Cats are always fighting!

Hi all,

we have just gotten a second cat about 6 weeks ago as everyone was telling us that we shouldn't leave our other cat alone. Anyway, since we have had him, he has been fighting Kitty (female) all the time. We first thought it was because he was not done yet, so we have had him done, but he is still beating her up in a way! He is one month older than her and used to be an outdoor cat, but the owners said that he prefered the indoors ad loves other cats that was why we chose him.

Micio (male, the new one) has always been beating Kitty up, even to the point where she has "accidents". When we are at home, we seperate them once they fight, but when we are at work is when we can not do anything! We have also seperated them after the big fights, I kow this was not a wise move, but we had no choice, Kitty was so scared and also "crying" fter having the big fights and the "accidents" (both number 1 and 2). We had to get her a new litter boy with a roof on it, so that she would use it again as Micio always attacked her while she was digging. Due to this, she was using the sink to do her "business", but since we have this litter box, she has been using it all the time.

We are at a loss, and we do not want to get rid of Micio as we love him, but at the rate this is going, I am relly considering it.

Please... any advice, anything whatsoever would be greatfully appreciated. I am really at a loss now!

Please help us be a happy family!

I think you must keep them apart when you're at work, in different rooms, with their own boxes, water, toys, etc. Male cats often attack females whenever they can and unless you see a big change in the near future, you might want to consider finding another home for Micio as it's very unfair to your first cat who was obviously happier before the change.

"6 weeks". Thats all you had to say. It can take up to 1 year for a pet to accept a new animal into the home. Our Kitten fights the two adult females all the time. I would keep them apart when you are not in the house and promote group events when you are home (feed them treats together, ect). You'll probably have to be viligent for months to come yet if you want to make this work.

Jason

Originally Posted by garith77

"6 weeks". Thats all you had to say. It can take up to 1 year for a pet to accept a new animal into the home. Our Kitten fights the two adult females all the time. I would keep them apart when you are not in the house and promote group events when you are home (feed them treats together, ect). You'll probably have to be viligent for months to come yet if you want to make this work.

Jason

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I have been doing that, we feed them together and also give them treats, but all he wants to do is to attack her. We hvae had to seperate them so that Kitty doesn't get anymore scratches on her face as she has enough now...

Maybe a re-introduction... like you did when you first got your new cat? Just start over from scratch, with the separate rooms and the crates and the vanilla...

Originally Posted by Moonowl17

I have been doing that, we feed them together and also give them treats, but all he wants to do is to attack her. We hvae had to seperate them so that Kitty doesn't get anymore scratches on her face as she has enough now...

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Honestly, try to seperate them for a week. If he acts up that way I think there is nothing you can do if you don't want Kitty to be hurt more and maybe get a small behavioral problem. Try a slow introduction after a week and see how they react. Exchagne toys, blankets, etc. Spray Feliway and put Vanilla extract on both cats and take it very slowly. Give a shot...

And if it then doesn't work out it may be just that the two are not made for eachother...

I know I'm going to get scolded for saying this, but my resident cat has the highest place in my heart. Before she gets physically and mentally hurt in a long run, I would give the new cat back.

Hi all,

thanks for your suggestions, I think I will try the re-introduction thing again.

Can someone explain the vinalla essence to me please? I am not sure what this does.

Thanks again everyone

It makes them smell like each other - a drop between their shoulders, under their chins, at the base of their tails is all that's needed, but I wish I believed that were the answer - it's a good one for general intro's early on, or even when one cat returns from the vet smelling like medicine, but in your case, you might have a hard-wired male whose goal in life is to dominate females (at least your female) and the vanilla may not help at lot.

Originally Posted by Larke

It makes them smell like each other - a drop between their shoulders, under their chins, at the base of their tails is all that's needed, but I wish I believed that were the answer - it's a good one for general intro's early on, or even when one cat returns from the vet smelling like medicine, but in your case, you might have a hard-wired male whose goal in life is to dominate females (at least your female) and the vanilla may not help at lot.

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Thanks for the tip, have just ordered some feliway for the apartment and am going to give this a go, I hope that it stops hi fighting her. He just wants to play to be honest, and when she sees him playing, you can see that she wants to join in. She had a brother, but he died when she was 12 weeks old, we think by a dog, so she hasn't had any male company around.

Does the feliway really work? I read about it on the site, if it can really stop him attacking her... then

it calms them down, but i think it really depends on the cat.
keeping my fingers crossed for you

I've heard that Feliway really does work, but I think occationally some cats are immune to it, so to speak. I've been wanting to get one but since I don't have real troubles, I can't quite get up the nerve to fork over $45 for one. Maybe for my birthday or something... lol

It took my Buffy a year to accept Molly (we've had Molly for *counts fingers* almost exactly 15 months now), and even now she doesn't really like her. She's finally stopped hitting Molly, and hitting her at every possible chance, but they don't exactly snuggle and whenever Buffy gets pissed off (like if my dog is following her around, or I've just finished clipping her nails), if she and Molly cross paths, Molly will get smacked. I'm just giving it more time, eventually (maybe in another year, haha), Buffy will actually like Molly. Willow is more laid back, though, she accepted Buffy in only a week, and Molly in about a month. Buffy's naturally stubborn, though, she was raised by Willow as a 4 week old orphan and really the only cat she's ever had contact with is Willow (seeing other cats through windows doesn't count, though if it does, it sure wouldn't help Buffy's opinion of other cats, would it?)

Just give it more time, and DON'T rush them! When we first got Molly, Buffy would actually permit her to sleep a few feet away, but whenever we got too pushy (like plunking Molly next to Buffy at random times, for example), Buffy would get nasty and would start hating on Molly all the time. When we hung back, Buffy would calm down again. Nowadays we accept the two don't get along and we don't even bother, and that's helping. One day I'll walk into a room and find them snuggling together. Okay, that might not happen, but I used to think my dog couldn't co-exist with the cats and he proved me wrong, lol (took me 6 years to figure out how to do it, though... lol)

Good luck with your guys, though! Hopefully the feliway will help.