Chunk attacking Lucy...need to know how to nip it!

[Tina B and crew]

Chunk's territorial issue with Lucy seems to have escalated this past week. He's due to go back to the vet this week so I will be chatting with her about it as well and I'm wondering if it has anything to do with his physical issues. He's always had a dominance issue, but it has never been anything major. Lucy usually handles it fairly well on on her own. However, twice in the past two days Chunk has attacked her while she was in the litter box. This is new, I don't ever recall him doing this before. Last night he had her cornered in it (It is an open box but it sits in a corner) and tonight he must have got her while she was mid stream, because when I heard the ruckus I came in here and she was crouched up in her chair with Chunk down below staring at her. There was litter and urine in the floor next to the box. I am sure Lucy was the one in the litter box because I had heard her in here digging when I saw Chunk heading this way. I have never seen him act this persistently or aggressively. The only thing that has changed has been his urinary issues. Any thoughts? I do not want Lucy to get to the point that she is hesitant to use the box. We do have two boxes, in two different rooms, but they both prefer this box to the other one.

[Traci]

Well you know the drill...beyond the oxalates diagnosis, what else has changed recently? The recheck urinalysis should rule out a potential pain issue (which could cause increased aggression). Whenever a cat ambushes another cat at the litterbox, it is usually due to a recent stressful event, can you think of anything since the last vet visit? Are you having to separate them during feedings? If so, has there been any problems with that? Is he on antibiotics? If so, is he fighting you when administering them?

Do you think he knows you're caring for Doc? (can he smell his scent?) Are YOU stressing lately?

You said when he was diagnosed, you added a new litterbox, do both cats use that one too?

[Tina B and crew]

No antibiotics or other meds
Doc has been here since May so I don't think he is the issue
Feeding in the same room with no problems
No changes in the house
No stress out of the ordinary
Yes, they are both using the new litter box
The coyotes were pretty active (howling) outside tonight so I don't know if that could have been a factor
I wasn't home last night when he did it, I was down at my daughters. They do have cats (Chunk's siblings) so I did likely have their odor on me when I got home today.
We do have a stray/feral cat that comes around on occasion...not sure if he has been around recently. My vet recommended trying to find a way to repel it just in case it was part of his problem.


I am mainly concerned about him going after her while she urinated. I'd hate for her to develop an aversion to the box because of this.

[Traci]

When is the recheck?

Might be a long shot, but if he's uncomfortable, or painful (or infection or even a little inflammation), I wonder if he was needing the litterbox when Lucy was already in it (and maybe he has "first claim" to it?). I've had that happen here before (only once though). I do have ambushes once in awhile, but I can nearly always pinpoint the problem why, it's usually due to something that occured in the home very recently (in our case, a kitty guest, or because someone got reprimanded earlier).

I doubt the feral/stray is the problem, since if it was, this would be occuring more often. My guess is he's uncomfortable, or got reprimanded earlier (?), or is stressing about something. Maybe get him trained to use the new litterbox more often, physically place him into it, but don't stress him.

[Tina B and crew]

He has an appointment in the morning.

This IS the new litter box. They have taken to it quite well. The old litter box was also replaced, but they seem to have taken to this one in my office instead.

I cannot think of anything that might have happened to cause this. Like I said, he has always shown mild dominance/aggression toward Lucy but I've never seen him go after her in the litter box before. We've often wondered if it was jealousy, but we do our best to make sure that both get plenty of attention as well as equal play time. I do my best to give Chunk a good play session at least once a day.

Even after all that Lucy is still going up to Chunk and giving him pressies.

[Tina B and crew]

I am wondering if Chunk doesn't feel well. He was not interested in his food when I fed them their evening meal and he has been sleeping under the couch all day. He normally stays under there when he's upset by something (like visitors). He goes in first thing in the morning so I will mention it all to the vet.

[Traci]

Yep, pain, discomfort and stress could all be factors. Let us know how the vet visit goes, ok?

[Tina B and crew]

Well...it seems like we keep finding more things...hopefully nothing serious but still kind of disconcerting for a cat who isn't even 3 yet. Upon arriving at the vet we noticed his back left paw was bleeding. The vet tech , upon checking it out, discovered a soft nodule like growth next to one of his nails. It isn't on the pad but on the furry toe area and the growth is kind of purple/black. It has to be relatively new because I did not notice it the last time I clipped his nails. At any rate, she did an x-ray just to rule out tumors since he has lost more weight than what he should have (11 oz since his last visit) and since lung cancer can sometimes metastasize to the feet. X-ray showed his lungs were clear but he does have some mild arthritis in his spine. She is going to try to get fluid from the growth and do cytology on it for now, but we will eventually have it removed (sooner than later). She did say it could just be a benign nodule as well or a fungal infection. As usual he did not have urine in his bladder when we got there so again they are keeping him to see if they can get a good sample. She wants to repeat the in house urinalysis as well as send it out. She's also doing a SeniorScreen on him for blood work as well as ionized calcium.

At any rate, it was a lot to take in today. After the sudden aggressiveness and the semi-lethargic mood yesterday coupled with some inappetence I am glad he had the appointment today. Just hoping all of this is nothing serious.

[Tina B and crew]

Ok...he's back home. Took him all day to give them a urine sample!! They are sending that and blood off to the lab and will let me know what they results are. She's waiting until all that comes back before we do anything with the foot. Just antibiotic ointment and keeping an eye on it for now. If it gets worse I will have him back in immediately.

The good news is he ate really well when I fed him after he got home!

[Traci]

Were they able to actually aspirate fluid from the nodule? If so, that might carry a better outcome than something that is massy and unable to draw fluid from. Since it was bleeding, believe it or not, that might also be a better sign.

When are you expecting bloodwork back?