Pearl's Attacking Poor Colby

[krazyaboutkatz]

As most of you know by now I've recently adopted two new cats. I already knew that both of my girls probably wouldn't like my new additions but I never thought it would go this far. A few nights ago I heard a rucus in my second bedroom which is now a cat room. Pear had cornered Colby and she was aggressively attacking him.:( I was able to break it up and poor Colby hid under the bed for a long time. Now at least once a day, I've noticed that Pearl will start chasing Colby and attacking him and she usually ends up cornering him so he can't escape.:( I already have comfort zone plugins going in three different rooms and both Pearl and Ziggy were wearing calming collars for a while but they didn't work and the collars made them lose their appetite too which I though was weird. Even my vet told me that the calming collars just don't work. Most of the time Pearl stays in my bedroom so I don't have to worry but when I feed the cats everyone is out in the main area except for Alani & Blaze who are later fed in the bathroom. I won't ever let Pearl be around Colby or Finnegan now when I'm not here. What else can I do? I just don't know why she has to be so aggressive towards him, he's such a sweet boy.

[Karen]

Jealousy, and the fact that he's an invader - some cats will learn to coexist peacefully in a multi-cat situation, but some, especially with a "weaker" - as in not aggressive at all - newcomer will keep harassing him or her. Sad, but sometimes true, keeping them separated is the best you can do for now.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks Karen. Yes, she is a very jealous cat and always wants to be the center of attention. She would also chase Alani & Blaze around if she could but they're too big and strong for her. I still catch her trying to beat up poor Storm and she used to love him so much when she was a kitten.:( Ironically, Ziggy has been wanting to spend more time out with all of the younger boys. She enjoyed watching Finnegan play with his squeaky mouse toy today. Colby and Finnegan still need to learn that Pearl & Ziggy are off limits when it comes to play though.

[Karen]

Colby and Finnegan still need to learn that Pearl & Ziggy are off limits when it comes to play though.

Enough cross-hatched noses and they should get the picture!

[Taz_Zoee]

I'm sorry you are having this issue. As you know Paizly still does not like Jax and it has been almost two years now. But they can live without stress. If Paizly was showing signs of stress (like she did when I fostered a kitty a few years ago) then I'd have to figure something out.

I hope eventually they will be able to live together peacefully. They don't have to like each other but they can't hurt each other.

[Bengalz]

I'm sorry to hear these issues have come up with Pearl. Cats are so territorial; it's sometimes difficult to know what triggers their aggression. Hopefully keeping the two newcomers separated for a while will help - so glad they like each other:). Perhaps in time Pearl will settle down enough and the new guys will have grown some - there may be a balance in the midst.

You are such a patience Mom - your cats are only too fortunate to have you:).

[Freedom]

My goodness, Pearl and Colby . . . my sympathies. Considering cats live in colonies, I never understand how they decide WHO can be part of the group and who is not allowed.

My Mandy can't stand Tommy, who is twice her size. They will both taunt one another, and being both are black, black fur flies. :( I insist they live in harmony, even if not best friends. Mandy lives in the spare bedroom. The door is closed at night, so I can rest in peace. During the day it is open. Mandy could come out, chooses not to. Sometimes, Tommy will go in, turn and walk out, other times go in, sit and groom, just to get her started. Other times, she will charge him with he has turned and is walking out.

I hope you can find a way to get your 2 to live in peace. I used a water squirt bottle A LOT at the start of their battles. Since he is almost 3 times her size, I can't let them fight and sort it out themselves.

[Randi]

Tracy, I'm sorry Colby is having such a hard time with Pearl. :( Female cats can be really tough and she probably feels that Colby has invaded her space. I hope you'll be able to keep them separated for a while, and hopefully they'll get along.

Best wishes! :)

[pomtzu]

Tracey - hopefully they will eventually live in harmony. When I had cats, the most I ever had at one time was 3, and they always got along great. I guess that's why when I read of folks here having to separate theirs so they don't hurt one another, it just seems so strange to me. I guess I was just fortunate. The 2 of my son's cats in residence here are fine together, female twins that were litter mates, so that may make a difference. It must be nerve wracking having to play referee all the time.
Good luck with them, and maybe time and patience will make a difference.

[sasvermont]

What can I say? I am going through the same thing, after eight years of having the cats live together in harmony... Go figure. Juni, the aggressive one, is taking her medication nicely but Chloe, the submissive one doesn't seem to want to eat the treats/pill pockets etc. anymore. So, I am seriously considering re-homing one of them.

It sounds to me that Pearl needs to be an only cat or at least with cats that are not timid. Once the aggressor senses they can keep the upper hand, it's all over. I know some people do have success with medications but without them, I don't know how anyone could tolerate cats fighting all the time. I don't like living in a divided home.

Maybe your vet would be willing to medicate Pearl for a while to see if that chills her a bit.

Last night I let Juni and Chloe mingle a bit and it didn't work at all. I am going to up the dosage and try to figure a way to have Chloe eat her meds! She's the one who needs it the most.

So, I wish you lots of luck and please do keep us posted, as you are not alone with this problem!

C A T S !!

