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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / April 2004One cat picking on another
I need some advice here. I have a 6 cat household, 3 boys and 3 girls. My alpha male cat Bartleby has started picking on NewCat, an 8 year-old female. Not to confuse things, but NewCat isn't the newest cat in the household, it's just her name. We added cat #6 about 3 months ago, I'm not really sure if that has anything to do with the trouble. This has happened periodically before, but now it's every day. Bartleby will stalk NewCat when she's just sitting there, minding her own business. He chases her off from the food sometimes. Basically, all he does is run her off and chase her into a corner. There's no fighting or fur flying, because NewCat is such a wimp, she won't stand her ground. Bartleby challenges the other cats sometimes, and they all either ignore him, or fight back. It's never anything major, just rolling around, wrestling. I think he does it just to make sure everyone knows he's in charge. Anyway, NewCat spends a lot of her time under the bed now. When I see Bartleby going for NewCat, I squirt him with water. So I think now he's just learned not to do it in front of me. I hear him chasing her from the other room sometimes. What can I do about this? The whole reason I have NewCat is that she was being terrorized in her previous home like this, but a lot worse. NewCat pretty much stays to herself, doesn't socialize much with the other cats. She doesn't like it when they are all running around like maniacs. She's very much a lapcat, and her favorite thing to do is sleep above my head at night.  Signature-Kelly kelly at farringtons dot net Check out www.snittens.com > Bartleby will stalk NewCat when she's just sitting there, minding her > own business. He chases her off from the food sometimes. Basically, > all he does is run her off and chase her into a corner. There's no > fighting or fur flying, because NewCat is such a wimp, she won't stand > her ground. This is *exactly* what Bonnie does to Shadow. Shamrock does it sometimes, but he ends up wrestling Shadow to the point where I have to step in, and then Shadow runs off huffing . At least Shamrock isn't as persistant as Bonnie is with Shadow, but these are reasons I keep Shadow separate from Bonnie and Shamrock during the day when I'm at work. For when I'm here and all of the cats are together and Bonnie starts stalking Shadow to chase him, I have a container full of coins that I pick up and rattle which always stops her. Chasing, per say, is not always a bad thing, but I think with cats like Shadow and your NewCat, they don't need the added stress. SignatureCheryl > I need some advice here. I have a 6 cat household, 3 boys and 3 girls. My > alpha male cat Bartleby has started picking on NewCat, an 8 year-old female. [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > very much a lapcat, and her favorite thing to do is sleep above my head at > night. I always use time out on the "stalker". It seems to work. I would however suggest a vet check as I've noticed my boy gets more agressive if his anal glands are bothering him. You never know. Karen > I always use time out on the "stalker". It seems to work. I would however > suggest a vet check as I've noticed my boy gets more agressive if his anal > glands are bothering him. You never know. He had a check-up a couple months ago, and has never had any anal gland problems, so I don't think that's it. I'm going to try Feliway diffusers. I've tried the spray before, but it didn't do much. My mom's had good luck with the diffusers with her two cats, one tends to pick on the other in much the same way. She said she didn't really know it was working until the diffusers ran out and they started fighting again. I wish I could just tell NewCat to toughen up and stand up to him! Signature-Kelly kelly at farringtons dot net Check out www.snittens.com >> I always use time out on the "stalker". It seems to work. I would however >> suggest a vet check as I've noticed my boy gets more agressive if his anal [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > diffusers ran out and they started fighting again. > I wish I could just tell NewCat to toughen up and stand up to him! Feliway is a HUGE help with mine. Twice now I've wondered "why are you getting so snarky?" and each time my diffusers were empty. I think it truly helps. It is a gigantic change, but they just do better. Karen > > I need some advice here. I have a 6 cat household, 3 boys and 3 girls. My > > alpha male cat Bartleby has started picking on NewCat, an 8 year-old female. > > Not to confuse things, but NewCat isn't the newest cat in the household, > > it's just her name. We added cat #6 about 3 months ago, I'm not really sure > > if that has anything to do with the trouble. This has happened periodically > > before, but now it's every day. <snip> > I always use time out on the "stalker". It seems to work. I would however > suggest a vet check as I've noticed my boy gets more agressive if his anal > glands are bothering him. You never know. My two cents - I also have a brat that gets obnoxious with the others, and a timeout works great for her, too. If she's being evil, she gets 5 to 10 minutes all by herself in the bedroom to chill out. No punishment helped. She actually got worse with getting squirted, like she blamed them for her getting wet. *g* Punishment increases stress levels, which can lead to more aggression problems. Oh, and if she's being good or stops being a sh.t when I ask her to, she gets a game with her favorite toy, a shiny ball thingy on a fishing pole. She adores it to pieces and only gets it as a reward when she's behaving nicely (so it stays special). Signature-- ~kaeli~ User: The word computer professionals use when they mean 'idiot'. http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace > I need some advice here. I have a 6 cat household, 3 boys and 3 girls. My > alpha male cat Bartleby has started picking on NewCat, an 8 year-old female. [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > very much a lapcat, and her favorite thing to do is sleep above my head at > night. The answer is simple. Openly reward NewCat in front of the others while at the same time openly scolding the others in front of NewCat. Little special treats (like tuna or salmon or fresh cream) should be piled high for NewCat, but when the others try to steal NewCat's treats, they should be severely chastised with a water pistol. Especially if you can do it in front of NewCat. Allow NewCat to sleep with you while kicking the others out. They will learn in a hurry what they are doing wrong. Trust me. Cats are weird creatures. They demand unorthodox approaches. IBen G. Hi Kelly , You don't say how much room you have or if your cats are allowed outside but six cats is a lot of cats in one area. Cats are territorial rather than pack animals (actually you could have just as much trouble with six dogs, as dogs don't have a strict pecking order) and while most cats rub along and tolerate each other, adding a new cat adds extra stress to *all* the cats including Bartleby. It's not so much him being in charge, as him wanting to protect what he feels is his . You might all feel happier if you rehome either Bartleby or Newcat, it's not fair for all of them to live like this . It's just as stressful for Bartleby to have to defend his territory as it is for Newcat to be stalked. Do you have enough food dishes and litter trays in different rooms? Also, don't spray him when he chases her, you want him to associate her with good experiences and not bad experiences which will make him more angry and more inclined to chase her. If you don't want to or can't rehome any cat, then you could try reading Pam Johnson- Bennett's books, she gives lots of tips and advice on how to encourage cats to get along. I hope this helps , let us know how you get on. Alison > I need some advice here. I have a 6 cat household, 3 boys and 3 girls. My > alpha male cat Bartleby has started picking on NewCat, an 8 year-old female. [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > kelly at farringtons dot net > Check out www.snittens.com |
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