Expert: Jana Connell RVT, CVT - 2/5/2010

Question
QUESTION: Hi! I have had my tabby female cat Lily for 5 years, and my Himalayan male Jack for 3 years. They were the best of friends. In October 2009 we added a humane society rescue kitten, Dexter, to our home -he was 4 weeks old. They were introduced VERY slowly, and all got along great for all these months. Then one day about a month and a half ago, and out of the clear blue, Jack attacked Lily - I mean, ATTACKED. She ran away, peeing herself as she went. Dexter got so scared he deficated on the spot, and ran under the bed. Since then, life has been a nightmare. It's like my cats were replaced with alien cats! Lily is fearful and hides under the table most days.  When she does go anywhere, Jack follows - or I should say "stalks" her. She growls, and it ends in a brawl - we spray them with water to stop the fighting, or try to divert their attention if we see it coming on. Poor Dexter runs and hides, he knows when to stay away! They both are perfectly fine with Dexter...just not with each other. Now the bad news - Lily has peed twice outside of the box (that I have seen) - both times on my husbands jacket, although all of our jackets were on the floor.  (Lily is 'daddy's girl'100%). So now I wonder: Is it the stress of the new kitten?  But they all got along great for months, and both act fine with him. Did Jack possibly see something out the window and have redirected aggression, and Lily is now traumatized - and the stress is making her act inappropriately (like peeing on the jackets, the growling)? Or, could Jack just be proving he is the Alpha Male now that there is another male kitten in the house? Then I wondered, could Jack have attacked her because she is sick?  Although she seems to eat fine (when Jack's not around), etc.  She is just very fearful now.  They are all strictly indoor cats. I brought Jack in to the vet since he was the one who attacked first(this was before Lily peed twice on the floor...had I known that, I would have brought her too, butI believe this is all behavioral)- he was physically fine. I thought maybe he attacked because HE was ill. Nope. I have tried everything I can think of - I put whoever instigates the bad fights in "time out" in a spare bedroom (with litter box, food, etc)...but it just never seems to get better.  I bought a Feliway diffuser yesterday - do you think it could help? Any suggestions would be tremendously helpful! I don't want to get rid of any of my 'kids'.  THANKS, Christina

ANSWER: Well. I am going to 'assume' that both Jack and Lilly are fixed cats, but that Dexter is not? The first thing you need to do is get that done. If he is fixed, then you do have some behavioral issues with the two males.

Sometimes even neutered male cats will not get along. I had the same issue here for a while. I had two strays that I had neutered- one had been here a couple years and then one was newer- they hated each other with a passion.

You are probably correct about the re-direction toward Lilly. It's not her Jack is mad at, but Dexter. She is peeing to let you know she is really stressed. Sometimes three cats are one too many in a household. Cats need 137 square feet a piece to be happy.

You just might have to give up Dexter for the health of your other two cats. The Feliway may help- try it and see. Another thing you can give Jack is some amitriptyline, which is pretty cheap and does work for many cats. He may not need it for a long time but for a while.

This is a bad situation and can get very serious. Lilly could have something wrong with her also, so never discount that. Sometimes inappropriate elimination is because they are having bladder issues like cystitis- which can be stress induced.

So one thing at a time. Try the Feliway. If not have Lilly checked and then try the amitriptyline. Consult your vet about it.

I hope you can find the problem soon before someone ends up with a nasty bite abscess!!
Let me know how it works out.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Yes all the cats are fixed.  And we have a pretty big 5 bedroom house with an upstairs and downstairs - they get the run of the house, and even the garage when they want to go out there (weirdly enough it's fun for them!)

I will continue with the Feliway, and if no change I wlll take Lily to the vet just to make sure it's not something else. Do you think Jack needs the medication to make him less aggressive, or does Lily need something so she's not so stressed?

I am confused because both Jack and Lily seem to love Dexter.  They just suddenly hate each other! They never fight with him, Dexter is a perfect angel. And, it seems as though Jack realizes he likes this power over Lily that he never had before...he's the boss now, and revels in it. Twice her size, and he now knows it.  So I am not sure his new behavior would change even if I gave up Dexter, which I did consider.  But at this point I'm not sure it would help... "the cat is out of the bag" on this power trip, so to speak!

I am also making sure now to give each cat attention individually and giving Lily special treats too, in case this is a jealousy issue.

Thanks for the advice - I will keep trying!!!  Christina

Answer
As I said, it could be just the fact that there is another male in the house. Cats do see feral cats outside at times and take it out on their housesmates- that is more common than you know!

So again, try the Feliway and then resort to the drugs. I think it's Jack that needs to mellow out, not Lily.