vicious cat

[gailuvscats]

Is it possible that some cats just will not get along with others, ever, in fact always attack?

I brought in a stray and have been switching rooms etc. with my other 4 like you are supposed to do.  the door didn't shut tightly and my one cat came down to the basement and the stray ran up the steps and viciously attacked him, no growling or anything, just charged, I got up and yelled and he stopped and went back down stairs. My sweet cat has been injured, it looks like a hunk of hair and skin was torn off, but fortunately there is no puncture. I am cleaning and watching.

This is so depressing, now I am stuck with this vicious cat, or I could put him back on the street where I found him, and it is cold, I can't do it.  I just don't know what to do. I am at a loss.

 

[shadowsrescue]

How long have you had the stray in the house?  Cats can take a very very long time to get used to one another.  It can take weeks to months to many months and even a year or longer.  I brought a feral/stray can into my home over 2.5 years ago.  I had another cat and a large dog living in the house.  It took the cats exactly one year to coexist.  The new cat needs a room of his/her own.  The intro process needs to be taken very slowly.  If the attack happened before you had done more than room swapping, unfortunately this is completely normal.  The new cat is most likely not vicious, but instead is afraid and none of the household is his as far as territory is concerned.  The best advice I can give is to take the process very very very slowly.  Expect that there will be hiccups along the way.  They may involve attacks. 

Do you have any feliway diffusers in place?  These could help.

I will post a few articles on cat to cat intros as well as a video.

Start slowly.  Do not move to the next step until there is absolutely no growling, hissing, posturing, yowling or trying to attack.  Each step could take weeks or longer.  Human instinct is to rush the process.  Move at the cats pace.  Also is it natural to get upset.  The cats pick up on this. 

Also, I hope the new stray has been to the vet for a clean bill of health as well as vaccines and spay/neuter.  If not you will want to be sure the cat that was attacked gets vet care. 

I hope that you will not set this cat back on the streets after one incident.  Be very careful to keep the cats separated.  Be sure the cats do not get back into the basement.  Maybe place a baby get there too for extra protection.  This was human error not cat error.  I would be sure that you take a break from intros for a day or so.  Regroup and start fresh.

These are some excellent articles as well as an excellent video.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/the-ultimate-yet-simplified-guide-to-introducing-cats

http://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/a-simple-little-trick-to-use-during-new-cat-introductions/

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/cat-behavior/introducing-your-cat-new-cat

http://jacksongalaxy.com/2010/10/01/cat-to-cat-introductions/

 

[gailuvscats]

it has only been a few weeks. the stray was sitting on my lap, relaxed, and as soon as he saw my other cat, full charge, no hissing swishing or anything, automatic kill. My guy didn't have a chance. I will keep him in the basement and not bring him up for a few days, but he cries at the door, so that stresses him out too now that he has had a taste of the upstairs life. 

he has been neutered, rabies, distemper, combo test, flea and wormed.

I am at a loss. I will give it some more time, but I have serious doubts about him coexisting with other cats. If things are not better by spring, I think he will be put out, I will make a shelter and feed him. I can't swap rooms for years, and I don't have that much space. My cats enjoy the entire space, basement front porch, 2 bedrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen. that's it. There is no one room that can be dedicated to him. I don't have it.

 

[talkingpeanut]

Neither of your cats are vicious, and neither is acting maliciously.  They are just feeling out a new territory and figuring out how to coexist and feel confident.  By following the steps above you can help everyone to succeed.  Just make sure to go at their pace and keep everyone separate until they are ready.

 

[gailuvscats]

I have moved the stay into a big dog crate upstairs in my office. the resident cats will stare from a distance. a few closer encounters have ended up in hisses. When the stray is out of the crate, he attacks the door and tries to get at whoever might be sniffing on the other side of the door. I am not sure what to do when this happens, should say no, clap my hands or what? He wants to kill. My cats are just curious, and now very fearful.  It has only been 5 days since we started the crate, and the other cats do not come into the room with the crate, even though they were with me all the time in here before the crate. I spend a lot of time in here. someone suggested that I put the crate in the middle of the living room so there is more cats walking by from one room to the other, but there is no door, and it would be a lot more difficult changing food and litter, I would be afraid he would run out and attack one of the others. He does get free time to run the house, when I lock the others in the bedroom. once or twice a day for 2 hours at a time.

Any thoughts on this process, and what to do when he shows aggression towards the others? Let him know I disapprove? Will this make him hate the others more?

thanks

 

[gailuvscats]

I would like to update this thread, I brought in "Ed" after he was neutered, etc. Unbeknownst to me, Ed HATES other cars, successfully escaped the basement 3 times, drew blood once. My life has consisted of rounding up my 4 cats into the bedroom, letting Ed out of the basement two times a day, or a variation of that routine. Ed has become a very sweet, somewhat vocal, guy, who REALLY does not want other cats around. We tried a crate for a while, and everyone got pissed off, so I put him back in the basement. I intervened for 4 cat-fights, one was outside before I brought him in. I should have known then. 

Fortunately, a friend from my hometown is going to adopt him. She has no other cats, and lost one a year or so ago. Thank the heavens! Not sure how much longer I can keep up with this routine, up and down the basement steps with my soon to be replaced knee. 

I will really miss him, because we have bonded, but he will be much happier with a human to call his own. We might have been able to get integrated, but it is much more work than I want to invest.

Tomorrow Ed leaves the building! Bittersweet, but happy for him, and me!

ED2016 016.JPG

• gailuvscats
• Feb 12, 2016

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Aww!  What a cutie!  That's a hard decision to make; but good you are putting his interests above your own. That does sound like quite a routine you've been keeping so he can have some social time out of the basement!  I hope Ed is very happy in his new home!