Cats No Longer Getting Along

[Justup2002]

I have had cat 1 (4yo female) for 2 year and we adopted cat 2 (2yo female) in september. Intially we separated them and slowly introduced them and cat 1 was very unhappy with cat 2. Cat 2 has been very non confrontational and just would just sit there when cat 1 would swipe or hiss. They seemed to be doing well with only an occasional smack on the nose by cat 1 until about 2 weeks ago. Now cat 2 is getting bolder and while she won’t start any agression she appears to be instigating it and stalking cat 1. Cat 1 will take swipes and hiss and now cat 2 is retaliating with swipes of her own (she has never swiped at cat 1 before). It has gotten to the point where I have to break them up and they won’t seperate on their own. Sometimes they get along fine, they can touch noses and then walk off without hitting each other. They have never been “friends” from what I can tell but at least they were able to cohabitate peacefully. Cat 2 now instigating and chasing is definitely making things worse. What should I do?

 

[tarasgirl06]

I have had cat 1 (4yo female) for 2 year and we adopted cat 2 (2yo female) in september. Intially we separated them and slowly introduced them and cat 1 was very unhappy with cat 2. Cat 2 has been very non confrontational and just would just sit there when cat 1 would swipe or hiss. They seemed to be doing well with only an occasional smack on the nose by cat 1 until about 2 weeks ago. Now cat 2 is getting bolder and while she won’t start any agression she appears to be instigating it and stalking cat 1. Cat 1 will take swipes and hiss and now cat 2 is retaliating with swipes of her own (she has never swiped at cat 1 before). It has gotten to the point where I have to break them up and they won’t seperate on their own. Sometimes they get along fine, they can touch noses and then walk off without hitting each other. They have never been “friends” from what I can tell but at least they were able to cohabitate peacefully. Cat 2 now instigating and chasing is definitely making things worse. What should I do?

Welcome J Justup2002 to TCS! Any changes in the family will take cats time to adjust to. Sometimes cats will be friends right away; other times, it can take awhile. As long as no actual harm is being done, I wouldn't worry too much. They may need time apart if it seems they are really unhappy; is there a separate room where one can can have a "time out" where all of her needs are provided for (food, litter, water, scratching surfaces, climbing furniture, toys, bed)? It actually took about a year for one of our most recent adoptees to fully integrate into the family, which was fairly large at that time. This is a long time; most cats don't take that long. Make sure they each get plenty of love and reassurance. If you don't already have some, you might want to consider some cat trees where one cat can climb to have some time to herself. Most cat experts recommend this. If you aren't familiar with cat behaviorist Jackson Galaxy and his show, MY CAT FROM HELL on Animal Planet, you might want to watch him because he is wonderful at helping to solve cat problems. He also has videos on YouTube, several excellent books including CATIFICATION and CATIFY TO SATISFY with fellow cat expert/design specialist Kate Benjamin, who has her own site called hauspanther.com, etc. Good luck! Love and patience will win the day.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Cat 2 is adjusting to the home and beginning to assert herself now, which is really a good thing, as you don't want a terrified, traumatized kitty on your hands. I will tell you this, sometimes you have to let them say what they need to say to one another, and that can get fairly loud and scary, but if there is no fur flying, and there is no blood on the floor, it isn't a fight, it is an intense "discussion." The least amount of interference, the faster they will work it out, but in case it does escalate to an actual fight,

How To Safely Break Up A Cat Fight