Cat Biting Her Sister Constantly

Babyroxasman

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Ruby the 5 year old Ocicat has recently been biting her Sister Scoober constantly in the same spot almost every day. I should mention that Scoober is an 11 year old pit who won't even growl at her when she does it. The poor baby is going bald now.

I need advice on things I can put on her head that tastes nasty so she won't want to try it again.

For exercise we let her out into the backyard now and she'll really bite the dog if she can't go out. We recently bought a harness and we're still working on leash training and going outside through the front door. We've tried string toys and she loves them but she chews through those so quickly that we can't save it in time.
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rubysmama

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Hello and welcome to TCS. Sorry your Ruby (I have a Ruby too) has started biting your dog. She's very lucky Scoober isn't fighting back.

How long have you had both of them? Did something happen to start this behaviour? Is it some form of playing? Or is she growling and aggressive when she bites him? Is she eating & using the litter box normally?

I'll post a couple links to TCS articles that may be helpful, but honestly, I have no idea what to advise. Hopefully some other members will reply with suggestions.

Is Your Cat Stressed Out?
Solving Cat Behavior Problems: The Key Ingredient
 
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Babyroxasman

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Hello and welcome to TCS. Sorry your Ruby (I have a Ruby too) has started biting your dog. She's very lucky Scoober isn't fighting back.

How long have you had both of them? Did something happen to start this behaviour? Is it some form of playing? Or is she growling and aggressive when she bites him? Is she eating & using the litter box normally?

I'll post a couple links to TCS articles that may be helpful, but honestly, I have no idea what to advise. Hopefully some other members will reply with suggestions.

Is Your Cat Stressed Out?
Solving Cat Behavior Problems: The Key Ingredient
Hi and thank you!

We've had Scoober for basically 11 years, we adopted her from the shelter when she was half a year old. And a few years later this cat breeder I knew gave me Ruby (1mo) who was very sickly. They got along pretty quickly with only one incident on the first day they met.
It took me a long while to nurse her back to health but i'm glad she's better now. She still has a constant runny nose and eye though years ago a lady recommended I give her L-Lysine and it really helps it go down!

The first time it happened was when we had our pet sitter come and watch them last year in the early Fall. She's been our sitter for two going on three years now and they both lover her. She says it might just be because the cat wants to go outside all the time but can't at certain times like at night or when the weather is going to act up.
She uses her litter box like usual.
 

rubysmama

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I've never had a cat and dog, so I'm not really sure what to suggest. Have you taken Ruby to the vet to ensure she doesn't have something medical going on?

Actually, have you told the vet about the biting. I'm not sure if cat bites can get infected or not, but perhaps the vet could give you something to help heal Scoober's bites, and deter Ruby from continuing to bite him.

Other than that, perhaps you're right and it's her responding to not getting to go outside when she wants to.

I'll post a few TCS articles on cat stress that may be helpful. Hopefully, though, some other members will reply with suggestions.

Re-directed Aggression In Cats
Is Your Cat Stressed Out?
Six Surefire Strategies To Reduce Stress In Cats
Potential Stressors In Cats - The Ultimate Checklist

Here's another article that may be helpful:
How to Stop a Cat from Attacking Dogs
 
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Babyroxasman

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Oh my gosh I'm so sorry I haven't replied back in ages! Yes it is definitely redirected aggression and no I haven't told the vet about it. One question is $65 so you can see why I go to forums.

I forgot to mention that yes she does do a little growl and shake her head while she's biting and she uses the kitty litter like normal, though if you have tips for making it smell less then that would be great
 
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