When Kitties Go Wild

We rent a small apartment. It was my son's 11th birthday and we were going to celebrate at our apartment. Everything was going as planned. I was sitting outside when one of the older children came running out yelling "Get her off of me!". I had no clue as to what he was referring to until he turned around. What I saw shocked me. My small female cat was attached to his back. I was quite shocked to see this. Normally when we have children over she just hides out somewhere. I yelled for my cat "Baby" to get off of him. She jumped off and ran in the house. She then (claws out) preceded to climb up another one of the children. He was of course quite frightened and was crying. We were finally able to get all the children out of the house and had locked the cat in my bedroom. The two children had some nasty scratches but were ok.

I was in shock wondering what in the world just happened to my cat. I know she has never loved it when we had kids running around the house but she has never once attacked them. I had a million thoughts going through my head. Did I have to get rid of her? Was she ill? Did one of the kids hurt her? Had she completely lost her mind? One thing I did know is that I needed to figure out at least a portion as to what happened. I couldn't risk anyone else getting hurt. I also didn't want to have to give up my cat if it turned out she wasn't "mental".

In the end I found out that she had a very nasty bladder infection. The child who had first been attacked had been running down our hall way. He had accidentally squished her against the wall with his weight. That was when she had attacked him. My thoughts are that she was already in pain only to have it become worse once stepped on. The second child attacked was younger but similar in looks to the first one attacked.

I ended up getting her spayed thinking this would help her temperament. We were also given antibiotics for her bad bladder infection. She is doing well now and we have not had another incident since. It has now been a year.

If your cat does a 180 on you I suggest doing the following:

1. Put the cat in an area where it can calm down for a bit. Once they are that worked up it takes awhile for them to calm down.
DO NOT pick up your cat if you can help it when they are in attack mode.
2. Try to think back to remember if your cat had been acting sickly or different.
3. Make sure any cats that venture outside get their shots. Rabies is a bad thing!!
4. Is it too hot in the house?... Animals get more grumpy when they are overheated. It is best not to try to do any rough house playing at that time.

You might ask "How can I tell if my cat has a bladder infection?"
My cat did not show any of the normal signs of having an infection. But I am told that the signs are:

1. You find your cat cleaning their private areas more than normal.
2. Cat seems to be straining when going to the bathroom.
3. They have all of a sudden taken to peeing out of the liter box.

I hope these words of wisdom help you if you find yourself in the same situation that I was.

Amy H.