2 rescued cats, one is very aggressive to other cat


  • Hi I need help please. I rescued a kitten about 2 years ago. I found him in a parking lot and he was badly injured, he weighed less than 2 pounds, wad estimated that he was about 1 month old, and half his tail was only bone with 2/3 of what tail was left was infested with maggots. I took him to the vet and got his shots, then he had tail amputation surgery, then wad fixed. His name is Lynx. About almost a year ago, a small black female kept coming to the house, she was hungry, decimated, had wounds all over her body, and had an old flea collar embedded in her neck. She was affectionate and wanted us to pet her. We took her to the vet to get her shots abd had her fixed. She stayed in our house in my bedroom while she recovered (separate from Lynx). Unfortunately, we found out after the surgery that she had been pregnant. While recovering, she was very affectionate and wouldn't leave my side. Then, one day while she was sleeping on my lap while I was sitting in bed, out of nowhere shehiwled at me and launched herself towards my face to attack. I did get my hands between my face and her teeth, but she did a lot of damage behind my ears with her claws and did bite one of my hands doing a lot of damage. We moved her to my daughter's room (who is 20 years old) once she recuperated from surgery because Lynx is very attached to me. However, Bean Soup (the female cat) would get out of the room and attack Lynx (who had no idea what to do but to run and hide). The silver lining is that Lynx learned how to defend himself and can know go outside during the day (we live in a very rural county and we have hawks that prch in out yard, coyotes, etc). When Lnx is outside, we let Bean Soup roam the house. But when she sees Lynx through the windows or French doors she growls, hisses and yowls at him and launches herself at him hitting the windows or doors. So, I would love to figure out how to be able to have both cats safely and comfortably roam the house at the same time. How can I help Bean Soup not be aggressive towards Lynx?

    Please help! Thank you!



  • Hi there and thanks for such a detailed question.

    This is quite a tricky, and I can imagine stressful, situation you have been dealing with.

    I'm afraid it sounds like the female is not tolerant of the male and was likely not adequately socialised when young.

    This will be causing both distress, if they have to co-habit. There is also a risk of real injury here, which I know you will be really keen to avoid.

    As it has been 2 years, it is not likely things will improve organically I'm afraid. It is doubtful they will ever enjoy each other's company and it is is uncertain if they can co-habit happily.

    While we could potentially attempt to re-introduce them slowly over several months as if they were new cats who never met, given their life history and everything else that has happened, I would not expect this to be successful.

     

    At this stage, I feel the best for both would be to manage their environment so they do not share resources and have their own space within the home as well as the outdoors.

    If this is achievable, it is a great way to give both kitties the loving home they deserve, while saving them the stress of co-habiting with a cat they do not get along with.

     

    If not possible, I would consider re-homing one. While never a nice or easy decision to make when we love both pets, it may be what is right for them, if we fear serious injury to one.

     

    An alternative to the above, if you feel neither options are for you, would be to trial anxiolytic medicine and use a behaviourist, to see if perhaps we could convince them to co-habit in a more settled manner. As I say though, given the past, I feel we are unlikely to have success.


  • @Linda Simon 

    Thank you soooo much for your response, Linda! I kinda of suspected it was more hopeful thinking on my behalf. My daughter is planning to move out and get an apartment with friends, so she will be taking Bean Soup. In the meantime,  we will continue to keep both cats separated, both loved and taken care of, but separated!

    Maria


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