Expert: Dear Tabbi - 8/26/2009

Question
I have a 9 year old female cat, fixed. She used to be the mayor of scaredy cat town. When we moved to a new place I started let her go outside. She would get into the occasional tussle with other neighborhood cats. But she seems to have some problem with our neighbor's 2 year old fixed male. They seemed to get into it fairly often and my cat would wind up on the losing end. But despite that she would seek out this other cat and look for trouble. Now the tables have turned and it looks like my cat has become the aggressor. Recently, she found the other cat's entrance and goes inside his home to make trouble. What happened? How did she go from scared of her own shadow to bully? My neighbor said that her cat will now not go outside and is afraid of my cat.

Answer
Bernie,

At 9 your cat is approximately 52 years old and may be starting to develop age-related problems. Pain makes a cat aggressive. She may have pain from arthritis, or something you are not aware of. Cats also get a form of kitty Alzheimers which causes them to behave in a bizarre manner.

I would suggest finding a vet that specializes in geriatric cat care and their conditions. Not all vets do which can be detrimental to an elderly cat. They should have an "older cat checkup". They check the function of the kidneys, thyroid, liver, etc. These checkups should be done every six months when you have a geriatric cat. If caught early some conditions can be treated with medication, especially pain medication for arthritis, which will ease any discomfort, and extend their quality of life.

Being prepared and knowledgeable about elderly cats will make things easier for the cat and for you. I am including some very good links about elderly cats:
(Copy and paste, or type, the whole links into your address bar)

http://www.sniksnak.com/resources/geriatric.html

http://www.messybeast.com/towards-end.htm

http://www.2ndchance.info/oldcat.htm

Sometimes cats, like people, have personality clashes and cannot get along. And it sounds like there may be some jealousy and territorial issues going on.

Here some links to articles about bully/alpha cats that you may want to read:
(copy and paste, or type, the whole link into your address bar)

http://www.catfactfiles.com/how-can-i-stop-my-cat-bullying-another-cat/

There is a calming aid that you can put in your cat's water that is very popular called Bach's Rescue remedy. You can get it at a health food store (people use it too) or on-line. I calms a cat using natural ingredients. More information can be found at these websites:
(copy and paste, or type, the whole links into your address bar)

http://www.bachflower.com/Pets.htm

http://www.nelsonbach.com/BFE_for_pets.html

http://www.petsynergy.com/flower.html

http://www.oes.org/page1/Bach-Rescue-Remedy.html

If you get along with the cat's owner, maybe you can work out a schedule where each cat is kept in at certain times so the other cat can go outside peaceably and safely.

Tabbi