Expert: Tina - 7/7/2004

Question
Hi I have 9 rescue cats they vary in age from 14 months to 5 years, 5 male 3 female all neutered. The problem I am having concerns one of my female cats Megan she is 3 years old and at varying times all the others are extremely aggressive with her, I cant seem to find a pattern for the behaviour or a trigger she can be fast asleep and one of them will just pounce on her. She was upto 12 months ago the only female so I got 2 others but even they show aggression to her now. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated Thanks Lesley

Answer
HI Lesley,

It sounds like each of the other cats are trying to dominate her in order to be the top cat -  a form of territorial aggression. It is possible that even though she is spayed she is emitting some pheremones, because the sex hormones are still synthesized in spayed and neutered cats at lower levels. One thing that may help is to use Feliway spray or plug-in, designed for reducing territorial urination, but it does help reduce territorial aggression and may also help mask any female pheremones she is giving off. It's available in most pet stores, you apply it to furniture and doorways or plug thr diffuser in to a wall outlet. It can't hurt to use it for a while and see if it does help.

It's not uncommon for cats or any creature, including humans, to pick on the perceived weakest. Sometimes it becomes a cycle because the more the cat is picked on the more they react defensively by hissing and growling at cats that approach, and provoke more aggression.

Although the natural reaction is to pity the one at the bottom of the pecking order and to give them special treatment to make up for it, that can actually make things worse. If you give special treats or attention or take the side of the ppicked on cat, the others may try to enforce their dominance even more when you're not around. So it can be better if you acknowledge that there will be an order of dominance and go along with that... for example feed the top cats first, and look at them first or pet them first when you enter a room. Try not to interfere too much with disputes unless there could be real injuries - a lot of cat disputes are just posturing.

If it was just one cat picking on her I'd suggest placing him on a herbal calming agent for a while but that's not practical with all the others doing it. If there is a ring leader however it could help. I've used Nutricalm - available from vets and online - to help take the edge off aggressive cats before. It is very gentle and safe (contains tryptophan, the amino acid in turkey meat that makes mammals feel relaxed as well as some other mild sedative herbs.

Giving the cats other activities to distract them from their game of provoking Megan will help - try getting one or two cat toys that dispense treats or kibble. Having a bird feeder outside the window or a fish tank (covered tightly) with active fast-moving fish can provide other entertainment.

Finally, try to give the cats all some separate play time to work off their aggression and energy. If you ahve time, take them 2 or 3 at a time into a separate room to play with a laser pointer, father wand or other interactive toy that really gets them running around and jumping. If you can manage that every day you'll go a long way to venting their energy and reducing the aggression problems.

I hope that together these suggestions help you find a strategy that works for your gang! Good luck.