aggressive cat
Written by kim
i have recently introduced a new cat to our home. we have 3 cats 2 males about 2 years old and a female who is 7 years old. in february we adopted another male cat who was 10 months old. everyone has been neutered. all was going well until about a month ago. the new cat is attacking the older female and biting her severly. i have separated them and trying to reintroduce. it doesn't seem to be going well. everytime he sees her he wants to attack. i have no problems between the boys and the other 2 don't get involved in these attacks. we are very attached to both of these cats now and are desperate for some help!!
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Kim, I unerstand your anxiety, I have been in that situation. First thing to rule out is that neither the younger male or the older female have a new medical issue. An underlying medical condition could make the attacker grumpy or the victim appear weak which can invite being picked on.
Next, is there anything new going on outside your house in the way of a stray cat that could be hanging around promoting the males aggression which then gets redirected at the older cat? If you do discover this to be the case, removing the culprit is the start of resolution. Another possibility is that there was some incident that frightened the aggressor and he immediately redirected the reaction to the nearest available cat. That kind of situation can begin a cycle of persistent aggression fed also by the female cats anticipation of another attack.
For reintroducing, neither cat should be permitted to have the run of the house for about a week. Confine each with its own food, water and litter. After the week is up, give each cat time separately out of confinement to readjust to the house. Start with a few hours each and gradually increase the amount of time so each cat has several hours of freedom in a 24 hour period. After 3 or 4 days of that you can try letting both out at the same time maybe around mealtime or try offering treats. If there is any aggression, try again in another 24 hours.
Something else that may be helpful is a product called Feliway, a pheromone based diffuser that you plug in to an outlet and it aids in behavior modification by reducing anxiety. This product is often available at your vet, local pet store on many places online.
PetDoc.com
Marcie,
I have the same problem!!! I have 3 cats: 1 male age 6, 1 female age 6, and a male age 4. I got the younger male as a kitten (8 weeks old) and the other male & female were 2 years old. The female never really liked the younger male but eventually, after a short time of showing him who was boss, she started to accept him. But she would still smack him around from time to time. He used to just take it. Things were ok up to last march when I took the 4 year old to the vet for a teeth cleaning in which he was sedated. We brought him home and of course my female started hissing and growling at him which she always does when any of them go to the vet. This was nothing new. But it turned violent when we went to bed and the house got dark. He was on the bed with us and she entered the room and started to hiss. He flew off the bed and proceeded to chase her around the house. This terrified all of us including my female cat. He never did this befor. It seems like he just snapped. Here we are over a year later and I still have to keep them separated. I've tried to reintroduce them slowly but it feels hopeless. They both get very defensive but the younger male is the aggressor. MY female cat always runs and never attacks. She only hisses and growls from a distance. It seems that they are both equally afraid of each other. These are all indoor cats and its been so stressfull having this tension in the house. I do have to mention that when this happened back in march of 2007 we had a house guest staying with us so things were a little different around here. My older male cat doesn't get involved. He just always looks freaked out whenever there is a confrontation between them. Out of frustration I've tried yelling and hitting the younger male but I've been reading that it's not a good idea and it won't work. I did by the feliway spray but I'm not sure where I should be spraying it. Please, Please, Please help me! This is no way for any of us to live.
Sincerely,
Hopeless & Desperate
I can only imagine what a stressful situation this must be for you and the cats. The aggression the 4 year old exhibits may have started as displaced aggression due to anxiety from the vet visit, the house guest or both and now seems like a habit. The smell of the vets can linger on an animals fur for days.
The feliway is a great place to start. I would spray it in the high traffic areas where the most altercations take place and on the cats sleeping areas. You may also have luck with the Feliway Diffuser that is plugged into the wall for a continuous release. I have used Rescue Remedy for calming animals down in aggressive situations as well. It is a natural oil that you can administer directly in to the cats mouths twice a day or if you are unable to medicate them, it can be put in the water bowl. It takes a couple of days to take effect and will not be a drastic improvement but it can be used long term with no side affects.
I have found it works best to initiate a behavior change by positive reinforcement and conditioning. Reward the good behavior and ignore the bad. You have to convince one cat that living with the other cat is a good thing. Feeding cats together but not right next to each other often helps reduce the anxiety of being in each others presence. They may need to be on opposite sides of a door or gate at first until you think they can safely be in the same room. Canned food or treats will help the cats start to associate each other with a good thing. You might also have luck with new toys or a cat video as distractions to turn the cats focus off each other and on to something positive. When they are all in the same room and not fightinig, is a good time for another treat.
I think keeping the cats separate while you are not around to supervise is probably a good idea for now. If they are separated by a door, you might try putting a treat on either side and a toy that goes under the door so they can start to play with each other if they get relaxed enough. That way they are getting the message that the other one is ok with out the fear of a physical altercation.
I hope this information helps your situation and things start to turn around for you and your kitties. Please let me know if you need additional information and keep us posted on the progress.
