Expert: Tina - 9/29/2006

Question
Dear Tina,
 We have had a situation going on for the last six months that is completely upsetting our entire household.
Between, our
"Petey" an orange tabby approx. 8 lbs now that we have had since he was a kitten for the last, almost 3 years now & who really from the start has always been a bit defensive because there was a time that he was attacked by an unknown cat in our yard, so that has set the stage for his personality which is very defensive. Now sometimes he is purring and rolling over, but never has been a lap cat yet maybe because he is young.
He will purr when it is time for food now but once he has eaten you really cannot pet him as he will jump at me and bite, attack our legs as we are walking by and actually does draw blood. It is really like he is mad at us.
Six months ago a stray showed up & apparently according to my vet is 6 or 7 years old, approx. 11 lbs. white domestic short hair, extremely gentle and a great, smart personality. He is a lovely creature.
Anyway, they both are neutered males with claws and come and go inside and outside, but I have not been able to allow them to be in the house together openly at all, secluding the new one more to a seperate room to sleep, but I am constantly letting one in the house, but only if the other one is going out the door.
The new stray cat we call "Whitey" by the way is constantly attacking Petey and chasing him away if they happen to be outside together at the same time, which I am trying to avoid but is extremely difficult.
I have been trying to alternate them so they are never in the house together or outside together, but sometimes hard to avoid. They both want to go outside all the time.
I have been allowing Whitey to come in the house a bit to see if I might solve they're aggression. I monitor the aggresive advancements that Whitey starts to make on Petey with a spray bottle to deter him, he does know the word "No", when I am there but if the cats happen to be outside at the same time "Whitey" is constantly chasing and attacking Petey. Most recently Petey had an abcess on his back and it could have very well been from Whitey and I had to have the vet take care of it.
Petey growls when he encounters Whitey and that also is making Whitey more aggresive towards him because Petey is running scared. This is causing Petey even more stress. If Petey were more relaxed I dont think Whitey would care that much, I dont think.
I really would like to keep Whitey because he is such a nice natured cat, " with humans that is"
I am at my wits end  and feel very guilty that I am allowing this to cause Petey stress,and possibly more injury, but it is difficult to find a home for an older middle aged cat if I were to try to find a new home for Whitey, and I would like to keep him.
In the middle of the night when one wants to go out,I go outside to try and see if I can get the other to come in just so they do not encounter one another. I cannot help thinking that if then they never are together then there is no hope of them getting along, but at the same time I do not think I can continue doing what I am doing. I cannot be constantly monitoring both cats.
I am not getting a proper nights sleep at all, and I really need help.
I have recently also noticed that there are hormonal sprays that can be used to calm aggression. Could you comment on those if you think that a spray might help?
I could sure use some advice, if you would comment I would appreciate
Thanks,
Elizabeth  

Answer
Hi ElizabethHi Elizabeth,

Sorry it took be a couple of days to get back to you, I’ve had a terrible cold this weekend.

First I’d like to recommend that you consider making both cats indoor only pets. I realize that not everyone is interested in keeping cats indoors, but I suggest it for several reasons, the first being that it will likely help solve your aggression problem, as well as the fact that indoor cats live much safer lives. I grew up on a farm far from the road and we had 3 cats hit by cars, and then I worked in a vet clinic, patching up the abscesses and injuries to outdoor cats as well as seeing the ones who had met their ends under the wheels of a car. Seeing and smelling other cats in the area will continue to aggravate your cats’ aggression so keeping them indoors will help remove that factor. If that’s not a choice that will work for you, consider using a cat fence to prevent strays from entering your yard (http://www.catfencein.com) or read more about cat-proofing your backyard at http://catnet.stanford.edu/articles/enclosures.html

If you wish to consider converting both cats to indoor cats, I would start both out confined in separate parts of the house, and introduce them as if they were new to eachother. Here is an article on introducing new cats to eachother that I wrote, outlining the process http://catnet.stanford.edu/articles/introducing_cats.html and here are some articles on how to convert your outdoor cat to indoor-only as smoothly as possible:
http://www.co.san-bernardino.ca.us/acc/ACC%20brochures/Suggestionsforconvertingc...
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/9352/indoorconversion.html
http://www.towncats.org/articles/article1.html

The Feliway plug-in will definitely help reduce territorial aggression, but it works best if both cats are indoors, in range of the plug-in all the time. Read the guidelines about the square footage covered by a single plug in you may need more than one!
http://www.catfaeries.com/feliway.html

Cats do not respond well at all to punishment for bad behavior. They are not pack animals in the way dogs are (although they are social and feral cats form colonies with complex social interactions) they do not recognize you as the “leader”. The best way to deal with aggression in cats - either towards another cat or towards humans - is to re-direct the aggression. A laser pointer toy often serves well to distract the cat into chasing something more fun. Or a stuffed toy can be interposed between the cat and his victim, and he may attack the toy instead. The reason punishment (as with a water squirter) does not work well is the cat start to associate this unpleasantness with his victim. For example, he sees Petey and thinks “something nasty always happens to me when I see that cat!” and that makes Whitey’s feelings of aggression escalate. Instead, you want him to associate Petey with pleasant experiences, without rewarding him for aggression. This means giving both cats a treat when near eachother and watching carefully and then separating them before any aggressive actions are taken. Gradually you can increase the amount of time they spend together but always better to have short and sweet visits.

Also make sure each cat has their own toys scratching post etc. Scratching posts are places cats mark territory so they need their own. Try to give each cat “their” part of the house and place a scratching post near the entrance to their personal space. I recommend the Purrfect Post (http://www.purrfectpost.com) my cats go crazy over this thing! Also avoid any catnip toys or catnip, it can increase aggression in many cats (much like belligerent drunks!).

Good luck!