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I recently adopted a 1 yr. old male cat. He is extremely sweet with me, but tough with the other cats. He corners the females in the litterbox, races them back to their bed and jumps on them. He's really big and they are really stressed. I adopted him for my young male cat, but he's even rough with him, but he rolls with the punches, so to speak. What I would like to know is, is this something he will outgrow in a year, or is this his personality? Is he what is called a male dominant cat? I have a chance to place him while he is young. Right now, I'm separating him when I'm not home. Thanks.
The first thing that came to my mind, is......Did you allow a s-l-o-w introductory period, where you actually isolated the new cat to one room, only letting him out with supervision for minutes at a time? It takes a good 6 months for cats to adjust having a new addition. If you didn't allow introduction time, I would advise to start all over, put your new cat in one room with a kitty litter, water and toys. Putting things in that room with him with the scents of the other cats on them would be ideal, and vice versa.
All the way around, your feline family is unbalanced right now, and that is the cause of the chasing and the fighting. Slow is best when introductions are made. If you don't know how to do this, I am sure there is a lot of information online to instruct you.
Best of luck!
PS Sounds like normal kitty behavior to me, with cats who have experienced change too fast. Male cats can be extremely territorial.
Garden of Eden, thank you for your reply. I isolated the new kitty in a room for about a week; however, when I was home, he was probably out after a few days for periods at a time. How long should I have or should I now isolated him for? Thanks.
I would have isolated him for longer, maybe a month +. The last two kitties we adopted lived in our bedroom for 3 months before they came out! By then the other cats were so used to their sounds and smells, they blended right in. I don't think his behavior is unusual for a young male.... IMO he would calm down, once he knows where he fits in and once he feels more secure. This is a huge adjustment for everyone. I always try to put myself in their shoes... imagine someone dropping off a complete stranger in your house . Do you play with them a lot? Playing with them together creates a bond.
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Right, a month. Is there a way to tell if a cat is dominant? He is fine with them until he sees them moving, which leads to think maybe it is just kitten behavior. He doesn't go attack them if they are just lying around, although he's a lot better with my young male cat. I guess I blew the intro. I guess if I do not place him, I will re-introduce him by isolating him again. Thanks.
Right, a month. Is there a way to tell if a cat is dominant? He is fine with them until he sees them moving, which leads to think maybe it is just kitten behavior. He doesn't go attack them if they are just lying around, although he's a lot better with my young male cat. I guess I blew the intro. I guess if I do not place him, I will re-introduce him by isolating him again. Thanks.
A lot of this also depends on his history. If you got him from the shelter, then there is a possiblity that he was in a cage by himself as a kitten. We don't even know when he left or was taken from his mother and siblings, which could also be a factor. His behavior sounds fairly normal, maybe a little aggressive b/c he is not used to being around other cats. This really is a socialization issue. It sounds as if he was lacking in initial social experience with other cats and then was introduced to too many cats he didn't know too quickly.
I assume that he is neutered but wonder if there wasn't a complication of some kind? This can sometimes happen. Intact males are extremely aggressive, especially with females. If you're feeling rich and curious, you can take him to the vet to check his testosterone levels , although it really does just sound like dominant behavior. Thus, I would separate him for a while, which will allow him some time to mature as well as to get used to the other cats and his new home.
Whatever you do, make sure you spend a lot of time playing/interacting with him while he's separated. I would also increase the amount of toys you have available for him to play with, when he is separated and when he is with the other cats. Toys can be a great way to channel aggressive behavior. You can also try Feliway, which many vets rec for neutered males that are displaying aggressive behavior towards females.
Starla, good points. I did get him from the shelter. It is possible he wasn't socialized around other cats well. He is great with me though--very gentle and very affectionate. Supposedly, he is neutered--that goes without saying at this shelter but possibly there was a complication. Who knows. Mistakes are made. He has a lot of toys that he likes and he is very playful with these toys, bringing them all over the place. He's smart, fetches really well. I have tried Feliway, but I ran out of refills so will re-order. I've tried spraying him with water and also using the coins in the can, and he does get scared, but does the same thing all over again. Thanks very much and if anyone has any other thoughts, I'd be interested.
Try not using the water and coins until a last resource. I think differently then a lot of people, and have "trained" my cats from exhibiting unacceptable behavior using voice and hand commands. And time outs, too. Yes, I do use the water but not anywhere near the face and only when one of mine has the selective hearing on, or just will not stop with the unacceptable behavior.
Adopting this new cat is very stressful on him. Please try really hard not to use the water on him for his stress level is high as it is. Gentle love works best, yet I do understand when you have an "aggressive" male on your hands.
Again, start over with the introductory phase, and keep in mind as Starla mentioned, you have no idea what this baby has been through. Kindness goes a long way, believe me. Also, as Katz said, her time frame is a great one to keep in mind when you separate the new male. When all this is over down the road, all your cats will be deeply grateful.
Starla, good points. I did get him from the shelter. It is possible he wasn't socialized around other cats well. He is great with me though--very gentle and very affectionate. Supposedly, he is neutered--that goes without saying at this shelter but possibly there was a complication. Who knows. Mistakes are made. He has a lot of toys that he likes and he is very playful with these toys, bringing them all over the place. He's smart, fetches really well. I have tried Feliway, but I ran out of refills so will re-order. I've tried spraying him with water and also using the coins in the can, and he does get scared, but does the same thing all over again. Thanks very much and if anyone has any other thoughts, I'd be interested.
One other thing that I didn't mention is to have a safe haven that the girls can seek out when he gets too aggressive. I have a dog with a high preydrive and the cat has several "shelter" spots around the house that she can go to when the dog becomes too boisterous with her. It really is a very good system b/c it forces both parties to take a time-out without causing you to intervene
I would also stay away from the water and the coins, especially if it really isn't causing the reaction that you are hoping for. You really don't want to frighten an already aggressive/dominant cat b/c it will usually cause more aggression rather than less.
Other than that, it really does sound like you are doing everything right. As Garden stated, the best approach now is just lots of love and patience. And I am glad to hear that he has a lot of toys and responds well to them--that's always a good sign. One thing you might try (if you haven't already) is, while supervising play, to redirect his attention to a toy when he gets too aggressive or over-stimulated. It is a technique that works well with puppies and dogs and might be worth a try with your frisky fella
Starla and Garden, thank you. You think that the water & coins will cause more aggression? It is very frustrating. He seems to have no memory that what he did was wrong. He corners my older female in the litterbox. She has already gone to the vet last week for vague symptoms--hiding, crying. They cannot find anything wrong in her bloodwork and I am bringing her back tomorrow. She is eating well but despondent and I think it might be the new male cat. so obviously, I have him isolated now. To make all this worse, the other female I have is actually on prozac--she was shy before. On the prozac, she is ok with him until he comes after her. The other cat is the young male, blind and he is ok, but not thrilled with this newcomer. I probably should not have done this but I thought my blind cat needed someone in his corner since the females were not crazy about him! I also have a small dog. He is fine with the dog. The new guy, as I said, is very gentle and affectionate with me, but relentless with these 2 females when they are in motion, not while at rest. I think about re-homing him, while he is still young, cute and adoptable. I don't know how this will turn out, whether it is a kitten phase or a permanent aspect of his personality. Thank you again.
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. Do you play with them a lot? Playing with them together creates a bond.
