I have a 4 cat household, all 4 cats have lived together for almost 4 years at this point. Finn (3.5yr old male) has also been a little bugger and loved to bug Rad (9+yr old female). She has a short fuse and is quick to vocalize and hide even if the other cat is simply attempting to play. Before Christmas, Finn’s “bugging” her started to escalate into aggression towards her and we knew we had to intervene. We tried diffusers and behavioral modification, and saw some improvement but not enough. As of the 9th of this month, both cats will have been on Behavioral meds for a month. The goal being to use the behavioral meds to lessen tensions so behavioral modification methods are able to be effective, and then ween both cats off meds when things have settled down again. So far we have definitely seen a notable improvement, if before the aggression/tension was 100%, now we’ve managed it down to 20%. Now when Finn runs after Rad, it’s more playful than malicious, and when it happens we shut Finn in the bathroom for 5 mins and can tell he is starting to associate his bad behavior with the punishment which is great. We have even noticed as well that if Finn bugs Rad and she vocalizes, 9/10 times he turns around and walks the opposite direction. We have also been feeding them food and treats together, a lot of the time with them getting so close their heads touch. It’s been a long and sometimes discouraging road, and I’m just looking for some success stories to lift my spirits and potentially some behavioral modification/exercises that worked for you in your situations.
Thanks!
Thanks!