[pking]

After discovering a very sick house cat near our home, we transported the animal to our local vet. They prescribed an eye ointment, for a severe eye infection, ear drops for mites. Also, they removed a B-B pellet from an area behind the cats right ear where someone had shot it. Cat weighed in a 3lbs.

At the Vet's office, the Vet advised me that the cat, a male, was 6-8 months old, not neutered and was suffering from a genetic eye disease that turned the cats eye lids inwards(I Forgot the technical name). Also, a Vet assistant cautioned me that the cat bit her while she was tending to it. The cat displayed lots of affection when immediately handled and then would turn angry if it was returned to it's cage.

Over the following 6 days, the cat has been getting stronger and putting on weight. Yesterday, while handling the cat, which still displayed lot's of affection initially. Then scene became ugly when the cat, which was on the floor, attacked by ankle area and then my hand, causing injury.

My Question is. Has this cat gone wild? Is it a mental disorder problem? Or could it be some type of separation disorder?

[froggy7]

Did the cat make a lot of noise when it attacked? If not, it could simply be playing. Cats play very roughly with each other, because they have a nice thick coat of fur that helps protect them. Attacking feet and hands is often the way a cat play-fights with a human. Now, it doesn't mean that you have to like it! It can also be a response to over-stimulation, if a cat has been petted past a point where it is comfortable. So, if you could provide a better description of what was happening before and during the attack, I could give you better advice on how to stop it.

[pking]

The cat mad a growling noise while it attacked my hand using it's teeth and rear claws.
No noise was heard when it atteched my ankle.

Leading up to the incident, I was sitting in a chair and the cat was sitting on my lap, looking for attention. I was petting him, rubbing his head, back which he liked. This was ongoing for approximately 15 minutes. I then stood up and moved to the center of the room when he went for my ankle. I scolded him. Then, I leaned over to pick up and item that was laying on the floor, an old sock that he was playing with earlier, he latched onto my hand-wrist area and bit & clawed. I had to use my other hand to release him from his grip on me.

[froggy7]

Ok. Given his age and how you described it, it sounds like he's play fighting. He pounced on your ankles, and when you reached down, he just assumed that you wanted to play more.

So, first let's deal with the ankle attack. Whenever he does this, you need to either hiss like a mad cat, or else yelp like a kitten that's gotten hurt. Then ignore him for a bit (doesn't need to be too long, just like putting a kid in time out). Same thing when he grabs your hand. Then, you need to give him something that's not you to play with. If you are willing to sacrifice the sock, stuff a little catnip in it, tie a knot, and tie it to a string. Then you can dangle it, drag it, etc. so your kitty can pounce and play to his heart's content, and yet not be within claw reach of you. Give the toy a name (mine's a "chase-string"), so that you can teach your cat what to play with. Keep it handy, so that you can distract him before he pounces. (In this case, it's been my experience that cat grooming sessions tend to turn into wrestling matches. So, you are through petting, you stand up, and when kitty jumps down and starts running at you, you say "chase-string!" and dangle it in front of him, twitch it a little, and, if you have been using the name frequently in the play sessions, he'll think "ah hah! grab the sock!" And then, if you want to do something else, you can leave him happily clawing away at the sock.)

And finally... he's a young cat. You might consider getting him a companion cat. Two really aren't that much harder to take care of than one, and it will give him an acceptable outlet for his energy, plus another cat will help him learn boundaries of what's acceptable play behavior. Just make sure that they are spayed/neutered, since you don't want to wind up with a whole bunch of kittens.