Cat Trying to Kill Other Cat

[CatFamily2021]

Looking for help with my cat family. I have a total of 7 cats, all inside. Up until March 2020, 3 outside and 4 inside. The outside cats consisted of a mother and two of her sons. One son, T, was brought inside shortly after birth due to broken leg. He has always been inside. He and his brothers are 6 years old. T has always been around other cats. Has shown moderate aggression in past to one female who is deaf. When brought his outside family in last year, he seemed to accept his mom and brother L. For the first 3 months he even accepted his brother S. He never played with them, but accepted them. Keep in mind that S is mostly a passive, love me cat. One day T began attacking S. He literally seeks him out to attack him. S stays mostly in the bedroom and keeps to himself, as he did when he was outside. We have tried lots of things to stop the attacks. Tried reintroducing them, scent swapping, treats, play, aroma therapy, and even constructed a screendoor on our bedroom so they could see each other while eating. Recently it seemed as though maybe T was finally accepting of S as we have left the door open a couple of times and T would go in and investigate and leave. However, yesterday T attacked S again. No blood, but he was very sore and tender to touch. I am at loss of what to do next. Meds? Just wondering if anyone else has had similar problems and what worked? Thanks.

 

[Kee]

Aggression is usually (like in humans) because of an underlying issue. Is it possible that T is stressed for some reason? Maybe he's ill, and associates the pain and illness he is feeling to S somehow? Just an idea.

I think it would be a good idea to go to a vet if you haven't already. Sometimes they prescribe Prozac to cats to calm them down, but I'm not an expert on the matter. Have a chat with your vet because he probably would have shown behavioural difficulties before this point if it was an issue with the whole "broken legs so he's inside" thing

Good luck and I hope things calm down soon!

 

[She's a witch]

I’d definitely start by ruling out any health issues. Is it possible that T’s broken bone in the kittenhood still causing some discomfort? Cats in pain can be aggressive. And some cats like to attack the weaker cat, so I’d definitely check S thoroughly.

 

[fionasmom]

Cat Behavior Problems [What to do and what not to do] – TheCatSite Articles
Why Do Cats Attack? – TheCatSite Articles

These articles might help, although it sounds as if you have done a lot of interventions on your own. I agree with going to the vet and checking for medical issues. Likewise I have had the "let's pick on the older, weaker one" scenario myself.

 

[IndyJones]

You don't say if they have been fixed or not.

Sometimes it can be hormones that cause behavior problems

 

[Kflowers]

Since T is now 6 years old, his old break, though repaired, may have arthritis around it. Many times broken bones in animals and pets are the sites of arthritis in later years (or early years see below). I would suggest and X-ray and consider some joint care pain medicine, even if you don't get the expensive stuff at the vets.

our current kitten,who we think was the only one to survive of a raccoon attack at 5 weeks, was very bad tempered, beyond kitten play. When she was close to a year old, I had a full body x-ray done and it turned out she had arthritis in her spine, possibly from an injury. She was allergic to the pain medicine the vet gave her. So we got her on dasuquin (like cosuquin, there are lots of these) and within a week she was more comfortable and quit attacking everyone.

 

[CatFamily2021]

Thanks to all suggestions. They are all neutered. I do have an appointment scheduled with his vet, although it is one month out. We will exam all avenues, mental and the arthritis one. It is funny how he can be so sweet and loving one moment and then severely grumpy the next then back to sweet. He has never attacked people, just his one brother. But I know he is an animal and they can be unpredictable. So I will post back after our vet visit. Till then will just try to keep separated unless supervised. Thanks everyone.

 

[Kflowers]

arthritis can be a constant, or it can become worse or better depending on the weather. Many humans find the approach of a storm, or the swing up or particularly down, in barametroic pressure makes their arthritis worse. The pressure jumps around all over the place in the spring and summer as storms race back and forth over the planet. Even a small shower changes the pressure. Think of it as getting smacked by a good sized stick and recovering from that. One thing is certain cats are not hypochondriacs.