Stray cat is a bully

I found a very friendly intact male cat and have been caring for him for about a week. He's been to the vet and was separated from the others until we started introducing him into the house in the past couple of days. We had been introducing scents and following the usual introduction procedures. He's still a little fearful of the dog but he doesn't mind other cats. However, he is a bully. He is beating up on the dog and my brother's male Bengals, who are living with me temporarily, Although the bengals are much bigger, they're running away from him. When they engage him in play, he hits them. If one of them is in his way, he hits him. He pursues the smaller bengal, just to intimidate and assault him.

My adopted female is not completely comfortable with him. I don't leave them alone together and she has lashed out at him because he doesn't recognize her boundaries, especially when she's eating. He seems to respect her but not the males. I guess that's at least, partly because he's not fixed. I do intend to have him neutered. In general, he has no house manners. He will jump on anyone and anything if there's food around. I realize we have to work on these things but I can't have him assaulting everyone. i was thinking about keeping him but if this behavior continues, that's not an option. 

I need to get the new cat and the female integrated and get the new cat to stop bullying everyone else. Beyond neutering, does anyone have any suggestions?

I am going through something very similar. Three weeks ago I took in a stray, male cat who looked very malnourished around my work place. I took him immediately to a clinic to get neutered, vaccinated for rabies, and tested for FIV/FeL, and then two days later took him into my home where he was in a room by himself for about a week. After a week I gave him the run of the house with my four other indoor cats. At first he was chasing around my young, male alpha cat and bullying all of them (they are all fixed). Now my alpha male and him are constantly chasing each other around the house--half fighting, half playing. Neither have been seriously injured, but there is a lot of cat chaos in my formerly very peaceful house. He is very vocal, crying a lot, especially at 5:30 am and at sunset, and he is still rude sometimes to the other cats, randomly smacking them when they sleep. I have been unable to find a home for him, and will likely keep him. He has all sorts of bad habits--constantly begging for food, but very picky, doesn't want to eat much of the dry food I leave out all day--but eats 3 cans of one flavor of Fancy Feast a day!   He gets into the garbage can, jumps onto the stove and sink and pulls around bags of bread. He wants to go outside, but I won't allow it because he would fight with my outdoor cat who will not come inside. However, all that said, he has shown a good amount of improvement in 3 weeks, and he is affectionate with me, and I believe he can make the necessary adjustments in time. But it is requiring a LOT of patience on my part and the part of the other cats! After the neuter, it takes about 6 weeks for the hormones to settle, so I would advise that you get him neutered ASAP and vet checked. He likely has parasites that will need to be treated (mine had awful ones--was on 2 medicines for a week and will likely need more). Until you get him neutered and treated for worms, he will have a hard time adjusting, so don't wait any longer. Don't make a decision about whether or not to keep him until you've neutered him and allowed him a few weeks after that to settle down.

I took in a male stray about 1.5-2 months ago. He has been vetted and neutered. When I first took him in, he was very gentle with people but was and is, a bully with my female cat and my brother's male cats, who are separated from my cats most of the time. My female has tolerated him but they do fight at times. My female is the first cat I've ever owned and she was a stray as well. She still has some issues and scratches and bites more than I'd like. 

The male never drew his claws but now that he's become more comfortable, he is scratching and biting when he doesn't like something. He also swats at my female a lot and plays more aggressively than she likes. He's also become obsessed with food, to the point that, any time food is out, I have to put him in a crate. If he does manage to steal something, he growls and holds onto it with all his might.  I was  willing to tolerate all of that in hopes that it would get better.

However, today I was having work done in the house, so I had to bring him into my bedroom and shut the door. I brought up a bag of treats, which I placed in a drawer after he stole them and tore into the bag. Not realizing the treats were no longer on my desk, he jumped up on my lap, in order to climb onto my desk but I stopped him. I held him for about 30 seconds to pet him and he turned and swiped me in the face, just missing my eye with his claw. I was bleeding and will probably have a small, hopefully, temporary scar. 

