so I've had Isis and Saki for over a year now, and they have not decided who's top cat in this house. They co-habitate most of the time, but almost every morning, when cats are let out of their respective rooms (saki sleeps w/my sister, Isis with my husband and me), Isis will go and try to bite Saki's neck, and then chases her, as well as at dinner time (wet food, they're crazy for it). there are some nights when we have to separate them because Saki is cornering Isis and Isis is growling and hissing like crazy, and others where Saki is caught grooming Isis, or vice versa. I just don't get it. They'll even sleep on the same cat tree or the couch, near each other, but not touching. I won't give up either of them, since, like I mentioned above, they get along for the most part, but will this ever progress to a peaceful existence? (note, these are my first cats ever, so I don't know if this is normal behavior for cats) thanks in advance!
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will they ever get along?
- Thread starter twobananaz
- Start Date
a year is a long time and it does sound like your cats are actually getting along. I had somewhat similar issues and also posted here as well that my kitties appeared to get along at times but then dominant one gets pretty active at certain times and made life difficult for my smaller one. Since you mentioned aggressiveness during feed time, I wonder if you have them eating from the same plate at the same time? When I attempted to feed my cats together in the same room, the first time I had them eat from different plates separated by whatever spacial separation was needed to make them comfortable. And I was very generous with food portions when they ate in the same room. To my surprise, my more dominant kitty kept to herself eating her plate without looking to attack/bother smaller one. Still, for awhile, my smaller one did not want to eat when the bigger one was there. It took some time, but once they started eating in the same room, I slowly moved the plates together. It took time, but now they eat next right next to each other and on different plates. I would also be curious if you ever leave your cats alone for even a whole day without supervision? or are they kept in separate rooms while you are not around? I assume they have been left alone for periods of time and you've come back to see them comfortable? Overall, I think your cats are getting along and behaving normal for most part even with the rough play - just a bit concerned about the aggressiveness during feed time though. Perhaps others with more experience can chime in on that.
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- #3
yeah, as far as feeding time goes, they don't eat in the same room at all. it's when I dish up their food that Isis gets aggressive and tries to make saki get out of the kitchen, which is where Isis eats her meals....hmmm.... just had a thought.... maybe if I move Isis' meals out of the kitchen so that area is a neutral area? once the food is set down both ignore each other and eat peacefully. Saki's food is always served to her on a window sill that Isis cannot reach (dunno why she hasn't tried jumping up there, maybe her crossed eyes makes it look like she can't?). I think maybe I don't think they're getting along as well as they could because I see others here that have cats of all dif. ages and they're snuggling and such, which my two have never done, just the occasional licks to the head and ears. Whenever Saki licks Isis, Isis will put up with it for a minute or so, and then smack Saki...
Some cats are solitary creatures and don't like other cats around. I don't know if that's what is going on with your two, though. It also sounds to me like Isis and Saki are getting along pretty well!
We have two indoor cats and one (Sparkle) who would tear the house apart if she wasn't indoor-outdoor. She hates other female cats. We didn't know this when we adopted her as a kitten, and she was fine with our male Oberon who taught her like a grandpa would.
But when we got Lily, Sparkle rebelled and became very hissy, growly, spitty, and sometimes she lashes out at us. It's kind of ridiculous but she has her own room in the house with its own outside door.
We feed her there, away from the other two, and that's where she sleeps when she's inside. When she's outside she's the sweetest softest melty kitty you have ever petted. Inside, though, she comes dangerous, and the only time I can pet her is when she's sleepy and on "her" bed.
We have two indoor cats and one (Sparkle) who would tear the house apart if she wasn't indoor-outdoor. She hates other female cats. We didn't know this when we adopted her as a kitten, and she was fine with our male Oberon who taught her like a grandpa would.
But when we got Lily, Sparkle rebelled and became very hissy, growly, spitty, and sometimes she lashes out at us. It's kind of ridiculous but she has her own room in the house with its own outside door.
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- #5
okay, so i guess i'll just assume they're co-habitating fine, and all that, since neither one has ever ever ever hisses or taken a swipe at any of us humans, and only get into spats about once a day, especially when the catnip is out. I do leave them out together when we're not home, since when we're gone all they seem to do is sleep. maybe i'll invest in a feliway thing and see if that gets rids of the last of the aggression towards each other. I know that Saki wants to be friends with Isis for the most part, Isis just doesn't know if she is a cat or not I think (she's a siamese mix). she's more like a dog than cat, greeting us at the door (or any stranger for that matter), always wanting to go for walks, following me around the house.... I guess I was just hoping that once they got used to each other they could learn to be friends and cuddle and such. next time I think I will just adopt a pair of littermates and not have to deal with introducing two cats again.... good thing I won't have to worry about that for a verrrrrry long time!
Some cats bond, others don't. None of our cats have bonded enough to sleep together. They are all very independent, except our feral, she adores the other cats and does curl up with them at times, which, for the most part, they tolerate.
We have one cat that is constantly jacking with the others. There are days I want to pull my hair out. There is one in particular we have to keep separated from him at all times. They never see each other because the bully cat will attack the old one viciously....the bully cat has not bonded with one other single animal in the house. It's frustrating at times but he needed a family and we brought him in and we deal.
They may never bond the way you want them too. But it doesn't sound like they HATE each other either.
We have one cat that is constantly jacking with the others. There are days I want to pull my hair out. There is one in particular we have to keep separated from him at all times. They never see each other because the bully cat will attack the old one viciously....the bully cat has not bonded with one other single animal in the house. It's frustrating at times but he needed a family and we brought him in and we deal.
They may never bond the way you want them too. But it doesn't sound like they HATE each other either.
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- #7
I guess I'm that person that wants all my animals to get along like they're the best of friends, but in reality, that isn't always the case (more like it's rarely the case). they seem to co-exist fine, and that's all I can hope for I suppose. thanks for your input guys!
