Cat Hissing At Brother Cat.

[tnbsp]

Hi,

I have two male cats: Spartacus (S) and Gannicus (G). They just turned 1 year old and I adopted them last November, they are litter-mates and neutered. They usually rough-house play together and sleep together, etc..

A week ago my husband and I started packing up our apartment to move from PA to NC. During the last few days at the old apartment G hissed at S two times because S was being super hyper and wanted to roughhouse. It was like S just kept attacking and G wasn't really into it. S got super crazy with all the new space showing up and G was becoming more anxious because of it... and hiding in cupboards.

Now we are in the new place (a small apartment-like space over my parent's garage.. detached from the main house): I think they are adapting well, so-far. S-Spartacus is hardly phased, G-Gannicus is more nervous, meowing sometimes but is playing at night before food and a little in the morning. It hasn't even been 48 hours yet... BUT-- last night while I was sleeping I heard some hissing noises, and I wondered if it was the same situation like before. This morning I saw S trying to play with G and G hissed at him.

Basically, I'm a little concerned. Can I assume this is just Gannicus being stressed with the move and that it'll all subside later or should I be concerned that they might lose their bond as brothers? After the hissing, Spartacus backs off.. and the two seem fine otherwise. There's no other vocalizations; the "fighting" doesn't appear to look like "fighting" either.. like normal play but just that Gannicus isn't reciprocating and maybe Spartacus is acting extra hyper these days too... During the drive I put them both together in a large dog crate. There weren't any problems between them.. But here at the new place I haven't seen much brotherly love yet.. I know it's only been a short time, I'm hoping that after a week or so maybe this will stop.

thanks for your opinions and advice

 

[meto]

What I thought of first was that if neither of them are hurting each other, it's best to wait it out for a week or so. Just offering them treats and such to get them settled in. I wouldn't be too concerned.
But then I thought, with the move, it could be a territorial thing. I think watching their behavior closely would be good, to see if it could be about who owns what in the new space. That could be a little more serious than a brotherly quarrel. Have they been through a big move before?
I'm no expert, just my opinion. Hope this helps

 

[tnbsp]

the only other move they've been through was when I adopted them in November, they were about 12 weeks old.. they were living with a foster family and then moved to my place. I'll start watching the space to see if that could be it... maybe.. I wish Gannicus would stop sleeping in the bathroom drawer.. he has made that his sleep area for now, while Spartacus is out in the living area on the top of their old cat tree...

 

[meto]

the only other move they've been through was when I adopted them in November, they were about 12 weeks old.. they were living with a foster family and then moved to my place. I'll start watching the space to see if that could be it... maybe.. I wish Gannicus would stop sleeping in the bathroom drawer.. he has made that his sleep area for now, while Spartacus is out in the living area on the top of their old cat tree...

hmmm with Gannicus confining himself to a small space like a drawer while Spartacus has a high perch in a bigger space, and with Gannicus hissing (which sounds defensive from what you said), in my opinion this definitely sounds like a territorial issue. It sounds to me like Spartacus decided he owns the place and Gannicus is trying not to get hurt. I don't have any experience personally solving this type of issue, so I'll leave it to other members to provide their perspectives and solutions. Best of luck! ^^

 

[tnbsp]

Yeah... Gannicus does come out when he isn't sleeping and was acting like his normal self last night, except for the not accepting "play" from his brother..... I'm hoping by me playing every morning and evening with both of them before meals that that'll increase Gannicus's confidence and hopefully help him claim some of the space.... :/ maybe some others will chime in on how to help resolve the issue before it gets worse

 

[Tobermory]

Your boys’ behaviors sound like pretty normal responses to stress. You know how much cats hate change in their environment and routines! The more quickly you can get a “new normal” routine established the better. Talk to them a lot in a quiet voice, give lots of pets, play with the them together, keep visitors away for awhile if possible until the boys become more comfortable in their new surroundings. Others may have a different experience, and it depends on the cats, but when my sisters are hissing at each other (they’re 14), I approach them slowly, talk in a reassuring way, and stroke one with each hand. That seems to defuse the tension.

You could also consider getting some Feliway “Classic” which is an artificial feline pheromone that is supposed to help relieve stress and calm cats. It’s a liquid dispersed through a diffuser that plugs into an outlet. It has always worked for my cats but some cats seem to be immune.

 

[tnbsp]

Thanks! I have Feliway spray, I can't tell if it helps or not but I've been spraying around anyway, definitely isn't going to hurt, right? maybe I'll look into the infuser so it can be more consistent. I feel better knowing that other siblings have hissed.

 

[Tobermory]

The spray is really designed for more targeted use: to help make travel and visits to the vet less stressful (you spray lightly inside the carrier 15 minutes or so before travel to keep from getting on your kitties) and to allow targeted management of the areas your cat might be marking with urine or by scratching. You aren't supposed to spray it around your cats; keep them from the area until it dries. Here's a link to the page on the company's website that describes how to use it: https://www.feliway.com/us/Products/feliway-classic-spray

The Feliway with the diffuser (the Classic) is more intended for generalized stress reduction and calming. Kind of puts it out there into the atmosphere rather than in a specific spot!

 

[tnbsp]

The spray is really designed for more targeted use: to help make travel and visits to the vet less stressful (you spray lightly inside the carrier 15 minutes or so before travel to keep from getting on your kitties) and to allow targeted management of the areas your cat might be marking with urine or by scratching. You aren't supposed to spray it around your cats; keep them from the area until it dries. Here's a link to the page on the company's website that describes how to use it: https://www.feliway.com/us/Products/feliway-classic-spray

The Feliway with the diffuser (the Classic) is more intended for generalized stress reduction and calming. Kind of puts it out there into the atmosphere rather than in a specific spot!

Oh ok! thanks for the link, my bottle didn't come with any instructions. I bought it originally with the intention for using it on the carrier before travel... will look into the infuser for sure!

 

[tnbsp]

The spray is really designed for more targeted use: to help make travel and visits to the vet less stressful (you spray lightly inside the carrier 15 minutes or so before travel to keep from getting on your kitties) and to allow targeted management of the areas your cat might be marking with urine or by scratching. You aren't supposed to spray it around your cats; keep them from the area until it dries. Here's a link to the page on the company's website that describes how to use it: https://www.feliway.com/us/Products/feliway-classic-spray

The Feliway with the diffuser (the Classic) is more intended for generalized stress reduction and calming. Kind of puts it out there into the atmosphere rather than in a specific spot!

oh no.. I was reading and I sprayed the feliway spray on the cat tree... Spartacus is using it no problem, but Gannicus just sits on it and goes away. Do you think eventually it'll dissipate? I only sprayed 1-2 sprays, not like how the website says to do 8 ... maybe it isn't having an affect.

 

[Tobermory]

oh no.. I was reading and I sprayed the feliway spray on the cat tree... Spartacus is using it no problem, but Gannicus just sits on it and goes away. Do you think eventually it'll dissipate? I only sprayed 1-2 sprays, not like how the website says to do 8 ... maybe it isn't having an affect.

Should be okay. It dissipates over time and you have to reapply it, so Gannicus will probably go back to it eventually. Spartacus may be one of those cats who is immune to it. Mocha, the kitty I adopted in the fall, would much prefer to scratch my area rugs than her scratching posts. She's better than when I got her, but I still have to mist one rug in particular every three days. So the effect does wear off.

 

[tnbsp]

Good news! Gannicus hasn't slept in the bathroom drawers for the last two days and I haven't heard as much hissing from him either. Gannicus has even started instigating play and has slept on the cat tower phew! I think we are going to be alright, fingers crossed