Families coming together - Fighting

pirateradio · Nov 12, 2008

Hi all,

I have two cats. Symon is an 8 year old male and Pearl who is a 6 year old female. Both we aquired from a shelter about 2 years apart (Symon came first). They're not real big fans of each other but there is no real fighting either. Sometime Pearl will take a swipe at Symon if he gets too close and sometimes Symon will chase Pearl around for a minute or so. Other than that, they get along fine.

Two month ago my girlfriend moved in with me and added her two cats to the mix. Yoda and Tommy are brother and about a year and a half old. They were acquired through a friend of hers. We started out by locking her cats in a separate room for about 2 weeks occasionally throwing a toy or a sock that had been rubbed against my cats in with them and vice versa with my cats. All was ok for a while but things have gone down hill recently.

Symon, for the most part is ok with them. Her cats will sniff him and he'll just let out a little growl if he wants them to back off, and they do. Pearl, on the other hand, isn't a fan. The minute we let them out of the room she will start growling and hissing at them like crazy. Then, if they get too close she'll run off to the basement and stay there until they are locked up. And, to top it all off, it seems now Tommy is seeking her out and attacking her. If she runs downstairs he'll following her and harass her when she is cornered in the basement.

Any advice on how to get them to play nice would be much appreciated.

GoldyCat · Nov 12, 2008

Have you tried using something like Feliway? It's supposed to calm the cats and make them more friendly toward each other.

I don't know from personal experience how well it works, but a number of people on this site have recommended it for difficult introductions.

pirateradio · Nov 12, 2008

Originally Posted by GoldyCat

Have you tried using something like Feliway? It's supposed to calm the cats and make them more friendly toward each other.

I don't know from personal experience how well it works, but a number of people on this site have recommended it for difficult introductions.

Actually, I just put one of those Comfort Zone in my living room a week ago. I think that has Feliway in it....

Not sure if it's affecting behavior yet. Although I think it might be making Pearl drool...

yayi · Nov 13, 2008

Tommy and Yoda are in their teens. At this age they are both the playful kittens and the trying-hard-to-be tough guys.

They obviously recognize Symon as top cat but because Pearl acts like she can be pushed around she became Tommy's target.
I would leave Pearl alone until she builds up her confidence around the newcomers. Put more of your Comfort Zones/Feliway in the other places the cats frequent and discourage Tommy from teasing Pearl (after all, she is one of the original resident cats)

fifi1puss · Nov 13, 2008

I can only tell you my experiance hoping it may help some.

Fiona (4 yrs old) is my lady cat. She is super feisty with my two boys. She will hide (usually under a bed or in a closet)when she feels ReeRee (2 yr old -whom she has known since he was 3 months old) is getting a little harrassing. (he just wants to play) But there are times when I find her spurring him on to chase her.

When he "catches" her she makes a BIG FUSS. Hissing, swatting etc. But she was teasing him to come after her!

Also, with my newest addition Rocko (9 yrs old) she is even more feisty having not known him since he was a kitten like ReeRee. I was definately concerned at first, but just kept an eye on things. Making sure everyone was still eating and going to the bathroom and not having any reall outrageous wars over who sleeps where or who gets what window to look out of.He chases her through the house.

He gets especially excited when he sees her playing with a toy, it's get him thinking it's play time and off they go chasing each other!! She has learned OVER TIME that he is really playing and doesn't want to hurt her so she only occasionally goes as crazy (hissing etc) as she did in the beginning. I was concerned in the beginning but they worked out an agreement amongst themselves.

I now she HER chasing him sometimes! As well as on rare occasion grooming each other...whoa.

The thing that lets me know its okay is they will eat side by side, sleep within a few feet of each other, sniff each others bottoms (kitty hello for friends only!) and have no probelms sharing me or their toys with each other. They even share a litter box!

I think if you just let them all figure out where everyone stands in the heirachy it will be okay. It takes time. She is the only female and will be witchy with all the boys at one time or another! Boys love to get on the females nerves! For some reason they think its great fun.

You can look up 'signs of stress' in cats and if you see any of them exhibiting these signs one reason could be from feeling overcrowded. Make sure they have vertical space as well. Plenty of cat trees and comfy spots in front of windows so no one has to fight for a nice place to sleep. I have trees and beds in every room of my house (except kitchen and bathroom).

Also access to every window so everyone can look out at once if they want to and won't be fighting over the one perch to look outside! Vertical space is very important to a cat. I also provided places for Fiona to hide from the boys so she could feel safe. I gave her little beds in closets (careful not to close her in

)

Phew!! Long post! Sorry

But maybe some of it will help.

pirateradio · Nov 13, 2008

Originally Posted by fifi1puss

I can only tell you my experiance hoping it may help some.

Fiona (4 yrs old) is my lady cat. She is super feisty with my two boys. She will hide (usually under a bed or in a closet)when she feels ReeRee (2 yr old -whom she has known since he was 3 months old) is getting a little harrassing. (he just wants to play) But there are times when I find her spurring him on to chase her.

When he "catches" her she makes a BIG FUSS. Hissing, swatting etc. But she was teasing him to come after her!

Also, with my newest addition Rocko (9 yrs old) she is even more feisty having not known him since he was a kitten like ReeRee. I was definately concerned at first, but just kept an eye on things. Making sure everyone was still eating and going to the bathroom and not having any reall outrageous wars over who sleeps where or who gets what window to look out of.He chases her through the house.

He gets especially excited when he sees her playing with a toy, it's get him thinking it's play time and off they go chasing each other!! She has learned OVER TIME that he is really playing and doesn't want to hurt her so she only occasionally goes as crazy (hissing etc) as she did in the beginning. I was concerned in the beginning but they worked out an agreement amongst themselves.

I now she HER chasing him sometimes! As well as on rare occasion grooming each other...whoa.

The thing that lets me know its okay is they will eat side by side, sleep within a few feet of each other, sniff each others bottoms (kitty hello for friends only!) and have no probelms sharing me or their toys with each other. They even share a litter box!

I think if you just let them all figure out where everyone stands in the heirachy it will be okay. It takes time. She is the only female and will be witchy with all the boys at one time or another! Boys love to get on the females nerves! For some reason they think its great fun.

You can look up 'signs of stress' in cats and if you see any of them exhibiting these signs one reason could be from feeling overcrowded. Make sure they have vertical space as well. Plenty of cat trees and comfy spots in front of windows so no one has to fight for a nice place to sleep. I have trees and beds in every room of my house (except kitchen and bathroom).

Also access to every window so everyone can look out at once if they want to and won't be fighting over the one perch to look outside! Vertical space is very important to a cat. I also provided places for Fiona to hide from the boys so she could feel safe. I gave her little beds in closets (careful not to close her in

)

Phew!! Long post! Sorry

But maybe some of it will help.

Thanks for taking the time to post that. The advice is much appreciated.

.

pirateradio · Nov 13, 2008

Originally Posted by yayi

Tommy and Yoda are in their teens. At this age they are both the playful kittens and the trying-hard-to-be tough guys.

They obviously recognize Symon as top cat but because Pearl acts like she can be pushed around she became Tommy's target.
I would leave Pearl alone until she builds up her confidence around the newcomers. Put more of your Comfort Zones/Feliway in the other places the cats frequent and discourage Tommy from teasing Pearl (after all, she is one of the original resident cats)

Thanks for the info.

Seeing Pearl cower under my desk in the basement just breaks my heart.

Families coming together - Fighting

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