Weird Behavior?

[happywithcats82]

Hey there!. I am new here . I have a question about one of my cats behavior and can really use some advice!. 

I am the proud owner of 3 cats. They are all short haired cats, 1 female and 2 males. Their names are Bella, Stimpy and Stewie. Bella is about 4 years old, Stimpy is about 2 years old and Stewie is almost 3 months old . So here's what's going on....

We (my ex-boyfriend and I) have had Bella and Stimpy since 2011. Bella first and then we introduced Stimpy. Stimpy at the time was just a kitten. Now when I first introduced them, they had a few days of not getting along, but they soon became the best of friends. They would play together, clean each other, etc.... Now unfortunately about 2 weeks ago, my boyfriend of almost 3 years, broke up with me (whole other story). Truth be told, Stimpy was ALWAYS closer to him than he was me so my ex asked me if he could take him and I finally agreed. So a few days after my ex took him, Bella seemed lonely so I took my 2 children out one afternoon to look into adopting another cat. We went to a local humane society and we came across this gorgeous, tan, 2.5 month old kitten (Stewie). We spent some time with him and decided to take him home with us. Now just the same as Stimpy, Bella was a little hesitant around him. Not very friendly and was staying away from him as much as possible. So 2 days after adopting Stewie, I get a text from my ex asking me to call him. When I did, I find out that apparently it isn't "working out" with Stimpy as my ex is currently living at his brother's and his brother's cats were not getting along with him at all.....so he asked if I could take him back. I told him about the new kitten and everything and I told him that if I was going to consider it, to bring Stimpy back over to see how he acted with the new kitten. So everything went well, but Bella mostly hid under the bed the whole time. So here's the problem....

Bella and Stimpy....well Bella, apparently HATES Stimpy now. Every time Stimpy comes near her, she growls, hisses, swats at him....and is just down right mean to him. I'm completely clueless as to why she is doing this. Like I said above, 2 weeks ago, they were best friends....but now she hates him it seems. 

After reading my story, if you have any opinions or advice to share, it would be very welcomed!. Thank you so much in advance for your help!.

 

[mani]

HI and welcome!

Cats can do that.  Mine will do it after one has been to the vets, and that's quite common.

I suggest that you go through the whole reintroduction process.. I know it seems extreme, but it's probably the best idea.. Here's a good article on it:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats

 

[mservant]

I hope you are starting to follow Mani's advice and things start to settle for you.   It sounds like a whole lot of change going on in your home just now and everyone has to find their place again.  One person has moved out with Stimpie the cat, a young Stewie the kitten moved in, Stimpie came back in - no doubt with all different scents about him, and on top of that add any emotional stuff that's been going on for you and your family.  This is a new family settling in, I am sure following the introductions phases will enable things to begin to calm down and you can all happy settle in together. 

 

[writingislove]

When I used to work at the cat shelter, we had to counsel people quite often on their cats not getting along--we would always recommend starting from square one and introducing the cats to each other as if they'd never met.  It really, really should make a difference.  So I completely agree with Mani that that's the best place to start.

Just remember that things might not magically return to normal overnight.  You'll need to have a little patience and let Bella set the pace.  But considering they were able to live together peacefully in the past, I can't see a reason they wouldn't be able to get back to that point. 

Good luck, and hang in there.

(By the way, love the name Stimpy!)

 

[ettina]

How recently did you get Stimpy back?

If it's within a few days ago, you could try giving Stimpy a bath. He might just have a scary smell on him from the other place.