I have two indoor cats from the same litter, they are both fixed, a male and a female. They are 4 years old now and they were getting along very well, till the male went outside last week and spent the night out. Since we found him the female cat is attacking him all the time and so aggressive with him. He is so scared, hiding and peeing all over the house. Any idea why is that and what should we do?
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Cat attacking her brother
- Thread starter Dalia
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How long has she been doing this?
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- #3
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So she’s not cutting him any slack at all? When she sees him, she immediately goes for him or do they unpeacefully coexist until she decides to let him have it? I know that when one of my cats goes to the vet (2 brothers of the same litter) Icky would attack Jethro but not seriously and it would last just a short while. And this is a common behavior for cats. I’d read one person would spray them both with skin so soft so they both smell the same it seem to eliminate the problem. Well she always the alpha cat? Have you tried keeping them separate but being able to see each other? As in a screen door or something like that? Not saying put one outside but the screen door can be put on any inside door easily. He obviously does not feel safe right now and needs to. So he needs to have a space where he can be comfortable and that should help with his behavior problem of urinating in the house. Hopefully. He is obviously traumatized by this behavior and possibly buy his being out for a week too. Have you ever heard of rescue remedy? It is a Bach flower remedy. You can get it at your local health food store or you can get it online but I’m always up for supporting your local health food store. Read up on it on the web and it will give you an understanding of what it is. I know it may seem like Hocus Pocus but it really works.
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- #5
Hopefully you will get some suggestions here that work. She smells something on him from outdoors. I would do the following: 1) take two dry washcloths. Rub one vigorously all over her coat, set aside. Rub the other all over his coat. Two different colors would help. The one you rubbed on her will then be rubbed on him, and the one you originally rubbed on him will be rubbed on her. That way she will get used to whatever scent is on him from outdoors, and will also smell her own scent on him. 2) put Rescue Remedy drops or whatever calming drops you use, in their water bowl or bowls, They both need to be much calmer. Feliway products get rave reviews, I haven’t had much luck with them, but others have.
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- #7
I haven’t had any luck with the Feliway either, but I have with the Rescue Remedy for Pets. Lots of shelters use it. As a last resort, you could take them both to be bathed at the vet’s/groomer. That way, they would both have the same scent.
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- #9
Hello and welcome to TCS. Sorry, though, for the reason that's brought you here.
It sounds like non-recognition aggression, in that your male cat now smells differently, and therefore your female cat no longer recognizes him.
How To Deal With Non-recognition Aggression In Cats – TheCatSite Articles
Separating them, and slowly doing a re-introduction would be the recommended suggestion. You might also want to have your male cat checked at the vet for an UTI, which can be caused by stress.
Litterbox Problems? Here’s Why You Should Call Your Vet – TheCatSite Articles
Stress in Cats – The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles
Also make sure you use an Enzyme cleaner to clean any areas where he's peed, otherwise he will be able to still smell his scent there, and might keep going in the same places.
How To Remove Cat Urine – TheCatSite Articles
How to Successfully Combat Cat Urine – TheCatSite Articles
You might also want to get a black light, to ensure you don't miss any spots.
Amazon.com : black light for pet urine detection
Good luck. Hope things get better soon.
It sounds like non-recognition aggression, in that your male cat now smells differently, and therefore your female cat no longer recognizes him.
How To Deal With Non-recognition Aggression In Cats – TheCatSite Articles
Separating them, and slowly doing a re-introduction would be the recommended suggestion. You might also want to have your male cat checked at the vet for an UTI, which can be caused by stress.
Litterbox Problems? Here’s Why You Should Call Your Vet – TheCatSite Articles
Stress in Cats – The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles
Also make sure you use an Enzyme cleaner to clean any areas where he's peed, otherwise he will be able to still smell his scent there, and might keep going in the same places.
How To Remove Cat Urine – TheCatSite Articles
How to Successfully Combat Cat Urine – TheCatSite Articles
You might also want to get a black light, to ensure you don't miss any spots.
Amazon.com : black light for pet urine detection
Good luck. Hope things get better soon.
Xena44
The person who sprayed their cat with Skin So Soft was very wrong. NEVER spray any perfume on a cat!!! There may be ingredients that are harmful or toxic to cats in perfumes.
