New Cat Bullies 1 Older Cat But Not The Other

[jsimt]

Hey so Im new here, but since I do lots of pet sitting and have 4 cats of my own, I thought it would be a good place to join! I do have an issue going on that I just can’t seem to nip in the bud and my older cat is showing signs of stress from it

Back in October, we found two day old kittens buried in mud surrounded by dead littermates. Mama had abandoned them unfortunately , we bottle fed, and my 2 older cats both 9 (Simba, a huge orange tabby at 19 pounds of lean muscle) and 10 (Baby, the one I’m referring to in this post, a dark tabby at 15 pounds of muscle and chunk ) were both introduced with absolutely no problems. One kitten was a girl, and one was a boy. We kept both of them. As they got older, there were still no problems at all. They both got neutered/spayed at 4 months old, and were all eating out of the same food bowl by that time as well.

Fast forward a few months and mushu (the boy kitten a Siamese who is now 7 months) is clearly enamored with Simba and you can see him copy things he does, does everything he can to cuddle up next to him, lays like him, copies how he eats, when he drinks, how and what he plays with...basically it’s like a little brother looking up to his older brother. It’s actually quite adorable... but when it comes to mushu and baby? Totally different story. Mushu just doesn’t like baby. Baby will be laying down, and mushu will walk up to him and hiss at him and smack him repeatedly until baby moves. If baby walks by mushu, baby gets smacked and hissed at. Baby will get chased by mushu and just yesterday I went on a pet sit and came home to find baby with a big gash on his face. I asked my sister if mushu and him fought and she said mushu chased him but that’s it. Well, clearly not. He clearly attacked him. The sad thing is, baby just sits there. He doesn’t growl, hiss, or hit back. He just takes it, then walks away.

It’s gotten to the point that now baby is acting distant from me. Which is VERY strange. He is ALWAYS my cuddle buddy at night. I don’t give mushu much attention because he’s not even my cat, he’s my sisters cat. So I’m not sure why baby would be distancing himself from me. He also used to eat 24/7. He LOVED eating. Now, he hardly eats. Even wet food, which is his absolute favorite thing in the world, he eats a quarter of, and then walks away. He’s lost a pound in 1 month and I’m almost 100% sure that mushu is stressing him out to the point of depression.

How do I fix this problem. What do I do. I don’t want baby to feel this way its breaking my heart. I’ve been giving him SO much attention so he knows how much I love him, but he just seems off

 

[ArtNJ]

First step is to go to the vet and rule out medical stuff -- especially since there has been reduced eating and you have noticed weight loss. Its probably behavioral...but its pretty common for a medical issue to lead to behavioral stuff.

 

[rubysmama]

I agree with A ArtNJ have Baby vet checked to ensure there's nothing physically wrong with him. Sometimes other cats pick on the ones they recognize as weak or sick.

Then you might have to do a re-introduction between Baby and Mushu.
How To Fix An Unsuccessful Cat Introduction

Here's another article on The Multi-cat Household that might be helpful.

 

[Furballsmom]

Along with the excellent advice you've gotten, you may want to try some calming products - there are quite a few on the market beyond just Feliway, including treats, collars, sprays and wipes, and with all sorts of different ingredients.

 

[jsimt]

I should have mentioned he’s already been to the vet and we’ve done multiple blood tests and urine tests. All came back normal the vet had said there is no reason that makes him believe baby shouldn’t live for another 5+ years

 

[Furballsmom]

Rereading your original post and since the vet found nothing physically wrong, here's my thinking.

Try calming products for both cats (collars or treats), and I would strongly suggest separating these two cats since it's coming down to drawing blood.
Also, intervention to stop mushu. Since baby won't hiss at mushu, you need to, literally.
In addition, you could put claw caps on Mushu.

Also, can you try some of these things to get baby to eat;

• Chicken or beef flavored baby food - make sure it doesn't contain any garlic or onions

• Tuna and/or the juice

• Salmon

• Sardines (make sure there are no bones)

• boiled cut up chicken or turkey with no seasonings

• canned kitten food - it's usually smelly. See if it's eaten on its own, then mix it in or put on top

• Try mixing in Kitten Milk Replacer - there are recipes on the internet

• Fish, tuna or BBQ flavored canned wet food (I personally have never seen BBQ flavors, but...)

• Lickable cat treats or pouch treat gravy poured over the food

• Pouch cat foods - these typically have more gravy
• Fancy Feast

also Nutri Cal for when it is an urgent situation of no eating at all

• goat milk, or low/no lactose cow milk
• whole cooked eggs (both yolk and white)
• broth with no salt and no garlic or onion or seasonings of any kind
• kitten glop (recipes are on the internet, look for some with goat milk)
• bonito flakes
• fortiflora

There are also commercial toppers, Applaws is one brand that can work well as a topper, and you could crumble his kibble or a favorite treat onto the wet food.

 

[jsimt]

So a little update... this morning, I decided to sit with baby in my room and have him eat alone, he ate everything up I think he is just completely intimidated by mushu’s bullying. I did try the pheromone spray last night in my room where baby sleeps, and in the room mushu sleeps in, and in the living room. So far no hissing today I’m HOPING this will continue to improve as I continue to feed baby away from mushu

 

[Furballsmom]

This is awesome news!!