I've missed all the previous posts, so I don't know of any of the
specifics of the cases, but here goes.

One of the most important things to do is figure out the reason
something is happening. It could be a change in the group dynamics
(new cat), a territorial issue, misplaced agression (seeing a cat
through the window), etc.

Most of the work is to replace the old behavior with the new behavior.
You have to break the cycle and set it up so that that it works. The
best way to do this is trhough conditioning.

I will give two examples that I have experienced. These are specific
cases, and each case will be different, but perhaps it will give some
suggestions for solutions to similar problems.

The first is the case of Maynard and Tov.

This problem started about 11 years ago. This was the last litter of
kittens in our home, and Tov was the mother cat. Maynard has always
been a wimp around kittens, so he took one look, squealed, and ran.
Tov, being a protective mom, as well as seeing prey-like behavior,
attacked him. And from there, it became a disaster. Tov would attack
on sight, and Maynard would run on sight. It got to the point where
Maynard was always hiding, even in my room at night when the door was
closed. And Tov was the bitch kitty from hell.

So, what to do? Well, first, I seperated them. This was fairly easy
since Tov was my mom's cat and lived upstairs, and Maynard is my cat,
and we live in the basement. So, the door was closed 24/7 with a sign
on it. Only my animals allowed down, and Maynard was not allowed
upstairs. This was to re-establish my bedroom as a safe place for
Maynard. It took a couple weeks for him to relax in my room, and he
was terrified if carried up the stairs partway. I waited until he was
trying to go upstairs before I did take him up there.

So, onto the next step. Creating positive experiences in neutral
territory. What I would do was lock Tov in a bedroom and give Maynard
the run of the house. For over a month, he was spooky. He would run
and hide. but he was never attacked since Tov was locked away. So, we
were creating a situation where he was upstairs yet safe. Only after
he was completely confortable with this did I go to the next step.

Let the cats see each other. I started by carrying Maynard while Tov
was loose in the room. Man, she had an evil look. And Maynard would
tense and try to run. But I would not let him. This is why I held him.
He had to learn not to run, and she had to learn not to chase. And
they were each creating the reason. She chased because he ran, and he
ran because she chased. They BOTH had to relearn the behaviors.

Later, when he was relaxed when held, and she seemd to be able to
ignore him a bit, I decided to go to the next step. The idea was to
contain her and let him loose. This step worked much better than
planned. We were going to put her on a leash, but she didn't know what
to do with the harness. She fell over and refused to move. So, we left
her like that in the living room. Eventually, she slithered under the
couch. So, for awhile, we would just put the halter on her and let
Maynard loose. He saw Tov "free" but not attacking.

Later, we did release both completely free, but for limited times, and
fully supervised. Only after we were completely convinced did we leave
them alone unspervised.

This whole process took about 8 months. It probably would have gone
faster if I had more work into daily sessions, but I was not in a
hurry, I would rather go slower anyway.

Tove died about 2 years ago, so the two lived together peacefully
after that for about 8 years.

The second example, and one that we only just recently started to
address. Kira and Chase. Can you guess the problem?

Kira is 11 years old, and Chase is 3 years old. He loves to chase, and
Kira is his favorite victim. He does go after Maynard, but not as
badly. He swears and screams, so he isn't very entertaining. Kira is
the drama queen. She has the fluffiest tail, and it is always moving.
I would compare it to a squirrel's tail, and that is probably why
Chase is so fixated on her.

He has always chased her, but recently it got worse. He chases her
every night, but the fur has been flying more. He doesn't just chase,
but pins her down. And last month, she was coevered with scabs.
Something has to change.

So, we decided on a course of action. Break the cycle. We'll put both
cats on harnesses and leashes, and we will set up situations where
they will have to be near each other without attacking. The idea was
that we could control their proximity by the leashes, and they will
learn not to chase and run.

Well, it turned out to be easier than that. We started with the
harnesses. Kira was walking pretty funny, but she seemed to adapt
pretty well to it. She was getting around just fine.

But Chase? Get out the video camera. Running backwards, falling over,
slinking everywhere in a long low crouch. Even a week later.

Nevermind the leashes. With that harness on, he thinks he can't do
much. He climbs rather than jumping. He sleeps more. He sleeps on my
nephew (which he rarely does), and he behaves. It's like a hand
holding him back.

So, we started putting it on him at night. We figure when gets used to
it, then we can add in the leash, but for now, this works great.

The other night, I didn't put it on. Late at night, he chased Kira. I
calmly walked over, picked him up, and put on the halter. No problems
for the rest of the night. He wasn't punished. He just needed a
reminder.

The last couple of nights, I have not used it. I am sure it is not
cured yet, but there has been dramatic improvement. And we never leave
it on overnight or when we are gone. Just when we are there.

I would recommend this as a way to work with agressive cats. If they
feel restricted enough, then the harness acts like an invisible fence,
holding them back and teaching them a new way to behave.

With Chase, we think of it is his halo. When his "halo" falls off his
head, then he gets to wear it. And then he is Angel Boy, so nicely
behaved.

And Kira is watching him come close and behave, so she is learning to
relax and not run all the time.

Meghan & the Zoo Crew
Equine and Pet Photography
http://www.zoocrewphoto.com

Here is the original post, Meghan. The problem is with the owner not another
cat. Hopefully you will have some ideas.

My mother's cat has never been right since she grew up from a kitten.  She
is
about 7 now. She has been treated with nothing but love when my mother
adopted
her from a kitten, but has always been aloof, afraid of things, and won't
let
anyone pet her.  Now, she has recently been attacking my mother for no
reason.
My mother just doesn't know what to do.  My mother loves animals but has had
no
pleasure from this cat for 7 years, has tried to love her but nothing works
and
it depresses my mother because of the rejection.  She is at the point of
giving
the cat to a rescue place, now because of the attacks.  I don't think  this
cat
is adoptable. She must have experienced some trauma before the adoption, but
should my mother do?  My mother is elderly and at her wits end.