My dad just tried to kill my cat...

So I was asleep and heard all this swearing and yelling and doors banging downstairs...mom is yelling for me to come so I run down there and he has this possessed look on his face. So after some bickering with him I saved Mia from under the bed and took her to my room for safety. Apparently, she had tried to "kill" a new 4 mo old kitten my parents have had for a month.

She is the only cat in our household who hasn't really adjusted to the new kitten. My parents other cat couldn't care less, and my other cat Marble likes to pick on her every now and then but not too often or serious. But Mia (marble's litter mate) is just weird...There's no hissing or growling involved, she will stare at the kitten (my parents prefer the word stalk) even gets really close to her with no aggression signs, and then she makes a sudden move , pawing at the kitten and then the kitten runs and Mia runs after her. The kitten is scared to death when Mia does this, drops into a submissive position, ears down, looking terrified...Apparently today she took things a step further and had the kitten by the neck.

Sigh I don't know what to do...I think it's a dominance thing that needs to be worked out but my parents think that Mia thinks the kitten is a toy/target practice. Luckily I'm moving out next month but I'd really like to be able to take Mia with me...she's my favorite of my two girls. I'm so sick of hearing my family make fun of Mia all the time lately, calling her psycho and pointing out her shortcomings daily...I love her so much and its hurtful to hear. FYI Marble and Mia are 1 yr old spayed, the kitten is getting spayed next week if that matters. Could the kitten be putting out some hormone smell perhaps??? I'm mainly venting but any advice would be great! Thanks...

Do you really think your dad was going to kill Mia?

First of all, I really doubt your cat was going to kill the kitten. Fight with it, maybe, but not kill it. It will just take a while for Mia to accept that the kitten is part of the household now.

Don't be offended when people call your cat psycho....cats are kind of psycho, after all. ;-)

When that new kitten comes home from the vets office it is going to smell like the office so be ready. It could set Mia off even more. Cat's understand who is who by smell, not by what color they are. When I took the boys to be fixed, I got them home the next day & you would have thought I had brought home brand new cats. The girls went wild, hissing and spitting, and fighting. I kept the boys in a different room for a couple days, when I could not watch everyone. After about the 3rd day, everyone calmed back down. Now mind you my kittens are litter mates. But I will never make the mistake again. Now EVERYONE goes to the vet on the same day, same trip. You maybe can keep Mia in your room all the time? And if everyone is pissed at her, maybe taking her with you is not a bad thing.
Best of luck to you & Mia!
K.

Originally Posted by ChloeKitty98

I really doubt your cat was going to kill the kitten. Fight with it, maybe, but not kill it.

Click to expand...

You would naturally be in the best position to judge, but I agree that it is very unlikely that Mia wanted to kill the kitten. Especially since you mentioned that Mia tends to not be vocal during these episodes. You also said that similar incidents have occurred in the past, and the kitten was obviously not killed; in fact, it doesn't even sound like the kitten was physically harmed in any way.

Cats killing other cats almost always happens when they are both fighting for mating rights, or when a male kills very young kittens as a way of having a female all to himself, so to speak.

The neck-biting is scary looking, obviously, but your family needs to understand that basic, normal cat play, and dominance behavior, can look very intense and aggressive to humans, because we can't really identify with it. Neck-biting is a way of expressing dominance, and it would be a perfectly normal thing for Mia to do, seeing as she is the older, resident cat. You said that you might be taking Mia with you, which would solve this "problem", but if that doesn't happen, these two cats need to work out their places in the hierarchy, and this is typically how they go about it. I recognize that it's not fun to see the kitten so fearful, and of course if things are clearly crossing the line a fight should be broken up, but as the kitten matures and grows this shouldn't be as much of an issue.

Female cats are very territorial and Mia was mad at the kitten for invading her space. She may well have had serious damage in mind, so I would be very careful for the kitten's sake until it's grown and you're out of the house. However, it's also your parents' responsibility to make sure the kitten is safe, and it might be a good idea for them to try and keep her in a separate room when you're not around to 'police' Mia, just until you leave. It's their kitty and you shouldn't have to be completely responsible for it, especially if Mia was there first. Show this to your mother and see whether or not she agrees (a little, anyhow, I hope!).

How long did you take for introducing the cats and kitten. May have to reintroduce them. Take a look at this link. http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22301
Lots of helpful info. We humans can cause cats to have problems if we treat them in a negative way. I wish you the best and hope things settle down.

Honey, from your description, it just sounds like normal cat politics. They have to figure out who's in charge, and sometimes it gets very physical. But, biting the neck is a common way to show dominance. I can understand why your parents go scared though, because "play fighting", or fighting for dominance can look pretty scary and violent. Tell them next time (and there probably will be a next time) to clap their hands or yell if it seems like its getting out of hand. If they both stop and look, then they are fine. Believe me, I've seen REAL fights between barn cats and they ARE scary and no amount of yelling, clapping, even water would break them up. It took my MIL's donkey to step in...literally.

I know your parents are just worried about the kitten but stalking and pouncing are just part of kitten play.