Sporadic Fighting - Multi-cat Situation - Advice?

[vyger]

Another thought: we as people sometimes forget about the 3 dimensionality of a cats world. You can make spaces high up that some can claim as their own. I know Dora likes being on top of the refrigerator. She is above the others and appears to feel safer that way. She can watch them without having to interact with them. A few high up escape spaces might help in your situation. The tree dwellers would be harder to get at and cannot be ambushed except from a direct approach. Up out of the way and hard to reach brings relative security and that reduces tension and the desire to fight with everybody.

 

[Animal Freak]

I don't have as many cats as you, but I am in a multi-cat household with three cats plus a dog and I've had my fair share of issues. I would definitely try covering up the windows. That way you at least know if that is, indeed, the issue.

The only thing I don't think has really been covered here is how hard it can be to solve the problems after they start. Once a cat is attacked so many times, that cat starts to lose confidence and is then a target, leading to an endless cycle if not fixed. I had this problem in my household between two of my cats. It takes time and effort and I'm sure it would take even more with so many cats, but raising confidence levels as well as trust among the cats even after locating the issue is probably going to be necessary, especially since you say one of your cats doesn't seem to trust the one who's been attacking. I managed to do so by playing with the cats together, focusing on areas where the attacks happened most frequently. Petting them and giving them treats, feeding them together(as close as they'll allow), basically just making every experience as positive as I can. My cat who used to be insecure now has more confidence than she ever had before and we have almost no problems. The ones that do occur are minor and they get over it quickly.

 

[danteshuman]

I had to lock my toy hogging bully out to play with my victim cat 1 on 1 to raise his confidence. I also play with both cats.

 

[goddess_althena]

Thank you to everyone who's come in here with kind words and thoughtful suggestions. I've spent the last couple days working with my group of 5 and trying to observe as much as I can. The 4 boys are back in the swing of things, but my Stella is still avoiding SuperFuzz and growling whenever she feels he's too close. And he doesn't make things any better by focusing on her very intently whenever she shows her displeasure and then trying to creep up on her slowly. I haven't allowed it to escalate in my presence and there have been no altercations (likely because I've had them mostly separate since then) but I highly suspect his behaviour could very easily erupt into a scrap. I took her out of their space for the day yesterday and spent some one on one time with her, which was all right for the first bit and then come night time she crawled under my bed and stayed there until morning, when I had to bring Scamp in to lure her out.
I'm planning on picking up some Zylkene this week and starting her on it. Aside from her issues with SuperFuzz of late, she's always been timid and anxious and I hope she'll benefit from the supplement. She was feral for several months before we took her in and she's always been very attached to Scamp as they were together when they were feral (though he was born the year prior) and has never really become comfortable with people, even my husband and I (other than at food time, of course ). I'm seeing about getting SuperFuzz tested and will talk with my husband about doing something to cover the window at night. Hopefully some of the measures will help to keep everyone calm from now on.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

See, I told you that the folks with real experience would be here soon! Looks like you are getting several ideas that can be made workable, so I'll just sit here and be the cheering section!

 

[dustydiamond1]

See, I told you that the folks with real experience would be here soon! Looks like you are getting several ideas that can be made workable, so I'll just sit here and be the cheering section!