Hi everyone.
It's been a long time since I've posted on here, but I'm having some cat troubles and I'm hoping to find some guidance. First off, I have a 9 cat household and have had all 9 for 6 years now. Quite often I ruminate on how I have more heart than sense. Lets just say its been interesting. As others on this forum may know (or can at least imagine), having 9 cats in one household is not without its challenges. There have been many obstacles throughout the years that my spouse and I have overcome. Sadly about a year and a half after our house went from 2 cats to 9 we had a major aggression event (misdirected I suspect) that changed the household from then on. We tried just about everything at the time to rediscover balance and harmony, but in the end it was simply necessary to divide the cats into two groups (4 & 5) and it has been thus ever since.
In the ensuing years (since July, 2013) we have had relative peace, though dividing a small house was stressful. We moved across country (40 straight hours in a vehicle with 9 cats, a journey I will never forget, or repeat) at the end of 2014 and now have a larger home with dedicated spaces for our two kitty groups. Now we have our space and they have theirs and life has been much less stressful.
But that peace is now threatened by some sporadic fighting in one of the groups (group of 5). It happens at random times, usually in the evening/night, not terribly often. Generally months apart. I am never present in the room when it happens and just hear the awful screeching/yowling. I wish at times I had some kind of recording surveillance system so that I could do an instant replay, but no such luck. Every time it happens one of my cats, SuperFuzz is always involved. I suspect he is the aggressor, though the 'victim' seems to change from event to event. All my cats are spayed/neutered, of the 5 in the room 4 are male, 1 is female.
When this happens I separate them all with the use of crates and leave them overnight to cool down. Generally SuperFuzz is kept in an adjoining bathroom a little longer as he will continue to stress someone out in the 24-48 hours afterward. After some supervision and time apart they usually re-acclimate and things go back to normal.
In terms of damage done there's generally no more than the usual fur flying, but as of the last month or two we've had a bit more trouble. We've had 2 fights in the last month, and everyone came out of it a little roughed up. A couple nicked ears and one hurt paw, which was new, but thankfully healed quickly. I knew right away from everyone's distrust of SuperFuzz that he needed to be separated again and did as I usually do. Plugged in the Feliway and closed up the windows to add an extra boost in hopes it might help. After a few days of some separation and supervision there seemed to be a truce of sorts, though the one female, Stella has been steering clear of him. Now tonight there was another uproar and I ran in to find SuperFuzz and Hissy facing down. I crated as usual and let everyone cool down for a bit then let 4 of them free and left SuperFuzz in the bathroom. They were all fine together. Later, when I went in for meal time and let SuperFuzz out to see what was what, I saw Stella was clearly agitated by him, watching his every move and growling whenever she thought he was too close. Suffice it to say he's back on his own for the evening.
Considering the short window between incidents I feel I'm going to need to do some more serious problem solving. I can't stand it when they fight, it's incredibly stressful and after the years of constant problem solving in our old house I was greatly enjoying the peace and simplicity here. But I don't want my cats stressed and I need to figure out what to do.
Everyone is healthy and sees the vet regularly. I have used Feliway in the past, to no avail, but still had some and have had it plugged in the last month, but that doesn't seem to be helping. There are most definitely outdoor cats in the area and sometimes I suspect they may be having an occasional bout of misdirected aggression. They have a lovely big window and I'd hate to cover it up as they love to sit on their cat trees and look outside. I have read extensively over the years about dealing with household cat aggression, but one thing I rarely find, is what to do when there are so MANY cats. Solving problems between 2 cats is challenging enough, let alone trying to problem solve in a group of 5. I don't have any more dedicated spaces in the house to split them up further and I'm just wondering if there's any advice from other households that have multiple cat situations like mine (read: 5+ cats).
I love these cats dearly, and would never ever consider re-homing anyone at this point. They're my sweet little darlings, even when some of them act like devils. I've done everything I can to make their lives as happy and comfortable as I can as long as I've had them. Hopefully, as with all of the other challenges I've faced, I'll manage to find a solution. But sometimes it just feels a bit exhausting and it's difficult to find like-minded individuals who share a common experience. If anyone has some words of advice or guidance I'd be grateful. Sorry for the lengthy post.
