fighting continues

[kittysback]

I've posted in the past about two of my cats, Puck and Typo, who really dislike each other. Typo is a 4 yr old spayed female; Puck is over a year old and he's neutered. We got him and his sister when they were kittens. The few months after I introduced them went fine, but after about 6-8 months, they just started fighting and bulling each other. Puck has gotten big, almost 19 pounds and he probably wants to be top cat. It started out as growling and staring, but now if one of them makes a move, the other one lunges. Ultimately claws fly. Last night I had to pull Puck's claw out of Typo's face, a half-inch below her eye.

I have two Feliway diffusers going for the last 3 months, but I haven't seen much of a difference.

Has anyone used any other calming aids? I've read about Rescue Remedy, but does that have alcohol in it, and is that a long term solution? I can't imagine that would be safe for an indefinite amount of time.

I love all 4 of my cats and they are, for the most part, gentle and sweet and healthy. I can't imagine a scenario in which I would get rid of Puck (he loves to kneed my stomach, LOL), but I can't keep letting him attack Typo. She's my girl and sleeps by my side every night.

Any other suggestions would be welcome. Thanks!

 

[momofmany]

I have an ongoing feud between 2 of my males (Stumpy and Muddy). It started when the younger of the 2 came down with an auto-immune disease (involving his bladder) and was put on steroids for the rest of his life. The older is also on life time steroids due to an auto-immune disease (involving his mouth). I don't know if its the steroids that are doing it, or the fact that both of them have chronic health problems. The older is the house alpha. The younger was orphaned young and hand bottle fed by me from 10 days old. He is pure innocence. Their personalities should be fine normally. Typical interaction will simply be Stumpy walking up to Muddy and staring him down or trying to corner him. Muddy gets nervous, hisses and runs away. Stumpy follows to harass him more. More extreme behavior is when Stumpy chases him thru the house and tries to smack him. Stumpy always starts things (alpha) and Muddy is always afraid (innocence).

I've done a series of things by trial and error for them over the last 4 years. I go to extremes to love on both of them at the same time when they are close to each other (momma rewards them for when they are good together). They have their own eating spots normally, but both like to change up where they eat. If they happen to land side by side when they eat, again, I praise them for being good. When Stumpy goes after Muddy, I tell Stumpy to STOP and tell Muddy to MAN UP. Telling Stumpy to STOP alone doesn't change Muddy's behavior, which eggs Stumpy on. Big realization I had was that both of them are contributing to the feud, even when one of them is the submissive of the 2. This works for me because of their unique personalities.

Look at the interaction between them objectively, and see what is triggering their interactions. Sometimes you can stop it before it happens by adding things like a cat condo to give one of them more territory. Territory issues are usually the most common cause of issues between cats, followed by health issues. Make all close interactions positive, and stop them immediately when they are bad.

Cats are motivated by "what's in it for me?". If you want them to change behavior, you have to reward them for alternative behaviors. They are smart enough to learn.

 

[kittysback]

That makes a lot of sense. I probably don't reward them enough when they are doing good. Puck needs to lose a few pounds so I've been avoiding treats, but I should probably still praise him when he is good.

I think part of the trigger could be their affection for me. Both seek me out and try to get me to pay the most attention to them. I am passive when it comes to this, meaning, if Typo comes to me, I spend time with her, petting and cuddling for however long she stays. If Puck comes, then he gets my attention for that time being. Meanwhile, from the other side of the room, the other one is glaring us both down. Shadow is kind of a loner, and Smudge goes to my husband all the time. So, that always leaves Typo and Puck to fight for my lap. I might need to just change up the habits, like sitting in a different spot on the couch, or like you said, getting them more territories to claim.

Thanks for your insight!

 

[momofmany]

I think part of the trigger could be their affection for me.

You are just part of their "territory", so it very well be a territory feud between them. Lap time is a perfect time to reinforce positive behavior between them. If they both LOVE to sit in your lap, get them up on either side of you and praise both of them if they remain relaxed and aren't glaring each other down. I have actually stopped stare downs between the 2 of mine when they are both beside me by waving my hand in front of their faces to distract them away from the stare down. I talk to them when they are like this - either praising them on how good they are, or telling them firmly that they need to relax if they are tense in each other's presence. It always amazes me how they understand my tone of voice. I'm a firm believer of love and discipline.