This entry is a response to our friend Jaime’s query about cat aggression. She has a three cat household, with one of the cats seeming to display fear-related aggression.
Well, Jaime, here are a few ideas to start with:
First, if you haven’t already, you’ll want to get Sugar evaluated with a thorough veterinary workup to rule out any medical causes for the behavior. Hyperthyroidism, hyperesthesia (extreme sensitivity to touch), and epilepsy can all exhibit as aggression and fearfulness.
I don’t mention these things to sound alarmist, but it’s best to approach a problem like this with all the information you can gather. Once Sugar has gotten a true clean bill of health, you can proceed with the behavioral approach.
A big no-no when dealing with a fearful cat is accidentally reinforcing the fearful behavior with coddling. If your tendency when Sugar gets scared is to pick her up and cuddle her and tell her everything is ok, you’re actually rewarding her for hissing and striking out defensively. If this has happened, don’t beat yourself up over it. We’ve all been there. It’s normal for someone who loves their animals to want to take care of them and soothe them when they’re upset.
Just know moving forward that you’ll have to fight this nurturing instinct. It’s difficult, and sometimes you’ll feel like you’re turning your back on your kitty, but it will be better for her in the long run.
Ok, now, for a vast number of things worth trying. You may have attempted some of these before, so I apologize for rehashing old info.
- Try feeding the cats in the same room, but separate, on opposite sides of the room if possible. Then, with each successful meal with no negative interaction, you can move the bowls slightly (I’m talking inches) closer. Continue moving the bowls progressively closer until you can confidently let them eat in fairly close proximity. This will help create positive associations among the cats to foster a better situation for additional behavioral therapies.
- Make sure you have plenty of space for the cats, especially vertical space. This might mean additional cat furniture, like trees or condos, so everyone has plenty of options for good nesting spots. Ideally, you want to provide a situation where there’s at least one primo spot for every cat, and more is even better
- Ensure that you have a glorious bounty of litter boxes. The rule of thumb is one per cat plus one additional box. Sometimes, aggression can stem from box territory issues that are so subtle, humans might not perceive them. It may not be the source of the problem at all, but everything you can do to ensure a harmonious environment for your multi-cat household is worth the trouble.
- It may be worth starting the introduction process from scratch. Be willing to take a couple of months to do this.
- All of the introduction techniques are fair game to re-build cat-to-cat associations in a more positive way. Scent mingling is a great trick. Rub a sock or towel on each member of the cat household, and keep cycling it around the crew so everyone gets rubbed with everyone else’s scent. You can do this for several days in a row, while the cats are separate, so when they do encounter each other, they all smell familiar and less foreign or threatening.
- Let Sugar encounter the other two cats in a situation where her safety is assured. Put the other two in their carriers and let her sniff around them as long as she likes. If she can control the approach, she is less likely to act defensive.
- It is also a good idea to let Sugar interact with just one of the other cats at a time. If she’s more comfortable with one of the other two cats than another, start with the one she’s most confident around. If you can encourage them to have a friendly relationship, it will encourage three-way harmony when all three cats are together.
If you’d like to once again try treats as part of your rehab process, remember, you want to give treats to reward good behavior, rather than using them as a lure. In situations where there is tension, cats may grow even more resentful of one another if they feel they have to go hungry or miss out if they want to maintain their safe distance from one another.
- -In additional to Feliway (which I know you mentioned wasn’t really helping), you can add a few drops of Rescue Remedy to their water dish.
- -Bell the other two cats so Sugar always knows their whereabouts. Normally, I’m not a fan of bells, but if it helps keep the peace, it’s worth it.
- -If you’re comfortable altering the doors in your house, you can install an electronic or magnetic door to one of your rooms and only give Sugar a compatible collar for entry. This doesn’t even have to be a full room – even a sizeable closet with a comfy space works great. (The idea is not to make her into a recluse, but to give her a safe haven when she’s spooked.)
- -If nothing else works, it's worth a trip to the vet to discuss drug therapies. Some vets are huge proponents of Prozac for cats, others prefer a naturalistic approach, but if you’ve really exhausted all your options, most will be willing to at least discuss the option. The generic equivalent to Prozac only costs pennies a day, and it is often very successful in treating a variety of anxieties.
Lastly, my favorite: trick training.
Seriously.
Cats respond extremely well to clicker training, and it is a great, non-stressful way to build confidence in a fearful cat. Felines can easily learn to sit, speak, and almost any other command one can think of, and it only requires 5-10 minutes a day.
You might be surprised how much a little confidence affects your kitty!
Two books I recommend on the subject are:
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Phew! I know that’s a lot of information, but fear aggression can really cause a lot of upset (as you know), and if you are indeed thinking of adding children to the mix, you’ll want to have your feline children squared away first. Please please PLEASE keep me posted on Sugar’s progress – I hope with all my heart you can help her overcome her fear, and that you can have a relaxed, peaceful household!
