torti being nasty

Hi guys
I have a question....today my friend brought her 4 month old kitten for a visit, my 2 year old long hair tabby didn't really care much but my 2 year old torti didn't take it to well, hissing and growling. After they left around 3pm my two kitties the long hair and torti were having issues. The torti started growling, hissing and hitting our long hair. They have been brought up together and have never had this problem before. What's going on and how do i fix it?? Do i leave them and see how they go tomorrow or do you think its something else? I'm really worried. I heard it can be a torti thing?? HELP

Hi Louise,

Well, first of all cats don't really like visits. They're very much creatures of habit. They like to stay in the same place, see the same people, stick to the same routine. If you were going to introduce a new kitten to the household you'd have to do so very slowly over a period of days or even weeks. So having a strange kitten in the house for the day has probably upset your cat.

Now that the kitten has gone your cat still feels that her territory is under threat. She'll still be able to smell the "intruder" and she's on edge. She's probably redirecting her aggression and unease onto your other cat.

It will probably take a few days for things to go back to normal. You could separate the two cats for now and then try giving them both something special for dinner tomorrow while you sit in between the two of them. Give them time to forget about the new kitten and stick to their regular routine to make them both feel secure.

It's a myth about tortoiseshell cats being nasty, colour doesn't affect their personality at all. I've got two very sweet torbie girls.

That all makes a lot of sense. My husband told me the same thing just before. I have never had cats before this....i have definately learnt my lesson.
They ate together tonight (as per usual) they have one of those double bowls...one eats out of the left, the other the right. They were fine while eating...but back to fighting once finished. Flik (the torti) seems so angry and cleo (long hair tabby) just takes it. I feel so bad and am so scared they aren't going to get back to normal. Is there anything else i can try to try and speed up the making friends vibe??

If they are fighting I'd give Flik a time-out in her own room. She needs to decompress, she sounds as if she is still stressed out about the kitten. Could you put her in her own room overnight, a room that the kitten didn't go into, with her food, water, litter box etc? As soon as she is feeling safe again she'll stop attacking Cleo.

It might take a day or two. Cats are very sensitive to smells and if she can still smell the kitten she'll be on edge. It's like when you take one cat to the vet and then the other cat growls at them because they can smell all those strange vet smells.

Hi again....been two days and flik is still being (for lack of a better word) a bully. Still hissing, growling and hitting....all be it randomly. I dunno what to do. I have tried the time outs. They eat together out of the same bowl with no problems. Its when they pass each other. Or if we pass with cleo.

Have you tried Feliway? One diffuser is enough for a large sized house if you keep the windows closed.

You can also get something called Composure Calming Treats that are supposed to work well. I've never tried them myself but I think @ShadowsRescue  has.

http://www.feliway.com/us/

Another thing you could do is to try and engage them both in play so they focus on the game rather than each other. Try something like a wand toy or one of those laser pointers.

I would start with Feliway plug ins or feliway spray.  This will help to calm them both down.  I do use Composure Liquid max.  It does help to calm aggressive cats, but it can take a few days or more to work.  You can probably find the treats in a pet store.  Yet some cats do not like the treats.  Also when you first start giving the treats, you need to double or triple the dosage. 

This type of behavior is often referred to as redirected aggression.  Your cat was very upset by the presences of a new cat.  The smells that the new cat brought into your home has upset the apple cart.  He took it out on the closet thing he could; your other cat. 

If the behavior continues you may have to do reintroductions. This is a huge pain and hopefully your cats can calm down soon. 

Oh god i hope it doesnt come to that. If it does is there anybadvice you can offer??

Take a look at this.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/the-ultimate-yet-simplified-guide-to-introducing-cats

Hope there is something helpful on here.