Help!!! I do not know what to do! Cats suddenly turned aggressive

xisare

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Hi All,

Please help us, we're so confused. Our cats have suddenly turned aggressive towards each other!

The story is the following. Yesterday a stray walked in front of the window where Soshi was sitting (on the inside) and started to taunt him though the closed window. Soshi of course got territorial and started hissing and growling and behaving all macho.With all the noise Akodo came to see what was going on and something happened that made Akodo run away with Soshi hunting him. They started to fight and Soshi even managed to bite Akodo near his testicles (thankfully he only got a tuft of fur, we checked).

Soshi calmed down pretty fast but now Akodo is incredibly scared. He refuses to be at the same level as Soshi and we had to break up 3 fights yesterday (growling, hissing, claws and hair up... all the bad signs). We separated them for the night but today morning it was the same.

Right now Soshi is locked up in our bedroom because under the bed is his only refuge and Akodo is roaming the house. It breaks my heart to see him so scared, he moves slow and with caution, tenses every time we pet him and is scared to eat if we're close to him. He growls if we try to move him so we've resigned ourselves to just slow petting for now. We did it this way because we want Akodo to be comfortable in his home again, and he sees Soshi as the threat.

the strange thing is that this is not the first time Akodo or Soshi see that stray. Usually Soshi hisses a bit, Akodo runs away and the stray flees. Is the first time they have turned against each other and we don't have a way to keep them looking outside, the window looks to the front of the apartment, so the stray is going to keep appearing.

What we can do??? For now we're going to try a re-introduction process, after Akodo feels safe again, but if that does not work??

Please help!
 

sneakylemon

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Xisare, I am having the exact same problem.  I am in the process of doing the reintroduction, as well as using feliway plug-in diffusers.  The diffusers haven't seemed to change anything, but it's been less than 24 hours since they were plugged in.

I will reply back here with anything that helps me, hopefully it can help you out as well.  It really is a stressful situation. 

Good luck!

Edit: This was posted in the thread I made about this problem yesterday, some good articles to look at.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Columbine  


Feliway multicat diffusers might help create a calmer atmosphere between the three of them. Plenty if interactive play for all three cats could also help, by redirecting all that energy in a positive way.[article="32390"]Re Directed Aggression In Cats  [/article][article="0"]Breaking Up Cat Fights  [/article][article="30307"]Is Your Cat Stressed Out  [/article][article="30316"]Six Surefire Strategies To Reduce Stress In Cats  [/article][article="0"]Cat Play The Rules Of The Game  [/article][article="0"]Playing With Your Cat Ten Things Every Cat Owner Needs To Know  [/article]
 
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Columbine

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Hang in there X xisare . Keep calm and stay patient. Akodo and Soshi will relax and accept each other again in time.

Feliway multicat diffusers would be better than Feliway original for this situation. Given how upset both cats are, I might consider trying Composure too in the short term. Its a natural, food based calmer that are clinically proven. Bach's Rescue Remedy might also be worth a go. I've had good results using flower essences on animals.

As to this stray - if possible I'd look at ways to keep it away from your house. The easiest options are sonic deterrents or motion activated sprinklers.
 
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xisare

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Well, as small update.

We've been keeping them separated all this time, but now we leave the door ajar so they can see each other and we've tried supervised time together two times. Soshi is getting restless being locked up in our room all the time, but Akodo is still too nervous.

the first attempt at leaving them together was a disaster, Soshi attacked after 10 minutes and then ran to seek refuge under the bed, The second time was a bit better, we managed to read the sign on time and we separated them before they started fighting.

if we leave just the door open, Akodo would come into the room very slowly until Soshi starts hissing and then back up, usually sitting in the threshold. His tail swished around but not frantically and he seems more curious than anything, but at the first sign of anger from Soshi he scampers off.

We tried changing positions one day, locking Akodo with us and letting Soshi roam the house. But Akodo did not let us sleep because he kept pushing things off the drawer chest and playing with the blinds. Looks like the suffers much more then Soshi when being locked up. Soshi is pretty content to stay under the bed.

With the door ajar Akodo comes up to see what's going on (I'm currently on bed with a cold) and meows a bit, but Soshi does not respond until later in the day.

So far we're trying to keep hopes high. Akodo calms down a lot quicker and is back to his usual self in minutes, but I don't want to keep Soshi locked up forever :(

As for the stray, we have not seen it again, but as per apartment rules we cannot put anything outside our apartment :(
 
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xisare

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We just opened the door and Akodo is lying on the threshold, sphinx pose amd sniffing around. with some luck we won't have any trouble in the next 10 minutes.
 
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xisare

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Well, we've got a small victory!!

After some minutes of walking in and out of te room, Akodo jumped on the bed. Soshi hissed a bit, but he did not sounded tense and nothing more happened. Akodo sniffed a bit around, jumped down, sniffed Soshi's food and water bolws and walked out of the room. Now he's just outside looking at me with that "evil thinking face.

Woo hoo!!
 
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xisare

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yesterday we kept the door open almost all day. The only problem we encountered was when soshi tired to get out of the room and Akodo hissed at him. After that they tried to find each other and were a bit tense, so we decided to separate them again before fight started.

