Cat on cat agression

[uagirl]

We lost our Siamese kitty Coco in January. The 3 remaining cats worked out their new pecking order and a new alpha kitty was established.  In March, we unexpectedly ended up with a stray kitty named Elsa.  Elsa was around 6-8 months old when she showed up at our house.  Our intentions were not to keep her, but it worked out that we did.  We went through a slow introduction process, and whle Elsa and our existing cats were not BFF's, they were tolerating each other well.  

In the past 6 weeks or so, Makani (our oldest, 27lb furball) has taken to attacking Elsa.  It's resulted in a trip to the vet for injuries for her and as of this weekend an abscess from where she was bitten by him.  At our vets suggestions, we brought Makani in a few weeks ago to be checked to make sure there were no physical issues contributing to the aggression.  Other than being overweight, he's perfectly healthy.  We saw a different vet in the practice than who I normally see.  His only suggestion was keep them separated at all times.  That does seem practical or fair to either cat.  Our regular vet in the practice suggested possibly behavior modification medication as well as behavior modification training for him.  I'm taking Elsa in to be treated for the abscess later this morning and plan to ask more about it.  

Any other suggestions or ideas I'm not thinking of?  Oh, I'm also 7 days from having a baby, so there's that to think about as well.  

 

[feralvr]

OH WOW - do you have your hands full with your upcoming birth too. Oh dear.... so many changes going on in the house all at once and the addition of the new baby won't help much to reduce stress for Makani. I would suggest getting something from the vet to calm Makani for a week to 10 days and start the introductions all over. This will be challenging for you because you will be giving birth yourself and then home comes a new baby - but that is my suggestion at this point. Since you will have so much going on, it is best to keep them separated, IMO. Makani means business and that is serious aggression. I think medication may be warranted here. Poor Elsa - I hope she will be alright. Sorry you are dealing with so much and thank you for rescuing Elsa !!! Keep us posted.