re-introduction

[sharisch]

I have two feral cat brothers age 4 years, neutered males that have been together since birth.  Sumo and Bonzai.  Sumo is the larger cat and has always been the more dominant of the two and they have always gotten along well.  Now, the normally submissive and much smaller cat, Bonzai has become the aggressor and Sumo has been hiding under our bed for a week or better with very little time out of there.  We have taken him a food and water bowl and put a litter box in the room where he is for now.  He has lost a lot of weight and is apparently still scared to death of his little brother.  Please help!

 

[sharisch]

They were captured at around 4 mos. and have not been outdoors since.
 

 

[ondine]

Sometime when a cat get stirred up at something (like a cat outside, loud noises, changes in the house), he will redirect his aggression on a housemate.

You will probably have to do a complete introduction with these two.  You can start by rubbing them with opposite ends of a towel, then putting the towel under the door separating them.  Put Sumo's scent on Bonzai's side and vice versa.  Feed each  a treat on the towel.  They will begin to associate each other's smell with good things (the treats).  Gradually allow them to see, then sniff one another.  Hissing is to be expected and can be tolerated.  But if either attacks, close the door and start over.

You can also use a screen door or stacked baby gates to separate them.  This gives them a view but not access.

Good luck!

 

[sharisch]

Thanks so much!

 

[sharisch]

Dear Ondine,

We are separating the two at night, and letting the smaller, aggressive Banzai out during the day.  He has his own food, litter and water in the bedroom where he stays.  It's been like this a week, and Sumo generally cowers in a corner most of the day while Banzai is out.  We distract Banzai and redirect his attention when he starts a stare-down with Sumo.  You can see his eyes get big and black and he is just mean.  We do think there is a raccoon or something outside as we don't generally see stray cats around here.  One of our cats freaked at the window all by himself while we were sleeping the other night.  We do give treats when the one comes out of the corner and the other is not aggressive.  Some growling and hissing, but no fights.  How long will this last?

Thanks again for your help!

 

[petcrazy76]

My cats got along great for 3 years and then we had a similar situation. The smaller cat started taking over the dominant roll. We had to separate them and slowly reintroduce them (always supervised for awhile). It took us almost two months before we felt comfortable leaving them out together unsupervised, but every cat is different.

 

[sharisch]

Thanks.  We just need to be more patient.