My guess is that it is a medical problem.
Gail

A tenant in one of my rental properties (900 sq. ft condo) took on a male
stray cat that came to our door a year ago.  We named this cat "Danny".
Danny is a beautiful faun tabby who was 10 months old when we saved him.
He's a wonderful cat, huge personality and very active.

She wanted a second cat because " Geoffrey " her plump 10 year old male
yellow tabby had to sit alone in an empty condo 10--12 hours weekdays.  We
both figured that all cats prefer companionship over loneliness.  Geoffrey
is a bit psycho coming from an abusive first home and he bonded with my
tenant as an "only cat", fearful of other humans.

The introduction period was predicable, with Jeffery freaked out and Danny
in constant kitty motion.  Danny is a nice cat and saw Geoffrey as a kitty
playmate, whether Geoffrey liked it or not.  Danny's idea of a great time is
to wrestle with this poor 10 year old cat constantly - the fighting was
bloodless.  My tenant could not figure out if they were fighting or playing
hard, but it sounded like play because either one could initiate a brawl.
They can sleep in their cat beds 2 feet apart.  I figured that things would
calm down as Danny progressed out of kittenhood.

It's now 11 months later and Danny still loves to jump on Geoffrey to the
point where he has been forced to live on the "high ground" - chairs, sofa
backs, table tops etc. - to avoid him.

The problem now is that Geoffrey has been eating less and loosing weight to
the point where he is looking too skinny.

My tenant will take Geoffrey in to the vet to rule out kidney, thyroid and
bad teeth, but we're pretty sure this weight loss is stress.

My questions:
Has anyone here had a similar experience?
Are there any proactive things we can do to help calm things down?
Is it stress?
Can anyone explain this behavior in terms of cat psychology?
How bad is this situation, does she have to get rid of the now beloved
Danny?
Danny is 22 months old, will he ever just outgrow this behavior and be
buddies with Geoffrey?
Is this dangerous for Geoffrey, can this situation results in dire
consequences?

Thanks in advance,

Dallas

Danny will eventually settle down but in the mean time they could try using
a feliway diffuser.

I've been using one around here to keep peace with my cats (16 yr old, 1 1/2
yr. old and the 5 mo. old wild man kitten).

If the wild man gets too out of hand I do give him a time out in the
bathroom for a short period of time (5 minutes maybe). That usually settles
him down for a while.

W

Yes, the young one will calm a bit as he gets older, but probably  not
quick enough to chill out his behavior around the older cat.

Taking the older kitty to the vet to rule out illness is a must.
Another thing:  does he have easy access to the food away from the
younger cat?  If not, maybe moving a bowl to a separate room and
letting the older cat have some private chow time each day would help.

I don't think the cat is in danger in any way.  At this stage of the
game, the initial adjustment period is over and things will likely
remain status quo.  I base this on experience (my two cats never
leared to love eachother, they just tolerate eachother!)

Good luck!
Beth

My 4 year old bothers the others incessently some days. They are younger
than her, but less active.

Separation works great. Rowan gets a time out in the bathroom when she's
evil for 10 minutes or so.

Probably.

He wants to play.
The other one doesn't.

No. Train him. Rowan does this less often now that she knows she gets s
timeout if she keeps bothering the cats after I tell her to leave them
alone. Also, my boy has gotten more courage and gets her back more
often, too.

He might - or he might not.
Rowan is 4. She acts more like a kitten than my younger cats (both about
3 yrs old). She is "the troublemaker". hehe

Yes. Stress can kill cats. But if the owner is proactive and separates
them for awhile each day to allow the older one to get some peace, and
separates them when the younger one won't quit, things should become
more normal over time.
Don't forget to give a correction to the younger (AS he is doing THE BAD
THING, not before or after) before giving the timeout, whether it is a
clap, a stern NO, or whatever, so the cat knows WHY he is being
separated. Also praise a lot when he either isn't being a knob or when
he stops pestering the older when told to.

Oh, I forgot to stress that a vet visit to rule out medical problems is
always the first thing to do.

/it's early