Helping cats get along?

Hello! My name is Sophie, I'm 16 and I have a problem. I'm a bit scared, though, that I left this problem a little too late to fix, but help and advice on the situation would be greatly appreciated.

I have 5 cats of all different ages currently living within my home. My current cats don't seem to like each other at all, but since it is a big house there is often no problems. Some of my cats get very unsettled around others, and some don't mind. They also have the ability to go outside and often do. Currently I have:

A male cat (Gabriel) who is only a couple of years old. He picks fights with my 4 other cats and will often harrass them. He is good with people but can get aggressive very quickly. Since he is the only male cat he is very dominant within the household.

A female cat (Zag) who is about 7-8 and is very easy-going. However, she will also pick fights with one of my other cats (Meerkat) and I can't stop her doing this.

A female cat (Meerkat) who 3-4 years old and is extremely skittish. I love her very much and she is always outside (but I know she enjoys it). However, when she wishes to relax in my room, Zag makes her VERY unsettled. I love them both and I want them to get along.

Another 6 year old female (Zorro) who is also skittish but loving. She doesn't mind other cats but prefers to be alone. This is not a problem in my house since it is reasonably big.

A final female cat (Sootie) who about 4-5 year old and was born a runt. She was very affectionate until I took in Meerkat (because her owner couldn't cope) and after that she has become REALLY aggressive. She will purr and try to get your attention, but if you try to pat her she will attack you fiercely. I feel she has experienced mental problems as her owner as a kitten malnourished her (since she was a runt).

My house is fairly big so the cats are not often fighting. However if I can achieve harmony within them it would makes things a lot more easier. How can I achieve this?

Thank you.

Hello and welcome to the site -just a quick question

have you had all these cats fixed ?

just want to get that out of the way - if they are not fixed, then this could be causing the tensions

Yes, all of them are fixed. : )

Originally Posted by Wuffles

Yes, all of them are fixed. : )

Click to expand...

OK let me just re-read about your kitties again

So.....

Gabriel is obviously the Alpha Cat - he's the boy

Zag - shes the dominate female, but does as she told when Gabriel comes along

Meerkat sounds like a shy little things

Zorro, not much hassle going on with her

Sootie a tad neurotic

well I think it all sounds fairly normal to me - I have 4 cats and acquired them all at different times, so whilst they rub along fairly well most of the time - well I have a newbie Teddy and we are having some issues with him, but thats another story - the others do have the odd spat or go at each other.

As you know you cant force cats to be best of buddies, they do find there own routine and way of being with each other. Sometime you might get a surprise and 2 cats will sleep next to each other actually touching then the next day they'll have a spat just cos they walked past each other.

Unless there blood drawn and vet treatments required I am sure your cats are fine. They sound adorable - maybe when you get chance you can post us some photos in the Fur Picture Forum which can be found under the Cat Lounge Forum.

Great to have you and your kits here

Thanks for reassuring me that this is quite a normal relationship. It is true I have seen Zag and Meerkat snuggle closely together, but they also have their fights. I just wondered that perhaps I wasn't raising them properly, but it seems they all have their own little niche in the household. Thanks for the help and reassurance, again. I just wish they wouldn't fight so much! Hehe.

The first thing to try is a Feliway "Comfort Zone" diffuser -- actually, several if you can handle the expense. These work like the plug-in air fresheners, but what they put out into the air is a synthetic duplicate of the pheromone cats use to mark things they like and feel comfortable with. (This is what they're doing when they rub their cheeks against things.) Although humans can't smell it, the cats can -- and it will almost certainly have a calming effect on them.

We have six cats in our house, and even with only one Feliway diffuser, we can see a significant difference in their behavior. In fact, the way we know when we need a refill is by the way the cats suddenly become more aggressive!

As I say, it's pretty expensive stuff -- about $45 for the diffuser and $30 for each refill if you buy them in the stores. But if you order it online at valleyvet.com, you get a much, much better deal! And delivery is very fast.

Also... how many litterboxes do you have? If there are too few, that can sometimes cause animosity among the cats. The theory is that you should have one box per cat, plus one extra -- but a lot of people just don't have the space for that many. In our house, we're able to get by with just three boxes -- because one of them is a Litter Robot (litter-robot.com). It's a wonderful automated device that ensures clean litter for every kitty, every time... so the cats are a lot more comfortable with sharing. (And the humans have a lot less work to do!) There are cheaper automated boxes available, but none of them is as clean, effective, and virtually maintenance-free as the Litter Robot.

And finally... let me encourage you to start keeping your cats indoors. Aside from the obvious dangers involved, going outdoors can also cause your cats to carry home all sorts of foreign smells that make them hostile and skittish toward one another. That could be a big part of what's going on.

I hope you'll give these ideas a try -- I really think they can bring relative peace to your home!