Whispers from the Myth Teller

Yesterday, I had a friend visit me in the afternoon for tea. My cat Newton was padding around, hopping up for affection, and just being his affectionate self. Then my friend announced she was going to the bathroom, so she stood up and walked off and Newton bounded after her. "She's not going to feed you, dumbass!" I called after him.

Then I heard that horrible, deep-throated growl that cats make, followed by a shriek from my friend. I rushed to the bathroom and found that Newton had cornered my friend and was making a lunge for her leg. I chased him out and into the bedroom and closed the door. My friend then made a hasty exit. She later confirmed that she had two bloody gashes in her leg, but I haven't heard anything since.

I took Newton to the vet today and they are running some blood tests to check the thyroid and everything else. He's been losing alot of weight lately and there was some vomiting a couple of months ago, but since we switch to soft food only, he's been putting weight back on.

The behaviour is very weird for Newton though. He's usually very affectionate and likes attention from people. If he gets annoyed, he usually gives lots of warning before becoming aggressive. But in the last few months, the random attacks have been increasing and yesterday's out-of-the-blue attack is cementing a pattern. Other times we figured it was that he was being startled by a loud noise, but with this last incident, there was no loud noise, no provocation, and no warning.

I feel awful and sick to my stomach, both for my friend and for my cat. If the tests don't come up with something, we may have to consider putting him down, the thought of which tears me apart. But I can't have my guests fearing for their well-being because I have a cat in the house. Although he's never attacked me, he has attacked sarahcarotte once. This cannot stand.

I can only hope my friend can forgive me for my cat's misbehavior. And I really hope we find a solution for the cat because I don't know how I'm going to deal with watching another of pets die by my decision.

Last night, I had to lock Newton in the office and let Dinger out of the bathroom 'cause he was making so much noise fiddling with the doorknob. This gave Dinger a chance to exploring the apartment a bit, although at about 5 am, he climbed up into the bed with us.

This morning, I let Newton out of the office to feed him and I put Dinger back into the bathroom. While he was eating, I tried to get into the bathroom to feed Dinger, but Dinger ran out. And now the fur was flying! Hissing, spitting, claws, feline smackdown! Dinger lay flat on his back with his legs flaying while Newton propped himself up on his hind legs for the Ultimate Terror Pose.

They chased each other around a few times and now Dinger's hiding under the couch. Newton patrols in and out of the living room, occasionally going under the couch, and both of them are rumbling with that awesome kitty growling/yowling. I can't get Dinger out from under the couch and Newton seems satisfied to keep him under there. I've tried to feed Dinger a couple of times, but he's too freaked out.

I know, I know... This is only the second day of the two cats getting to know each other, but this is my first time experiencing this. I feel so guilty for thrusting this new cat on Newton, but I also feel bad for putting Dinger in this new situation. I just hope they can find a way to live with each other.