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks for the "good luck and best wishes" comments everyone.:) I really don't want to medicate Pearl if I don't have to. I've been dealing with her aggressiveness towards Storm for a quite a while now. He's the alpha cat and now that he's gotten older I think that Pearl is trying to take over. Ziggy can also be a handful but she seems to be more vocal and a major drama queen than being the attaking aggressive type. She'll hiss and growl loudly at the younger cats to warn them to stay away. Pearl will sometimes do this but she'll also attack and become very aggressive if she wants to. I guess I should be glad that she's as petite as she is at about 9lbs or a little less. Now Ziggy is at least 14lbs or a bit more so if she was as feisty as Pearl I know that I'd have some major problems.

My mom's solution is to rehome Pearl and she also thinks that Ziggy seems very feral to her. She just doesn't know them the way that I do and of course she isn't attached to them like I am. I have a squirt bottle all ready to go in case I need it. So far I haven't needed to use it because I've been watching Pearl like a hawk when she's out with the others. Both Colby and Finnegan are very sweet boys and far to nice to be beaten up by Pearl. Ziggy didn't want to spend the night with me last night so she spent the night with all of my four younger boys Alani, Blaze, Colby, and Finnegan. Everyone was fine this morning so I think I can trust her to be around them. I hope that in time things will start to calm down and Pearl will get used to having two more younger brothers. One thing that I will say is that I will never adopt another female cat again. They are just too territorial for me and it seems like most of them prefer to be the only cat.

[cassiesmom]

I hope that in time things will start to calm down and Pearl will get used to having two more younger brothers.

Paws and fingers crossed that everyone will get along :love:!

[katladyd]

Believe me when I say that males are just as territorial as the females. It's been over a year now and Mac and Ming still hiss, growl, and attack Kimba. Kimba is scrappy and doesn't back down, so sometimes the fur flies. Plus, Kimba waits for either one of them to be preoccupied with something else and then he POUNCES! I refuse to lock any of them in the bedroom, so they are just learning how to live together. Fur doesn't fly anywhere near as often as it used to. Now they mostly growl and chase each other. It's a start. Don't be in a hurry for them to get along. Ming is on anxiety meds and it does nothing about the agressiveness he shows to Kimba. Sometimes he is the agressor and sometimes Kimba is, they take turns. As long as no one gets really hurt, you can pretty much leave them alone to sort it out. Pearl has been through some major changes in the household the last couple of years and I think she may be the most sensitive of your cats and this is how she shows it. I wish you luck with this and if you find a way to get them all to get along, share it with me....PLEASE!

[Lady'sOtherHuman]

Yes, males can be just as aggressive as the females. When Trillian first met Patch it was all hissing and growling. Trillian is female and the older of the two. Patch is going to be 2 this year. Ever since he was six months old he likes to chase Trill every once in a while and there's a lot of yowling and hissing all from Trill. A lot of the time though, Trill will also instigate the chase too. When Patch got out a couple of months ago she was actually crying and looking for him. So even though she doesn't want to cuddle up with him I think she does like having him around.

It sounds like Pearl is feeling a little threatened by all the new editions and changes. Some cats just don't adjust well to trauma in their lives. As long as you keep letting Pearl know that she is loved, hopefully she will settle down after a while. She's not going to get used to them over night so to speak. It sounds like the two new boys haven't been with you very long. Patch doesn't bother Trillian as much as he used to. My son gave him a stuffed Tigger to beat up so he attacks that more than he does Trill.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks for your comments. Yes, I know that males can also be aggressive because when Storm was younger he was the one that was acting aggressive and chasing some of the other cats. Alani & Blaze were chasing poor Ziggy around so much that she couldn't ever relax in the main area of my home so I decided to adopt another younger cat so that they could then have another playmate to chase and play with. This kind of backfired and they didn't seem at all interested in playing with Colby. I then adopted another younger cat to be a playmate for Colby. Finnegan was the perfect choice and now he and Colby are very good buddies.:) Now I also see Alani & Blaze sometimes playing with them too. Ziggy can now sit in the main area and relax because Alani & Blaze are either tired from playing with the two younger cats or they're preoccupied by them. So far the two younger cats know not to chase Ziggy and I hope that this will continue. Pear seemed very interested in both new cats at first but then for some reason she started to attack Colby. She seems to try to attack him while he's using the litter box.:( I caught her trying to do it again this morning but I got her in time before she attacked. I sure don't need Colby to become afraid of using the litter box and then doing his pee/poops some where else.

[Queen of Poop]

Rather than jump right to medication, perhaps a special collar sprayed with Feliway is the way to go for Pearl while she gets used to the newcomers. My Diego is on prozac but there are times when he needs a little reinforcement and calming down still. That's when I break out his ever-so-cool black breakaway collar and give it a good spray with Feliway. Doesn't take long after its on before he is a very nice boy again and Miss Cali is safe.

[mrspunkysmom]

Sorry to hear that the harmony is broken for a few of them.

I don't have a lot of disharmony. Sam does get jealous and will pick on Emily because she's so small, so he can be aggressive. Even as the largest at 17 pounds, Emily is the only one he can punk out.

Spunky annoys the other cats but really isn't aggressive. At 9 pounds he can send even Sam running. A water bottle gets my point across.

I hope you don't have to re-home Pearl. I had to re-hone Bertie because she growled at everyone constantly. WE have a sort of Peace now.

Good luck!