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- Mar 4, 2015
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Hello! Brand new on here, so I apologize if this has been asked before.
I have 3 cats, all spayed/neutered. A 4 year old female, Buffy, a 16 month old male, Mickey, and the most recent addition, a 9 year old male, Biff. Buffy and Mickey have been with me since each was about 5 months old-they were introduced to each other gradually over about a month and are now inseparable- napping together, grooming each other, playing, etc. I adopted Biff 3 months ago. He was gradually introduced to the other two over about 6 weeks and they all seemed to be getting along very well- he's not as close to them as the other two are to each other, but all three had been grooming each other and generally tolerating each other.
Until last week, that is. All of a sudden, Buffy has decided she doesn't like Biff so much. They seem to mostly ignore each other all day, but for the past six nights, around the same time every night, she's taken to confronting him and snarling, hissing, growling, and screaming. This goes on for about 20 minutes each time. I haven't actually seen them physically fight yet, but the sounds are terrible, and they get worse every night! She will usually approach him while he's distracted by something else and just lay into him. Buffy and Biff both seem to get along with Mickey just fine, and he doesn't get in the middle of it.
Some environmental info... these are all strictly indoor cats. I have 4 large litter boxes, and nobody's having trouble using those. Biff only eats a prescription wet food diet (he has a bit of a tender tummy, but has a clean bill of health from the vet), and Buffy refuses to eat anything but dry food so they shouldn't be competing for that. I have six water bowls/fountains throughout the house. I also set up 3 large cat trees, positioned by 2 windows overlooking a heated bird bath and feeder in the yard, and I haven't noticed any competition over those, they each seem to have chosen one for themselves and they stick to it. It's currently snowy where I live, and I checked the yard a few times for stray cat prints, but didn't find any- I thought maybe a stray outside could have been riling them up? All three cats went to the vet for their annual checkup about a month ago and are all in good health. I try to play with them every morning and night for about half an hour. I have a freshwater aquarium, but other than that no other animals in the house. They are all affectionate cats who really seem to like being around people.
Any idea why this would happen so suddenly? Will they work it out themselves, or do I have to send Biff back to his safe room? I would appreciate any suggestions!
I have 3 cats, all spayed/neutered. A 4 year old female, Buffy, a 16 month old male, Mickey, and the most recent addition, a 9 year old male, Biff. Buffy and Mickey have been with me since each was about 5 months old-they were introduced to each other gradually over about a month and are now inseparable- napping together, grooming each other, playing, etc. I adopted Biff 3 months ago. He was gradually introduced to the other two over about 6 weeks and they all seemed to be getting along very well- he's not as close to them as the other two are to each other, but all three had been grooming each other and generally tolerating each other.
Until last week, that is. All of a sudden, Buffy has decided she doesn't like Biff so much. They seem to mostly ignore each other all day, but for the past six nights, around the same time every night, she's taken to confronting him and snarling, hissing, growling, and screaming. This goes on for about 20 minutes each time. I haven't actually seen them physically fight yet, but the sounds are terrible, and they get worse every night! She will usually approach him while he's distracted by something else and just lay into him. Buffy and Biff both seem to get along with Mickey just fine, and he doesn't get in the middle of it.
Some environmental info... these are all strictly indoor cats. I have 4 large litter boxes, and nobody's having trouble using those. Biff only eats a prescription wet food diet (he has a bit of a tender tummy, but has a clean bill of health from the vet), and Buffy refuses to eat anything but dry food so they shouldn't be competing for that. I have six water bowls/fountains throughout the house. I also set up 3 large cat trees, positioned by 2 windows overlooking a heated bird bath and feeder in the yard, and I haven't noticed any competition over those, they each seem to have chosen one for themselves and they stick to it. It's currently snowy where I live, and I checked the yard a few times for stray cat prints, but didn't find any- I thought maybe a stray outside could have been riling them up? All three cats went to the vet for their annual checkup about a month ago and are all in good health. I try to play with them every morning and night for about half an hour. I have a freshwater aquarium, but other than that no other animals in the house. They are all affectionate cats who really seem to like being around people.
Any idea why this would happen so suddenly? Will they work it out themselves, or do I have to send Biff back to his safe room? I would appreciate any suggestions!
