I have a cat problem

[Lorini]

Boris is my male Russian mix cat who I've had for three years and Natasha is my female Siamese mix. Boris has always attacked Natasha when he can, so they've been separated for months. One is in my bedroom and the other is in the rest of the house, they change places often. Natasha was in my bedroom and my roommate Bruce came into my bedroom to do some clean up. Boris darted in behind him and attacked Natasha under the bed. After Bruce separated them, Boris then lunged at Bruce and attacked him. The expression on Boris's face was frightening, he was very angry and he was going after Bruce for depriving him of his 'prey'.
Folks, this just can't happen. I don't know what to do. I don't want to get rid of either of them honestly. Who knows if they'll get another home? They are both older cats, not cute little kittens. Boris is the more interesting and 'fun' cat, honestly Natasha spends her days whining . But is it right to get rid of Natasha just because she exists? I don't know.
All thoughts appreciated.

[Daehawk]

Hey Rocky I thought this would be a Drazzil thread.

As for cats we just had the one years ago. As a kid there were many on the farm but all outside. Sounds like a nerve wracking thing to have happening though.

[Xmann]

Boris is my male Russian mix cat who I've had for three years and Natasha is my female Siamese mix. Boris has always attacked Natasha when he can, so they've been separated for months. One is in my bedroom and the other is in the rest of the house, they change places often. Natasha was in my bedroom and my roommate Bruce came into my bedroom to do some clean up. Boris darted in behind him and attacked Natasha under the bed. After Bruce separated them, Boris then lunged at Bruce and attacked him. The expression on Boris's face was frightening, he was very angry and he was going after Bruce for depriving him of his 'prey'.
Folks, this just can't happen. I don't know what to do. I don't want to get rid of either of them honestly. Who knows if they'll get another home? They are both older cats, not cute little kittens. Boris is the more interesting and 'fun' cat, honestly Natasha spends her days whining . But is it right to get rid of Natasha just because she exists? I don't know.
All thoughts appreciated.

I had a similar problem a few years ago and when Cosmo attacked my daughter, Cosmo had to go. I found a home for him where he could be outside and not socialize if he chose not to.

I don't have an answer for you, but that is what I personally did.

[Jaymann]

Does Boris still have his nuts?

[Lorini]

No, he's fixed. I get my cats from the Humane Societies and they always neuter/spay the pets.

[Smoove_B]

Assuming you want to even consider getting rid of either, you can look to organizations that might re-home them. This isn't a shelter, but more like direct adoption. How that works and what level of comfort it provides to you, I can't say.

I can say that cats can seem single-minded. We had one that somehow started scratching at her one ear to the point of tearing skin. After a vet check and an ear clean out, they couldn't find anything so they gave us a collar and ointment. After ~2 weeks the scratches healed and we removed the collar, at which point the cat immediately began scratching at the same spot and completely ripped it all open again. I concluded she spent every minute of those 14+ days thinking about scratching and nothing else. My point here is that I can believe they develop a feeling toward another cat and it'll never change - any time they can interact, there will be violence.

I'd imagine if you decide to keep both you're going to need to almost airlock your living arrangements and exist like you have two completely different cats that don't know each other or ever interact in any capacity because you've made sure they can never see or be near each other.

Definitely tough stuff.

[Lassr]

I believe I saw a "My Cat from Hell" episode that tackled this problem. Jackson started by putting up a mesh kids gate (may have been 2 on top of each other so they could not jump over). This kept them separated but they could see each other but not attack. He then fed them on both sides of gate. Eventually he took down the gates when the aggression lessened and repeated the treats training to distract. Not sure how long it took. You might be able to look up My Cat from Hell episodes online and find some that tackle this problem.

I think was the episode. This is just a preview though but you can get the idea.

[Lorini]

Hmmmm, maybe that could work. It sure would be nice to not have to separate them!!!!!

[Pyperkub]

Yeah, I remember that my cat from hell episode as well. Definitely give it a try.

[Jaymann]

Those gates work. I used two of them, one on top of the other, to keep cats out of my bedroom. Side note: We also put a cat door on the garage door in order to keep the litter box in the garage.

