Beating up other cat, scratching at door

[xthoroughbred]

Hello! About 2.5 years ago, we adopted two kittens from the same litter who were found on their own in a parking lot. They seemed to get along fine then.

Now, Baxter (neutered, outgoing) attacks Lucy (spayed, reserved) pretty much all throughout the night and at other random times. He will chase her around the house, jump on her back and bite her. We believe Lucy was the runt of the litter and Baxter is pretty big, so she is completely outsized. She does her best to swat him and is constantly hissing at him, but he never seems to get it. I lay in bed at night and hear them galloping all over the house, with Lucy hissing and occasionally screaming out in pain. It's gotten to the point where we will let her in a closed-off bedroom at night to get away from him, and she knows to run there for shelter. We try to scold Baxter but he goes right back at her. We've used a spray bottle in the past but that didn't help. Again, this isn't ALL the time. Right now, they are sitting beside each other acting perfectly fine.

Baxter also has an issue about getting outside. My late, older cat was indoor/outdoor but that was only because he lived his life before us as a stray and was very smart -- always staying close by, knowing to run to us for help, etc. Baxter seems like he would run off and never come back. He sits at the door, cries, claws at the blinds/door handle and rips the door apart whether it's day or night, rain or shine. You would think we had a dog if you saw the torn up wood on these doors. We try to distract him, but it doesn't help. We've taken him outside on a harness but he's not always happy doing that either. I've tried spraying Feliway on the door, but it doesn't help. Right now, we have to stack things in front of the door to keep him from scratching, but he's found ways around that.

It seems to me like Baxter needs more stimulation, but we're not sure what to do. Help!

 

[shadowsrescue]

I can completely relate to the frustration of having cats who don't always get along.  One of the things you might want try is reintroducing the cats.  Baxter might have seen another cat in the yard and is so frustrated he can't get out and chase it off his territory that he takes it out on Lucy.  I would try separating them for a bit and read through the cat to cat introductions and see if just might help them.  It may take you a few weeks, but in the end it might be worth it.  Here is a link http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats  Even though the suggestions are for new to each other cats, they will still work on cats who have lived together for any length of time.  I have used it on my two both at the start and then again when they started fighting. 

You also can try a calming treat for Baxter.  I use Composure.  You can try it in treat formula or liquid.  I have used both and prefer the liquid.  The treats take about 3 of them to work and then take 45-60 minutes.  The liquid can be mixed in wet food and works in about 20 minutes.  It has a calming effect which might help both with the aggression and also on wanting to get outside.  I give it 2x a day and at first find the dosage may need to be doubled or tripled.  It states this on the bottle.  You can find it at some pet stores as well as on Amazon.