PetDoc.com
Marcie,
Thanks so much for taking the time to try to help me with this problem. Where can I get the medication called Rescue Remedy? I have to keep the cats separated at all times. They've had many bad altercations and they are always on gaurd. They had another falling out just last week so I can't even try to attempt putting them in the same room together. How long do you think I should wait befor I attempt to try your other suggestions? I will spray the beds, etc. with the Feliway spray and if it seems to start working I'll invest in a diffuser. You can't believe how sweet my 4 year old male is (the troublemaker). It's like he has a split personality. I've read about putting them in carriers or on leashes in a room together and try gradually moving the closer together. Do you agree with this idea? Sorry so many questions but I don't want to make matters worse by trying the wrong thing.
Thanks again!
Hi, Rescue Remedy is usually available at a health food store or on line. (click on the blue). It is ok to be generous with this product if need be. I used it on a feral kitten that was out of control and I gave him 4 drops orally 3 times a day for a couple of days and that calmed him down enough to realize I was not going to hurt him.
I would say try using the Rescue Remedy for 2 or 3 days before trying to start a reintroduction and then do it very slowly. My concern with putting the cats in a carrier or on a leash in the same room is that they are not getting closer on their own. If you want to try this kind of desensitizing maybe you could use a large crate with a litterbox, food and water and take turns having one in the crate and one loose. Adding a cardboard box for sleeping in would give the cat in the cage a little security with a place to hide if the other approaches. Cats on dispaly in a cage at a vet or a pet store eventually get desensitized to the activity around them. You may be able to borrow or rent a cat cage (two story condo type) or large dog crate from a shelter or vet.
Animals often view people very differently than those of their own kind. Cat aggressive doesn't mean the cat would be people aggressive which is why your cat is so sweet to you. You might see a dog when he greets a person with his tail between his legs in submission but as soon as he sees another dog, the tail is up the posture is up and he is on guard. Trying to understand why cats do what they do and how to redirect it can be very challenging.
I hope this information helps and please feel free to ask more questions, I really want to help you through this!
PetDoc.com
Hi Marcie,
I did figure out from your previous email how to get the Rescue Remedy and so I bought it. I've been giving it to the cats for about a week. I give them 4 drops twice a day directly in the mouth. I think it may be starting to help but the tension was so bad to begin with. I don't think the cage would be such a good idea because they may feel too confined. They are indoor cats and don't have all the freedom that an outdoor cat would have. I don't want to stress them out more. I really don't know what would be the best way to start with them. I keep them separated at all times and I rotate them around. My house is a cape so one goes upstairs where it is a big open room and I shut the door. The other is downstairs on the main floor and can roam the basement. Then after so many hours I swith them. I think they are ok with this. When I switch them they get familiar with each others scent again. I don't know if this is good or not. They do find each other on the other side of the door that I keep closed and they end up scratching on it. So I don't know if they'll even try playing with a toy at the door. And I noticed at night is when they're even more tense and on gaurd. Should I give it more time with the Rescue Remedy and wait on trying to reintroduce them?
It sounds like a full time job just keeping the peace in your house. I think as long as the cats are still tense at night, I would give it a bit longer on the Rescue Remedy. Are you certain there are no stray or neighborhood cats outside at night adding to the tension? If your cats do see another cat they may then have more displaced aggression.
It sounds like you are doing all the right things, it may just take more time because the situation did get so tense. When you think the cats are all a bit calmer, try a very brief period at mealtime to let them out of confinement. If there is any aggression, put the aggressor (carefully) upstairs until things settle down again.
Keep trying, your cats are very lucky to have you. You are a very patient and caring pet owner. Please keep me posted and let me know if you have more questions.
PetDoc.com
Hi Marcie,
I thought I'ld just give you an update. Well I still continue to keep the cats separated. I used the Rescue Remedy for a while but it didn't seem to help that much so I stopped. When I said the cats seem more on gaurd at night, I meant it when the lights get turned off and the house gets dark. That's why I'ld be concerned with leaving them all out even if I was able to get them to co-exist. Remember, their first encounter with aggression happened when I went to bed and the house was dark. That's when my younger male cat snapped. I haven't tried to reintroduce them. I was giving them lots of time for things to calm down from their last aggressive encounter. Things seem to be less tense between them as long as I hold one of them and just let them look at each other from a short distance. I'm afraid to take the next step with feeding them together but at a distance. It could go bad so fast and then I have to start over again. If I attempt to feed them at a distance, what should I do if my male cat goes after my female cat? Or what if my female cat hisses at him and sets him off? She just doesn't trust him so she's always ready to hiss at him. She never attacks but always runs. I look forward to hearing back from you.
Hi, I am sorry to hear things are still rough for you and the cats. If the treat time does not go well, first keep yourself safe, never pick up a ticked off cat. You would probably need to start over after a 24 hour cooling off period.
Something else to keep in mind is that animals read our body language and demeanor so try and make sure you are relaxed before the feeding. I was wondering, did you try the Rescue Remedy with both cats and how much did you give them? I also wanted to know if you had tried the Feliway and what you thought of it.
I admire your commitment to these challenging kitty personalities, others may not have been as patient as you have been. I look forward to hearing good news from you and I am wishing you good luck!
PetDoc.com