I'm worried that if we keep think like they are Akodo will think that the house is his and would not allow Soshi to come out again. He ate from Soshi's bowl in the bedroom, but he would not allow Soshi to come out. Is that possible?
 

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It's definitely possible that one cat would stop another from entering their territory. I think it's highly unlikely that things are so clearly defined with Akodo and Soshi yet - its only been a few days. Try again with site swapping. It doesn't need to be overnight - an hour or so a day would be fine.

It sounds like Soshi has lost some confidence since all this started. Site swapping would let him claim the rest of the house again without worrying about Akodo. Interactive playtime in the main living areas could really boost his territorial confidence, hopefully helping him feel more secure when Akodo is around.

When Soshi tried to leave the bedroom, was he moving confidently or warily? Cats are very simple in some respects - a pretty universal rule is 'if you act like prey, you'll get treated like prey'. This is especially true when both cats are on edge after an episode of redirected aggression.

I really hope things have been better today :vibes:
 
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xisare

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Thanks for the good vibes.

Both act warily when they walk around the other's "territory". Today Soshi came out to the office space where akodo was. After some minutes looking Akodo hissed and Soshi came back, not really running, more like walking fast :p

Coupe of hours later, Akodo came into the bedroom and after like 15 minutes, Soshi hissed and ran at him but Akodo ran away.

If we keep the door ajar they meow, and swat playfully at each other, but they can't be in close proximity without some kind of barrier.

I truly wish I could read their minds to see how to help them. Both meow pitfully when they are alone, and it breaks my heart hearing them.
 
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xisare

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Well, we took Akodo to the vet yesterday, he was due to his rabies shot.

we talked this problem with her and her diagnostic was "Dominance competition due to traumatic event". Basically when Soshi reacted to the stray he behaved like the alpha (which was Akodo's place before) and now neither of them want to relinquish the place. That's why each have claimed a part of the apartment as their "territory"

So now we're buying Feliway multicat and hoping we don't need a behavioral specialist to solve this. We will need to rearrange bowls and litter boxes to keep thing easy. Before this they used the same litter box, but I don't think that is going to happen again.

Lets hope this helps :)
 

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Interesting. That makes a lot of sense. It might be worth following the introduction techniques you'd use with cats who've never met. It should create a clean slate and allow them to start over. Definitely worth trying.[article="32680"][/article][article="29726"][/article]
 
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xisare

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We're on that way.

At least looks like the feliway is helping. We plugged it in the office which is more like our den. Akodo entered in a "zen" state that was almost funny. After a while we opened the door and they both were pretty calm. They came with us to the dinning room (supposedly outside the feliway area of effect) and thing became a bit tenser, but Akodo jumped up to his shelf and the only warning flag came when Soshi tried to jump up with Akodo. A low growl, a short hiss and a distraction from us was all that happened.

We learnt that if we distract the "offending" cat with some pets tension will deflate pretty quickly becasue they break eye contact.

Right now they are separated again for the night, we don't want to risk our good luck and also give some more time to the Feliway to accumulate. But the door is a bit more open, enough for a paw to come through completly and if they want they can touch noses :)
 

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It's important not to break up fights. It may be upsetting to see, but it's their way of working our fears and aggressions, and it comes so naturally to them they'll be confused if you split them up and it may make the problem worse. It's also a way of them establishing a pecking order. If they've seen a new cat in the area, the more dominant of the two will probably be suffering a bit of territory anxiety so needs to re-establish him/herself. It's all perfectly natural and as long as you can keep them de-stressed in other areas of their life it'll calm down. Make sure they've got their own space, own litter trays if necessary, and they'll find a happy medium. x
 

Columbine

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I honestly don't think that letting them fight things out at this stage would be a good idea. IMO, it'll do more harm than good.

Further down the line, supervised mini stand offs can help them find their place. A bit of hissing, a growl or two etc is ok (and a technique I used in the later stages of introductions with my two). Allowing things to escalate into actual fighting is not. You don't want to risk undoing all the progress they've made so far.
 

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So you say that it's ok to let them "fight" their issues? I just don't want them to be hurt :(
aw yes I understand! It's stressful and can get very rough. If one of them has flat ears and looks terrified then it's perhaps best to separate them. I might be wrong about letting them fight it out but it's what we were told when our kittens were fighting and now they're best friends. A vet might be able to provide a more professional view
 

Columbine

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derekthecat derekthecat To me, two small kittens are a totally different scenario than two strong, full grown adults. Kittens are far more likely to be play fighting than be out to cause serious harm.

In this situation, letting them fight it out could cause real harm, and certainly risks causing irrevocable damage to their relationship.
 
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xisare

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Today we kept the door open again, again another small victory, we had non aggressive contact! :D

Akodo had taken command of a box fort that we have in a corner and Soshi came to see, they actually touched noses and trilled a bit. A couple of non aggressive swats and some seconds of mock play, but we're really happy.

They have taken to almost stalk each other from time to time, observing from just around the corner of a few feet away.

I feet they made huge progress, and I'm sure big part of it is the Feliway. I was alone big part of the day, so I started to move the diffusor every few hours between the living-dinning room and the den. They are connected but that way we increase a bit the area of effect depending on what area they are using. They have their routine so I know more or less how is going to be.

Tonight we're going to try to sleep with the door open, and the Feliway just outside our bedroom (in the den)
 
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