Cat Bites Other Cat

[Flopi]

Hi all, it’s so sad what I’m about to tell you... I have two female cats, a 9year old siamese, and a 8 months old ragdoll.
The thing is since I brought the baby, my siamese has been very resistant to approaching her. I had to keep them in separate rooms at first...
Then I managed to keep them together, but still at night they sleep in different rooms so they can eat their different kinds of food.
Ragdoll baby is very energic, she plays all the time with every single thing she has on the way, even though she does have plenty of toys...
The thing is that to play with my older baby, she approachs to her and bites her back they don’t fight, as the siamese will only make noises and run, she doesn’t stand for herself.. i stop them whenever I’m around but of course I’m not home all day long, and even when I am it’s very stressing...
Also my siamese girl changed her behaviour a lot, she’s constantly watching the ragdoll so that she can run on time when she approachs. Also she doesn’t longer enjoy being close to me, as she starts grooming and running away from me. Even when I take my siamese to sleep with me and leave the ragdoll in the living, she won’t enjoy it or eat or sleep next to me as she used to...
I’m very sad about her, I’m afraid this whole situation may kill her of stress, sadness, I don’t know...
I’m wondering a lot if it was a good decision bringing the baby ragdoll... maybe my apartment is to small for her and she can’t adapt..
of course this behaviour is also towards me, as she will bite me while peting her... I took all the precautions, walking away from her when she takes playing to the next level... but still this hasn’t stopped.
I though fixing her would chance a little but after to weeks that she fully recovered from the surgery, she’s behaving the exact same way as before...
Should I give my baby to somebody with a bigger place and no cats?
Thanks for reading!!

 

[danteshuman]

Is she biting her between the shoulder blades? If so that is a dominance thing. The answer is to supervise, I would correct it (in my case: No Dante you can't attack your brother while I'm around! Knock it off or do I have to get the water bottle? ) Building up my victim cat's confidence through one on one play helped a lot. Giving him safe places to be helped to. I'm guessing your siamese would LOVE it if you locked out the younger kitten while you slept. 10 years later Dante is still a jerk cat. Playing with him helps drain off his energy so he doesn't jump Salem out of boredom.
I'm watching my two boys share the large cat bed (peacefully) on my computer table as I type this. It is possible, I swear.

 

[Columbine]

What beautiful kitties you have

It sounds like your ragdoll is trying to dominate your siamese. This happens between cats sometimes, especially when one is ultra confident and boisterous and the other is quieter and less sure of themselves. Kittenish energy and exuberance can be somewhat overwhelming for older cats too, so I'm not surprised your siamese is struggling a little right now. I'm in a similar situation myself, so I do understand how upsetting it is to see this kind of behaviour and character change.

Give the ragdoll as much interactive playtime as you can. Ideally, you want to be totally draining her energy at least twice a day. The biting when you're stroking her is most likely play aggression - she's simply trying to treat you as she would another cat. Whilst this is not ok (i.e. something she needs to be trained out of), it's not a huge cause for concern. In fact, I've yet to meet a kitten that didn't go through this stage

Have set times each day where your siamese has kitten-free time. I shut my kittens away at night (NOT in my bedroom ), so my adult can have free run of the place, and also free access to me. The boys go to bed at around 10/10.30pm, and stay in their room until around 8.30/9am. My girl really appreciates this kitten free time, and its helped her a lot. I try to give my girl a play session whilst the boys a shut away too - this is great to boost confidence (both in herself and in re-claiming ownership of her territory), and to release any tensions and stresses in a positive and healthy way.

Go around your house, looking at it from a cat's perspective. Open up as much vertical space as you can, and use it to try and turn dead ends into escape routes. If there's always a clear way out, your siamese will feel far less pressured. The other advantage to this is that opening up vertical space actually increases the available territory, making sharing space much easier for them both.

I don't think you need to start panicking here. Yes, there are problems that need addressing, but don't go scaring yourself thinking the stress is going to kill your old girl. It won't, I promise. You just need to give it some time and patience, and to work with the cats individually to create a calmer home for everyone.
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[Flopi]

Is she biting her between the shoulder blades? If so that is a dominance thing. The answer is to supervise, I would correct it (in my case: No Dante you can't attack your brother while I'm around! Knock it off or do I have to get the water bottle? ) Building up my victim cat's confidence through one on one play helped a lot. Giving him safe places to be helped to. I'm guessing your siamese would LOVE it if you locked out the younger kitten while you slept. 10 years later Dante is still a jerk cat. Playing with him helps drain off his energy so he doesn't jump Salem out of boredom.
I'm watching my two boys share the large cat bed (peacefully) on my computer table as I type this. It is possible, I swear.

thanks so much for sharing <3

 

[Flopi]

What beautiful kitties you have

It sounds like your ragdoll is trying to dominate your siamese. This happens between cats sometimes, especially when one is ultra confident and boisterous and the other is quieter and less sure of themselves. Kittenish energy and exuberance can be somewhat overwhelming for older cats too, so I'm not surprised your siamese is struggling a little right now. I'm in a similar situation myself, so I do understand how upsetting it is to see this kind of behaviour and character change.

Give the ragdoll as much interactive playtime as you can. Ideally, you want to be totally draining her energy at least twice a day. The biting when you're stroking her is most likely play aggression - she's simply trying to treat you as she would another cat. Whilst this is not ok (i.e. something she needs to be trained out of), it's not a huge cause for concern. In fact, I've yet to meet a kitten that didn't go through this stage

Have set times each day where your siamese has kitten-free time. I shut my kittens away at night (NOT in my bedroom ), so my adult can have free run of the place, and also free access to me. The boys go to bed at around 10/10.30pm, and stay in their room until around 8.30/9am. My girl really appreciates this kitten free time, and its helped her a lot. I try to give my girl a play session whilst the boys a shut away too - this is great to boost confidence (both in herself and in re-claiming ownership of her territory), and to release any tensions and stresses in a positive and healthy way.

Go around your house, looking at it from a cat's perspective. Open up as much vertical space as you can, and use it to try and turn dead ends into escape routes. If there's always a clear way out, your siamese will feel far less pressured. The other advantage to this is that opening up vertical space actually increases the available territory, making sharing space much easier for them both.

I don't think you need to start panicking here. Yes, there are problems that need addressing, but don't go scaring yourself thinking the stress is going to kill your old girl. It won't, I promise. You just need to give it some time and patience, and to work with the cats individually to create a calmer home for everyone.
Six Surefire Strategies To Reduce Stress In Cats
10 Must-know Tips For Happy Living With A Shy Cat
16 Top Cat Experts Share Tips For Dealing With Timid Cats
How To Get A Cat To Come Out Of Hiding?
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide

hi Columbine!! Thank you so much for your help. Even though I have to say things are getting worse every time I play with my kitty a lot, I take her to the park and still she keeps on annoying my older cat.

It's really getting worse, as she won't even let her use the litter box my siamese is peeing around the house as I've seen how the ragdoll will run after her when she hears her using the litter box. I'm desperate, I swear.

As I commented earlier, I live in an apartment, so there isn't much more space to open. I have two cat trees but neither of them use them, even though I spray catnip on them twice a week. I know I panicked and it won't kill my baby, but I'm really considering giving the ragdoll away, as it's obvious she can't adapt to such a small place.

I'm very sad and really struggling to find a solution but this is the only one I can think of