Help with a two-cat household

myers boicourt

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Backstory:

About 3 years ago, I found a litter of week old kittens that had seemingly been abandoned by their mother. I found homes for all of the kittens, and decided to keep one for myself. I bottle raised 'Fig' and she was quite companion for me. I had a roommate move in with me and he had a friend that decided to bring her cat over for a 'playdate', unbeknownst to me. I came home from work to find my kitten crouching behind the dryer in the laundry room and found that the other cat was not accepting of Fig and would hiss and attack. I promptly placed the other cat back in her kennel and called my roommate to have the cat removed. Ever since, Fig has not done well with other animals, or even humans.

After about a year and a half, I came across another week old all white male kitten, and decided to bring him home. Fig has never fully adjusted to Mozart, but things were mostly fine until Mozart became about 6 montyhs old. While he is a very friendly 'dog-like' cat, he tends to rule the roost. He will chase her, jump on her, disturb her while eating and going to the bathroom, etc...I figured it was him trying to show her that he owns the house and I thought that after an adjustment period, they would learn to cope with each other. Alas, Fig seems to be depressed all the time. She's scared to leave my bed and will creep around just waiting for Mozart to jump on her out of no where. Mozart doesn't seem to be necessarily aggressive; it's almost as though he wants her to play, but she wants no part of it.  She has also developed a nervous tail twitch and will, at times, chase and bite her own tail. She growls and hisses constantly and has become such an unpleasant animal.

I've adjusted my house to include multiple litter boxes, multiple food/water spots, and I've tried to distract Mozart when Fig comes around in an attempt to divert his attention away from her. Alas, none of these things has worked, and now I've got one very friendly, but overly territorial cat, and one very unhappy, unpleasant feline. I guess I'm trying to figure out if this is common, and if so, what people have done to make things a bit easier. While the thought of getting rid of one of them makes me sad, my very good friend actually mentioned that she'd love to take Mozart (the younger, playful male). I'm afraid that Fig is too attached and it would also be difficult to find a home for a 3 year old female cat.

Additionally, I've heard of people using Feliway, and other prescriptioned drugs, but I'm wondering if it actually works...
 

di and bob

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This is not uncommon, my female acted exactly like that. After about 1 1/2 years she finally asserted herself and didn't put up with the boy's attentions and everything became fine. It wouldn't hurt to have feliway, they have calming collars too. There are also calming treats available on Amazon that might make her a little less stressed. Make sure she has a place high up that she can get to to get away, mine used the top of the fridge,(I put a bed up there for her) that would help. I hope everything works out for you, take care.
 
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myers boicourt

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This is not uncommon, my female acted exactly like that. After about 1 1/2 years she finally asserted herself and didn't put up with the boy's attentions and everything became fine. It wouldn't hurt to have feliway, they have calming collars too. There are also calming treats available on Amazon that might make her a little less stressed. Make sure she has a place high up that she can get to to get away, mine used the top of the fridge,(I put a bed up there for her) that would help. I hope everything works out for you, take care.
I got a 'cat tree' where she can go, however, he bullies her off of that as well as any other hiding spot she has, including the top of my closet. Thank you for your other advice. I'll try the collars and pheromones, too. 

And yes, they are both neutered/spayed.
 

msaimee

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Have you taken Fig to a vet for lab work and a check-up? Sometimes if a cat isn't feeling well, they can become grumpy and depressed. When a cat of mine has had a personality change, sometimes it was due to medical issues like diabetes, hyperthyroidism, or a urinary track infection. You may want to rule out a medical cause before you make a decision about giving either cat away.
 

june lennon

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I am having a similar issue: Brought in a semi feral 4 months ago. Guessing she was 8-12 months old. Sweet girl, but fearful and skitty.

Now I was persuaded to adopt a 4 month old male kitten- very playful and the girl doesn't care for it.

I have re-separated them . But feel badly about that 2 as I'm sure kitten is lonely..

What to do?
 
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