Cat Scared Of Stalker Cat

[davvids]

hello i just made an account bc i'm not sure what else to do. i have a 10 month old cat (kitten?) named Worm and an older 6 yr old cat named Osiris. they've lived together for 8 months now and haven't always got along (lots of worm trying to play w osiris and him not liking it) but recently osiris has started to not want to leave my closet. he hasn't been eating much either. i noticed that when checking on him worm was stalking him so i put up a gate giving worm an area, and osiris his own area.

i had to pick him up and move him to the food dish to try and get him to eat, but the whole time he was watching his surroundings. afterwards he ran to the couch and now refuses to leave it, to the point he peed off the side of it. i've managed to get him a few feet off the couch since but he keeps on running back to it. worm is away from him so i don't know what else to do? i can't have him using the bathroom on the couch, he already has potty issues and goes on the ground if his litter box is on carpet? and even on tile he has no clue how to cover it. it's only recently we've been able to get him to stop going on the ground but now he just went off the couch so i'm scared he'll start up again

as for worm he's always been playful and i used to play with him a lot but recently when you try to play with him w his toys he's not into it, maybe because he's hunting osiris? i don't know at all why they've both changed suddenly. worm hasn't always stalked him either so i super don't know

sorry if this is hard to understand, i'm just not sure what to do. is separating them a good idea ? should i take osiris to the vet? ( i can't exactly afford it rn it would have to be in a week or so ) if anyone has any idea please let me know

 

[Cat_mediator]

Taking Osiris to a vet is probably not a bad idea, because you don't know if he has any underlying health issues. In addition, do both of them have their own resources? Like food, litter boxes, toys and resting areas etc? Just separating them with a gate is not enough if they are still sharing resources. Let me know more about your setup.

Do you play with Worm in front of Osiris? Most cats don't like to play in front of another cat. Try to play with them separately.

 

[davvids]

yes worm has his own litter box in his side and temp food set up where he is, and a good spot infront if the window facing the street. osiris has two boxes and cat tree, as well as a food area so they aren't sharing anything at all

i do play with each of them in front of each other, some times i can get them to play with the same toy at the same time even, and they normally eat a foot apart from each other, so it's really odd that suddenly osiris is so scared

last night he eventually got into bed on his own but kept getting scared of stuff like the smell of a spot, or a blanket being folded odd?? he'd freak out and run to the couch, then return a bit later
he also pooped on the floor by the bed last night (bed room is carpeted, living room is not) so i had to lock him out the room in fear he'd pee on the carpet too

tysm for any light you might be able to shed on this, i hate seeing him so spooked even when worms away from him. i defiantly want to take him to the vet soon but it would be a week or so and in the mean time he'd still be scared and going to the bathroom on the floor