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I want peace again!

post #1 of 13
3/20/10 at 3:03pm
Thread Starter 
My household has been very peaceful for six years. But four days ago, I accidentally stepped on my 6-year-old male cat. Something in his yell set off my 7-year-old male cat and he attacked my 6-year-old in an out-for-blood fight. This is the very same cat that raised my 6-year-old when his mother abandoned the litter. They have been the best of friends for six years. When my 7-year-old came home from surgery a couple weeks ago, and we were told to separate the cats for the night, the boys sat on opposite sides of the door crying for each other.

No more.

The day after the fight, we tried to reintroduce the boys. The fight resumed. The next day, we tried again. This time, my six-year-old hissed at my 7-year-old. We separated them again for the night. Today, we tried again. But this time, we followed our vets advice and sprayed "calming" pheromone spray around the house first. We also bought the boys pheromone collars. This time, the 7-year-old hissed at the 6-year-old!

I'm at my wit's end! I miss my peaceful house. I miss my boys! All suggestions are welcome.
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post #2 of 13
3/20/10 at 3:40pm
A reintroduction takes longer than 4 days, separate them completely for a couple of days, give everyone, yourself included, some time to chill out then let them meet under the door by sniffing each other etc. Get some vanilla and put it on them so they smell the same. Introduce a little at a time, its best to introduce through a screen door, in a dog crate etc so you know they are both safe and can't hurt each other

Did you bring them to see the vet? Cats can sense injury/illness in each other and they could be reacting to that
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post #3 of 13
3/20/10 at 3:44pm
I've never really seen anyone mention pheromone collars on here. What brand are they? Looking them up, the SentryHC ones seem to cause bad reactions in some cats and work in other by making them act "doped up".
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post #4 of 13
3/20/10 at 3:56pm
More info is needed.
Where did you step on your cat? Tail, a paw? Was the cat injured from this? I have absolutly no idea why your 7 year old would attack unless the younger cat was injured and reacted in a bad way to the older cats concerns, who then got pissy about the whole thing.
I would suggest getting the younger cat checked out by the vet to make sure he is OK from the accidental stepping on, and please dont feel bad about that, we all have done it! Something about his meow or actions may have changed from an injury, I know cats aren't people and don't react the same, but I know I am a absolute B when I am hurt and others around me react to the negative.
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post #5 of 13
3/20/10 at 5:07pm
Thread Starter 
I took the 7-year-old to the vet because he already had a check-up scheduled. The 6-year-old didn't seem to have any injuries and seemed to be happy once the fight was broken up, but I'll take him to the vet Tuesday, on my day off. I stepped on his belly. He was lying on his side, and I tripped over him. He likes to lie in the weirdest places - places it's easy to trip over him. And that's exactly what happened. We just tried again... bad results. The 7-year-old attacked the 6-year-old again. And apparently, we now know, the 6-year-old gets so scared, he poops. WHAT A MESS! We'll try keeping them separated longer. Hopefully they forgive and forget. And we'll try the vanilla. Anything is worth trying if it helps get our boys back together.
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post #6 of 13
3/23/10 at 9:03am
Thread Starter 
Well, the doctor put the 7-year-old on prozac, and we're visiting a behavior specialist next month to deal with this. They're also testing his thyroid on Friday...
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post #7 of 13
3/23/10 at 9:54am
Thyroid test is a good idea.

I would have gone with feliway plug in diffusers before resorting to prozac. That sounds a little drastic right at first.

I know how dismaying it must be to have two cats who have loved one another all their lives to suddenly turn your home into a battle field.

