I have been having some rather bad aggression issues with one of my cats. Allow me to set the stage for a few moments.
My husband and I are the proud cat parents of seven felines. Gizmo, Tess, Martin, Vincent, Tipper, Cubby and Percy. Gizmo and Tess were the first cats we had gotten in our younger years when we were still living with my husbands parents, the other cats came later in life when we finally married and moved into a home of our own. Tipper and Cubby are an 18 year old bonded pair, and Percy is a 9 week Maine coon mix kitten. Tipper, cubby and percy have been the most recent additions to our home within this past year.
Tess is the cat we are having the most issue with. We have raised her from a kitten, we had originally gotten her from one of my husbands friends that had had a litter, she was not a stray nor had we gotten her from a shelter. The other various cats we have acquired throughout the time we have lived together. Tess is a Tortie and has always been a little high strung. She really does not like other cats except for Gizmo whom over the years she has bonded with as we had Gizmo before we brought Tess home, however she tolerated the other cats with just grumbling and hissing. Tess is now seven.
Recently I have had my mother move in with me whilst she was looking for a place to live after moving back into the state, she brought her cat with her and she was confined to a room separate from our cats while she was staying with us.
During her stay at least two rooms (equivalent to about 300 sq ft) was cut off to them and in accessible during that time.
Since my parent's departure Tess's grumblings have turned into outright brawls between her, Tipper and Vinnie whom she really does not like and we have tried everything we can to try and calm this down.
We have eight litter boxes dotted throughout our home, and various feeding and water stations set up. We don't have any children and our house is rather large so there are plenty of empty rooms for the cats to roam if they aren't feeling particularly social. We have placed cat shelves on our walls for added vertical space and we play soft music and run a lavender oil air diffuser throughout the day. We have social feedings with the cats, scent swapping in rooms and play time. We've even gone as far as purchasing both a Sentry Calming Collar for Tess and GNC Calming chews but nothing has worked.
Up until recently she has always had a hard time with the other animals, but not to this extent. She seems so angry and anxious all the time, to the point where is she see's another cat her ears will flatten and she will yowl (But they will eat in the same vicinity together just fine). Tess will even stalk them to try and instigate fights with them. Vincent has started fighting back because he has always been picked on by her and I think he's just had enough of it.
This will also cause issue with Tipper and Vinnie because (whereas before if they had a grumble disagreement) it would naturally dissolves itself without a fight. However now Tess will throw herself into the mix and it escalates very very quickly.
My question is where on earth do we go from here?! Re-homing any of them is simply not an option, and I don't have the heart to keep her locked in one room for the rest of her life. We have taken her to the vet recently and they did say she had a mild ear infection but I don't believe her aggression has anything to do with it, it has always been there its just vamped up ten fold now.
I understand that Tortie's have a reputation and our vet also said they could be re-establishing the pecking order after a slight upset, but this is crazy!
I am at my wits end. I don't sleep well because I am constantly worried they will start fighting to the point I cannot control. During their brawls none of them have walked away very injured, there has been no severe scratches or bites which draw blood, however the fights themselves do seem vicious.
Should we start looking into some form medication to help control her moods or chill her out? Is there ANYTHING we are missing that we simply haven't done? Any idea's here would be greatly appreciated.
My husband and I are the proud cat parents of seven felines. Gizmo, Tess, Martin, Vincent, Tipper, Cubby and Percy. Gizmo and Tess were the first cats we had gotten in our younger years when we were still living with my husbands parents, the other cats came later in life when we finally married and moved into a home of our own. Tipper and Cubby are an 18 year old bonded pair, and Percy is a 9 week Maine coon mix kitten. Tipper, cubby and percy have been the most recent additions to our home within this past year.
Tess is the cat we are having the most issue with. We have raised her from a kitten, we had originally gotten her from one of my husbands friends that had had a litter, she was not a stray nor had we gotten her from a shelter. The other various cats we have acquired throughout the time we have lived together. Tess is a Tortie and has always been a little high strung. She really does not like other cats except for Gizmo whom over the years she has bonded with as we had Gizmo before we brought Tess home, however she tolerated the other cats with just grumbling and hissing. Tess is now seven.
Recently I have had my mother move in with me whilst she was looking for a place to live after moving back into the state, she brought her cat with her and she was confined to a room separate from our cats while she was staying with us.
During her stay at least two rooms (equivalent to about 300 sq ft) was cut off to them and in accessible during that time.
Since my parent's departure Tess's grumblings have turned into outright brawls between her, Tipper and Vinnie whom she really does not like and we have tried everything we can to try and calm this down.
We have eight litter boxes dotted throughout our home, and various feeding and water stations set up. We don't have any children and our house is rather large so there are plenty of empty rooms for the cats to roam if they aren't feeling particularly social. We have placed cat shelves on our walls for added vertical space and we play soft music and run a lavender oil air diffuser throughout the day. We have social feedings with the cats, scent swapping in rooms and play time. We've even gone as far as purchasing both a Sentry Calming Collar for Tess and GNC Calming chews but nothing has worked.
Up until recently she has always had a hard time with the other animals, but not to this extent. She seems so angry and anxious all the time, to the point where is she see's another cat her ears will flatten and she will yowl (But they will eat in the same vicinity together just fine). Tess will even stalk them to try and instigate fights with them. Vincent has started fighting back because he has always been picked on by her and I think he's just had enough of it.
This will also cause issue with Tipper and Vinnie because (whereas before if they had a grumble disagreement) it would naturally dissolves itself without a fight. However now Tess will throw herself into the mix and it escalates very very quickly.
My question is where on earth do we go from here?! Re-homing any of them is simply not an option, and I don't have the heart to keep her locked in one room for the rest of her life. We have taken her to the vet recently and they did say she had a mild ear infection but I don't believe her aggression has anything to do with it, it has always been there its just vamped up ten fold now.
I understand that Tortie's have a reputation and our vet also said they could be re-establishing the pecking order after a slight upset, but this is crazy!
I am at my wits end. I don't sleep well because I am constantly worried they will start fighting to the point I cannot control. During their brawls none of them have walked away very injured, there has been no severe scratches or bites which draw blood, however the fights themselves do seem vicious.
Should we start looking into some form medication to help control her moods or chill her out? Is there ANYTHING we are missing that we simply haven't done? Any idea's here would be greatly appreciated.
