Cat behavior problem
Written by tweeddy
I have a 3 year old female fixed tiger cat, have a 5 month female tortishell, I started letting the 3 year old cat outside and her whole attitude towards the 5 month old kitten has changed - instead of acting towards her like a mother cat would a kitten, she now growls and hisses at her when she is inside the house - I don't know why she would start doing this, it must have something to do with her going outside - I do not know what to do about this - any helpful suggestions anyone?
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Tweeddy, I think you are right, the attitude change has to do with the older cat going outside. Cats are very territorial and they often display redirected aggression. Which means if she was stimulated by something outside either another cat or an animal she would like to hunt and kill, then she could come inside still aroused and direct it towards the kitten.
A good way to ease tensions and change attitudes is with food. Maybe you could try to feed both cats some canned food or treats, on opposite sides of a room when the older one first comes in. That way the older one is making an association with the kitten on a positive note.
Sometimes when one of my cats wants out and I am keeping him in, he will then turn on the other cat and chase him and play fight pretty hard as a way of releasing that energy he had reserved for the outside. Maybe your older one needs a cooling off period by herself when she comes in.
Another factor may be as kittens start to reach physical and behavioral maturity they start to develop their own sense of territory. The kitten may be starting to convey a message to the older one saying, this is my house too. Often these situations will even out when the cats come to an understanding about territory.
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