It's been a long time since I've posted on here, but I'm having some cat troubles and I'm hoping to find some guidance. First off, I have a 9 cat household and have had all 9 for 6 years now. Quite often I ruminate on how I have more heart than sense. Lets just say its been interesting. As others on this forum may know (or can at least imagine), having 9 cats in one household is not without its challenges. There have been many obstacles throughout the years that my spouse and I have overcome. Sadly about a year and a half after our house went from 2 cats to 9 we had a major aggression event (misdirected I suspect) that changed the household from then on. We tried just about everything at the time to rediscover balance and harmony, but in the end it was simply necessary to divide the cats into two groups (4 & 5) and it has been thus ever since.
In the ensuing years (since July, 2013) we have had relative peace, though dividing a small house was stressful. We moved across country (40 straight hours in a vehicle with 9 cats, a journey I will never forget, or repeat) at the end of 2014 and now have a larger home with dedicated spaces for our two kitty groups. Now we have our space and they have theirs and life has been much less stressful.
But that peace is now threatened by some sporadic fighting in one of the groups (group of 5). It happens at random times, usually in the evening/night, not terribly often. Generally months apart. I am never present in the room when it happens and just hear the awful screeching/yowling. I wish at times I had some kind of recording surveillance system so that I could do an instant replay, but no such luck. Every time it happens one of my cats, SuperFuzz is always involved. I suspect he is the aggressor, though the 'victim' seems to change from event to event. All my cats are spayed/neutered, of the 5 in the room 4 are male, 1 is female.
When this happens I separate them all with the use of crates and leave them overnight to cool down. Generally SuperFuzz is kept in an adjoining bathroom a little longer as he will continue to stress someone out in the 24-48 hours afterward. After some supervision and time apart they usually re-acclimate and things go back to normal.
In terms of damage done there's generally no more than the usual fur flying, but as of the last month or two we've had a bit more trouble. We've had 2 fights in the last month, and everyone came out of it a little roughed up. A couple nicked ears and one hurt paw, which was new, but thankfully healed quickly. I knew right away from everyone's distrust of SuperFuzz that he needed to be separated again and did as I usually do. Plugged in the Feliway and closed up the windows to add an extra boost in hopes it might help. After a few days of some separation and supervision there seemed to be a truce of sorts, though the one female, Stella has been steering clear of him. Now tonight there was another uproar and I ran in to find SuperFuzz and Hissy facing down. I crated as usual and let everyone cool down for a bit then let 4 of them free and left SuperFuzz in the bathroom. They were all fine together. Later, when I went in for meal time and let SuperFuzz out to see what was what, I saw Stella was clearly agitated by him, watching his every move and growling whenever she thought he was too close. Suffice it to say he's back on his own for the evening.
Considering the short window between incidents I feel I'm going to need to do some more serious problem solving. I can't stand it when they fight, it's incredibly stressful and after the years of constant problem solving in our old house I was greatly enjoying the peace and simplicity here. But I don't want my cats stressed and I need to figure out what to do.
Everyone is healthy and sees the vet regularly. I have used Feliway in the past, to no avail, but still had some and have had it plugged in the last month, but that doesn't seem to be helping. There are most definitely outdoor cats in the area and sometimes I suspect they may be having an occasional bout of misdirected aggression. They have a lovely big window and I'd hate to cover it up as they love to sit on their cat trees and look outside. I have read extensively over the years about dealing with household cat aggression, but one thing I rarely find, is what to do when there are so MANY cats. Solving problems between 2 cats is challenging enough, let alone trying to problem solve in a group of 5. I don't have any more dedicated spaces in the house to split them up further and I'm just wondering if there's any advice from other households that have multiple cat situations like mine (read: 5+ cats).
I love these cats dearly, and would never ever consider re-homing anyone at this point. They're my sweet little darlings, even when some of them act like devils. I've done everything I can to make their lives as happy and comfortable as I can as long as I've had them. Hopefully, as with all of the other challenges I've faced, I'll manage to find a solution. But sometimes it just feels a bit exhausting and it's difficult to find like-minded individuals who share a common experience. If anyone has some words of advice or guidance I'd be grateful. Sorry for the lengthy post.