Hi everyone,
It’s been 3 years now since we adopted our cat, who’s our best mate. We took him in when he was barely 8 weeks old. He was the only one in the litter and his mum completely abandoned him, so he was never properly weaned or socialised.
He’s always had a bit of a strange temperament and we used to wonder if it really was 'Tiger Syndrome'. Following a recent house move (we think), his symptoms have flared up and he’s started carrying out violent attacks, particularly targeting my partner. The vet finally put a name to it this week. He’s now on medication (Neurontin) and we’re learning to live with the condition while making quite a few changes to our daily routine to limit his outbursts. We’re already seeing improvements after just a few days.
Just for context, he hardly ever goes out, except onto our terrace, as he’s always been terrified of outside noises.
I’m writing this post to get some tips from anyone else living with a cat that also has Tiger Syndrome.
On our end, here’s what we’ve changed so far:
- No more free-feeding; he now has set mealtimes so that we’re the ones providing the food again.
- We put him in a separate room for 10-minute 'time-outs' several times a day. As the humans, we want some peace and quiet, so we decide when he’s confined.
- Two days ago, I took away a soft toy that he spent all his time 'hunting' because he often became aggressive towards us right after playing with it.
- He no longer sleeps with us at night and doesn't have access to most of the flat during the night – this helps establish that we have more territory than he does.
We’d love to hear any tips you have to improve his life and ours, so that things can get back to being pleasant for everyone.
Have a good evening,
P-A
