Cat went crazy, animal control took to shelter

Question
Dear Tabbi:

As I write this I am absolutely heart broken.  My mother has had a cat, Chloe, for about six years.  She got Chloe from a pound when she was about 5 weeks old, so she was probably taken from her mother too young.  I don't know anything else about her history, or if her mother was feral.  Chloe is an "only kitty" and has never been very affectionate to anyone that visited my mom (she always hissed at me), and she sometimes wasn't even that affectionate to my mom.
A couple of years ago, Chloe had an "episode" where she just freaked out on my mom, hissing and being very mean and aggressive for no apparent cause, and my mom couldn't calm her down.  I don't remember how long this lasted, but I believe it was less than a day.  The next two years passed without any more incidents until three days ago.  Something set her off, and this time she was absolutely out of control.  My mother was scared for her safety and closed herself in her bedroom, afraid Chloe would attack her during the night.
The next morning she seemed to be okay for a little while, but then she started it again.  Hissing and growling, acting violent and aggressive.  My mom got Chloe closed up in a room by herself, and called the vet, who of course, told her to bring Chloe in.  My mom and a friend of hers tried to "catch" her so they could take her to the vet, and were unable to get near her.  This basically went on all day, until, feeling she was left with no choice, my mom called Animal Control who came and got her and took her to a nearby shelter.  My mom was told that Chloe would be euthanized.
Despite the fact that Chloe was never affectionate to me, I am absolutely heartbroken at the thought of her being killed.  My mom doesn't have the money to have Chloe run through all kinds of test to determine what could be wrong with her, and I don't feel like I can take her because I already have two wonderful cats who I don't want to be affected.  At this point, even if Chloe hasn't been euthanized yet, my guess is that she has been terribly traumatized by all of this, and would be even less friendly than before, but I just feel like I should do SOMETHING.  Please help me to understand what's going on.

Kelli

Answer
Kelli,

It IS sad, but sometimes cats, like people, have mental and emotional problems. You may never know what set the cat off. It may have been real or imaginary. She could also have developed something like a brain tumor, or something neurological.

There are SO many LOVING cats at shelters that are going to be euthanized because of over-population who will never get a chance to know love or have a home, have enough to eat, or even catch their first mouse. They are the cats for your mother rather than to try and keep a cat that could be dangerous, that she is scared of, and could possible injure her, and due to possible hereditary genes, doesn't want to be loved.

I know it's hard, but in this situation you should think with your head and not your heart.

Tabbi

Edit:
Something I neglected to add. Some cats can have something accidental happen that you are not aware of and they will react like your mom's cat if they are in severe pain. It is possible that she got that she ran into poked in her, a rubberband wrapped around a part of her, swallowed something that was burning her, etc.