When All Else Fails.....what Do I Do?

[patti511]

There's a lot to be said for this.

Also, consider vanilla, possibly; from valanhb
"You put a dab of vanilla extract under the chins, at the base of their neck (by the spine) and at the base of the tail (again, on the spine not the underside of the tail!) of all of the cats to make them smell the same. Cats recognize each other by scent, so if that kitty smells the same as "me", the he must be a friend. Kitty logic at it's finest.

This trick works when introducing cats into the household, and also when one of them has been to the vet and therefore smells different to the others who didn't go.

"

I’m definitely going to try this! It’s going to be about a month before I try to reintroduce them. I’ll dab vanilla on all of them.
We are putting in new flooring, painting and getting new furniture. I’m hopeful the change may help! Thx.

 

[Furballsmom]

Looks like I missed a post of yours from January, I apologise!
In any case back to the present, all the VERY best of luck with this and hang in there .

 

[mazie]

just curious, can you post a picture of the "ring leader" in all this? Curious what that bad (kidding of course) boy looks like.

 

[patti511]

Here he is

 

[patti511]

This is one of his gang members

 

[patti511]

And this is his follower

 

[patti511]

The victims

 

[patti511]

I didn’t end up boarding them. I had an argument with my vet and she was the only one I felt comfortable leaving them with.
(My timid cat was urinating blood and I wanted to bring her in for a check and she couldn’t fit me in. I ended up going to the emergency room. It’s cystitis from stress and she’s ok now. I just felt that I was a good client with 5 cats and I had a problem and she should have seen my cat.)
Anyway, as stated in another post, I’m changing things in my house and I hope it helps the aggression issues .

 

[patti511]

Looks like I missed a post of yours from January, I apologise!
In any case back to the present, all the VERY best of luck with this and hang in there .

Hi Fur....I think I’ve exhausted all my resources. The bullies have been separated for several months now. In that time we’ve put down new flooring, bought & rearranged new furniture, and painted. The other night my husband accidentally left the door open and the bullies cane upstairs. All they did was search for the timid cat and when one found her, she was attacked. I even put vanilla on all of them while they were stalking around. They found her by sight, not smell. They can spot her from across the room and launch at her. So, now they are back downstairs, my house is divided, I can’t heat the house properly with the door blocking the heat flow, and I’ve lost use of half my house. I can’t find anyone to adopt them. I’m feeling so defeated.

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh gracious sakes I'm so very sorry!! Let me see if I can find others who may have thoughts.

 

[verna davies]

I've just read your post, phew you must be exhausted.
Just throwing ideas out here and you might have already tried them.
The three bullies have become a gang so are you able to seperate these three either by keeping them apart in different rooms or better still finding two friends that will take one cat each. I think that by breaking this bond they have formed may help. Keep the least aggressive at home and reintroduce him to the two timid ones after a week on his own. Once the three get on ( fingers crossed) bring the second least aggressive home and reintroduce to the others. Finally bring the gang leader back and do the same. The bond that the three have seems very strong but by separating them at different locations where they cant see or smell each other may and hopefully sort them out. Good luck.

 

[patti511]

I've just read your post, phew you must be exhausted.
Just throwing ideas out here and you might have already tried them.
The three bullies have become a gang so are you able to seperate these three either by keeping them apart in different rooms or better still finding two friends that will take one cat each. I think that by breaking this bond they have formed may help. Keep the least aggressive at home and reintroduce him to the two timid ones after a week on his own. Once the three get on ( fingers crossed) bring the second least aggressive home and reintroduce to the others. Finally bring the gang leader back and do the same. The bond that the three have seems very strong but by separating them at different locations where they cant see or smell each other may and hopefully sort them out. Good luck.

I wish I had people to leave them with. Right now I have my 2 bonded females up for adoption (to a throughly screened home). They are a Bengal and a Khao Manee. No one has come forward to adopt them. The third bully - a male Bombay - I am planning on trying to integrate him if the other two ever get a home. It’s been months trying to re-home them with no takers. The Bengal is huge - 18 pounds. No one has asked to see them yet, but I fear once they see the size of her, they won’t want her. The Bombay was the first bully and they copied his behavior when I was away in July for my son’s wedding. I came back to a disaster. I call them my MS-13 cats. A non-kill shelter offered to take them, but I can’t bear the thought of them in cages and then not knowing what ever becomes of them. This situation is causing so much stress. I pray for a solution. Thx for your suggestion.

 

[Talien]

It might be a long shot, but if a camera crew inside your house wouldn't be a problem you could see if Jackson Galaxy would take the case.

 

[patti511]

It might be a long shot, but if a camera crew inside your house wouldn't be a problem you could see if Jackson Galaxy would take the case.

