I posted about 10 days ago about an issue that happened during the introduction of my new kitten Oke (4.5 mo) and my resident cat Eko (4 yrs). With the help from all of you here (thank you!) it was determined to be redirected aggression, which makes sense except there was no other aggressor at the time, I’m assuming it was scent based or Eko is just associating an area of the house with seeing cats outside. To summarize, both cats have time together supervised and are getting along pretty well. Eko snapped and attacked Oke twice in the same location several days apart, acting like he was a stranger. You can find the thread here: Possible PTSD during introductions
Anyway, since those first 2 attacks we no longer allow the cats to be together in the dining room where it happened and we keep the patio door closed so there’s no reminder for Eko. We kept them separated for a few days until we had positive interactions on either side of the baby gate and then only allowed them in the same room when Eko was up high and sleepy so he could observe. Now we are able to get them both playing together. Everything will be going perfectly, until it isn’t. We’ve had 3 more attacks and I’m not sure where to go from here.
When Oke first comes out, they are both excited to see each other and pretty much immediately start wrestling. Eko is very vocal with lots of meowing and growling but his body language says he playing and he doesn’t try to get away, even instigating the play when Oke gives him a break. In the last few days Eko has finally gotten confident enough to play with the interactive toys when Oke is around. The problem is that poor Oke now seems traumatized and the second Eko makes a sudden move to play Oke gets very scared, hissing, ears flat, arched back, full body puff. He doesn’t realize that Eko is playing (it happened when Eko jumped down from the table to play with Oke when he turned his back, and when Eko pounced on a toy).
If this was all, I could handle it and work on building Oke’s confidence back up, but when Eko sees that defensive position and hears the little baby hiss, he sees red and a full fight breaks out. Luckily, Oke doesn’t fight back but he has taken some pretty hard hits before we can get something between them. Then he looks at me like I’m a stranger when I get him back to his safe room. I’m really worried about what would happen if Oke tried to fight back, I’m worried he’s going to get seriously hurt.
Does anyone have any suggestions about where to go from here? They really do enjoy playing together (a couple hours after their fight last night they we playing through the bars of the gate with zero negativity) but I don’t know how to desensitize Oke to Eko’s movements and not get startled. I can’t keep letting him get beat up when Eko snaps. And I want him to be confident and not always on guard. But I also don’t want him spending his entire kittenhood in a separate room. Should we go back to full separation for a longer period of time? Should we talk to the vet about Eko’s outbursts, maybe it’s time for medication? Is it time to consider hiring a behaviorist?
Anyway, since those first 2 attacks we no longer allow the cats to be together in the dining room where it happened and we keep the patio door closed so there’s no reminder for Eko. We kept them separated for a few days until we had positive interactions on either side of the baby gate and then only allowed them in the same room when Eko was up high and sleepy so he could observe. Now we are able to get them both playing together. Everything will be going perfectly, until it isn’t. We’ve had 3 more attacks and I’m not sure where to go from here.
When Oke first comes out, they are both excited to see each other and pretty much immediately start wrestling. Eko is very vocal with lots of meowing and growling but his body language says he playing and he doesn’t try to get away, even instigating the play when Oke gives him a break. In the last few days Eko has finally gotten confident enough to play with the interactive toys when Oke is around. The problem is that poor Oke now seems traumatized and the second Eko makes a sudden move to play Oke gets very scared, hissing, ears flat, arched back, full body puff. He doesn’t realize that Eko is playing (it happened when Eko jumped down from the table to play with Oke when he turned his back, and when Eko pounced on a toy).
If this was all, I could handle it and work on building Oke’s confidence back up, but when Eko sees that defensive position and hears the little baby hiss, he sees red and a full fight breaks out. Luckily, Oke doesn’t fight back but he has taken some pretty hard hits before we can get something between them. Then he looks at me like I’m a stranger when I get him back to his safe room. I’m really worried about what would happen if Oke tried to fight back, I’m worried he’s going to get seriously hurt.
Does anyone have any suggestions about where to go from here? They really do enjoy playing together (a couple hours after their fight last night they we playing through the bars of the gate with zero negativity) but I don’t know how to desensitize Oke to Eko’s movements and not get startled. I can’t keep letting him get beat up when Eko snaps. And I want him to be confident and not always on guard. But I also don’t want him spending his entire kittenhood in a separate room. Should we go back to full separation for a longer period of time? Should we talk to the vet about Eko’s outbursts, maybe it’s time for medication? Is it time to consider hiring a behaviorist?