Cat Bullies Other, One Relegated To Kitchen

[margd]

Oh, dear. That is dire. You certainly can't have Shy Cat using your food preparation areas as a litter box.

You don't need to keep Bully Cat locked behind closed doors all day in a reintroduction. You can swap cats so that both cats have the run of the house at some point during the day. That's what I would do, anyway.

When it comes to meal time, the idea is to move their bowls closer and closer to each other while both cats remain separated by the door. Eventually, they should be eating side-by-side on either side of the door.

It's also important to gradually increase their exposure to each other. This usually involves opening the door a crack and letting them see each other for longer periods of time each day. With time, the initial hissing and swatting should die down. You can also try letting them out together for a brief period of time, again extending it as the behavior improves.

I can't guarantee this will work with Bully Cat and Shy Cat but reintroductions often do help so you might give it a try.

Here again is our article on introducing cats: How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide

Here are two articles that describe reintroduction methods: Think Like a Cat:Reintroduction Method | Pam Johnson-Bennett Aggression Between Cats in Your Household

Bringing in a professional cat behaviorist is a terrific idea. I'm a bit skeptical of the ones who claim to know what a cat is thinking or feeling but it can be invaluable to have a professional on site who can watch the dynamic between cats and evaluate their environment. They'll be able to provide you with a personalized plan for handling the hostility between Shy Cat and Bully Cat.

Good luck! Please keep us updated!

 

[trizzo0309]

margd Thank you for your reply. I am sorry I did not see this sooner as I was just on vacation for five days and left the shy cat with some friends and he had a blast! Once we went to go pick him up from the friend's house he did not want to come with us and came home and ran to the kitchen/sink for safety, which sucks. Hate seeing this cat happy elsewhere and/or when the other cat is away for the night.

I want to do the cat re-introduction but the shy/bullied cat won't/never has eaten outside of the kitchen on the main floor. We will move the food bowl upstairs or downstairs and he just doesn't want to eat/isn't comfortable/knows something it up. He's a creature of habit. Getting him to come upstairs to eat outside the door isn't likely.

Thanks for the links!

Yeah, it isn't cheap for a therapist but we don't have other options at the moment. This has become more than I can handle and it taking its tool on my girlfriend who hates to see shy-cat unhappy.

I reached out to one so hopefully we can set something up for the end of this week, beginning of the next.

 

[danteshuman]

I was just reading all your posts. Our shy elderly declawed cat (without a tail) Sarah was being bullied by my punk Dante. Sarah has since passed but there were things I did that did help. I would try re-introducing them & site swapping it so each cat gets to spend the same amount of awake time with you.

We gave up & put a litter box on the counter temporarily. You might try giving your cat an elevated litter box?
We stopped letting the cats interact without a chaperone & Dante wasn't allowed within 3-5 feet of her. At one point I got them to eat inches from each other. Since Sarah wasn't technically my cat our goal was just peace not friends.
Building up Salem's confidence with one on one play (locking Dante out) has made Salem braver/fight back.
I started feeding my guys wet food once a day since Sarah was a very old kitty with old teeth that got fed 4 times a day. It did help alleviate the jealousy.
If I'm around NO bullying/fighting/hunting of his brother is allowed (Dante uses Salem as a living toy when he gets bored.) I also call/distract Dante if I see him going after his brother while he is using the litter box (Dante annoys Salem by sniffing his but or getting in his face while he is trying to go.)

I hope peace is restored.

 

[trizzo0309]

danteshuman Thank you for your feedback. At night we put the bully cat in our bedroom so the shy cat can go use the litter box without having any issues and that appears to work.

Here's our problem and maybe you can help:

One of our cats does not leave the kitchen and when he does the bully cat will chase him back into it. The bully cat is constantly staring at the other cat and doesn't really let him out of his sight. We don't know what to do to ease the tension as we've tried the feliway diffuser but he stays locked into him.

Can someone please assist?

 

[Ardina]

Since you have three floors, is it possible to block off the stairs and keep them on separate floors? That way, they both get plenty of room. Stacked baby gates might do the trick. That way, you can do the reintroduction without having to keep one cat in a room. Make sure to site swap though, so they both spread their scents all over the house.

