Need some advice

Ok, Im new here and I am going to try to make this brief. We have a houseful of kitties, Lionheart(F/9Yrs old), Puma(M/9yrs old), Ninja (M/7 1/2 yrs old), Kinjo (M/7 1/2 yrs old), Maranda (F/1 yr old, main coon we just adopted from a shelter), Melly (F/2 yrs old), Heidi(F/4 months, we just adopted herand her sisters Miney and Bandit), "miney"(F/ 4 months) and Bandit(F/4 months), the ones Im needing some advice about are Puma and Ninja.

These two cats are both Male, Puma is Ninjas father. Puma is 9 years old and Ninja is 7 (almost 8) years old. They have lived in the same house from Ninjas birth, they are both fixed. When the problem I am about to describe began we had not moved, had not added any new members to our family and had no major changes. Now that I have all the preliminary out of the way, lol.

About a year ago, suddenly with NO warning, Puma began attacking Ninja, it began as a playful chasing game (at least it looked playful) but suddenly changed to a viscious attack. Puma will stalk Ninja, terrorize him and even attack him if he is in our laps. There are no known health problems, they eat fine, drink fine, use the litter box, but if Puma even sees ninja, the fur flies(and yes, it led to Ninja having a bad boo boo on his back leg that we doctored until it was healed) What can be the cause of this and what can we do to stop it? We have tried scolding, using a water gun when Puma is glaring at Ninja etc. The option of getting rid of one of them is just NOT an option, these guys are our babies, we have had them for years and it would be like getting rid of a child becz he is moody So we have to find a way to have them all cohabit again, peacefully. Oh yes, and prior to this (prior to a year ago) Puma and Ninja got along wonderfully, as in best buds. The problem is that Lionheart and Kinjo are now starting to pick on Ninja. Melly (one of the babies) actually takes UP for him (Ninja)(shes the runt of the house). Is it possible that it is that the 4 older cats are getting up there in age? (the cats range in age from 9 yrs - 4 months)

Any advice is appreciated.

Angyl

I think Puma is trying to maintain his position in their hierarchy.The other cats are growing older and sronger and Puma maybe thinking that he will be replaced.He just want´s to show that he still is the boss.I think the situation will be calmed when time passes by

I have been having the same problem at my house and have not had any luck in fixing it. Bootsie is our victim here ane Noodles, Rip and Smudge stalk her and attack. I am interested in what word of advice you get. Maybe they will help me too!

Sometimes one cat will attack another if the victim has an infection of some sort. The illness changes their scent, so the other cats view the victim as an intruder. Perhaps this all started when Ninja developed a low grade infection. Hmmmmm....

Or, perhaps it is a dominance thing. One thing that works great for multiple cat households to keep dominance aggression under control is to have several tall perches for the cats to sit on. The higher the cat sits, the more dominant the cat! A cat who is wanting to prove his/her dominance can do so by either physically dominating the other cat through aggression or by simply taking the highest seat in the room.

You might also try sprinkling a little vanilla extract on a towel and rubbing down all cats with the towel. This way they will all smell the same and may choose not to attack. Do this a couple of times daily until the aggression subsides.

Or...as a last resort, you may need to do a two week separation and then a gradual reintroduction of Ninja (or Puma)into the household. We can give tips on how to do this if you decide to take this route.

Good luck getting Puma to calm down!

oh i can relate! i have one who has lived in the bedroom for months now because of a similar problem. and others on here are in the same boat! i'm sorry i don't have advice.