my 3legged kitty

Question
We Adopted a 7 month old female from the spca. When she arrived at the spca she had her back left leg was mangled up for over a week.They removed her leg and we adopted her about a month later. She has these fits like she is being attacked...she does backward flips in the air and shreds up everything in her way. What can I do to relax her? She attacked my 16 year son's hand when he was only patting her. I do not want to live in fear of her. We love her very much. Help us understand her?

Answer
Jodie,

It would be nice to have a better history on your kitty.  I am wondering if she suffered brain damage in whatever accident left her hind left leg mangled.

You can discuss treatments with your vet to try to get her to relax (Prozac comes to mind).  I would also have her thoroughly checked out by your vet.  Her behavior sounds to me as if she still may be in pain.

You also need to understand that this kitty may never have been socialized to people.  Cats have very, very tough skin and need to learn to be gentle with humans.  The natural form of play for kittens is biting and scratching.  This should not be tolerated around humans.  So, what might appear to be an attack may be a form of rough play. When one of our kittens begins that behavior we stop what we are doing and walk away.  Most cats love affection and learn that rough play with people loses them that attention.  Also, it is important to not rough house with the kitten at all.  Only gentle play from both your family and the kitten is all that should be tolerated.

If, on the other hand, the cat gets more and more aggressive, it would indicate there is a further medical issue which may or may not be reasonable to resolve.  If the cat responds more gently to gentle play and does not get worse, than in a matter of weeks, things should get better.

Please let me know how things go.

Best regards.... Norm.