I think you also need to build up the shy cat's confidence. One-on-one play with a wand toy and a couple of weeks without getting harassed will help with that.

 

[danteshuman]

It sounds like the only spot your shy cat 'owns' is in the kitchen. I agree with building up his confidence & blocking off access to the floor where the kitchen is located so your shy cat can expand his territory. When he owns the entire floor I would work on trying to reintroduce them/site swapping. Playing with your shy cat one on one will help tremendously

 

[trizzo0309]

It sounds like the only spot your shy cat 'owns' is in the kitchen. I agree with building up his confidence & blocking off access to the floor where the kitchen is located so your shy cat can expand his territory. When he owns the entire floor I would work on trying to reintroduce them/site swapping. Playing with your shy cat one on one will help tremendously

danteshuman Thank you. The situation has progressed and gotten worse as of late. He does own the kitchen and loves looking out the window/relaxing there but with winter coming we can't have that anymore. When he does try wandering into the living room off of the kitchen the new cat just chases him back into it.

It's been a really rough process so I'm not sure what works anymore. We'll probably have to end up re-homing one of them which breaks my heart. We try playing with him often but he's not much of a "playing" cat outside of a laser pointer which I hear is not good for cats.

 

[danteshuman]

Have you blocked of access to that floor from your bully cat? A screen door at the top or bottom of the stair way might work. Or locking your bully cat up in your master bedroom.

 

[trizzo0309]

danteshuman I have a couple of thoughts regarding that:

1) The bully cat would just be relegated to the upstairs which is two rooms and a bathroom. What type of life is that for him when he's been locked up in our bedroom for months on end and now has some freedom? (Not dismissing your idea AT ALL, I'm just trying to see it from his point of view)

2) We did lock him in our bedroom for a few months and we don't really want to do that outside of locking him up at night when we sleep. We currently keep him up at night to let shy cat explore/use bathroom but once morning hits shy cat is back in kitchen and doesn't really leave so no progress is made.

We can certainly buy a baby gate and lock the bully cat upstairs but that just seems like a really poor quality of life and isn't really solving anything. How would they become cool again to where they can co-exist if one just has the middle floor and one has the top floor?

 

[margd]

We try playing with him often but he's not much of a "playing" cat outside of a laser pointer which I hear is not good for cats.

I don't think there is a hard and fast rule about this. My cats play with the laser pointer all of the time and have never shown any signs of frustration, but I do give them treats afterwards to satisfy the prey drive awakened by chasing the laser. Other cats may benefit by leaving "prey" at various places around the room while you play. You place items they like around the room where you are playing and then periodically stop the light on one of them. This gives your cat the opportunity to "catch" something. My thought is that if your cat enjoys this, and it's one of the few activities that he does, go for it. Remember to let him catch treats at the end, though.

 

[danteshuman]

I meant as a temporary measure. For a couple of weeks. That should be enough time to build up your shy cat's confidence. Then you can begin working on introductions again. I would then try site swapping. Where you alternate who gets the bedroom every other day or every 12 hours (being sure to divide time with you evenly.) I would use a crate to switch the cats.

How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide

 

[trizzo0309]

I don't think there is a hard and fast rule about this. My cats play with the laser pointer all of the time and have never shown any signs of frustration, but I do give them treats afterwards to satisfy the prey drive awakened by chasing the laser. Other cats may benefit by leaving "prey" at various places around the room while you play. You place items they like around the room where you are playing and then periodically stop the light on one of them. This gives your cat the opportunity to "catch" something. My thought is that if your cat enjoys this, and it's one of the few activities that he does, go for it. Remember to let him catch treats at the end, though.

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margd Thank you for your reply and I appreciate that insight.

 

[trizzo0309]

I meant as a temporary measure. For a couple of weeks. That should be enough time to build up your shy cat's confidence. Then you can begin working on introductions again. I would then try site swapping. Where you alternate who gets the bedroom every other day or every 12 hours (being sure to divide time with you evenly.) I would use a crate to switch the cats.

How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide

Thank you for your comment, I will take a look and probably consult a professional.