Lisa,

First of all I want to let you know how sorry I am about your dog. Our pets give us so much and ask for so little in return, and it's so hard when we lose one of them.

Am assuming that the old standard -- that one of the other cats had just been to the vet and therefore smells funny -- is not the problem. Or, something may have scared him and he may be associating whatever it was with one/both of the other cats, if they were nearby when it happened.

A few years ago I read a great book -- The Cat Who Cried for Help, by Nicholas Dodman. As I recall, he addressed this very problem and it was displaced aggression. I believe his recommendation was to do what you suggested -- start all over and reintroduce Bentley slowly to the others.

Please keep us posted on how everyone is doing!

Carol, Emily, & Eddie






>>We were woken in the middle of the night Thursday/Friday to Bentley aggressively fighting one of the other or possibly both Fin and Alastair...earlier that day they were laying in piles...so I have no idea what triggered the aggression.
>>
>>Not really wanting to deal, I took Fin and Alastair into the bedroom with us and the dogs and locked Bentley out...normally we do the whomever is not playing nice gets to be alone rule...
>>
>>The next morning I went downstairs and Bentley was lying on a chair...I pet him...he seemed fine...then Alastair came down and the hissing, spitting started up again...because I was on my way out the door to bring the dogs to the kennel...as we were leaving to go away...I immediately scopped up Bentley and took him to the screened porch...figuring the fresh air might do him some good...
>>
>>When I got back from the Kennel...Bentley had climbed into the rafters (Alastair's favorite spot) and would not come down and was not very aggressive toward me and my husband...but, we needed to leave and didn't want to leave him out there for the weekend...so Jon suited up with a raincoat, mechanics gloves and a helmet with facemask...it was a sight...to try and get the cat down and into the guestroom...needless to say it did not go well, Bentley fought and bit him through the gloves and refused to come down...
>>
>>So, with no other alternative, we left him out there with his own litterbox and food and water...I left very unsettled, not knowing what could be wrong with him...and then spent Saturday afternoon in Urgent Care with my husband and an infected finger.
>>
>>Sunday morning we get a call from the Kennel and one of our greyhounds had died in his sleep...we immediately headed back. The weekend had just gone from bad to worse to unbelievable...
>>
>>When we got home we found Bentley had eaten and used the litterbox...so I am fairly certain it wasn't another obstruction and he's not ill...my husband was able to coax him out of the hiding spot and he was all purry again...we took him in, but again his aggression started to surface as soon as he saw one of the other cats...we put him in the guestroom while we took care of the getting the dogs...
>>
>>Last night I kept Bentley in the room with us and locked the other cats out...he was his usual self to us...all purry and snuggly...but starts to freak out each time he sees one of the other cats...
>>
>>I have no idea what is going on with them, my initial guess is maybe Fin who is now 3 is trying to take Alpha position from Bentley and he is reasserting his right...and Alastair is getting the brunt of it because he is so passive?
>>
>>My mind is all cloudy right now as I am still trying to make arrangements for Shuteye...and am keeping Bentley separate until I can devote some time to the situation...but was wondering if anyone else ever had anything similar happen and/or what do you think the best course of action is...do I let them just figure it out? Do I act like this is a new cat situation and do a gradually re-introduction...
>>
>>Any advice would be greatly appreciated...thanks.
>>-----
>>Lisa, owned by Bentley,Alastair, Finster, & Delilah

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