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Cats/litter mates - male is attacking other

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Expert: - 3/3/2010


Question
We have 2 bengal cats that are 1 yr old.  In the past 2 months the male has been getting aggressive with the female and attacking/harassing her, biting and pinning her down.  They are both neutered.  She hisses and does not appear to be okay with the behavior.  We have given him a 'timeout' when he gets this way.  I am concerned how aggressive he will get, especially when we are not home to monitor.  Any ideas on how to change his behavior?

Answer
Tricia,

It would be very difficult to change the behavior.  Cats have very, very tough skin and tend to play very roughly with lots of biting and scratching behaviors.  Unless he has drawn blood, I would not be concerned about the aggression.  The female really can take care of herself.  Also, when you are away, they mostly sleeep!!!!! In fact, what I would suggest is to just leave them alone (even if it sounds like World War III). We have a tendency to ascribe human emotions and motives to things cats do and they just do not think like we do. My contentioon is that any and all human intervention (like discipline or "time outs") is counter productive and will just make matters worse.  I would suggest leaving them alone to work things out in their own way in their own time (as long as no one really gets hurt).

Some folks have tried Feliway diffusers, prozac, and the like, but I am not sure any of these really help.

So, I would suspect you will be unsuccessful at changing his behavior and would suggest leaving things alone!

Best regards... Norm.  

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Norman Auspitz

Expertise

I can answer most non-veterinary questions about cats. My particular expertise is pedigree cats, breeding and showing. However, I am versed in feline behavior, cat breeds and their characteristics, general feline husbandry, and the like.

Experience

I judged for the Canadian Cat Association from 1975 until 1982. I am currently an approved allbreed judge for the Cat Fanciers'' Association (the world''s largets cat registry), and have been judging for them since 1991. I have been breeding pedigreed cats since 1971 and have been exhibiting pedigreed cats in shows since 1970. I obtained my first pedigreed cat in 1970 and have never looked back. In 1971, I obtained my first Abyssinian which has become my primary breed. In addition, I have bred Manx and Persians. Currently, besides the Abyssinians, I am also breeding Maine Coons.


Organizations
Cat Fanciers'' Association, inc. (CFA) and the Manx, Maine Coon, and Abyssinian breed councils. I am currently Abyssinian breed council secretary.

Publications
Cat Fancy Magazine, The Abyssinian Chapter in The Cat Fanciers'' Association Complete Cat Book, and Articles for various editions of The Cat Fanciers'' Association Yearbook

Education/Credentials
I received a B.S. from Drexel University in 1968, a M.Math from University of Waterloo, in 1970, a Ph.D. from University of Waterloo in 1975, and a MBA from McMaster University in 1980. I received my approved allbreed judging status in the Cat Fanciers'' Association in 1999.

Awards and Honors
We have produced a number of Cat Fanciers'' Association (CFA) National winning Abyssinian and Maine Coons. We have produced a number of Abyssinian and Maine Coon Distinguished Merit females (an award for a top producing cat), including the first Distinguished Merit Abyssinian in the red (sorrel) color. I am the CFA Abyssinian breed council secretary and belong and/or hold office in a number of cat clubs. I am also a member of the CFA Judges Association.

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