Old and New Cat Aggression

jennaniccole

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I recently adopted a 3 year old female, just about a month ago. At first she and my 15 y.o. were doing okay, just a little hissing but no fights. Now though, she will not stop chasing him whenever she gets a chance. It might not be a problem, except that the 15 year old has arthritis and all the chasing makes it so he can barely walk some days. He's then turned to biting me, and attacking me really violently, instead of channeling his anger into her, which isn't good either. New cat has also started peeing on my bed.

I introduced them slowly at first, and I've tried separating and re-introducing slowly, but nothing seems to help, as soon as I'm not in the room staring at them she chases him around until he gets sore, and then he comes over and bites me, and I mean REALLY attacks me. I've also tried vetriscience and petco calming treats, and Feliway spray, but none of that helps either. 

What else can I do to help calm them down, and to help my 15 y.o. not be in so much pain from being chased?
 

Anne

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I recently adopted a 3 year old female, just about a month ago. At first she and my 15 y.o. were doing okay, just a little hissing but no fights. Now though, she will not stop chasing him whenever she gets a chance. It might not be a problem, except that the 15 year old has arthritis and all the chasing makes it so he can barely walk some days. He's then turned to biting me, and attacking me really violently, instead of channeling his anger into her, which isn't good either. New cat has also started peeing on my bed.

I introduced them slowly at first, and I've tried separating and re-introducing slowly, but nothing seems to help, as soon as I'm not in the room staring at them she chases him around until he gets sore, and then he comes over and bites me, and I mean REALLY attacks me. I've also tried vetriscience and petco calming treats, and Feliway spray, but none of that helps either. 

What else can I do to help calm them down, and to help my 15 y.o. not be in so much pain from being chased?
Welcome to TCS 
 That is quite the situation you have going there. I have some thoughts a this point and a bunch of questions -

Can you tell us some more about their living areas? I think they may need more space, especially your senior cat. Maybe a cat tree or window perch with gentle steps leading up to it to help him reach it. Vertical space is very important for cats.

It sounds to me like they may still be sorting out their own dominance issues but I am concerned with your new cat litterbox avoidance problem. Does she pee in the litterbox as well? How many litterboxes do the cats have? They should have three at this point, especially considering the older cat's arthritis and their issues between them.

How do you react when you see her chasing him? How do you react when he bites you? Also, can you please describe his attacks on you, specifically the body language before and during. 

How long have you given each introduction? You mentioned the adoption was a month ago, so two introductions during this time frame may mean each introduction process was too fast for them. I hate to say it but you may have to separate and re-introduce one more time only very slowly, and following their cues. 

Finally, I have some links to articles on our site. Sounds like you've done a lot of research already but just in case something in these articles may be new or ring a bell somehow - 

The Multi-Cat Household

Must-Know Tips for Feeding Cats in a Multi-Cat Household

Litterbox Problems in Cats - The Ultimate Guide (it links to other articles, so follow up on the ones that may be relevant to your situations)

Cat Aggression Toward People

Re-directed Aggression in Cats​

Breaking Up Cat Fights
 

detmut

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There's no shortage of information online. If possible, please link to resources within our website, or even better, try to help the member with your own advice, based on that information. Thanks!
ok. sorry. 

one thing i would suggest to the OP is to try to get the cats to smell like one another. take a towel and rub one cat, then rub the other cat, and then back to the first. 
 

Columbine

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A month really isn't a very long time for introductions - especially for two cats at very different life stages.

The first thing, as Anne Anne said, is to address the vertical space. Go round your house and really look at it from a cat's perspective. The aim is to remove any dead ends, so it's impossible for one cat to corner the other. This may involve adding steps, shelving, cat trees....anything to give escape routes.

Next - peeing on your bed. The most likely reason is that your new girl is feeling terratorially insecure. By peeing on your bed (anything place that smells very strongly of you) she is trying to meld your scents together in an attempt to prove to herself that she belongs with you - that it's her home too.

Finally, the chasing. Do you play with your girl regularly to drain her energy? I mean really active play with an interactive toy (most likely a wand toy such as Da Bird), until she's out of breath...even panting. Ideally, she should have 2 play sessions a day of at least 5-10mins.The aim is to tire her out. Hopefully, simply draining her energy will go a long way to stopping her chasing your old boy around.

Taking play a stage further may also help solve the peeing on the bed issue too. If you use play to mimic the hunt-kill-eat cycle you will automatically boost her confidence in the territory: anywhere a cat catches, kills and eats it's prey becomes its territory. It's one of the most empowering thing you can do for them. Add to that that playing with interactive toys builds a strong bond between you and your cat, and there really is no downside.

The play cycle works like this:- Using a wand toy you engage the cat in play. Do your best to be creative and mimic an animals movement with the toy. Build the intensity fairly quickly (being sure to let the cat catch hold of the toy every so often so they font get discouraged), then gradually let the toy 'die'. End with the toy lying 'dead' in the cat's paws/mouth. Immediately follow this game with some food - either a meal or a snack of some treats. After eating, the cat will naturally go into grooming and then sleep.

These articles may help:-
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cat-play-the-rules-of-the-game
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/playing-with-your-cat-ten-things-every-cat-owner-needs-to-know
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/bringing-home-a-new-cat
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/the-ultimate-yet-simplified-guide-to-introducing-cats
 
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