homicidal cat

[Alephria]

Hi

I have three cats, Freya and Blackie who are 4yrs old and from the same litter, and Smokey who is about 3 yrs old. I was told when I got Smokey that she was a stray kitten found in the street. She was in terrible condition when I got her and was about 12 weeks old. She tried to fight with the other cats when she first met them, but this settled down within a few days.

Now almost three years later, Smokey has suddenly decided she hates one of the other cats. She has been vicously attacking Blackie and has scared her so much that Blackie is really afraid of her now. Blackie ran away from home and was gone for a month. I just got her back a few days ago and she was starving and weak. At the moment I am keeping the cats separated. Blackie just saw the vet and I found out she has lost several teeth, possibly from being attacked by Smokey.

Smokey has been aggressive since she was little. She is a much larger cat than the others. She has been aggressive with people, has launched across the kitchen table to attack a visitor, has knocked teeth out of a kitten and has attacked dogs. She has brought possums into the house that she has killed too.

Smokey had been improving with her aggression and was even starting to want lots of cuddles from me. She had also started to sit in the driveway, waiting for me to come home. Then one day I witnessed one of her attacks on Blackie, and I got the feeling it was due to Blackie coming home after a few days wandering and being on my bed. A jealousy thing.

Blackie on the other hand, has always been shy and timid and is a tiny cat. She is only 2.5kg. She has been prone to disappear outside, but she used to come back within 24hrs. They were indoor cats until the eldest were about 2. I am pretty certain she ran off because of Smokey. I think I should try Feliway with both of them. But I don't know what else to do to stop the cats fighting. I don't know if it can be stopped. At the moment Blackie is living in my bedroom. I thought I'd keep her in there for a few days then let her into the rest of the house but she doesn't want to go. She looks too scared. She freaks out every time she hears Smokey's bell. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Lizita]

Are all the kitties spayed and neutered? If not, that would probably help a lot.
You could also try to use a spray bottle with water to redirect Smokey's behavior when you catch her in the act. To help Blackie's anxiety you can try Rescue Remedy. Consulting a vet about Smokey's behavior may also be in order. She seems very aggressive and although I'm not sure if it's the same for cats in dogs an over active thyroid and other medical problems can cause aggression. A friend of mine has a cat that acts out quite a bit and she has been helped by small doses of Xanax. It's possible that it could help Smokey too. I would try other things before trying such a heavy duty medication though.

Until the situation gets better I would not let Blackie out at all. Chances are that she'd leave for good if she's that stressed out over Smokey.

I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help. Hopefully someone else has better advice.

Good luck

[Rosiemac]

Heres a piece of advice from someone with a lot of knowledge in this department gave me recently...

Anytime you let a cat outside, you destroy their general scent and when they come back in the house, they smell different and are treated by the other cats as an intruder. They can find a fresh kill in the grass and rub in it, or run up into some trouble and their stress pheromones go into overdrive and cause them to smell differently.You should keep all cats indoors always stop adding more cats into the home and use a neutral scent to help them calm down vanilla extract (pure) dabbed on their chins and the base of their tail should work.

If the attacks continue, the one being attacked could likely be sick and his signature scent is changing

[Alephria]

Thanks for the advice and information. All my cats were spayed the first time they went into heat. Blackie saw the vet yesterday and he mentioned Feliway but not rescue remedy or vanilla. Is it made for cats or the human version? I will get some Feliway soon but can't afford it right now. The vet told me to call a pet behaviour specialist. Blackie seems quite happy to stay in the room for the moment and Smokey has just been doing her own thing.

[LDG]

I would keep them separated for now and treat it like a new cat introduction. I don't really know how to handle the indoor/outdoor part, because we have indoor only cats, so I really don't know how to adapt my advice to cats that are allowed outdoors.... but here's the advice I normally give, and hopefully you can figure out how to adapt it to your situation.

The basic idea is to use time, positive reinforcement, redirection, scent swapping, and create proper space to help "transform" the situation.

