My Cat Hates My Other Cat - Help!

LedaAndMaddie

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Hello, I'm new to this site and I joined to get more information on how I can get my cats to get along.
My first cat Leda is a calico I've had since she was a kitten, I bottle fed her and raised her myself. She is now 2 years old and a little aggressive. She is extremely picky, she will randomly bite if you pet her too long. But she loves attention. She is extremely vocal, has a lot of energy, and with me working 2 jobs right now it's hard for me to find enough time to play with her long enough to wear her out, which i'm sure is part of the problem.
My other cat, Maddie, is a 1 year old grey tabby that I rescued about a year ago. She is the exact opposite of Leda, she LOVES affection, but is very quiet, and skittish. She is a very anxious cat and hides most of the time when i have people over. But she is so so sweet.
Right now I have them separated because whenever they are in the same room Leda will chase Maddie into a corner and stalk her. After we moved I tried reintroducing them, and they're just fine when they're eating next to each other, but when I put them in the same room and try to distract Leda with a toy she is solely focused on Maddie. She will run after her, but she doesnt try to attack her; it terrifies Maddie all the same.
I don't know if i'm just not reintroducing them right or if this is just a hopeless case. Posting on here is probably my last hope before I try to rehome Leda and I would be devastated to lose either one of them. If you read all of this and have any ideas or advice, please help!
 

matt1991

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from my experience calicos are mean lol they try to dominate everything around them
 

Columbine

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Hi L LedaAndMaddie :hithere: Welcome to TCS :welcomesign:

Leda sounds very like my girl in some respects (Asha isn't as high energy, but they seem pretty similar in other ways). Petting aggression is pretty common, actually, and in my experience it seems to occur more frequently in females than in males. The trick with it is to watch their body language closely when petting them, and to stop as soon as that tail starts twitching. All cats are different - my girl is happy with the contact from a still hand (she seems to really enjoy it much of the time), but if I try to do much in the way of full-body stroking I'm in trouble pretty quickly :rolleyes2:).

It sounds like your biggest issue is Leda's energy levels. Playing that type of cat to exhaustion can be very time consuming. Ideally, you want to really tire her out with play a couple of times a day...but I know all too well that life doesn't always work that way ;) You could try introducing other things to get her brain working, as a supplement to whatever playtime you can give her. Another tip to wear her out faster is to make full use of every level available (e.g. guiding her up and down the cat trees, on and off the furniture and windowsills - the more you make use of height in her play, the quicker she'll tire out :winkcat:).
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Maddie and Leda sound like polar opposites, but that doesn't mean that they won't be able to live together, given time and patience. Playing with Maddie every day will really help boost her confidence, as well as giving her an outlet for all that anxiety and nervous energy. There are no quick solutions, but it is possible to gradually build up a cat's confidence over time, so they become less skittish and more trusting. They may never be best of friends, but you can get them to a place of peace and acceptance.
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Opening up more vertical space will help both cats, but Maddie in particular. Go round your home, looking at it from a cat's perspective. Wherever possible, use vertical space to create escape routes and remove dead ends. If Leda can't corner Maddie, that alone will help her gain confidence around her.
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