Issues With My Male Going On 3yr Old Cat

[zanne]

I adopted him with another kitten when they were about 8 weeks it could have been 7 even. And he was always a rough player and I just thought " Oh it's kitten play. " but as the years have gone by he is more rough to the point where the female cat just screams, yowls, growls, and hisses at him. She hates the male cat with a vengeance, anytime he comes near her it's not long before she will jump or move away to a new spot. She can be laying down sleeping and all of a sudden he will just pounce her and bite. And at times they can be calm but then it's like at a drop of a hat the male cat will go nuts.

They are both Dom Shorthairs as far as I can tell, he is black and the female is a tabby. And he has this horrible habit of dumping over the water fountain and spilling it which I thought I broke but he still does it every now and then. It's very stressful and I would hate to do this but I'm getting to the point of wanting to rehome him because of how he picks on the female cat. He can play gently with her doing the pinning but after a while, he will get rough and then she starts growling and I think it's unfair to the female cat to have to be in a home where she doesn't feel safe because she is in fear of the male cat pouncing her. And they are both fixed.

 

[war&wisdom]

Are you able to give him vigorous play sessions each day? And does he have kickeroo toys or other large, kickable toys so that he can redirect his excitement to those when the girl isn't interested in playing?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Because the behavior has been allowed to go on so long, it will likely take longer to break the habit and will require diligence and patience on your part. But, it is worth trying. Below is a link to an article that might give you some tips or ideas on how to better understand why he might be doing this and how you might be able to stop it. Within this article is another link that talks about rough play and boredom - this section is probably most relevant to your situation.

In addition, you can pick him up and remove him from the area when the play has become too rough for your girl to handle. You can simply tell him a firm "no", pick him up and place him in another area - sort of like a time out. You would have to do this consistently for him to begin to understand what you are doing.

Hope something in here helps:
Why Do Cats Attack?