Wits end about cat... I don't know what to do. Boop, can you help me at all?!

Cats do that sometimes, Puss - maybe the stroking was gentle, but maybe she didn't want to be stroked any more, and didn't want to move away.

? I appreciate that this is hard for you, and you may well not agree with what I'm going to say but I'll say it anyway and you can take or leave it.

When I was a child, we had two cats - Simmy was male and totally chilled, you could do anything with him. Sandy was female and v moody - we knew that if you tickled her tummy or stroked her too much when she wasn't in the mood, she'd go for you. Realistically, she is a cat, not a pit bull. There's a limit to the amount of harm she'll do your girls, and they can always walk away if she's getting aggressive.

I can appreciate that you'd rather rehome her, but I honestly don't think your children getting clawed or bitten every now and then is the end of the world.

Bloody hell. That sounds scary. Is your daughter ok? I'm sure you've tried all the well known solutions to calm her down. Sorry, I don't know the history. I take it you've tried feliway diffusers? Also I've got one of my cats on ovarid and zylkene as she's very stressed. Although she never attacks anyone.

I really don't know what to say, but obviously you need to make some kind of decision which is best for Kit and for your family.

It honestly, to me sounds as though you're doing everything you can. Short of completely isolating her which is going to be upsetting for all concerned.

Has Kit always been like this, or is it a relatively recent thing? Also whereabouts are you? One of my friends works for a rehoming centre in Kent. She might have some advice possibly. She's used to dealing with cats with problems.

Ali xxx

Sophie, I know what you are saying and I do concur that she is a cat and that is what they do. But she goes from nowt to utter bloodlust in a blink of an eye and she does do a fair amount of damage when she really goes for it (thankfully only to me usually). I grew up with a unpredicatable cat too but she had nothing on Kit and I worry about other children coming in and being attacked by her (I do warn that she is unpredictable). It probably does sound like a cop out but this has been going on for so long and is just getting worse and worse no matter what we do. I hate that she is unhappy too.

Ali, we are in Croydon and yes I have tried everything I can find on the market. I mentioned it to the Vet and her only response was that she was amazed she hadn't just up and moved out as that is what they usually do rather than offer us some help with her. Any advice your friend can give me would be most welcome.

How old is your cat? And have you tried asking Boop for advice? I know she mostly does dogs but she knows about cats too.

She is 10, I have had her since she was 6 weeks old. The reason she has problems is one of my housemates when I got her used to torment her when I wasn't around, I didn't know anything about it until after we kicked him out and he boasted about it. I will edit to ask Boop for help, thanks!

Well, you know we've taken the decision to rehome two of ours for similar reasons. After a bit of a meltdown about it on here, Lois gave me a hand getting in touch with nice people from the cats' protection league and they are 100% with me in agreeing that our house isn't the best place for our cats.

I never, ever thought I'd do this. I've always been of the opinion that a pet is for life and that minor inconveniences are no reason to just decide that they aren't welcome any more. But after ignoring big, deep scratches to hands and arms of toddler they now go for his eyes. A couple of big scratches within millimetres of his eye were the deciding factor for us. Cats who do that aren't happy, and they need to be somewhere else. In the meantime we're just supervising contact with the cats v closely.

Horrible situation ? good luck with whatever you do.

My cat Harvey is still a bit of a grump. When he was younger he'd turn nasty in an instant. I ended up in casualty when he scratched my eye which was super fun. The only positive thing I can offer is that he has mellowed a lot. Although still if he doesn't get his own way, he can go for you. I like you, worry that when he's out and about he could go for someone, although thankfully as far as I'm aware, this hasn't happened.

I'll see if I can get hold of my friend and see if she, or any of her cohorts have any advice. Also it sounds as though your vet is not being very helpful. Could you maybe speak to another vet who may be a bit more sympathetic?

I'd be too worried about permanent damage to eyes to keep a cat like that.