A bullying cat

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jennyr

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Hi Pam, great to have you here! My question concerns my Milo. Here is the background. He is a four/five years old neutered male, who has been with me for three years. I adopted him from the shelter where I volunteer, because he had twice been returned there as being aggressive and too active! He was never in the shelter for long - a couple of months at most, as he is a very attractive white cat with green eyes, enough to make anyone fall in love! I offered to bring him home and try to identify the problem by watching him with my other 7 cats. He quickly became part of the household and I would never part with him, he is incredibly affectionate and intelligent. I believe he has always been an indoor cat, and was an only cat with at least one of his previous owners..

BUT he is trouble! While he adores humans, he is very aggressive with other cats. He has made the life of our alpha, Dushka, a misery, teasing her and chasing her, and she is constantly trying to get him in line.Wherever there is a fight or a noise, he is in the middle of it. Basically, I think he is an alpha personality and is determined to get into that position. And he sprays on the furniture and the walls, which to me confirms that opinion. He knows this is all forbidden behaviour and stops as soon as I say 'no', but only till the next time.

My friends all say I should get rid of his energy by letting him outside. But having lost a cat to poisoning five years ago I do not want to do that. I do isolate him at night by putting him in a large bathroom along with the only cat he does not fight with, Cinders, and he seems happy with that arrangement, trotting up with me when I clean my teeth and settling down there. Otherwise I am woken at 3AM with a cat fight. I have tried Feliway to no avail. He has toys to play with, but prefers anything that another cat has got, from mice to the best cushion.

Am I missing a trick? Is there anything I can do to calm him down, divert him more or stop him fighting? Should he really be an only cat, though he was returned to the shelter from that situation?
 

johnson-bennett

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Hi. Thanks for your question. You may be misreading that he's trying to be an alpha cat by spraying. Spray-marking is a very complex behavior. Cats do it to mark teritory but they also do it as covert aggression when they're not comfortable enough to have a physical confrontation. They also spray-mark to self-soothe and to provide information to other cats in the colony. You have a pretty cat dense population in your home and this cat is probably trying to find his place in an already established turf.

What I would suggest is that you completely separate him and reintroduce him all over again only this time, do it with just one or two cats at a time so he doesn't feel overwhelmed. You also have to give the cats a reason to like each other. Set up a sanctuary room for him with all his resources. Several times a day open the door and feed him a portion of his daily meal or offer a treat while he can see another cat at a distance. This session should be very brief. As soon as the session is over, close the door. Repeat this several times throughout the day.

The positive, gradual reintroduction helps the cats learn that good things happen when they're in the presence of each other.

I would also start clicker training him. Clicker training is a way of marking particular behaviors that you want him to repeat. This way, if he walks by another cat without hissing, swatting or growling, you can "click" and offer a food reward.

Here's an article from our website on clicker training

Here's an article on how to introduce cats (which is the same technique as reintroduction)

Here's information on setting up the environment for creating peace in a multicat environment.

This will hopefully get you started. Good luck.

Pam Johnson-Bennett, CCBC

www.catbehaviorassociates.com
 
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jennyr

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Thanks, Pam. I will try these suggestions. He feels safe in the bathroom with Cinders, where he normally spends the night, and does not spray in there. Do you think I could use that as his safe room and reintroduce him to the others from there? My home is pretty openplan except for my bedroom and bathroom, and he has already sprayed on my bedroom furniture so I am a bit reluctant to lock him in there as I have just got it clean of smell! If you think he should be alone then I will grin and bear it.
 

johnson-bennett

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If the bathroom is the only option then that's the place to keep him. Make sure you do let him out under careful supervision for play sessions and exploration so he starts to develop confidence. Feed him in areas where he has sprayed. Clicker train him so you can reward him every time he walks by an area where has previously sprayed (if he just walks by and doesn't spray again).

Pam Johnson-Bennett, CCBC

www.catbehaviorassociates.com
 
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