First, let me apologize in advance for the length of this post - I'm just trying to be thorough and not leave any details out that might help diagnose the problem.
When my wife and I moved into together about 2 years ago, we each brought a cat into the relationship. My black desexed male Snape is currently about 3-4 years old. Her white desexed female Gracie is about 7. We slowly introduced them to each other, but Gracie seemed pretty disinterested in him -she's a very independent cat. Snape appeared eager to play, but he has a habit of getting overstimulated when he's playing, and can turn aggressive at the drop of a hat. Add to the fact that he's a very large cat, and Gracie's a little below average, she spent most of her time avoiding him.
Snape started to get more aggressive over time, but mostly at night. Rarely would we get through the night without him and Gracie getting into it. We tried Feliway, and that seemed to ease the situation for a bit, but I swear Snape built up a tolerance for it, because after a couple months, it didn't seem to affect him. So the vet recommended we try Elavil. He got 10mg a day, and that did wonders. Their fighting stopped for the better part of a year.
Last summer I let my wife bring home a kitten, slightly worried about how Snape would handle another male cat in the house. Surprisingly, he buddied right up with Falkor, and they became pretty much inseparable. They bonded over having a mutal enemy - Gracie. Falkor loves to harrass Gracie. He chases her, he bats at her tail - generally speaking, it seems like good natured playful fun from him. Gracie seems annoyed by his antics most of the time, but she tolerates him. The problem is, since Falkor came onto the scene, Snape's aggression toward Gracie appears to have kicked back in. He stalks her, he jumps on her, he tears large chunks her fur out - Gracie seems genuinely terrified whenever Snape's in the room. She'll defend herself against Falkor (who's roughly the same size as her), but runs from Snape and tries to hide.
A lot times, Snape doesn't even have to do anything, he just seems enjoy intimidating her. Sometimes, you'll see him position himself in the dead center of a hallway or staircase and dare her to try to get by him.
The vet tried upping Snape's elavil, and that seemed to work for about a week, but now he's worse than ever. We pretty much have to keep them separated, because otherwise, he's shadowing her and sooner or later, he'll attack.
We've got a baby on the way next year, and we don't have a large house. Keeping them separated 24/7 isn't going to be an option for much longer. I really don't want any of the cats to have to find a new home, but it's getting to that point. Our vet seems totally perplexed, saying he's never seen a cat display such targeted, aggressive behavior toward just one other cat.
I'm absolutely desperate at this point. If anyone has any suggestions or things to try, I'm open to just about anything at this point.
When my wife and I moved into together about 2 years ago, we each brought a cat into the relationship. My black desexed male Snape is currently about 3-4 years old. Her white desexed female Gracie is about 7. We slowly introduced them to each other, but Gracie seemed pretty disinterested in him -she's a very independent cat. Snape appeared eager to play, but he has a habit of getting overstimulated when he's playing, and can turn aggressive at the drop of a hat. Add to the fact that he's a very large cat, and Gracie's a little below average, she spent most of her time avoiding him.
Snape started to get more aggressive over time, but mostly at night. Rarely would we get through the night without him and Gracie getting into it. We tried Feliway, and that seemed to ease the situation for a bit, but I swear Snape built up a tolerance for it, because after a couple months, it didn't seem to affect him. So the vet recommended we try Elavil. He got 10mg a day, and that did wonders. Their fighting stopped for the better part of a year.
Last summer I let my wife bring home a kitten, slightly worried about how Snape would handle another male cat in the house. Surprisingly, he buddied right up with Falkor, and they became pretty much inseparable. They bonded over having a mutal enemy - Gracie. Falkor loves to harrass Gracie. He chases her, he bats at her tail - generally speaking, it seems like good natured playful fun from him. Gracie seems annoyed by his antics most of the time, but she tolerates him. The problem is, since Falkor came onto the scene, Snape's aggression toward Gracie appears to have kicked back in. He stalks her, he jumps on her, he tears large chunks her fur out - Gracie seems genuinely terrified whenever Snape's in the room. She'll defend herself against Falkor (who's roughly the same size as her), but runs from Snape and tries to hide.
A lot times, Snape doesn't even have to do anything, he just seems enjoy intimidating her. Sometimes, you'll see him position himself in the dead center of a hallway or staircase and dare her to try to get by him.
The vet tried upping Snape's elavil, and that seemed to work for about a week, but now he's worse than ever. We pretty much have to keep them separated, because otherwise, he's shadowing her and sooner or later, he'll attack.
We've got a baby on the way next year, and we don't have a large house. Keeping them separated 24/7 isn't going to be an option for much longer. I really don't want any of the cats to have to find a new home, but it's getting to that point. Our vet seems totally perplexed, saying he's never seen a cat display such targeted, aggressive behavior toward just one other cat.
I'm absolutely desperate at this point. If anyone has any suggestions or things to try, I'm open to just about anything at this point.
Maybe they're the cause? Just guessing here.
