by l'etranger

That's quite sweet :colondollar:

If he's damaging the upholstery you could get some matching covers until he calms down and until then wear jeans around your legs.

We guessed that it might take a while but until then, my mom doesn't want any of us to be hospitalized! 😂I am trying to convince her, and she has the softest spot for unfortunate street animals.

I will certainly tell her about your cat. How did you get it to trust you, if you did anything speciel at all?

Thanks by the way x

Reply 4

username1884577

As the previous poster said, if I were blind and had no home I'd be quite angry

Imagine being blind and not knowing what's going on around you and having to always be on edge, the poor thing doesn't have it easy
Give him time to adjust

Reply 5

silver001

Original post by shawtyb

id feel angry too if i was blind and dumped on the streets.
give him time

We know - the only way he could be safe was to turn to aggression, most likely. But we need a way to show him that we won't hurt him.

Reply 6

l'etranger

Original post by silver001

It was a gradual process with our cat, when he first came he would hide behind sofas and under the kitchen units for the first couple of weeks and only came out to feed from his bowl when we weren't around. There was no secret or trick, he gradually spend more time out in the open and we paid him more attention when he was out rather than hiding and he spend more and more time in the open as he felt more comfortable, we just made sure to let him go if he was getting scared or trying to run away.

Reply 7

username2703735

The place I work occasionally takes in cats to be rehomed. Even those with vision can be particularly aggressive and off their food/water for a week or so until they start to come round to their new environment and trust those around them. A cat with no vision will take significantly longer to come around. Food is always a good tool to use when trying to get the cat used to you.

Reply 8

SilverstarDJ

Original post by silver001

At first, it wasn't too aggressive (though it did rip my hands to bits while being vaccinated) and my two cats home were hissing and hitting it (we cut their nails before introducing the new cat so as to avoid injuries) but by the second day, they were getting along pretty well.

Are your two cats at home adults? Be aware that cats are not social animals and if they are introduced when they are social mature (1-2 years) there might always be conflict and stress in a multicat household which can cause this stray to be "on edge" and more likely to attack you or your family. Cats will only use direct conflict as a last resort - behaviours such as staring is actually quite agressive behaviour between cats yet is passive so often goes unnoticed. This adopted cat may not be used to being in such close proximity to other cats.

Make sure you provide spread the resources around the house, feed them separately and have at least 4 litter trays in the house (rule of thumb is no of cats + one).

Consider using a Feliway diffuser in order to make all the cats comfortable.

Your mum has a right to be worried about a cat who is displaying aggressive behaviours - cats scratches can be serious and I have plenty of friends who have been hospitalised on IV antibiotics due to cat scratches/bites.

Have you considered working with a behaviourist? Perhaps your vets can recommend someone? It is difficult to know what sort of life the cat has been used to in the past and what experiences he may or may not have had. Potentially this could be a massive change in his lifestyle. With the loss of one sense he may also be more easily started than a cat who is able to see.