Will my two cats ever get along!?

This is a place to gain some understanding of cat behavior and to assist people in training their cats and dealing with common behavior problems, regardless of the method(s) used. Keep in mind that you may be receiving advice from other cat owners and lovers...not professionals. If you have a major problem, always seek the advice of a trainer or behaviorist!

Faile

1221739

Purred: Sun Mar 3, '13 7:05am PST


	I have two cats that don't get along well: Faile, the first cat (she's been an only cat for about 1 year), and Sherlock, the second addition to our family (a neutered male). Faile will lie on a chair and roll around, growling at the same time. She flips on her back, looks at him upside-down, sits up to lick her butt, then goes back to rolling around and growling (ears up). If he stares at her too long, she hisses, and if he approaches, she screams (much like a mountain lion)(and her ears are flat). If he's close enough, she defends herself (even if he's not aggressive) and swats at him until he runs away. Sherlock doesn't look aggressive when encountering Faile. He always has his tail up, his ears perked, and sometimes chirps. Usually he turns around slowly and walks away when she shows aggression. Recently, however, Sherlock seems to have gotten tired of Faile's attitude. When she isn't on guard (like leaving the litter box, or walking around the house), he charges her. Head, ears, and tail up toward the ceiling. I'm thinking he is trying to play with her... But she screams and runs away, and he chases her. Faile often runs under the bed or under a chair and screams, hisses, and growls at Sherlock. She's clearly terrified and he.... I'm not sure. Is he being aggressive? I've tried the re-introducing method, but it doesn't work. Faile already knows his smells and who he is, and Sherlock looks like he doesn't care. My husband and I are getting Feliway today, hoping that will help. I hate seeing Faile so stressed out. What I was thinking: Faile is scared of Sherlock because he's big, black, male, and older than she is. And Sherlock just wants to play, but his playful attempts scare the crap out of Faile. Help?

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Leela

Leela flys the- planet express

Purred: Tue Mar 19, '13 8:05pm PST


	hey there i'm having the same problem with my 2 cats leela and bear but their brother and sister (the same age) they used to get along and now leela was hiss at him if hes on the other side of the room and now he does charge her. ive done all the same steps as you and im still at a loss i now take bear for walks in our condo hallways. i hope you can figure it out and pass it along lol best of luck to you

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CHARLEY- BLEAU EYES

I\'M HAVING- FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Purred: Tue Mar 19, '13 9:14pm PST


	Feliway should help. Also there's an herbal product called Rescue Remedy that works. When I got my two darlings, I had to use both. Feliway in the air and sprayed on beds, etc. and Rescue Remedy 0n the cat's noses or paws. They lick it off and it calms them. The company also makes human stuff which I've used to cope with stress. Now my two are almost a bonded pair. They eat out of the same plate at the same time, groom each other and snuggle if the weather's cold (they're both long haired cats and summers are hot here). Even now, one of them will say something that the other one doesn't like and the ears go back and the hissing starts. I don't intervene unless they actually use the claws or teeth, feeling that they can settle things better than I can. Wish I could offer more information; it's always a learning curve. And when I think I've gotten every thing figured out, things make a 90 degree turn. Best of luck to all of you

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Faile

1221739

Purred: Wed Mar 20, '13 7:27pm PST


	The Feliway isn't working We've been going through and re-introducing them... but nothing is working. I'm reading Cat vs. Cat by Pam Johnson-Bennett and feeling that they might be in a hierarchal struggle. I'm not certain who is where on the totem pole just yet... but I've been making added vertical space for them. I wish my two would bond and be all lovey-dovey! That would be absolutely amazing! Thanks for the support and advice. I'll keep you updated on their progress

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Beep

Butt-kicker of- all other cats

Purred: Thu Mar 21, '13 8:25pm PST


	It actually doesn't sound that bad, it sounds kind of normal, what they are going through. Yes, they are both trying to establish who is the top cat. Do you have any cat trees that they can climb up on? I'm sure you have read that having lots of vertical space for the cats to climb is important. We have 3 cat trees in our house, and I think it helps. My 10 year old cat, Beep, is so aggressive, that she cannot be out at the same time as my two males. We have to play "cat rotation" all day, so that they all have time out to run around the house, but they cannot be out at the same time. Beep will run to Taffy and bite his neck hard, they will roll around the house, fur will fly everywhere, and it sounds like the worst sound you've ever heard....like they are murdering each other. Beep will take a breath, and go after him again, repeatedly. We have tried everything, feliway, gates to separate so they can see each other.....nothing has worked, so we rotate. So what you are descrbing to me jsut sounds like normal cat stuff that they need to work out. My sister's had two cats that never really learned to get along....they tolerated each other, but if they passed in the hall way, the female would smack the male really hard and hiss, but that was the extent of it.