While doing the separation, rub Smokey and Blackie all over with a couple of hand towels or clean rags. Put a rag that smells like Blackie under Smokey's food dish, and one that smells like Smokey under Blackie's food dish. This helps them to begin associating each other with "good" things.

Given your cats go outside, I don't know if extra stimulation would help, but I normally recommend that you give the aggressive kitty extra play time to help 'absorb' the energy. At the end of the play session, put treats down on another rag that smells like Blackie. This will help Smokey associate Blackie with GOOD things. Of course, doing the same for Blackie won't hurt.

To help Blackie de-stress, and to help Smokey calm down, I also recommend the Feliway. This is a synthetic hormone that mimics the "friendly" markers in cats' cheeks. It comes as a spray or diffuser. If you get the spray, make sure you "refresh" it every 2- 3 days. I prefer the spray, because you can use it around the whole house rather than investing in a bunch of expensive plug-in diffusers.

As to the Flower Essences, it's the same ones used for humans - around here they're available in most health food stores. I'd get Rescue Remedy. You can put a few drops in the water, and dab a touch behind the ears, at the base of the tail, and under the chin.

Do you have much vertical space? Lots of places for Blackie to hide? After "reintroducing them" over a period of at least several weeks, this can also help diffuse introduction tension. Smokey can assert her dominance by going "up." Cat trees and condos, window seats - things like that can really help.

Consider purchasing some new toys that Smokey likes. When you bring Blackie out (or Smokey in Blackie's room) when you start the reintroduction process, doing a supervised intro, give Smokey a new toy, and play with her. Let her think having Blackie around is a total party. Get her favorite treats, put them on a rag that smells like Blackie. When she plays with the new toy in the presence of Blackie or eats the treats, tell Smokey WHAT a good girl she is. If she makes no aggressive moves to Blackie, tell her WHAT a good girl she is! Praise the heck out of her for doing nothing aggressive. ...but keep an empty can with coins in it, and if she goes for Blackie, rattle the heck out of it to stop the attack, and immediately remove her from the room. Tell her you want her to just ignore Blackie, and put her out of the room and leave it at that. Try again another day.

The point is that instead of emphasizing the negative (like squirting with a water bottle, which really should never be done, because of risk of ear infection, and all that really happens is kitty gets mad at you), emphasize the positive. When she gets to the point she's just looking at Blackie rather than growling or hissing or attacking, tell her WHAT a good girl she is! ... and maybe give them treats (always give Smokey hers first). Food goes a LONG way to helping kitties share space in a friendly way. ...and cats learn well through positive reinforcement.

The most important thing is to take it slow and give it as much time as it needs.

[Alephria]

Wow, that is great advice. I don't have a lot of vertical space so I will have to save up for some cat trees. I will try your ideas. I will buy some cloths to use for the scenting. I have not had much success with my cats and cat treats. They prefer what I am eating. Cooked meat or some ham or chicken slices for sandwiches. Smokey loves cheese but I don't know if it is good for her. I have been playing with Smokey more lately in an effort to reduce aggression. She is way more into playing than my other cats. Today Blackie showed interest in leaving the room so I let her wander out. She was very timid about it, but did try and get out the cat door (which was locked). I have to be very careful to lock it before I go in the bedroom in case she runs for it. I get the feeling she is still really unsure about what's going on. Smokey has abandoned her favourite chair in the study, and has a new favourite spot on top of the piano.

[Brokenheart]

Is there a small room in your place that Blackie can be allowed in but not Smokey? It might give Blackie some sense of safety if there's some place she can go where Blackie can never get her.

I think there's lots of good advice to look into here. Please keep us posted!

[LDG]

Cheap large plastic storage containers with holes cut in the sides and stacked up in a "ladder" fashion or pyramid fashion work great for vertical space and hidey holes. ...just a thought.

...and chicken is a great treat!

...and yeah, cheese isn't a great treat, because most adult cats are actually lactose intolerant.

