What on earth...

[cassandra_starr]

Back in October my fiance and I got a new kitty to add to our two cat household. My older two boys were 8.5 at the time and the process of bringing in a new kitty took time.

Jake welcomed our new kitty with open arms, but Bear was very sensitive and very scared. He hid and hissed and growled for a few days (4-5). Eventually he got over it and our new kitty (his name is Link btw) was able to lay next to him and even bump heads with him now and then.

Bear was tolerant at best, but he was always obvious that he wasn't super fond of Link. He would let Link lay next to him (provided Link didn't get TOO close), and they would sniff each other. Everything has gone GREAT after the first week or so last October that we brought Link home.

Rewind two days...

Bear has been attacking.. not playing... but down right attacking and STALKING Link. Fur flying, hissing, howling, growling, chasing him, trying to hurt him. It was so bad that Link pee'd on himself out of fear. Bear is a much bigger cat and Link has always been submissive to him. The problem is now that Bear will NOT stop attacking him. If we let them in the same room, Bear will lock eyes on him and stalk him. He tries to be sneaky about it even.

This can't continue, and we can't figure out what is going on. Why after almost a year of coexisting in peace is Bear being so mean and going after him. Link isn't crowding his space, actually Link has tried to steer clear of Bear, but Bear is being *so* aggressive.

This is very very unlike Bear. He has *never* *ever* shown signs of aggression. Out of all the cats we've had, he's always had the sweetest disposition and has been the one to shy away from any form of aggression.

I have no idea what to do. I got Feliway, it's not really helping. I'm gonna take him to the vet, but barring anything physical, what could be causing this, and how do I fix it?!

 

[strange_wings]

Take both of them to the vet. You can't be sure if Link is getting ill and Bear senses it or if Bear is getting ill and taking out his discomfort on Link. Plus, this way, they'll both come home smelling like vet office - and hopefully your vet will only charge for one office visit this way.

After that redo introductions, very slowly.

Has anything at all changed in the home routine? Are you coming and going at different hours? Redecorating? Did you change anything scent wise in the house (new perfume, completely switched cleaners) - a stretch, but possible issue. Has there been any new or strange animals hanging around outside the home? A new person coming into the home?


A good thing to remember with cats is that they're rather routine based. If anything in the environment changes it can cause stress, and that stress can make them act out in odd ways - a bit like myself. I hate even the slightest changes in my plans or routine. When it happens I want to withdraw or I get snappy. Probably why I get along with cats so well.

 

[cassandra_starr]

Nothing has changed. That much I am positive of. We live on the 2nd floor of an apartment building and we're the only apartment on the 2nd floor of this building. No scent changes or cleaners have changed. We try to be careful of things like that. The *only* thing that has happened in conjunction with this is that I got a head cold the day before it started happening.

He's only attacking Link, he's not attacking his other brother (the other 8 year old Jake). It's like he can't be in the same area as Link without going after him. I feel bad for poor Link, he's absolutely freaking terrified.

Good idea about taking them both in. I'll call the vet as soon as they open. This has me worried really badly now.

 

[strange_wings]

Could your neighbors have done something?

Maybe they got an animal that's peeing where it shouldn't? Crazier things have happened...
I remember one past member had a neighbor who's cat was spraying an adjoining wall and into a vent (iirc) which caused her issues and made her paranoid that her cats had been spraying a bunch.

As for worrying, both could very well be fine.

But it's really impossible to know exactly what is going through Bear's head so all one can do is cover all the bases.

I hope you can figure out what's going on and have luck reintroducing them. I have two that tolerate each other (I'm quite sure it's a communication problem on one cat's part - slightly wrong body language) and I hope they never escalate into trying to fight.