Persil has become aggressive

Over the last few weeks Persil has developed the habit of picking fights with Dushka. I have had to separate them several times, pick Persil up and give her time out in a bedroom. The silly thing is that Dushka is bigger than Persil, and naturally defends herself, so that it is Persil who comes off worst. She has had several bites and scratches on her face and neck, one of which only just missed her eye. I can find no reason for this behaviour - she play fights with the others but it doesn't turn nasty, and she is her usual self towards me, more loving if anything. Why would she be jealous of Dushka, certainly nothing has changed in the house? It is always Persil who starts it, she ambushes Dushka, stalks her and chases her until Dushka turns and growls, then it is fur flying all over the place.

Jenny I'm really sorry you are experiencing this with Persil. I don't have any advice unfortunately because I haven't been there but I'm sending you patience {{{vibes}}} and I hope that whatever issues Persil has with Dushka are resolved ASAP

Is Dushkha the alpha cat? It might not be jealousy, just a question of overthrowing the boss?

Jenny, I'm sorry to hear you are going through this

I've had/have similar troubles with Molly and Willow (as you may know) Molly will stalk Willow and also ends up worse off from the ordeal. I have been maintaining that their claws are clipped short, so that minimal damage is cause in the scraps!

I wish I could offer you some advice, but we are still working through these issues at the moment, too!

I hope you find a resolution to the situation and I'd be interested in other people's ideas and suggestions too!

The alpha issue is interesting here - Ellie was alpha and is only now getting back her alpha status after being traumatised due to dog mauling (at a friend's house, not when outside here). Most of the time the others defer to her again, but maybe there is some infighting going on. But Dushka has never been alpha, and most of the time ignores the others totally, just getting out of their way and doing her own thing. I feed them in separate dishes and they all climb on my lap/bed when they feel like it.
As they all go out I am reluctant to trim claws. Can they still climb if I do that?

Originally Posted by jennyranson

As they all go out I am reluctant to trim claws. Can they still climb if I do that?

Click to expand...

Oh yes, Jenny! They certainly can still climb!

Their claws are just short enough to get the really sharp point off - this is what prevents the damage - but they can still scratch and climb just as well! (they can still cause damage to my arms and legs, but it doesn't cause blood shed when they scrap!

You might want to take the aggressive cat to the vet. We often see changes in behavior like this when the cat has a low level infection. Once the illness is gone, the behavior turns back to normal.

Also, sometimes it is the victim of the attacks who is sick. The victim's scent changes due to the illness, and the aggressor interprets the change in scent as evidence that this is a new cat intruding on his territory, so he attacks.

Overall, a trip to the vet would be a wise thing to do.

Yes, I had thought of that. Persil was checked out a few weeks ago and is fine. Dushka is due her checkup in a couple of weeks so I will ask. But it is only Persil and Dushka invoved in this - the others are fine and not being picked on or being aggressive, so I doubt it is physical. But thanks for hte thought.