[Kraken]

I was going to suggest Lassr's idea. The problem might stem from keeping them separated all the time, rather than being able to work out their differences naturally. Allowing them to have constant contact, and then gradually removing barriers, could give them the chance to come to terms with one another.

It sounds like Boris is the alpha and Natasha is naturally submissive, so at least you don't have two cats competing for dominance. That combination of personalities ought to work. Maybe if Natasha has ample opportunity to display her submission, Boris won't feel the need to clobber her every chance he gets.

[Isgrimnur]

If you have Animal Planet as part of your viewing package, you should be able to watch any episode online at their website once you log in.

[Zarathud]

We have a kitten who climbs. Apparently she can scale INSIDE the fake Christmas tree. Seeing cat eyes inside a decorated tree is disturbing.

The older cat doesnt like her and hisses but the kitten is smart enough to not tempt fate while showing submission.

[gameoverman]

I have family members who have two cats who can't get along, well one cat is actually the psycho who attacks at every opportunity. They keep them separate. This means one cat is in their master bedroom behind closed doors while the other car roams everywhere else. Then they switch. They've also told me that once in awhile if they were too distracted, the aggressor would sneak past them as soon as the door was opened. So they have made a blockade of cardboard about 18" high that crosses the bottom of the door. This cardboard is held in place by a small suitcase. When they need to go in the room they then have to step over this blockade but apparently since the cat would need to leap over it and into the room this buys them the time to get in or out before the cat takes action.

I have seen them demonstrate this whole process, including transferring the cats in and out of the room, and it's crazier than I made it sound. It does work though. I've seen the cat stand there in the hallway staring at them when they open the door and it's clear that he wants to go for it but hesitates since he can't just run for it.

[Scuzz]

Hmmmm, maybe that could work. It sure would be nice to not have to separate them!!!!!

When my oldest daughter moved home 5 years ago she brought 2 cats with her. We already had 2, both much older. Our female cat was aggressive and attacked the two newcomers so often we have to keep them separated. Even after 2+ they were like that. Sadly the female developed mouth cancer and we had to put her down. That was the only we the problem was stopped.

[LawBeefaroni]

When we brought a new cat home and the resident cat went on a rampage, the vet and rescue society both recommended gradual introduction (similar to the cat show episode mentioned above) and liberal use of Feliway.

[RunningMn9]

The is similar to the cat politics in my house. We have four cats and three dogs. The dogs are downstairs all day and sleep in our room at night (the two small ones are crated, but the Great Dane has a bed on an ottoman at the base of our bed and she sleeps there with free reign of the house - an improvement from the first year where she slept in our bed!).

One cat (Daphne) has lived most of her life being subjected to the hostilities of the other three. She was in a constant state of fear. She now lives in our master bath. We installed a locking screen door there so she can see the world, but no one can harm her, and she’s a calm and pleasant cat now. She’s got a cat tree in there and a window, and no one attacks her. She is now happy.

The big one (looks a lot like a Russian blue) is one of the nicest cats we’ve ever owned. To people. He’s a complete asshole to other cats. He spends most of the time downstairs with the dogs. They all get along. However, once or twice a day he will go upstairs to attack the old male. The old male is also an asshole. He’s affectionate until he’s not and then you’re getting attacked.

He’s all black and randomly attacks us in the middle of the night while we sleep. We joke that we are like the couple in the insurance company commercial that gets a black panther for home security and it perches over them menacingly. So those two assholes have been fighting for years and nothing we’ve tried works.

We generally lock the Russian up at night so that the old one can have some peace at night (he hasn’t attacked us in a while). And that leaves us with the little one, Luna.

She’s the sweetest cat and generally is nice to everything (people, dogs and cats). She is willing to come downstairs with the dogs, but as soon as the Russian sees her, he pounces and pins her to the ground until she escapes and runs back upstairs.

However, if she is present when the two males fight, she loses her goddamn mind, like doubles in size, and attacks EVERYONE!

My house is generally full of pet-related chaos.

Edit to add: none of this helps you, but you aren’t alone.

