My partner and I recently moved in to a new apartment, and two of our cats are ganging up on another. We're trying to figure out how to stop this. Here's the story...
I've owned Hyphen and Hugo since they were kittens. They grew up together and are extremely social together. Both are "fixed." Hugo is a large male - alert, bold, aggressively playful and dominant. Hyphen is a tiny female. The runt of the litter, she's slightly timid, attention-seeking, and shy. The two of them are often seen curling up together - Hugo grooming her when she approaches him for affection. They're very playful together, chasing each other around and wrestling.
Simone is my partner's cat. Greedy, docile, and solitary, she craves attention from my partner and I and enjoys being the center of attention. She's not playful with the two other cats, and isn't really interested in other animals.
Before moving in together, my partner and I attempted to introduce and socialize the cats. We lived in the same apartment building on different floors. Both sets of cats had their territory, but we'd often bring them to each other's apartments.
Now that everyone's under the same roof, Hugo and Hyphen have been ganging up on Simone. I sort of expected this from Hugo, because he's very playful and aggressive, and he loves chasing and being chased. I didn't expect Hyphen to corner Simone because Hyphen is normally very timid and passive. There's been hissing and growling, swatting and chasing, and some loud fights. Simone's not displaying any different anti-social behaviors like hiding or avoiding any one, but she's gained some weight since we moved.
We don't want Simone to be victimized or upset - we rally just want my two cats to leave her alone. I'm buying some squirt guns today to squirt Hugo & Hyphen when they're bullying Simone. We have two litterboxes and two sets of food. No one's really staked out "their" territory yet since we've moved in just two weeks ago. Hopefully things will die down once territories are established...
Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks SO much!
I've owned Hyphen and Hugo since they were kittens. They grew up together and are extremely social together. Both are "fixed." Hugo is a large male - alert, bold, aggressively playful and dominant. Hyphen is a tiny female. The runt of the litter, she's slightly timid, attention-seeking, and shy. The two of them are often seen curling up together - Hugo grooming her when she approaches him for affection. They're very playful together, chasing each other around and wrestling.
Simone is my partner's cat. Greedy, docile, and solitary, she craves attention from my partner and I and enjoys being the center of attention. She's not playful with the two other cats, and isn't really interested in other animals.
Before moving in together, my partner and I attempted to introduce and socialize the cats. We lived in the same apartment building on different floors. Both sets of cats had their territory, but we'd often bring them to each other's apartments.
Now that everyone's under the same roof, Hugo and Hyphen have been ganging up on Simone. I sort of expected this from Hugo, because he's very playful and aggressive, and he loves chasing and being chased. I didn't expect Hyphen to corner Simone because Hyphen is normally very timid and passive. There's been hissing and growling, swatting and chasing, and some loud fights. Simone's not displaying any different anti-social behaviors like hiding or avoiding any one, but she's gained some weight since we moved.
We don't want Simone to be victimized or upset - we rally just want my two cats to leave her alone. I'm buying some squirt guns today to squirt Hugo & Hyphen when they're bullying Simone. We have two litterboxes and two sets of food. No one's really staked out "their" territory yet since we've moved in just two weeks ago. Hopefully things will die down once territories are established...
Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks SO much!