Please, keep us posted. (and do get the feliway plug ins!)
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post #8 of 13
3/23/10 at 11:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jonesyboo View Post
Well, the doctor put the 7-year-old on prozac, and we're visiting a behavior specialist next month to deal with this. They're also testing his thyroid on Friday...
Are they going to go ahead and do a full set of blood tests, senior blood tests - though a year early, since he's going on prozac? It would probably be a good idea, even if it's only to provide a comparison for later tests.
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post #9 of 13
3/23/10 at 11:41am
I have had the same thing happen with my two brothers, it took 4 days to get them loving each other again the first time. I don't know what starts it, maybe them playing too hard and one gets hurt or redirected aggression from seeing a stray by the window. What ever caused it I hate it but I've found a way to diffuse it.

The first time I tried separateing them with reintroductions and difusers, talked to the rescue I adopted them from, no help and we were getting no sleep. What worked was getting them in the same room and then bringing out a new toy, both of them were so focused on the toy they didn't realize they were playing with each other.

All was quiet on the homefront for about 9 months until last Thursday, heard that familiar yowel. I immediately grabbed one and put him in the bathroom until I could get the other to come out of hiding. Once I had him in the room I let the other one out of the bathroom and brought out the emergency cat toy, within minutes they were best buds again.

This happened again Sat night, same routine same outcome. This reminds me, I need to get a new really seductive cat toy for my emergency stash. BTW these boys are 3 years old and have been together since birth and are always together, it drove me nuts that they were fighting.

Make sure it's a toy on a wand that YOU control, like Dabird, you want to be in charge of this play time.
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post #10 of 13
3/24/10 at 11:50am
Thread Starter 
We tried the diffuser and spray to no avail. Didn't even change the cat's behavior. They did a full blood panel a few weeks ago before his surgery, except thyroid, so they weren't concerned about that. Prozac WAS the last resort. And we went with it because we're at the end of our rope. We can't have one cat kill the other.
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post #11 of 13
3/24/10 at 3:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jonesyboo View Post
We tried the diffuser and spray to no avail. Didn't even change the cat's behavior. They did a full blood panel a few weeks ago before his surgery, except thyroid, so they weren't concerned about that. Prozac WAS the last resort. And we went with it because we're at the end of our rope. We can't have one cat kill the other.
It's only been four days! As the other poster said, this is most likely a case of displaced aggression, time and retraining is the answer, in my opinion.

Oh well, you've made your decision. It just seems to me that drugging the cat will only mask the problem, not deal with it.

I hope it all works out for them.
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post #12 of 13
3/27/10 at 6:36am
Thread Starter 
See, this is why I hate internet boards. No matter what you do, there's always a naysayer who will attack your decisions. And learn to count, Otto. It's been far more than four days now.

Well, thanks Cat site, for the advice you gave, but I'm not sticking around to get attacked for making a decision about my cat's health. None of you were there to see him come back a different cat from surgery. None of you know what it's like to live with a completely different cat. So thanks, but no thanks.
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post #13 of 13
3/27/10 at 7:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jonesyboo View Post
See, this is why I hate internet boards. No matter what you do, there's always a naysayer who will attack your decisions. And learn to count, Otto. It's been far more than four days now.

Well, thanks Cat site, for the advice you gave, but I'm not sticking around to get attacked for making a decision about my cat's health. None of you were there to see him come back a different cat from surgery. None of you know what it's like to live with a completely different cat. So thanks, but no thanks.
You may no longer be reading, but Otto made an honest mistake because your original post says "four days." Otto was not attacking you, nor would almost anyone else here. You asked for advice; the people in this forum may not agree with and support everything you do. They're here to tell you what they believe is best for the cats, often from long experience. And because some people here probably DO know what you're going through, they may tell you something different from what you expect to hear. But that's not an "attack."

It's perfectly legitimate to be concerned when behavioral issues are treated with powerful medication, whether in cats or children.

Everyone did their best to help you in a difficult situation, politely. Your own response is another matter, perhaps — but I bet the folks here would even overlook that and continue to try to help, because they know you are worried about your cats. And everyone understands what that's like, too.

I'm writing this because I've had so much help from Otto and others in this forum, always given kindly, graciously, and with the best intentions.
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