[Lorini]

Thanks everyone, must be a Russian thing yes? (I know the "Russian" Blues are actually British cats, but still!). I'm going to talk with the vet on Monday. I really don't want to give up either of them and I may try feeding them in crates next to each other so that Boris understands that Natasha is here to stay.

I am glad that others have had this issue and worked through it, I thought it was just me

[Jaymon]

We used feliway as well, got several of the distillers to spread around the house. I think it helped.

We also invested in vertical space, to give the cats more places to be. Obviously they will still seek each other out, but sometimes they just need more space so they can be separated.

Just be wary of putting up places that can leave a cat cornered. thats bad. always make sure there is multiple pathways.
If there is a closet of something that one cat is trapping the other in, get that closed off. There needs to be a fight or flight option, you don't want to remove the option for flight, forcing a fight.




for example, a pair of the closet maid 3-2-1 cube shelves, +1 of the 9 cube
put squares of carpeting on top of the cubes, and you can build a cat stairway right up to the ceiling.
then put shelves around near the ceiling, and another set of stairs going down on the other side of the room. you can also build a cat ladder by staggering shelves, so they can jump up them, either in an open wall, or in a corner.


If Boris attacked a person, thats bad, you can't let that happen. You might need to reinforce that the humans are in charge though use of squirt bottle and such.

[Kraken]

Is Bruce neutered?

[Lorini]

The whole house is a corner/box, so nothing I can do there. The cats are normally separated, but when the door was opened, Boris darted in.

[Lassr]

The whole house is a corner/box, so nothing I can do there. The cats are normally separated, but when the door was opened, Boris darted in.

Elevated escape routes?

[Crazy Lady]

Currently in a similar situation. My daughters boyfriend (who lives with us) cat just attacked me unprovoked 2 days ago. All I was doing was walking up the stairs. I found out he hasn't been getting his medication. I'm a vet tech of 21 years and this is the worse bite I have gotten.

This can be a tricky situation. If you want to try and fix the problem I would start with a product called feliway. It's a product that mimics their natural pheromones. I would recommend the plug in.

I would also recommend finding a vet that specializes in felines. There are drugs that can help, kind of like antipsychotic drug.

[Anonymous Bosch]

Currently in a similar situation. My daughters boyfriend (who lives with us) cat just attacked me unprovoked 2 days ago. All I was doing was walking up the stairs. I found out he hasn't been getting his medication. I'm a vet tech of 21 years and this is the worse bite I have gotten.

This can be a tricky situation. If you want to try and fix the problem I would start with a product called feliway. It's a product that mimics their natural pheromones. I would recommend the plug in.

I would also recommend finding a vet that specializes in felines. There are drugs that can help, kind of like antipsychotic drug.

Indeed, if anyone knows about cats, it's the crazy lady.

[Kraken]

Currently in a similar situation. My daughters boyfriend (who lives with us) cat just attacked me unprovoked 2 days ago. All I was doing was walking up the stairs.

Sometimes when I'm walking up the stairs my cat charges me from behind, attacks my ankle, and retreats as fast as he attacked. He doesn't use claws or teeth, and he doesn't latch on. He just wants to play. Still, a cat interfering with an old man negotiating stairs is sub-optimal.

We need to get him a kitten.

[Crazy Lady]

Unfortunately this cat was not playing, not with the damage he did. 4 punctures(one pretty deep), with significant bruising.

[dbt1949]

Sometime my two Yorkie brothers get into it but they're so olde they have no teeth so I don't worry about it too much.

[Kraken]

Unfortunately this cat was not playing, not with the damage he did. 4 punctures(one pretty deep), with significant bruising.

Did you yell "No! Bad kitty!" That invariably works.

[Brian]

Unfortunately this cat was not playing, not with the damage he did. 4 punctures(one pretty deep), with significant bruising.

Did you yell "No! Bad kitty!" That invariably works.

I was in the bedroom, one floor up and halfway across the house, when this happened and I heard pretty clearly, "OUCH! FUCK!! Oh you mother-fucker!!"

So, yeah, pretty close.