I applied 4 times to be on the show. Apparently three cats from Hell are too much for him to handle :-)

 

[verna davies]

This is heartbreaking for you. I hope someone or something happens to resolve this in a way that you can be comfortable with.
I'm sure you have thought of this but what about an animal behaviorist that could help. I know you mentioned Jackson Galaxy, but I mean someone near your home that deals with issues like this. Is it possible to build a catio type construction that the 3 could be happy in?

 

[patti511]

This is heartbreaking for you. I hope someone or something happens to resolve this in a way that you can be comfortable with.
I'm sure you have thought of this but what about an animal behaviorist that could help. I know you mentioned Jackson Galaxy, but I mean someone near your home that deals with issues like this. Is it possible to build a catio type construction that the 3 could be happy in?

I had a cat behaviorist come here at the end of December. She told me to use a high frequency training device to deter them. I got one. I used it yesterday when one attacked. It breaks them up, but doesn’t stop the behavior. She used one when she was here, after telling me that they were only playing. (She was wrong). There are cases where cats do not get along, no matter what you do. I’ve tried reintroduction the way Jackson Galaxy said to do. Nothing works. The best scenario would be an amazing new home for them.

 

[Talien]

I had a cat behaviorist come here at the end of December. She told me to use a high frequency training device to deter them. I got one. I used it yesterday when one attacked. It breaks them up, but doesn’t stop the behavior. She used one when she was here, after telling me that they were only playing. (She was wrong). There are cases where cats do not get along, no matter what you do. I’ve tried reintroduction the way Jackson Galaxy said to do. Nothing works. The best scenario would be an amazing new home for them.

If you've tried all that and even experts couldn't help then unfortunately yeah, it sounds like the best thing would be rehoming. The question is who, the 3 amigos or the other 2? Obviously it would be traumatic for any of them but it may actually be worse for the 3 especially since it's unlikely they would all go to the same home. It sounds like they are actually a tight knit group and splitting them could possibly cause even worse behavioral issues for them which would make their adoption prospects rather dismal.

Your first instinct is likely that you want to protect the other 2, but there are far more people who will adopt a scared Cat than an aggressive Cat, and for good reason.

 

[patti511]

If you've tried all that and even experts couldn't help then unfortunately yeah, it sounds like the best thing would be rehoming. The question is who, the 3 amigos or the other 2? Obviously it would be traumatic for any of them but it may actually be worse for the 3 especially since it's unlikely they would all go to the same home. It sounds like they are actually a tight knit group and splitting them could possibly cause even worse behavioral issues for them which would make their adoption prospects rather dismal.

Your first instinct is likely that you want to protect the other 2, but there are far more people who will adopt a scared Cat than an aggressive Cat, and for good reason.

We want to re-home the three. The girls have to stay together. This is why it’s been so difficult. I’m thinking if the only bully remaining is the male, maybe we can integrate him again.
He’s a 5 yr old male black cat, so rehoming would be difficult. And he started all the trouble. He was my first. I think he would have loved to stay alone, but I thought he needed company at the time. Boy, I was wrong!

 

[inkysmom]

Have you tried using timeouts and negative reinforcement on the bullies? It might be best to start with the ringleader and keep the other two separarated for now and work in one at a time.
I had seven cats and my large dog for five years. My two youngest males bonded very strongly and started targeting the passive cats and relentlessly bullying two other cats, and constantly fighting with another dominant male cat. The youngest cat also relentlessly attacked my large dog, drawing blood and I was afraid my dog would snap and kill him.
I became very firm . I said no firmly, gave him a light tap more for indignance than anything else and put the youngest bully in the bathroom each and every time he attacked any cat or dog. He started running away and hiding, I tracked him down every time so he knew he couldn't outrun me and in the bathroom he went. I didn't let him out until he was quiet in there. Drama and crying and pounding got a firm tap on the door and a no and he stayed in longer. The other cat stopped bullying with just a no and seeing what happened to his buddy. I may have locked him up once or twice.
It took a few months for the youngest cat to stop attacking the dog but I was consistent and form that attacking was completely unacceptable and wouldn't be tolerated. I never left them alone together and praised both for peaceful time together with praise, pats and treats.
When I got a new dog I had to go through the whole process again. But he did bond closely to each dog eventually.
Some people may disagree with me but I have many years experience training dogs, cats and horses And this worked for meany times. I've never had to re-home an animal.

 

[danteshuman]

Have you tried isolating the two girls and then reintroducing the boy to your timid two girls? Basically I mean building up their confidence with just one of three. Also you need to have a second barrier between the timid and more aggressive ones so no accidental escapes/attacks can happen.

Keeping 4 female cats together can be extremely tough. Why not rehome one pair of girls? They would still have a buddy and it would dramatically reduce the stress in your house.