One cat stalking and attacking the other, please help

[vsvpflex]

Hopefully, he will adapt to the med overtime, but the point in many of these meds is to subdue a cat, and no one knows for sure how that subdued behavior will present itself. Right now, he likely feels a bit out of sorts.

If he doesn't 'bounce back' after a while, you might ask the vet if the dosage can be lowered. What med did they give him and how much?

It is good that he is not bothering her, so maybe this will break the habit with him wanting to attack her.

he is on Paroxetine (Paxil) , 5mg once a day

 

[catsknowme]

I am so glad that the paroxetine is working! I would still try confidence building in the victim cat so she feels more comfortable and harmonious. If anyone visiting this thread is interested, here's an interesting article about SSRIs (and other psych meds for cats):

Medicine to ease the feline mind

When environmental modification fails to mute stress-related responses, pharmaceuticals can provide much-needed relief

www.dvm360.com

 

[vsvpflex]

Update: a little over a week on meds. So far so good. He still will occasionally get a little stalky with her, but 95% of the time doesn’t escalate it. He’ll stalk, she’ll hiss or vocalize and he will turn around and walk away. There’s been 2 occurrences where he has swatted at her, but with far less aggression than before. I’d say we went from 50% relaxing 50% stalking, to 90% relaxing, 10% stalking. And he’s way easier to distract now, he doesn’t fixate like he was. We have been continuing the behavioral adjustments as well. If he does swat at her enough to elicit a vocalization from her, he gets a time out in the bathroom. Continuing with the Purina Pro Calming care on his food, and have introduced 2 new feliway diffusers into the household. Been daily trying to get them to interact in a positive manner. She has a specific spot where she primarily hides, and we bring him in there and give both of them treats. Have gotten her to stick her head out to eat them and have gotten the 2 of them eating treats together less than 1 foot apart. So I’m considering that progress, not to mention that technically his medication hasn’t even fully leveled out or begun working in his system, so hopefully things keep heading in the direction they have been.

 

[vsvpflex]

Update: a little over a week on meds. So far so good. He still will occasionally get a little stalky with her, but 95% of the time doesn’t escalate it. He’ll stalk, she’ll hiss or vocalize and he will turn around and walk away. There’s been 2 occurrences where he has swatted at her, but with far less aggression than before. I’d say we went from 50% relaxing 50% stalking, to 90% relaxing, 10% stalking. And he’s way easier to distract now, he doesn’t fixate like he was. We have been continuing the behavioral adjustments as well. If he does swat at her enough to elicit a vocalization from her, he gets a time out in the bathroom. Continuing with the Purina Pro Calming care on his food, and have introduced 2 new feliway diffusers into the household. Been daily trying to get them to interact in a positive manner. She has a specific spot where she primarily hides, and we bring him in there and give both of them treats. Have gotten her to stick her head out to eat them and have gotten the 2 of them eating treats together less than 1 foot apart. So I’m considering that progress, not to mention that technically his medication hasn’t even fully leveled out or begun working in his system, so hopefully things keep heading in the direction they have been.

We have also been trying to do confidence building exercises with her. I had a consult online with a behaviorist and he said that as much as my boy is the aggressor, that the female also has some ownership in the situation. Some of the time her hissing/vocalizing at him unprovoked sparks his interest and draws him to her. Her having poor confidence unfortunately makes her a bit of a target, and she has also had some attitude issues lately in the sense that the other 2 cats in the house that are normally the peace keepers have butted heads with her a few times as well.