Need Cat Advice

[Le Taz Hot]

So, these two VERY wild kittens wandered into our back yard last year. We took them in and were able to domesticate them (for the most part). I have three older cats, 2 males and a female (the kittens are both female). The female, Tabitha, is about 12 pounds and Ghost is about 6 soaking wet. Everything had been going fine until about three weeks ago when Tabitha declared a "jihad" on my little Ghost kittie. Tabitha will literally attack her if they're both inside and run her off if they're both outside. This is what we've tried so far:

1) Giving Tabitha more attention to assure her that the kittens are not more important than she is.

2) When that didn't work, we scolded her.

3) When that didn't work, we've been putting one outside while the other was inside to keep them apart. We try to be consistent but sometimes the one that's being kept inside "escapes" (usually Ghost).

We don't want to get rid of either one of them 'cause they're our "babies." Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks.

[Dookus]

1. Well... I think

Older females have a helluva time with other females, which is what I think is the problem.

That's also the reason why I've never owned more than one female cat at a time. You can have lots of males, but the girls just do NOT get along, in my experience.

Now... about your problem... don't scold Tabitha. Scolding doesn't seem to work on cats. Don't even try to keep them apart. Tabitha will DEFINITELY assert her dominance over Ghost. However, that doesn't mean Ghost is gonna get hurt. A lot of cat-fighting is play-acting. A few swats here and there are nothing. Unless you hear the god-awful baby-mewl scream, they're not really fighting. They're just establishing their relationship.

Tabitha's the queen. Ghost needs to learn it. She'll learn it by getting swatted a few times. Unless they're drawing blood from each other, it's best to just let them work it out.

[Le Taz Hot]

5. It's more than just a few swats,

they're actually pretty SERIOUS fights and Ghost is always running for her life.

I undertand it's the dominance thing but it's too aggressive -- as in could cause bodily injury because of the weight/size difference.

And you're right about females. I had 3 male cats and they never got into it like that.

[soupkitchen]

2. Are they fixed

[Le Taz Hot]

6. Yep.

Always.

[LTR]

3. Cats are very territorial

I have three cats: The mother and two of her kittens (one male, one female). We got the female kitten first, followed a month later by the male, and then the mother a month later (owner needed to get rid of them). The female kitten was about eight weeks old when we took her in. When her brother came, they fought and hissed constantly for about a day, then started playing together. The strangest was when we brought home mom. The kittens were very territorial and fought constantly with mom for about a week.

I assume they finally recognized each other eventually, as they all get along great, but compete constantly for attention. Very friendly cats, but they hate outsider cats.

One solution, when bringing in any new cat, is to put it in a closed-off room for a day or two. This way, the original cat gets used to the scent of the newcomer, and vice-versa. This process should be gradual, since cats are very territorial. Also, get the kittens fixed ASAP. This is obvious, but it calms their hormones somewhat and keeps them from marking territory.

Bringing in a kitten form the outdoors is fine in most cases (I had one, same situation, and lived with us for 17 years). But I would be hesitant to bring in an outdoor feral adult. These are, more or less, 'wild' cats. It would be almost like bringing a wild raccoon home in some cases. Wild adult cats tend to be outdoor animals, plain and simple.

[Le Taz Hot]

7. Actually,

we brought these two in about a year ago and went through all the safety procedures. It's wierd because they've been living together fairly peacefully over the last year until a few weeks ago. Additionally, Tabitha doesn't bother Ghost's sister, "Sissy." Go figure. :eyes:

[havocmom]

8. Am windering if Ghost has some sort of physical abnormality.

Seems so much smaller than other cat, tho I know some cats are just tiny. Perhaps the older female senses something you and the vet have missed and is trying to rid her 'pride' of a 'defective' critter. Not unheard of for females to kill young that are not really healthy.

[pansypoo53219]

4. uh oh

I have a very sesitive jealous female and plan on getting 2 kittens-mix sex. well, looks like kittie prozac for a while.
maybe you shouold try some kittie prozac.

[NashVegas]

9. For the Smaller Cat's Sake, Find it a New Home

Friends recently went through a similar ordeal, with two cats from the same litter and one turned agressive with no warning after several years. The agressive cat attacked her sister everytime they were in the same room and whenever she tried to eat. It had a very, very grim end.

[izzie]

10. My old tooth less girl cat who is about 6 pounds rules.

I have a big tom that just moved in and she has him in his place and the other female who is about 9 pounds jusy watchers it all. She is so timed that she hardly gets into anything. I let them all go. There is always one top cat in a group and they do it not you.I guess herding cats would end all but one top cat could do it.

[Blue_Chill]

11. Be patient grasshopper

As the small cat grows the older cats jihad will end by reason or by force.

[meow2u3]

12. I had four cats--two of them females

and the same thing happened to mine.

The calico, Tweety (God rest her kitty soul), attacked one of the two kittens, Smokey (female) when we trapped, adopted, and tried to tame them (Bandit was the brother). Tweety constantly attacked Smokey until the kitten grew up and outgrew her. Then Smokey gave her a taste of her own medicine: Tweety was afraid of her!

Her Meowjesty, Tabitha, is being threatened by the little feline interloper. She thinks the kitten will dethrone her.

[Padraig18]

13. Not precisely the same situation, but analogous.

When I first got my dog (full-grown 'rescue' mutt), Red Cat constantly battered, beat, harrassed and attacked him. Although I kept a close eye on things, so that no one got BADLY hurt (aside from a few scratches, etc.), I didn't interfere or scold either of them. Eventually, Grover learned who was 'alpha', species' difference aside. They're now friends, and frequently nap and play together.

Patience and time heals many wounds. :)

[dofus]

14. I have two female cats

and I acquired the second one before anyone told me that two females can't get along. It took about a month, the first week or ten days with cat #2 isolated in a separate room. The next three weeks, cat #1 would hiss whenever she saw #2. Eventually that stopped (we've been a two-cat household for at least four years now) but cat #1 frequently dominates #2, who is the larger cat, BTW. It's almost always done in total silence, but #1 will suddenly, and as far as I can see for no reason whatsoever, jump on #2, swat her a good one, and then take off.

All that said, both cats are very sweet and loving. #2 sits on my lap whenever I get in a particular chair, and #1 often sleeps with me. Sometimes both spend the night on my bed in perfect harmony.

What might really be going on is that your physical accomodations are too small for the number of cats you now have. I've been told by several people who are very knowledgable about cats, that only a certain, somewhat flexible, number of cats can peacefully coexist in a given space. So if you can't move to larger quarters, you must find one of the cats a new home.

And good for you for rescuing the kitties in the first place.