Expert: Jessica - 9/6/2009

Question
We have two cats, they are about 1.5 years old now, brother and sister.  Most of the time they are very friendly to one another, they cuddle up with one another to sleep, and up to a month ago they had never fought past playful chasing and wrestling (no hissing, clawing, hard biting etc.)  A month ago we moved to a new apartment, and at first the female cat was a bit uncomfortable about the new surroundings.  She spent a lot of time under the bed and refused to eat for almost a week.  She did get comfortable though, and if anything now acts more comfortable and friendly than she did in the old apartment.  She meets us at the door whenever we come home, she comes up to us and wants to be petted.  However, for a couple weeks now, every time that we give them wet food, she is incredibly aggressive about the food.  She growls and snaps at the male cat, who is if anything passive about the only thing.  We have always fed them on a single plate and they have been great about sharing their food.  When this first started she would snap at him until he would run away, then she would guard the food plate and snap at him if he even came close to it.  We picked her up and let him get at the food and she was not aggressive towards us.  To fix the problem we split the food into two dishes and put them on opposite sides of the room, but now she will run to whichever one he is at and chase him away from it and keep switching when he does.  This is very unlike her and we are concerned there may be something wrong with her.  Outside of feeding time, we haven't noticed any change in her behavior. There has been no significant change in diet, although we have started giving them a higher quality dry food, but the wet food is the same we have given them since the day we got them over a year ago.  Just in case you think it is a medical issue I should mention that when we first got them they had round worm and coxydia(no idea how to spell it) that they had caught at the rescue group.

Answer
Hi Brian.  I think it would definitely be a good idea to start with a vet visit.  This is a good first step anytime you notice a sudden change in appetite or personality like this.  A very aggressive appetite can be caused by some medical conditions such as an overactive thyroid or diabetes, and although these would be extremely uncommon in a cat of your kitty’s age (they typically are seen in cats aged 8 and over), they have occurred.  

Something much more common in a cat of your girl’s age would be a tapeworm, which causes an insatiable appetite.  If you have noticed any rice-like segments around her bedding or in her stool, this is a certain sign she is infected.  These can be killed with a medication called Tape Worm Tabs, available at pet stores or online.  Tapeworms are spread by swallowing infected fleas, so it’s important that any flea problems be controlled.  Just one flea is all it takes!  If you live in an area where fleas are an epidemic (in a wooded, grassy or rural area or where the winters are mild), it’s recommended that cats wear a monthly flea preventative such as Advantage or Frontline, even if they never go outside.

However, it is possible that this is all behavioral.  Anytime a cat’s environment changes, the position for alpha cat goes up for grabs.  When cats move into a new home, the hierarchy they had established in the old home begins to crumble.  Any cat may easily make a play for a position as the dominant cat in the new household, and it’s very possible this is what your female is doing here.  

To a toned down extent, you will have to allow her to try to make this move.  However, as you realize, of course, your male must be given protection from violence, and he must be provided with food.  So I would recommend that you feed them in separate rooms when you give them wet food.  If you wish, you can try putting your male away in a separate room while you feed your female, and then letting the male out to eat, and see if the female will leave him in peace since she’s full.  Sometimes being fed first will help a cat who is striving for dominance to feel pacified.  

If these food aggression issues are being caused by a play for dominance, they should resolve over a few weeks, once the cats agree upon who is boss.  If food aggression continues, plan to keep feeding them separately.  Fear surrounding mealtime can lead to more deeply rooted anxiety that spreads to other aspects of their relationship and causes discord in the entire household.

Best of luck!

Jessica