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cats fighting !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  • 06-02-2010 11:54am
    #1
    margam1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 51 ✭✭


    Could anyone advise me please ....I have a cat who adopted us about 3 years ago. She is a lovely natured cat and has been a pleasure to have around. Before Christmas I got a rescue kitten but since her arrival my other cat has constantly attacked her. It's strange because i also got a puppy and she is fine with her.
    What should i do?????????????


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    #2
    katkin
    Registered Users Posts: 185 ✭✭katkin


    There are a few tricks you can try when introducing new pets to make the older ones feel better about it. Try giving the older pet some treats when the new one is around so that she associates the new pet with treats. There is also a pheromone spray that you can get from pet shops and vets, can't remember the name, it makes them feel calm and secure and eases transitions. I have tried both methods when introducing two new cats to two old ones and they worked well enough. Hope they will all be getting along well soon!:)


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    #3
    fatmammycat
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,208 ✭✭✭fatmammycat


    I have three cats here, 18, 14 and 7 and NONE of them get along particularly well. The older two despise each other, (and longest together) and will fight if they feel like it, the younger one is as dumb as a rock and while he and the oldest one are relatively okay, he's not above attacking her for no particular reason or if she has a sleeping spot he wants. None of these fights are serious, just spats. I'm afraid sometimes cats just learn to live with each other with a certain amount of tolerance and that's the best you can expect.
    However if my OH is cutting up chicken in the kitchen all three will sit practically in a huddle waiting for scraps and no fights, they all sleep in the shed at night ( serparate sheepskin beds) but more than once I have found the oldest one and they youngest sleeping together, then 14 and 7 year old play chase around the garden, but ten minutes later they might be swinging and growling at each other and ALL of them love when an unsupecting one walks under a chair the other is on, SMACK.
    Cats are weird that way.
    Your kitten and older cat might end up friends, but even if they don't they will find a way to share space. What should you do? Leave them to it, but monitor the scraps just in case they turn nasty. They'll be okay. Most cats that are not intact Toms, won't fight to really hurt each other, more noise and fuss than anything serious.
    Good luck!


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    #4
    The Sweeper
    Registered Users Posts: 10,658 ✭✭✭✭The Sweeper


    Hmmm. I have six cats. I introduced the sixth, as a 10 week old kitten, to the rest of the group nine days ago. Days one to seven, she slept in our room with a nominated 'chaperone' cat. Night one, she hated him. Day two, she was over it, and he was her first 'advocate'. Nights two to seven, she and he slept in our room as she got used to the rest of the group. On the eighth day, she went into the cat room for the night with the rest of the cats (we had monitored scraps and tolerance from day one to day seven).

    Nine days in, they're all good - she's being washed by the others, the hissing has stopped, and it's been another successful integration.

    Rules:

    It's always easier to introduce a kitten than an adult cat.

    Adult cat comes first - own space and own time are sacred. Never give out to the established cat.

    Treats to excess in the first two weeks.

    Ignore hisses and swats from the established adult. Only ever break up a serious fight.

    Spend quality time with the establised adult from around day five onwards. (It'll be day five, because up to then they'll be sulking and won't want to talk to you.) Engage in play, punctuate with treats, and don't ever let the kitten steal the show during this time.

    Learn the difference between a fight (shrieking, clawing, hair flying, serious distress) and a spat (hissing, swatting, running, grumpiness). Intervene in fights. Leave everything else.

    We've been very lucky. Our six cats have come in four waves, the last two being the introduction of single kittens - and still we have a happy cat household. Focus on the problem adult - if there is one - at each new introduction. They're your cat, they know you, you know them. A little extra effort goes a long way at each introduction - and it's not the kitten who needs the effort.


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