Behavior Issue - Cats Fighting Since New Cat Showed its Face !!!

Hi

Wondering if you could help me out 

We have two cats, one we have had for 2 + years and we have been fostering on and off for a while and most of them our cats got on with enough to foster but not to live ,, but one day we fostered a little tabby and they were playing and having fun and really got on well so we stopped fostering an decided to keep this new cat which we have had for about 5 weeks .. all was going well.

Then one day a neighbours cat showed its head at our back door our 1st cat we had went mad and screamed at the back door and puffed up tail then all of a sudden turned on our 2nd cat ,, and now we have to keep them apart , its been 3 days since the guest in our garden and yet out cat is still very very aggressive towards our 2nd cat . so much he pees and poos him self :-( 

Has any one seen this kind of beheavor its ever since the 3rd neighbours cat showed her face this has started.

Just for reference 

Our 1st Cat - Phoebe  2 and a bit year old Moggy (Female) (spayed)

Our 2nd Cat - Louie - 9 month old male (neauted)

Visitor (Femail) Unsure of Age or if has been done.

Its really stressful and if need be we will have to get Louie adopted by someone else as his safety comes first. 

But was wondering if anyone know why this 3rd cat could course this and any views or suggestions :-(

Dave

It sounds like redirected agression. 1st cat went mad and was very stressed by this new cat turning up, wasn't able to get at the intruder and so turned on your 2nd cat to release his feelings. Not a nice situation to be in. First of all, you need to separate your two cats and treat them as though they'd never met before...separate rooms, scent swapping, site swapping etc etc. Getting Feliway diffusers at strategic points throughout the house may also help.

Secondly, you need to address this intruder cat. If possible create a catio to prevent the neighbour's cat getting close to your back door,or find some other way to keep her away from your house.

It's not an easy process, but I think it's the only way forward. Even if you rehome your new cat you will still have the issue of your neighbour's cat stressing out your girl. I think an episode of My Cat From Hell covered a similar issue, but I can't remember which season, let alone which episode it was.

It definitely does sound like redirected cat aggression.  Sometimes the best way to solve the issue is to separate the cats fully for a few days.  Yes this is hard and will involve one of the cats being closed in a room ( they can take turns).  Yet they should not have any contact with each other.  After a day, do some scent swapping. Get two clean wash cloths and rub each cat down with one.  Be sure to the scent glands under the chin and on the pads of the feet.  Then rub each cat down with the others scent.  You can then leave the wash cloth from the other cat in the room so they can continue to smell it.  Add a yummy treat on top of it.  This will allow the cats to associate each others smell with something yummy and good.

Next you can try feeding them on opposite sides of a closed door.  If there is hissing or growling you are not ready for this step.  If all goes well, open the door a crack or place a baby gate between them. 

Hopefully after a few days to a week, all will be back to normal.

Here is an article on redirected aggression.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/re-directed-aggression-in-cats

Also since you know a neighbors cat is causing the problem, you may need to keep your blinds closed or not allow the cats near the window.