We have three cats, and over the past month or so we've noticed that one of them (Shadow, 12/F) has become increasingly more aggressive toward another one (Menerva, 16/F). Shadow and Menerva have never really gotten along, but for years they've tolerated each other and the biggest problem we've had was that Shadow played rougher than Menerva would like. Recently, however, Shadow will
A) growl at Menerva if she jumps up on the couch or bed while we're there
B) lash out at Menerva aggressively, whether she gets close or not
C) try to keep Menerva from going past her to other areas of the house.
We've observed no real change in Shadows behavior toward our other cat, but that cat is much larger and stronger than Shadow, so she's always kind of left her alone.
We're not really sure what to do. Here's what we're doing so far:
A) we've got a spray bottle to separate them as necessary
B) we're giving Shadow lycine treats (she has feline herpes which occasionally enflames her eyes and makes her edgy)
C) we're playing with all three more to help Shadow burn her energy.
We would prefer not to separate them, as we usually use separation as a time-out punishment, and we don't want Shadow to simply feel punished for three days. That's the only suggestion we've seen online though, and we're not sure what else to do.
We've been in and out of town a lot in the last two months, and feel like that could be a part of this. Any idea what can be done here? Any help is much appreciated!
A) growl at Menerva if she jumps up on the couch or bed while we're there
B) lash out at Menerva aggressively, whether she gets close or not
C) try to keep Menerva from going past her to other areas of the house.
We've observed no real change in Shadows behavior toward our other cat, but that cat is much larger and stronger than Shadow, so she's always kind of left her alone.
We're not really sure what to do. Here's what we're doing so far:
A) we've got a spray bottle to separate them as necessary
B) we're giving Shadow lycine treats (she has feline herpes which occasionally enflames her eyes and makes her edgy)
C) we're playing with all three more to help Shadow burn her energy.
We would prefer not to separate them, as we usually use separation as a time-out punishment, and we don't want Shadow to simply feel punished for three days. That's the only suggestion we've seen online though, and we're not sure what else to do.
We've been in and out of town a lot in the last two months, and feel like that could be a part of this. Any idea what can be done here? Any help is much appreciated!
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