Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have 5 cats. All have been neutered/spayed. I have an ~13 y/o female calico (Angie), a 9 y/o male DSH (Cody), an 18 month old male tuxedo (Herman), his sister 18 month old medium hair tuxedo (Boots), and a 3 1/2 year old DSH (Darlin).

The tuxedo siblings came to our house last Christmas from the woods. A friend's husband found them while hunting last season. They were very shy at first (that's why one is named Herman, he lived under the couch for months). The male is MUCH more social now, but the female is less so, she wants attention on her terms, and not very often. Right before Thanksgiving this year, we took in my bother's cat (3 y/o DSH) because his youngest child has developed severe allergies to the cat. Except for the new cat, all of the cats are indoor/outdoor.

Anyway, Herman has started in the last few days to harass Boots (his sister). I work part-time and am home during the week, and I live with my mother who works full-time during the week and is home on weekends. There is almost always someone home with the cats. I have been awakened very early in the mornings this week when Herman will not leave Boots alone, causing a lot of hissing/chasing. Herman is extremely attached to me, and jealous of the other cats when I pay attention to them, but Boots hardly ever comes around for attention, so that is not the issue.

Because of their history of living in the woods, spray bottles have not worked with these 2 cats in the past. I have also tried shaking a Coke bottle with coins in it (no effect). This morning, my mother put Boots out before she left for work, but Boots was very upset when I got up and let her back in.

Since we have a large number of cats, separating them is difficult. Generally, Boots, Herman and Cody sleep in my room, Angie sleeps with my mother and Darlin sleeps on the guest bed.

Any ideas would be wonderful!

Hi There,

I believe that Darlin joining your household has upset the "pecking order" in your home and Herman may feel threatened. It can take months for things to smooth out after a new addition to a home, depending on the individual personalities of the cats involved. I believe in your case, it hasn't quite been a month.

With my feline family, I usually let the cats work out things themselves, as long as there is no real fighting. Hissing, growling and swatting is normal and harmless as long as it doesn't lead to something more serious. I wonder if perhaps Darlin was intorduced too quickly to the other cats. Ideally, a new addition should be isolated at first, for at least 2 weeks and introductions should be slow and gradual.

It might be helpful to give Darlin her own room for a couple of weeks, then re-introduce the cats. You can also try something called Feliway, which is a product that mimics the "happy hormones" that cats emit. This may calm everyone down and you can get it in a diffuser at most pet stores.

Take care,
PHKitkat