Cats suddenly fighting; one is spraying? Both fixed females.

[lasia221ct]

I've thought of this, but.....Abii is a hider. She is comfortable, so to speak, under the beds. Its her safe space. When strangers come to the house, it's where she goes.

Joon, though, is like a toddler and would flip out if put upstairs. She would never be okay with it. Abii is pretty comfortable I guess where she is. She has NO desire to even try and come downstairs right now. We keep trying to coax her, and she simply will not do it.

Should we force it? Or let her stay upstairs as long as she needs it?

 

[alex333]

Hi! Any updates on this? I am having a very similar situation? I've tried several things and am having some success.

 

[lasia221ct]

Hi! Any updates on this? I am having a very similar situation? I've tried several things and am having some success.

They have been separated since July 4th, by floors. the upstairs cat (Abii) will not even come down the stairs anymore, to sit in front of the side railing. This weekend my husband took a drastic turn and removed the gate we'd installed at the bottom of the stairs. He was on the stairs with Abii up, and Joon down, and then Joon came up halfway. Abii hissed. and hissed. But luckily, Joon didn't react. Yet it made no difference to Abii. She just kept on hissing. She then retreated to her safe space under our beds. Then My husband sat in our bedroom doorway and used catnip for both girls on either side, again....more hissing from abii. Joon never reacted. There was no growling. So I suppose that's progress? I got the Feliway multi-cat diffusers, not really sure they';ve helped and I am using enough of them.

 

[alex333]

Thanks for the quick response-Have you tried any calming treats or medicine? Some have worked for my 2....

So-I have 2 cats-Koa (alpha male-6) and Hunter (female-3). Koa has always been a bit of an attention seeking cat and wants to play constantly (never grew out of it). Hunter has always been passive. Well 2 months ago something fell and startled them. Since then it's been rough. Koa constantly is stalking and pouncing on Hunter. She used to run and hide, but now she hisses and growls at him whenever he approaches or tries to play. I intercept them from full blown fights when I'm home. It's like she's saying, "I've had enough!". It's exhausting and I have not separated them yet, though I probably should.

So, I have tried numerous things and some have helped. Feliway diffusers have done nothing. But I give Hunter a supplement (it's not an actual medicine) called Zylkene that the vet recommended. It boosts her confidence and makes her less scared-that has worked. I've been giving both cats Bach Rescue Remedy (flower essences) and it does seem to calm them (not a miracle at all though). Finally, b/c the tension still happens around 8p-10p and 4a-6a EVERY single day, the vet prescribed Prozac for Koa-the smallest dose possible. I started him on it last week. It's not supposed to start working for a couple weeks-but I have seen some relaxation in him. Last night they actually slept next to each other on my bed for the first time in a month. Problem is that Koa doesn't like taking the meds and manually pilling him is not an option. If he stops taking it completely, I'm going to go to a holistic vet near my house - I've heard specific flower essences and certain holistic programs can help. I love both of these cats like my own kids (I have no children and am recently single after a long time, so it's been tough) and will try anything to get peace back in my house. I feel bad for both cats!!

I hope your 2 get better soon too. What does the vet say?

 

[alex333]

And yes, no growling is definitely a good sign. Hunter will passively hiss at Koa and the vet said that's just her telling him "hey you are too close". But she still growls at him when he doesn't leave her alone-does the 1000 yard stare and pounces at her. It's so annoying b/c sometimes he just doesn't get it-he won't leave her alone.