A few weeks ago, he would have given me a pat without claws. I'm not sure if his behavior is gong to continue to get worse but I have no idea how to make it better. I would never give him to a shelter but I may have to re-home him if I can't get him under control. I know this sounds ignorant but it's this kind of behavior that always made me apprehensive about having cats and is why I only recently adopted one. I thought they'd both become more affectionate and less aggressive over time but it isn't happening, despite the affection and attention that is lavished upon them. I realize I've only had the male for a very short time but he was gentler in the beginning. 

How do you correct a cat? In the first place, the fact that I can't keep him off desks and counter tops is a problem in itself. I've tried the aluminum foil and that didn't work at all. More importantly,  I can't have a cat clawing at people's faces.

It seems as though the cat might be very stressed.  When cats come into a home and there are other cats, they need to be properly introduced.  Cats are very territorial.  Your residents cats have claimed their space and now there is a newcomer.  He wants space too.  Just like people, some cats will get along great from the start and others will take time.  When I brought a stray/feral into my home last year, it took exactly one year for my resident cat and the newcomer to get along.  I did introductions, but rushed the last steps.  This back fired on me and it ended up taking much longer.  I will post some links and a video for cat to cat introductions.  You might want to start the process from the beginning.  If you just allow cats to take it at their own pace, you will often end up with fighting and more aggressive cats.  The new cat may be taking his frustration out on you.

1.  Do you have any feliway diffusers or feliway spray?  They both help to make cats feel more secure and calm.

2.  Composure calming treats or liquid?  You can use this on all of the cats to help diffuse some of the stress.  I prefer the liquid as you can mix it into wet food and it works fairly quickly.  The treats are hit and miss as some cats don't like them.  I gave the liquid to both my cats for about 2 months.  Then only the more aggressive cat. 

3.  Do you spend alone time with each of the cats?  Playing and wearing them out?  They each need to know they have a special place with you.

It is alot of work and at times it is very frustrating.  Cats pick up on your stress.  Try to remain calm, step back and start the introduction process.  I used a baby gate at first, but most cats can easily jump that.  You can stack 2 on top of each other or I got a cheap wooden screen door from Lowes ($20) and put it up against the door with tension rods.  I had a baby gate in the door way.  This required supervision, but allowed the cats to safely see and smell each other. 

http://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/a-simple-little-trick-to-use-during-new-cat-introductions/

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/cat-behavior/introducing-your-cat-new-cat

http://jacksongalaxy.com/2010/10/01/cat-to-cat-introductions/

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats

I wonder, if he is one of those who wants to be the chief boss at all costs.  Ie a behavior common with dogs, but not so common with cats.  Or rather, our domestic cats usually are our bosses and spoiled, but they do it so gently its rarely a real problem, and we allow them with a mild smile.   

Here, one tip is you look up books on dog caretaking for tips how to control dogs trying to dominate.

A tip we use at our own home (our residents are also spoiled), we dont allow them to be on our kitchen table.  They often wander on it anyway, but we chase them off.   And thus, this way we make a show off, who is the real head of the house, and who is a loved cat.

In your case it is understandable you allowed him to breed out - he was adopted, you didnt wanted to scary him nor feel scared.  Now he goes too far...

Also, the behavior, isnt uncommon as such.  Ie, now he does dare to rely on you.  Now he knows it is his home too.  He wont be thrown out as soon he does something.  So now he dares to take his place. To test the limits.   So he is not Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, this behavior is quite common - and happens both with humans, dogs and cats.

But exactly because of the fact he is now feeling being home, its time to show the limits and ropes.

Good luck!

