More Cat Problems - Aggression

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Ugh. Well, the somewhat optimistic update on Merlin is I installed an electronic pet door in the bedroom so Merlin can get away from Mina at his leisure. It took some patience, but he’s finally gotten the hang of using it, and thus seems more confident when he’s out in the living room. I believe this will help with the spraying issue, though only time will tell.

Meanwhile, Mina (the one year old catten) is getting increasingly more aggressive, and I don’t understand why. First, his personality: He’s really just batshit insane. He clearly has ADHD, I’ve seen him get distracted mid-pounce while playing. He is highly energetic and seems to delight in destroying things. He has destroyed pretty much every cat toy we bought him.

At least part of it is food-related aggression. I feed him wet food twice a day, and he always wants more, but he started to put on weight, so I’ve restricted it to just the two cans (plus whatever Merlin doesn’t eat in his dish.) Whenever I bend down to lift his food dish to put food in it, he swipes at me. In the morning, before he’s fed, he swipes and hisses at my husband.

He’s been hissing more and more at people and things, and lashing out at them. Sometimes when my husband is just sitting there at the kitchen table he will swipe and hiss at him. When we have friends over, he wants to be in the middle of it, because he is not shy, but he inevitably becomes overwhelmed and starts nipping and swatting at people. I don’t think he means it in a mean way, he just gets overstimulated. He’s usually the one approaching them for attention. The last time they were over, he jumped up on the dining room table in the middle of eight people, and freaked out. Granted, the kind of swatting and nipping he’s doing isn’t so aggressive it would damage anyone. He is less aggressive with me than with anyone else, I think at least because he recognizes I carry some measure of authority. By and large, he is my cuddle bug.

When he was a kitten, he went through this phase of biting and attacking everything, as kittens do. But then the problem went away for a long period of time, and now it is back. He’s hissing more than he ever did before, and he’s now hissing at objects. I just saw him hiss at a bowl left on the kitchen counter. :confused:

I don’t know if I will have to re-home him, and I don’t want to re-home him, but it’s not even looking like an option right now. I’m not confident that I will be able to rehome him if he has these aggression problems.

2

My thoughts as a I read were (unfiltered, in order):

-young cat, bored, needs more interaction - suggest another catten - opposite sex.
-really unusual behavior
-any changes or stresses in the home lately?

Translating that: I think he may need an age appropriate buddy, with whom he can be a terror. That said, however, it might be best to do a little more investigating of possible causes of the behavior change.

Is anything else going on at home that he could be responding to? For example, I think your husband is studying pretty hard right now. You’ve mentioned being stressed as you work through a few things. Some cats are affected by changes in the environment. Merlin is less available. Mom is stressed. Dad is less available and stressed. Mina is therefore a little sh*t.

I think he needs help on the behavior issue (AKA training not to scratch, hiss and so on at people). I would also consider in your own mind how he might react to another cat. By that I mean, is he very drawn to Merlin. Do you think he would find the idea of another buddy a good or bad thing? If the answer is “good”, you might look for a frisky little FEMALE kitten or young cat. They can rough house, and be crazy together. They will also end up being social together. If, on the other hand, your back brain answer is “no - OMG, Mina tries to kill Merlin every time he sees him” then don’t do this.

My behavior modification strategies with cats are things like hissing at them and water bottles. Not nearly as well rounded as I am with dogs. I have a few books, which I will dig up and link for you. I suspect there are many here who are much better versed than I.

3

He may be in pain; overweight neutered male cats can develop painful mineral crystals in their urethra. This will make him miserable overall.

4

I think Mina would love another cat, but that’s not an option. It would make things a hundred times harder for my older cat, Merlin, and is also not legally permitted in our property lease. (We own the home, rent the lot.) I had to get a special exception in the lease to take on the second cat. Then there’s my husband, who I wouldn’t describe as a cat enthusiast. He doesn’t think that rehoming Mina is the right option either, though. He thinks I’m projecting my anxiety onto them and that I’m suffering more than they are.

Merlin had urine crystals and a bladder infection (now treated) but it was associated with inappropriate urination outside the box. Mina uses the box just fine. He doesn’t seem miserable to me, just… Restless.

I suspect Mina is lonely, now that Merlin can escape from him at will. He sometimes lays outside the pet door and looks longingly through the window, which is the saddest thing ever. I’ll have to step up our playtime and engage with him more to see if it helps.

5

I am a terrible person because I, hypothetically, might believe that people can’t count cats inside my home. I, hypothetically, might have done this in the past. cough I shall not encourage you to do so, however. (Yes, I was in graduate school and had a terrible problem counting. Terrible.)

Yeah, then I think it’s likely a reaction to changes in the home, including Merlin being to take a TO whenever he wants. More engagement, and possibly some additional activities for Mina might help. Does he have any favorite toys? Perhaps we can build on what he likes, and widen the rotation. Help keep him busy.

I would say you’re suffering differently than the cats are, btw. Clearly they have been bothered and are experiencing stress and anxiety. You aren’t peeing all over the house, so you handle it differently, but I wouldn’t say you’re projecting… :slight_smile: It sounds like Merlin is doing better. Hopefully we can help Mina adjust too and things will calm down. Cats can be touchy little things.

6

I really had no idea what I was in for, adding another cat to the home. I assumed the expenses, issues, etc would double, but it’s more like they have increased exponentially. The two animals are so unlike one another it’s uncanny. It has required me to develop a lot of patience I don’t naturally possess.

It would be impossible, by the way, to hide a third cat from the property manager, because the property manager is my father in law who sold us the home and visits at least weekly. He doesn’t want me to get rid of Mina, either.

