My cats display aggression?
Ok, this is going to be a little long
My first cat was Tommy, i got him when he was thirteen weeks old. I got my second cat, Nala a month later and shes the same age as Tommy. Soon after, Tommy and Nala became mates and had a still born kitten. Nala had to go under immediate operation to remove her uterus, so she can’t produce kittens, and she is also spayed. Tommy was as well neutered, because he was spraying too much in his litter box. But after neutering him, the spraying problem still did not go away.
I got my third cat, simba, a male, a year later, he was…1 year old or something and neutered. i dont remember. Tommy is the nicest cat on the planet. he never hisses at a new cat, or shows any aggression. He tries to befriend them as soon as possible, so this was how it was with tommy and simba. they had no enmity. tommy, of course, was older but he was never territorial or anything.
after simba’s arrival, he kind of stole nala away from tommy. nala and tommy didnt play anymore like they used to. whenever tommy tried to play with her, she would meow, it kind of sounded like a warning meow, and she would run away. only simba and nala played with eachother.
and whenever tommy tried to play with simba, simba usually was kind of scared of tommy when he playfully stalked him. simba wud run under the bed and tommy would sit there, meowing and waiting for him to come out. i always saw it as play fighting, and i was sure it was at that time, because tommy was never aggressive.
so now its been 4 years since ive had all of them, and their relationships were fine. it was like they were a real family. until february 2009.
i started noticing more aggression in simba and tommy’s playing behavior. when tommy pounced on him, he would screech more than meow. i never gave much thought to it, until my mom brought it to my attention.
for two or three days, i also noticed a spray of pee which formed into a 1 inch puddle in the bathtub. i know that it’s tommy’s because simba doesnt have the habit of spraying. so then i started to think that the problem tommy had was territory. but after all of these years why would tommy choose to fight for territory now? i thought they were like brothers.
recently, whenever tommy pounces on simba, they get into a BIG cat fight. rolling around, growling, hissing, scratching… but tommy doesnt hiss or growl. its only simba. i know that tommy scratches and bites simba more than just playfully because ive found scratches on both of them which had turned into scabs. ive also noticed this killer expression tommy has on whenever hes stalking simba. before i was in doubt but now i really think tommy is reacting with aggression.
only one of them can be in a room. if tommy is out, then simba seeks perching on the top of my kithcen cabinets, which is near the ceiling. and whenever tommy is sleeping in the closet (which is for the whole day) simba can freely roam the house.
also, what i think is cute is that whenever simba and tommy get into a fight, nala hisses and growls and attacks both of them. it looks like shes trying to stop them. but is that also a problem?
what can u make of this situation and how do i stop this aggression?? oh, also i spray tommy with water whenever hes stalking simba. but that’s not working.
i appreciate all answers. thnx!
Filed under: Cat Furniture
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I can’t believe that so far no one has replied to your very detailed question. I have 10 cats and have experienced the same problem from time to time. It usually involves males. Yes, like you I have one female cat who is always trying to keep the peace by joining in with growls and hisses. She runs up to the two opponents as soon as they start!!
I do one thing when things get bad and that is to give the ‘victim’ his own space, a box in a cupboard or a spare room if you have one and only let him in that space to build his confidence. In the case of cats you often get a dominant one who may provoke fights but after a while the others know and do not challenge him. Simba is learning by keeping out of Tommy’s way, generally that is how it is solved.
Yes I have also found stress spraying a problem with insecure males, make a fuss of him, let him have his own special place to sleep too where Simba is excluded. Comb Tommy, get a Mikki flea comb form a pet shop. Not because you have flea problems but because my cat absolutely adore being combed using a Mikki! Try under the chin, cats sill almost die for a comb!!
I hope some more people answer since you sound very loving and understanding of your cats!