so a few days ago, my neighbors decided to pop in and claim one of my cat's kittens for themselves. the kittens being only 1 month old and still suckling for their mother, i told my neighbor that it wasn't possible since the kitten and mother are still not ready for separation. after she insisted on her having experience with young kittens and with my mother by her side, i was cornered and had no chance but to "give it a try."
while my neighbor was deciding on which kitten to take, i heard a deep guttural growl coming from outisde my room and when i opened the door my cat sandy (the mother of the kittens) was standing their with her back arched and fur standing on end. i was confused by her behavior because she hadn't seen the stranger to her entering the house and neither did she know what was happening inside the room (i'm guessing it's a mother's instinct?). but when she saw my neighbor holding the box (carton box she was supposed to carry the kitten in) i grabbed the box from her and threw it across the room. sandy attacked it, and after a few seconds of horrible screeching and clawing at it, she looked my way with the most terrifying look and attacked my head.
what she did was to defend her kittens, but she attacked me specifically because i was like the second mother to the kittens and she's always known that (when she gave birth on of the kittens got stuck in a hole in the cupboard she was in and i saved it, i also used to always move their nest and she never had a problem, i was also potty-training them and helping with them with eating solid food) so she must have instinctively victimized me for trying to separate her from her kittens.
anyway, after the incident my mom trapped her in a room downstairs with her kittens (with a supply of catfood and water, don't worry) and took me to the hospital. we decided after that that we keep her trapped their for a few hours until she cools down. so the next morning, i opened the door to the room and the second she saw me, she hissed and looked ready to attack me again, so i retreated quickly. i decided that she might need a few days until she's alright with me again. but the same day, my mom went inside the room to fetch something, and sandy seemed cool and had no problem, until my mom carried a box to move it from her way. here, sandy got into the same position she was in before she attacked me the day before, but my mom escaped before she could do anything.
after a few hours my mom opened the door for her and she walked out seeming cool and like she forgot everything, not even glancing my mom's way. but just then my little sister's friends were visiting and, again, sandy became all terrifyingly aggressive. they managed to run into a room before she attacked them. we again put her back inside her room. her almost-attack happened again today as my mom was in her room and just innocently nudged a box containing pens out of her way.
my mom called the vet that immunized sandy when she was still a kitten (and also installed that traveling chip thing) and told him about our situation. he, according to my mom, said that sandy is from now on an aggressive and dangerous cat, and we should get rid of her (but i honestly think my mom didn't explain it right to him). this confuses me because sandy's only becoming aggressive when she claims one of our actions as a sign that we're going to steal her kittens, and PLUS she's only acting that way because of what was about to happen the other day when our neighbor was picking out a kitten. she's not attacking unprovoked.
so, really, i don't know what to do. sandy's actions, in my eyes (even though i'm the only injured victim), seems like natural behavior and it's our own fault for it. so please, what should i do? will spaying her bring her back to her normal behavior? (she NEVER minded it when guests and strangers came to look at her kittens and pet them) if not, is there any other solution? or should i just get rid of her? (i really [
really] don't want to.
it's not her fault. plus we've been inseparable for the past year and a half. :'( )