I have a 5yr old male and a 12yr old female. The female came from a shelter and is very calm & demure, but I got the male later at 7 weeks, and he's a handfull. The neighbors gave him to me a week early because he was beating up his siblings. He intimidates my female too, but what he actually does is lay over her and hold her down with his mouth on her neck. He's never hurt her in any way, and she has mainly put up with it. Nothing I tried worked. I mainly just had to stop him when it happened. She started hissing and fighting to get away for the first time last summer. Either she's not willing to go along anymore, or it hurts her to have a 14 lb cat laying on her now that she's older. Last November, he scratched her on her side. I keep his front claws trimmed down to nubs, so he must have raked her with his rear ones. That's unacceptable and I don't know what to do. I've tried him on herbal calming drops, the plug-in pheremones, on Prozac, I have toys, tunnels, etc.. all over the house and in the catio so he gets plenty of exercise, I scold him while he's on her and immediately separate them (lock him out in the catio for 20 minutes) each time I catch it happening.... Does anyone have any suggestions?
Hi Carol
I am sorry to hear about your male cat’s undesired behavior. I agree your senior female is finding it uncomfortable and possibly painful.
It’s hard to pinpoint the reason for his exact behavior without an in-home behavioral consult. This could be territoriality-related or attention-seeking behavior since you inadvertently reinforced it by physically removing him from the female cat. Ideally, you want to redirect him before he starts laying over her by tossing toys or treats in a different direction. You can also modify his behavior through clicker training. Cues, like sit, stay, or go to the mat, can be helpful.
Increasing interactive playtime with you to twice daily and introducing outdoor time on a harness and leash can be beneficial. This will keep your male cat engaged and reduce his need for attention-seeking behavior. It’s also worth reviewing your environment to ensure sufficient resources for both cats to minimize competition for resources, including your attention. Introducing puzzle feeders to keep his mind and body occupied can likewise minimize the need for attention-seeking behavior or assert dominance.
I hope you can find some of the above suggestions helpful.
All the best
Melina
Thanks Melina!
I live in a 24' yurt, and you'd think I'd see anything starting, but I'm usually not aware of something brewing until I here her crying to be let go or the chase begins... When I do see him posturing or following her, I just have to say his name in a certain tone a few times and he'll stop. I guess I'm the clicker in that instance.
I never thought that removing him was reinforcing the behavior by giving him attention. I'm not the least bit gentle about locking him in the catio, and he cries to come back in most times, but I am giving him attention. I'll think about alternates.
I'll make it a point to play with him more. Walks are out as he doesn't go anywhere. He drops and rolls almost immediately so it's more like drag him/sit still/drag him, etc... 🙂 She loves her walks so I don't know why he's like that.
I like the idea of puzzles. I'll have to see if there are any that don't involve too many treats as he's borderline overweight. As far as resources, I have a recliner and one chair for me, and the cats have four 6' cat trees, a few shorter ones, and carpeted or cardboard beds everywhere. I built them a walkway at the top of the yurt wall going halfway around, and I wrapped the loft support beams in 3/4" sisal. Then there's the catio... my sister says that my picture is in the dictionary under "cat lady" !
I just keep going back to his personality quirks. My neighbor who gave him to me as a kitten says that the behavior I'm describing is the same thing he did to his siblings that led to him being given to me early to protect them. Does he think he's playing??
Thank you so much for the ideas and advice!
Carole