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- Mar 16, 2021
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Hi everyone,
My wife and I are at our wit's end trying to figure the behaviour of a female cat we recently adopted. Her name is Francine and she is a year and a half year old Persian. Her profile stated that she gets along with other cats, so we believed she'd be a playmate for our "resident cat", Muffy (also a year and a half). Muffy is a bit smaller and possibly a runt of her litter. We found Muffy abandoned in a park.
After separating the two of them a few days, we introduced them to each other. We gave them separate litters and food and water bowls in different parts of the house. Soon after we noticed that Muffy would hiss whenever Francine would get close to her (assuming Francine does so because is the curious type) where Francine wouldn't show any aggressive behaviour. We then would separate them. Overall, Muffy would avoid Francine and watch/stare her from a distance. Francine would also watch/stare at Muffy. HOWEVER, whenever Muffy would try to walk around Francince, to walk upstairs for example, she'd do so in a very tense and slow walk, while Francince watches her. As soon as Muffy's back is turned, she'd chase Muffy and they'd end up in a tussle. Francine somewhat lunges and swipes at Muffy, where Muffy screams bloody murder. It ends with Muffy hiding from Francine and us separating the two of them and one of us scolding Francine with a loud "NO".
We don't know what is the root cause of Francine's behaviour. If it's play aggression or territorial. If it's prompted by jealousy. Or if this will subside and improve after time together, or this will be a constant worry. We hate the idea of Muffy avoiding us or being too scared to sit near us whenever Francine is sitting with us.
We have a Feliway diffuser in an area where Francine hangs around most during the day. It's only been about a week, so I don't know if it's too soon to see any effect. We were also told to give her Zylkene by our vet. But I'm unsure if that is actually helpful in this situation. From what I read Zylkene is recommended for aggression caused by fear, which I don't believe is the case with Francine. We think maybe Muffy is being victimized and Francine is the bully. So if one of them is stressed or afraid, it's Muffy.
You should be able to see a link to a video that shows an example of what occurs between them. You can speed through to the end to see the actual tussle. If anyone can help by giving their thoughts on what is happening between the two of them and how to help, or if there are any other details needed from my end to help give a fuller picture, please reply. We're quite stressed.
Thank you!
- Patrick
My wife and I are at our wit's end trying to figure the behaviour of a female cat we recently adopted. Her name is Francine and she is a year and a half year old Persian. Her profile stated that she gets along with other cats, so we believed she'd be a playmate for our "resident cat", Muffy (also a year and a half). Muffy is a bit smaller and possibly a runt of her litter. We found Muffy abandoned in a park.
After separating the two of them a few days, we introduced them to each other. We gave them separate litters and food and water bowls in different parts of the house. Soon after we noticed that Muffy would hiss whenever Francine would get close to her (assuming Francine does so because is the curious type) where Francine wouldn't show any aggressive behaviour. We then would separate them. Overall, Muffy would avoid Francine and watch/stare her from a distance. Francine would also watch/stare at Muffy. HOWEVER, whenever Muffy would try to walk around Francince, to walk upstairs for example, she'd do so in a very tense and slow walk, while Francince watches her. As soon as Muffy's back is turned, she'd chase Muffy and they'd end up in a tussle. Francine somewhat lunges and swipes at Muffy, where Muffy screams bloody murder. It ends with Muffy hiding from Francine and us separating the two of them and one of us scolding Francine with a loud "NO".
We don't know what is the root cause of Francine's behaviour. If it's play aggression or territorial. If it's prompted by jealousy. Or if this will subside and improve after time together, or this will be a constant worry. We hate the idea of Muffy avoiding us or being too scared to sit near us whenever Francine is sitting with us.
We have a Feliway diffuser in an area where Francine hangs around most during the day. It's only been about a week, so I don't know if it's too soon to see any effect. We were also told to give her Zylkene by our vet. But I'm unsure if that is actually helpful in this situation. From what I read Zylkene is recommended for aggression caused by fear, which I don't believe is the case with Francine. We think maybe Muffy is being victimized and Francine is the bully. So if one of them is stressed or afraid, it's Muffy.
You should be able to see a link to a video that shows an example of what occurs between them. You can speed through to the end to see the actual tussle. If anyone can help by giving their thoughts on what is happening between the two of them and how to help, or if there are any other details needed from my end to help give a fuller picture, please reply. We're quite stressed.
Thank you!
- Patrick
