New cat won't stop attacking older cat

Hey Everyone,

I just tracked down this site, hoping that someone here can give me some advice. I adopted a new 5 year old cat from a friend of mine last year when she moved. He's a great cat. Very social, vocal, and affectionate. He lived in a house with me and 3 other people for approx 7 months without ever an issue. I moved back home with my family, into a house with 3 dogs.

At first he was wary of the dogs, but when he figured out that they really don't care (we've had cats before, and the dogs know the drill... leave them alone!), he was fine. A few months ago we took in a stray that appeared in the neighborhood. The vet said he is about 1 year old. The first month or two were fine fine. The older cat wasn't happy about it, but just kept his space. The new cat started going after the older cat, and from the looks of it, was just play fighting. He never uses claws or displays any hostility. But the older cat is NOT happy about that at all.

The problem has gotten to the point where the older cat hides out in my room at home all day. He is too scared to leave the room because he is afraid the other cat will "attack" him, which about 95% of the time he does. As soon as he senses the other cat is coming, he goes into attack mode. It's gotten so bad that the older cat isn't eating as much, drinking as much, and had gone to the bathroom in my room a few times because he was too scared to go downstairs to use his litter pan.

It's gotten to the point where we have to restrain the younger cat, and carry the older one downstairs and physically put him in front of his litter pan or food. And all the while, the younger cat is trying to get away. And if he does, right back upstairs the older one goes.

I'm worried about the older cat's health, because he's visibly paranoid nearly all the time, not eating as much as he used to, not taking in enough liquid, and is turning from a very happy cat into a very grumpy one. Even when you pick him up to move him around, he cries and scratches to get away because the younger cat will climb up your leg to get at him.

I really really hate ever striking an animal, and the few times I've tried that to get him to stop it doesn't work. Nor does using a squirt bottle. He just keeps attacking. And the other cat's hissing and growling, and hitting back with claws does nothing to deter him either. I've tried the clicker training as well, and he doesn't respond to it. He's got excellent hearing, but it's very selective. What other options are out there for us? We don't have the option of keeping another litter box upstairs because our house is very small.

I really hope someone out there can help us. We've always had animals, and we're pretty crazy about them, and have had our share of problems, but this is totally new, and I can't find anything about it anywhere. A young cat that refuses to be put in it's place, by anyone, man, dog, or cat alike. I'd really like to be able to find some solution and get my happy cat back. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Matthew

Thanks for the replies. There's always so much information you want to relay, but not sure what's important or not until people start asking questions. So hopefully I'll be able to give more, and get more!

Right off the bat, I want to address the hitting. That was only 2 times, and it was during the "incidents". And not to try and justify it, or make excuses for myself, they were very light, wish a pushing follow through. Just as much to get the younger cat away as it was to try and dissuade the behavior.

I mentioned that our house is small, and I can't overemphasize that. It's an old cottage built in the late 1800's. It's been updated and modernized, but there's still no escaping the fact that it's SMALL! There's really nowhere to hide in this house, for animals or humans alike! Putting a litterbox in my room it's litterally impossible. We're in the process of remodeling part of the downstairs to make an additional room, so the upstairs can eventually be opened up. So the added construction is making things even tighter.

I honestly don't believe the younger cat is bullying, or doing any kind of territorial thing, because while he is always doing it, it's not ALL the time. There will be many occasions where the older cat will be on my bed, and the younger one will jump up and lay down right next to him and go to sleep. The older cat will growl and hiss, but generally be too afraid to run away, because that's when he gets chased. And then he'll eventually fall asleep, and they'll be there together for a while. It's just any time the older cat tried to get away and run, the younger cat goes into attack/play mode. Like I mentioned, he does the same things to the 3 dogs we have, but they just ignore him, and he gives up and goes to take a nap. Zeke, the older cat (so much easier to just use their names), is still pretty much ruler of the house. He'll still go into the dogs' crates and sleep, making the dogs very confused. He still does everything he's always done, just alot less of it, and never totally relaxed. He's always looking over his shoulder, and rightfully so.

We got the wet food back out for Zeke. It's his favorite, and goes right back to his sprightly self when he sees the can. So today he's eaten normally again. I guess the meat and gravy are enough to overpower his paranoia.

Zeke does still use the litter pan on his own, but if he goes the whole day without using it, I've been taking him in the bathroom with me while I use the shower, and he goes in on his own then.

And what's the most confusing about the whole thing is that for nearly 2 months they were fine together. They weren't best friends, but they would just ignore each other and do their things. We took in Moe (the younger one) and did the whole acclimation process we always do with cats, keeping them separate, letting them get used to each other little by little. But then all of a sudden, Moe just got more playful. He doesn't try to get Zeke out of a room, or off of a piece of furniture. He displays no kind of aggressive or territorial signs (we've had lots of cats over the years, and know the signs well). He just wants to play, but Zeke doesn't like to play. He's more content to curl up on your lap of on your shoulder and sleep. But he doesn't do that anymore because Moe sneaks up and hits him. Zeke tries to ignore him, he hisses, growls, hides, and Moe just takes a few whacks and then flops over and takes a nap. I know cats are peculiar animals who do seemingly strange things for no reason.

I've seen people mention different toys. Moe likes his toys, and plays with the, quite a bit, but they're static. Are there any more interactive toys that anyone might recommend? Things that move on their own or run away? It seems like Moe just wants something to chase, and since Zeke runs when he hits him, vs. the dogs who just stand there, Zeke is his favorite toy.

More of a background on both cats too. Zeke, as I said, I adopted from a friend of mine who moved and couldn't take him. He's moved quite a few times in his life. His previous owner was a fellow music student in college, and a bit of a gypsy. Lived a bunch of places for a few weeks or months here and there, and even out of her car for a while. So Zeke is an old pro when it comes to new environments, and he always takes it in stride. He's always lived with other cats on at least 4 or 5 occasions, and he's always been very affectionate and tolerant with other cats.

Moe just appeared in our yard while I was out doing yardwork with my mom. He say there, meowed, rubbed, sat in our laps, and was more than happy to be helping. We took him in partly because some of the cats in the neighborhood are very aggressive, and since he's so much smaller than they are, we didn't want him getting hurt. Within minutes of being in the house on his own, he curled up on the couch and took a nap, so he was definitely someone's pet. He also had the mark on the fur around his neck, so you could see that he did have a collar on. Noone in the neighborhood had seem him before, and noone's reported a cat like him missing. His markings are distictive. He's while with black spots like a cow. Naming his was a tossup between Moe and Moo Moo (for obvious reasons). He is a very gentle and affectionate cat. He's never scratched anyone, and like I said, when he does hit Zeke, he never uses claws. He seems to just be a playful young cat, who is lacking a playmate.

I don't know if any of that massive amount of information sheds any more light on things or not. Moe just seems to be one of those personalities that on it's own, just doesn't know when to stop. He gets an idea in his head, and doesn't let it go. Any kitty psychiatrists out there?

Thanks again for your comments, and we'll try our best here to do what we can, with the space we have to work with!

Matthew