7

I’m sorry it’s been hard. Hopefully it will get easier. I’m glad Merlin is doing better.

I was serious about the toys and trying to expand Mina’s fun rotation. Hopefully we’ll get him into a better place too.

(My cat Merlin was one of the cats that I wasn’t supposed to have in graduate school. We’d rush him off and hide him when someone came to the door. Poor cat would hide for his entire life when the doorbell rang. My other cat, of course, could not have cared less. Both of them would out me by sitting in the front windows by the parking lot watching birds. :p)

8

My Cat from Hell advice-giver Jackson Galaxy always advises, once you have ruled out medical causes, that you improve a cat’s environment. Often that alone seems to fix an aggressive cat – it did in the case of our reluctant adoptee Lefty.

A lot of things can count as improvements to an environment in a cat’s eyes, but in Lefty’s case, it was Jackson Galaxy’s advice about heights. A couple of tall cat trees, a high perch on the balcony, and easy access to the top of bookshelves (which were also equipped with cat beds and scratchers) completely relaxed him and sheathed his claws. Once he could look down on his minions from a position of unquestioned overlordship, his contempt turned to pity, and he began allowing us to brush him as a reward for building his temples.

Has your cat got access to high perches and overlooks?

9

Don’t know how you feel about medication, but I resorted to anti-anxiety meds years ago when I brought in a female stray. (For the cat, not me.) After about 6 weeks of her being medicated and super-sleepy all the time, which made me feel terrible, we tapered off the dosage and she and the senior cat have maintained a modus vivendi ever since (with only occasional skirmishes). I didn’t like doing it, but it worked; you might consider asking the vet about it as a last resort.

In another thread I evangelized for a product called the Thundershirt: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20290444&postcount=11 I have had really amazing results with my anxious (but not aggressive) elderly cat.

Good luck! Cat problems are so hard to deal with; hang in there.

10

I started looking for good toys for bored or lonely cats and found a few here.

I don’t know about the video, but I can attest to the mylar balls. The Peek-a-prize box, the babble ball, and the prize ball all look worth trying too. I may check them out for my kitties.

I’ll let you know if I find anything else.

11

Thank you, these are great!

Merlin sprayed all over the bedroom wall last night! Mina isn’t even allowed in the bedroom. :smack:

I had a minor nervous breakdown thinking I would have to get rid of both of my cats but my husband told me we’ll have a sit down this weekend and look at our options. He’s good for excitable types like me.

I’m looking at cat towers. Possibly multiple.

In the kitchen they have the refrigerator and all the counters, including the kitchen island and the kitchen table, but there are no elevated surfaces in the living room.

Patience.

12

Well, it’s definitely his room now! :wink:

When we moved back to Oregon last year one of our cats started peeing on my husband’s side of the bed. Now we don’t leave our bedroom door open and the cats are rarely in here (and I miss their little snuggling selves). Why did she start doing this? I don’t know. She’s been in this house before; it’s where we brought her as a kitten. We’ve always let the cats into our room. She’s never done it before in several years of living with us. The peeing when upset or stressed thing can be one of the great mysteries/issues of having cats. :frowning:

13

This is your third thread about your aggressive cat. It’s time for serious measures. Get him a husky puppy.

14

Even if my husband weren’t allergic to dogs, I have to admit I’m really skeptical about the idea that adding another animal to the mix would improve the situation. That’s how I got into this mess in the first place.

It’s like, ‘‘My kids aren’t getting along.’’

‘‘Have a third child!’’

15

I’ve heard of the Thundershirt. Is that something he wears all the time, or just occasionally?

16

Well, I just ordered a giant cat tree with three platforms and a shit ton of new toys… here’s hoping.

17

The thundershirt I ordered should be getting here in about 1 week. I’ll report back on how it affects my mildly anxious cat and my very anxious one.

Also agree on giving them comfortable perches like cat trees. Will you post pictures of them in their furtress?

Thank you for making the effort to help them.

18

I try to remember that it only feels like I’ve tried everything…

19

I think folks have given you a lot of good suggestions here, especially with adding cat trees for him. On the food aggression, it might be better if you alternate bowls - have two for him. When you feed him, take one that isn’t in use and fill it, put it down for him, then when his attention is on that one, pull the dirty one and wash it. You aren’t really retraining him so much as putting his focus elsewhere so he doesn’t think about swiping at you.

Another thought is, if he likes to play rough, get one of those play mitts and allow him to play as rough as he wants ONLY when you (or someone else) use that. Something like this: [URL=“http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=7352&cmpid=02cseYY&ref=6192&subref=AA&cmpid=PLA_G_6192&gclid=CLbT5vff4dQCFce3wAod9HENRQ”]play paw](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=20242267) or even a long oven mitt. Just so that he isn’t attacking bare skin - keeps you safe and gives him the satisfaction of a good round of kick-and-bite. If he tries to swat or bite when it isn’t play time, say a firm but quiet “No bite!” and turn away from him, ignore him for a few minutes. Go back and try again to pet or talk etc. He’ll learn that rough stuff isn’t allowed except when the special “glove” is out. It’ll take some time - maybe a month or two depending on how quick he is to learn, but he will learn. I’ve had a couple cats like that and it takes patience but can be trained out. Good luck! :slight_smile:

20

Oh, the husky puppy isn’t good advice. The good advice was to get a second rambunctious kitten, months ago, or to rehome the cat ,weeks ago. By the third thread, you’re down on to the suspicious advice.

A six-month old husky puppy won’t help your cats get along, but he would cheerfully provide all the rough-housing Mr. Bitey could take, and then some. It would give your cats something to refocus their hatred on. They would have a common enemy.

Seriously, don’t get a husky puppy.