We adopted a Dexter 2 months ago, and are struggling to integrate him into our household. Dexter is an 8 month old neutered male that was rescued as a stray. We have 2 older males (Inky, 8 years, and Jasper, 4 years) that have formed a close relationship with each other. We did the usual introduction routing, and have redone it again to no avail. Dexter is obsessed with attacking the older cats.
Inky came from a cat hapoarder house and was the cat the other cats picked on. As such he has always been shy and vet sweet. When Dexter tries to get him Inky will hiss and growl to deter Dexter. This stops him for a minute or two and then Dexter attacks more aggressively.
the bigger issue is with Jasper. Dexter immediately attacks Jasper EVERY TIME he is is in the same room. Dexter pounces, holds him in place and bites his neck hard. Jasper will scream and cry, but does not run away. A lot of the attacks occur on the top of the cat tree. We separate, put Dexter in a time out in the bathroom, and if we let him out he goes straight for Jasper again. We’ve been keeping Dexter locked upstairs to keep our other guys safe, but it’s not fair to Dex either.
a couple of notes:
1. When Dexter attacks Inky, it upsets Jasper and Jasper will in turn attack Inky.
2. After these altercations Jasper and Inky are back to their normal relaxed selves within 5-10 minutes. They have not been stressed to the point that they will hide for long periods of time (like during thunderstorms).
3. We are able to feed all 3 close to each other in the same room, and they all are fine while waiting for their dishes.
4 . Jasper and inky are fine with Dexter on opposire sides of the baby gates. They sometimes bat at each other with their paws, but it does not seem mean.
5. we do playtime with the cats, and we do try to distract with kicker toys and feather wands to no avail.
6. We have Feliway diffusers in every room, Sentry calming collars, misc. calming treats that don’t help much, harnessing, etc. we are trying everyth we can think of or is suggested to us.
Is there any way we can get Dexter to stop with the instant attacks? Are my hubby and me being overly sensitive about the fights? I try to get video, but we intervene right away every time. We’re exhausted and on the brink of returning Dexter to the Humane Society. I really do not want to because I’m already attached. Please help if you have any ideas.
Inky came from a cat hapoarder house and was the cat the other cats picked on. As such he has always been shy and vet sweet. When Dexter tries to get him Inky will hiss and growl to deter Dexter. This stops him for a minute or two and then Dexter attacks more aggressively.
the bigger issue is with Jasper. Dexter immediately attacks Jasper EVERY TIME he is is in the same room. Dexter pounces, holds him in place and bites his neck hard. Jasper will scream and cry, but does not run away. A lot of the attacks occur on the top of the cat tree. We separate, put Dexter in a time out in the bathroom, and if we let him out he goes straight for Jasper again. We’ve been keeping Dexter locked upstairs to keep our other guys safe, but it’s not fair to Dex either.
a couple of notes:
1. When Dexter attacks Inky, it upsets Jasper and Jasper will in turn attack Inky.
2. After these altercations Jasper and Inky are back to their normal relaxed selves within 5-10 minutes. They have not been stressed to the point that they will hide for long periods of time (like during thunderstorms).
3. We are able to feed all 3 close to each other in the same room, and they all are fine while waiting for their dishes.
4 . Jasper and inky are fine with Dexter on opposire sides of the baby gates. They sometimes bat at each other with their paws, but it does not seem mean.
5. we do playtime with the cats, and we do try to distract with kicker toys and feather wands to no avail.
6. We have Feliway diffusers in every room, Sentry calming collars, misc. calming treats that don’t help much, harnessing, etc. we are trying everyth we can think of or is suggested to us.
Is there any way we can get Dexter to stop with the instant attacks? Are my hubby and me being overly sensitive about the fights? I try to get video, but we intervene right away every time. We’re exhausted and on the brink of returning Dexter to the Humane Society. I really do not want to because I’m already attached. Please help if you have any ideas.