D
Dalia
The scent-swapping (rubbing a cloth on each cat in turn, and again, to combine scents) is a good thing. Feliway spray in the environment/on bedding has been used by me with great success. I've never used the Plug-Ins. And Nature's Miracle-Just For Cats, widely available where cat supplies are sold, is my longtime favorite enzymatic cleaner for any "accidents." Experts suggest one box for each cat in the home, plus one extra box.- Thread Starter Thread Starter
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Skin so soft is not a perfume. It’s a moisturizing oil and the ingredients are extremely similar to a flea and tick spray that I have for my animals. I actually don’t use it on them because I don’t have fleas or ticks. I use it to repel mosquitoes but I understand where you’re coming from. Cats don’t like perfumes at all and frankly I don’t either. he didn’t douse them with it, he just gave them a mild sprit’s so they would be something familiar between them. But I totally hear you
tarasgirl06
, I totally hear you
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It is really important to make sure that he has a safe space somewhere Where he actually knows that she cannot get to him. It’s also important really love him up when he knows he’s safe To help him rebuild his confidence and security.
The same thing happened to a family I know. They adopted two kittens from the same litter, boy and girl, from me three years ago. They were rescued together, brought to the vet together, they risked their lives, and recovered, together, were adopted together. They loved each other to bits, until one morning (two months ago), out of the blue the girl attacked the boy and tried to hurt him.
The two owners were terrified, they got in between them and split them in two separate rooms of the house for a while, but things didn't improve even days later.
They called a behavioralist in, they paid lots of money for his advice, but it didn't work. They changed the diet (as per vet advice), introduced new elements of interest in the household, they put Feliway diffusers all over the place, tried the scent-swapping, played music for cats for hours/days, to no avail.
They had to keep the two cats in two parts of the house, without any contact, not even visual.
Until, six weeks later, for an oversight, the two cats were together in the bedroom at night, and they didn't kill each other. Since then, things are slooowly improving.
It is likely they will never be friends again as they were before that event, but they might be very close to it.
What happened, nobody knows, but any kind of intervention from the parents didn't work. Things got and are going better on their own.
I hope your cats find a new balance. I agree with most of the above tips.
The two owners were terrified, they got in between them and split them in two separate rooms of the house for a while, but things didn't improve even days later.
They called a behavioralist in, they paid lots of money for his advice, but it didn't work. They changed the diet (as per vet advice), introduced new elements of interest in the household, they put Feliway diffusers all over the place, tried the scent-swapping, played music for cats for hours/days, to no avail.
They had to keep the two cats in two parts of the house, without any contact, not even visual.
Until, six weeks later, for an oversight, the two cats were together in the bedroom at night, and they didn't kill each other. Since then, things are slooowly improving.
It is likely they will never be friends again as they were before that event, but they might be very close to it.
What happened, nobody knows, but any kind of intervention from the parents didn't work. Things got and are going better on their own.
I hope your cats find a new balance. I agree with most of the above tips.
In addition to scent rubbing, if that doesn't work, a separation for a "reset" is a good idea whenever cats that were formerly good start having problems with each other. Sometimes it can be as short as a few hours, but since you've had tension and it sounds like actual fights/attacks for a week, at least a few days might be more prudent. At this point, getting the scent normal just might not be enough. Its like if a human couple fights -- if certain things are said/done, it doesn't matter what started the fight anymore. Its the same with cats. It might have been the scent issues that started this, but if there have been attacks for a week, that may no longer matter. You might end up needing a separation followed by a slow gradual reintroduction.
I had a similar problem years ago, a grown tortie female missing her newly departed older brother. I didn’t want her to be an only cat so I got a kitten. She was horrible to him for almost a year. I had to keep them separated. We went on vacation for ten days and boarded them at the vet’s. I asked that they be in kitty condos (ha!) beside one another. When I brought them home, a definite transition had occurred, they were friends! I suppose they bonded over being boarded, an any port in a storm type friendship, but she was never mean to him again and actually seemed to like him. So the idea of separation with slow reintroduction sounds good to me.
tarasgirl06
I didn’t realize at the time that a tortie would have probably preferred to be an only cat. You know how torties are! Maggie was diagnosed with prednisone-induced diabetes not long after that and, sadly, had an awful hypoglycemic event and didn’t make it. She is the precious kitty in my avatar photo. Five years ago, I walked into a Petco and heard someone loudly yelling. It was a little, short tortie girl. I stuck my finger into the cage, she grabbed it with her paw and there I went again, back to tortie school. This one, Rena, had been rescued during a police raid on an active meth house. She and her two tiny kittens were covered in fleas, filthy, and required lots of medical care. The kittens were adopted quickly, but nobody wanted Rena (I kept her name, which means something similar to second chance in Hebrew). All potential adopters were afraid of high vet bills. I didn’t care, she was mine. I can now say that I know much more about torties. Rena has disdain for her brothers and sisters because she isn’t a cat, she‘s a person, lol. She’d as soon swat a cat in the face as look at it, but at times she deigns to snuggle with them. She is livin’ the life, curled beside me right now, sleeping off her late lunch like the princess she is. Sorry to hijack, but I so love a fellow tortie lover. 
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