In my years of rescue I have taken care of some odd aggression (attacking people seriously) problems in cats by simply introducing another cat into the previously one cat household. Two cases of such both primary cats were male. However, in this situation- I would highly suspect the person the cat is lashing out at, are they a drinker etc. Just the other day I heard of a dad who pinches hard when hes been drinking and in a bad mood, enough to make the cat cry out, hiss, and hide for hours. Otherwise I would suspect the other people in the household took the time to gain this cats trust while the dad has not or he is simply being too rough or going for a sensitive area that may have pain/injury. Personally, I’d get rid of the dad, problem solved.

As for the puppy, people should dig it up and get rid of it all or put it behind a sturdy well taken care of fence. Not much for options there to be safe.

When the palms get older they
sprout soft feathery shoots that come up around the roots.
These were sprouting when we put the puppy on the patio. Since
puppies chew on everything in sight, she found the shoots from the
palms. She was five months old. We did not realize that she was
eating the shoots, until one day we took her out to the sheep yard and
all of a sudden she went into a stupor. She came out of it but continued
to appear depressed. We took her to the vet and he ran a lot of lab test.
When the test came back with Bile Acids at over 300, he said she had
been eating something poisonous. Her liver had been damaged beyond repair. We immediately knew that it had
to be the Sago palm. She continued to degress and formed a lot of
fluid on her little body. We had to have her put to sleep, with much
saddness as we love out dogs like family.

The 8 year old mama dog is
now showing symptoms of liver disease. We took her to the vet this week
and when he ran a live profile, her bile acids came back also over 300.
We had no ideas that she had even been eating on the plant also. We will
eventually have to have her put to sleep, as she has already began to put on fluid.
The vet said that he had never seen a dog live with bile acids this high, although
we are giving her all the treatment that he recommends. I hope this helps someone.

My youngest cat (estimated 3-1/2 to 4 yrs old) was a member of a feral cat colony before he decided to come inside out of the November rains in 2003 and live the good life. He was (and still is) afraid of most men and doors. It took almost 2 years but he finally does not run from the room or hide under the freezer when my husband enters the room. The other day he even let my husband pet him. Tasty cat treats, lots of interactive play with toys that can be chased, and a ton of patience were the key for us. He still runs from other males, so having a safe hiding place might help. I am glad our Charlie is still afraid of doors- makes it easier to keep him inside.

Our other 2 cats are older (9 and 10 yrs, both female) and do go outside for supervised play. They were rescues too with their own personalities and issues. Such nice little creatures!

On the indoor poisonous plants, perhaps putting the plants high out of reach of the puppy would help (unless he proves to be a climber). I don’t keep many indoor plants (outside of pet grass, aloe, and spider plants) because of my 9 yr old cat. She will chew on plants if given the slightest opportunity.

The poisonous plant issue has always baffled me, so I just gave up on inddor plants. (My pets never ingested any, but I didn’t take any chances since I always seem to have at least one who enjoys an occasional salad!

Pat in Antioch