[Alephria]

Well Blackie has been progressing lately. She slowly developed an interest in leaving the bedroom. The last few days she has been constantly meowing or howling to get out. I will let her out, she sees Smokey and runs back in the room. I have a temporary arrangement where Smokey stays outside during the daytime, and Blackie and Freya get the whole house and the cat house out on the verandah. When I get home Smokey comes inside and Blackie goes in my bedroom. Smokey isn't allowed in the bedroom at all any more. Even though I'm letting Blackie out into the house, every time I get home she is in the bedroom.

I will be buying some Feliway this Thursday. It worked well with Blackie once before so it may have some good results again. I will see if it works with Smokey. I noticed they sit in the same spots and rub their scent on the same spots so they musn't care too much about each other's scents.

I tried rescue remedy but I haven't noticed any effect. It could be possible it reduced the meowing a little bit. But I'm not sure.

I am slowly reaching the conclusion that I will have to find a new home for Smokey. I really don't want to do this. Despite everything she can be a very sweet cat. I will only do it if I can be sure she has a good home. I don't want her put down or given up again straight away. I am just wondering if it's the best thing for all the cats, especially Blackie.

Blackie is so desperate to get outside. I have been taking her out on her harness and lead. She and her sister Freya learnt how to walk on a lead from kittens. She seems to enjoy it. Only problem is if Smokey is outside. I messed up on Saturday and took Blackie out while Smokey was out there. Smokey stalked and pounced on Blackie about 5 times. The last time she ran right across my massive backyard and attacked suddenly. Blackie totally freaked out. I can see why she is so afraid.

Anyway, I will continue on

[MissKalamata]

We, too, have a homicidal cat, and the only thing that works is to keep him separated from his victim(s). Haven't tried Feliway yet, but I don't think our two cats will ever be able to sit in the same room without the aggressive one going berserk.

Is simply keeping them separate a possibility? Ours are also indoor-outdoor, and they switch places every so many hours. When aggressor is outside, victim gets run of the house, and when victim is outside, aggressor gets run of the house. If it's cold out, and both are inside, aggressor stays shut in a room and victim gets run of the house. Or sometimes victim is shut in a room.

Keeping the cats separate is the most important thing in our house. The occasions when someone made a mistake and let the two cats meet were disastrous.

It sounds like you are doing something similar now...what isn't working? Maybe you could take Blackie out on her harness for a while each day, while Smokey is inside, so that she can enjoy the fresh air as well? That way, both cats would get some time inside and some time outside.

Don't give up yet. Although it can be a pain switching the cats around and keeping them separate, we've managed to bring some order and peace into the house. I hope you manage to do the same. Good luck!

[newcat19]

My advice is get rid of the trouble cat.
Put him/her to sleep.

This isn't fair to your smaller cat to constantly get bullied like this.
Reading this pissed me off

Why would you allow this to happen.
You put a violet larger cat together with a calm submissive cat.

If it was me.. if I saw that cat attacking my smaller cat I'd grab it &
hurt it bad enough so it would get the message to leave the other cats
alone.

Now you have a smaller cat living in fear & being constantly abused

[Shanynne]

Originally Posted by Brokenheart

Is there a small room in your place that Blackie can be allowed in but not Smokey? It might give Blackie some sense of safety if there's some place she can go where Blackie can never get her.

I think there's lots of good advice to look into here. Please keep us posted!

Yes this is very important! Blackie definitely needs a safe zone of his own that he can retreat to when Smokey goes after him.

The other thing too, is that when you do see Smokey going for Blackie you need to stop her behavior right away. The can of coins trick might help. You also need to tell her that "No! she is not to attack Blackie!"

Once in a while my younger cat Samson, decides that he wants to bully my older cat Rascal. Let me tell you, I don't let that happen. I break up any fighting between them immediately, verbally. Standing right over them and a couple of loud "Hey! Hey! Stop that!" works well, at least for my cats. Then I tell Samson that he is not to do. He gives me this "yeah yeah whatever look", but he does slink guiltily away.

I would also, as someone else recommended, get your cat's thyroid checked, just in case. It can't hurt that for sure.