Separating the cats and re-introducing them like they never met before is a good idea, as is getting Feliway diffusers. I would also take him into the vet for a thorough check-up. This is not normal behavior for a cat. I have a male cat who was being aggressive with the other cats too and at first I too thought he was just a bully. But that wasn't the case. It turned out that he was in pain! When cats are in pain or not feeling good, physically or psychologically, they sometimes act out. Medical problems aren't always discovered during a normal exam so a thorough, in dept exam with testing is a good idea. If it turns out not to be a medical issue it's most likely stress and/or anxiety related. Something is unsettling to him. I have a foster cat right now who is also acting out against a couple of the other cats and he's just been started on Prozac to deal with his anxiety and hopefully calm him down. We're just a few days into it and it takes about six weeks to see results so I don't know how well it's working yet but I know it works well for other cats. A friend of mine has a cat who is appropriately named "Crazy Cat" and she is doing great on Prozac and has for a long time. Before that she attacked everything and everyone. So you do have a few things you can try.

As far as getting up on the counters and table you could try using double-sticky tape (sold in pet stores) and/or x-mats (cheapest online) on the counters. You could also put some large stuff at the edge of the counters so that it looks impossible to jump up (the cats aren't going to jump up if there is a coffee maker right there since they can't land on it). You wouldn't have to keep it there forever. Just for a while to break the habit. Another thing you can try is squirting some water on his back half when he's on the counter or about to jump up. A water gun or a spray bottle is good. Just make sure not to spray near the face. You could also put some coins in a soda can and shake it when the cat is on the counter. The noise startles them and he should take off. This is also useful to stop other bad behavior, like fighting with another cat.

As far as the food issue goes you may want to try free feeding so that meal time doesn't become such a big deal. He may eat a lot at first but it should taper off after a while. I know some people disagree with free feeding but I have found that it works just fine. The cats self regulate and the cats that inhale their food and try to steal food from other cats soon stop since they know that it's always there.

Not every cat is right for every home so if you decide that you just want to foster this kitty until you can find a permanent home that's okay. Just know that finding homes for adult cats is difficult and may take a while so whether you want to keep him or not working on his issues needs to be done either way.

Good Luck!

He was just fixed a couple of weeks ago but I've had him for about 2 months now and it's not getting any better. He's still a major bully. He plays too physically with my female cat and, a lot of the time, he initiates physical fights by swatting at her. They start to play and my girl ends up cornered behind a piece of furniture, trying to defend herself. It was suggested that aggressive behavior like this is abnormal and that he might have an underlying medical issue but so far, I haven't found any.Trying to re-home a cat with behavior problems won't be easy, so I don't know what to do.

He's also food-obsessed. I can't keep him from trying to steal food from my dog and cat, in addition to jumping up on tables, counters. the stove, etc. 

Not to mention, he wasn't pulling his claws out before but he is now. He clawed my face yesterday just below my eye.

I know it takes a while for the hormones to calm down and I'm hoping that helps significantly. 

Ziggy'smom said:

Separating the cats and re-introducing them like they never met before is a good idea, as is getting Feliway diffusers. I would also take him into the vet for a thorough check-up. This is not normal behavior for a cat. I have a male cat who was being aggressive with the other cats too and at first I too thought he was just a bully. But that wasn't the case. It turned out that he was in pain! When cats are in pain or not feeling good, physically or psychologically, they sometimes act out. Medical problems aren't always discovered during a normal exam so a thorough, in dept exam with testing is a good idea. If it turns out not to be a medical issue it's most likely stress and/or anxiety related. Something is unsettling to him. I have a foster cat right now who is also acting out against a couple of the other cats and he's just been started on Prozac to deal with his anxiety and hopefully calm him down. We're just a few days into it and it takes about six weeks to see results so I don't know how well it's working yet but I know it works well for other cats. A friend of mine has a cat who is appropriately named "Crazy Cat" and she is doing great on Prozac and has for a long time. Before that she attacked everything and everyone. So you do have a few things you can try.

Click to expand...

What kinds of things should he be checked for? What kinds of tests beyond bloodwork?