Cat likes to attack other cats

Mes

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I recently got a rescue cat (Archie) and have been living with him in my dorm for a while, however since covid I've moved back home with my parents and have had some issues with Archie getting along with my mothers cat (Gray). Gray is older and he doesn't like Archie at all, however he has never attacked my cat and only ever growls and tries to keep away. Archie on the other hand, shows no signs of aggression and either acts unbothered or extremely curious about Gray, but one of the few times we've had them in the same room together Archie ran after him and jumped on him. We intervened immediately and have rarely allowed them in the same space since, and we are hesitant to allow them to be together because my cat has a history of attacking other cats according to previous owners/foster family. I don't know if Archie is playing or if he will actually hurt Gray if we allow them to interact for longer, so I'm posting to see what you guys think. Are we making an issue out of nothing, and if not what are some steps we can take to help Archie behave.

Currently Archie sleeps in my room and is allowed to go anywhere in the upstairs during the day except for the hallway leading to where Gray is. There is a tall gate blocking the hallway and so far he has never tried to jump over it. Gray moves between my sisters bedroom, my other sisters room, their bathroom and the hallway where the gate is. Archie will often sit right outside the gate and watch Gray. On a few occasions I have opened the gate just to reach my hand in to pet Gray, when I do that Archie is very intent on gray and bobbing his head around me and the gate just to see him.



Background info if helpful:
Gray at one point lived with another cat and dog in this house, but the other cat passed a while ago and the dog passed about a year ago (they were both very old); back then Gray would go anywhere in the house and neither the dog nor the cat had much of an issue with him. After the dog passed my parents got a new puppy, but shortly after the puppy moved in, Gray stopped going downstairs. They now have two dogs that remain down stairs and Gray doesn't interact with them at all, instead he has moved into my sisters bedroom and hallway, and all his stuff has since been moved up there.

Archie is about 2 years old. He is a rescue and was returned more than once for being aggressive with other cats. After that, with his foster family he was kept in a bedroom with a few other cats and attacked one of them at one point as well. When I adopted him he was my only cat so aggression toward other cats wouldn't have been a problem, but when I moved back home I kept him contained in my bedroom. After a while I started letting him explore the upstairs. He was hesitant and I kept an eye on him any time he was allowed outside my room. We think Archie never really had a space of his own before I adopted him, but since he was moved into my room we thought he would't be aggressive in a shared space because he also has a space to himself. He didn't see Gray for a while, but he did sniff around a lot and was particularly interested in a spot where Gray likes to sleep so we're pretty sure Archie could smell him. When Archie did see him, Gray would growl any time he saw Archie. Archie would stare at gray and sometimes even get closer. Archie never growled, either ignored Gray or would stare at him and not look away. He kept at least a yard away at all times until the last time where he ran after Gray as Gray was walking back to his hallway. After that we put the gate up in that hallway and Archie got comfortable with the parts of the upstairs where he was allowed.

The dogs are very excitable and curious about the cats but, there is a gate at the bottom of the stairs to keep them from going upstairs. Neither of the cats will let the dogs get anywhere near them, however Archie will go downstairs and poke around late at night after the dogs have gone to bed in my parents room.
 

ArtNJ

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It is hard to say. It is possible that Archie is so unbothered by the older cat that he is immediately interested in play. It isn't uncommon for young playful cats to ignore hissing in reluctant partners. It is also possible that Archie is one of those rare cats that is totally chill with another cat, but for whom a switch flips when hissed at, turning him truly aggressive. I, in fact, had cats in exactly that posture with each other and it was terrible.

You could do a bit more of an introduction process perhaps. Here is our guide: How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide If that doesn't help, you will probably need to figure out Archie's intentions. We can help with that, if you take a video. If he is trying to play, they can work through it and gradually improve on their own.
 
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