My 5-year-old cat Squirt and my now 1-year-old cat Ripley really, really do not like each other. They have been trying to figure out who is dominant for about a month+ now...Squirt has ALWAYS been top cat. I realize that is not all that long, but neither seems to backing down, and it seems to be escalating. (Yesterday Ripley cut Squirt's face with one of his claws, and Squirt was bleeding.)

Anyways, so they spend a large portion of their time around each other staring each other down and posturing, which escalates to hissing, growling, yowling, and a physical altercation several times a day. The yowling is all Squirt. I think he is telling Ripley to back off, which he won't do. So then they end up jumping at each other eventually. If Squirt jumps first, it is ok. Ripley jumped first yesterday when Squirt ended up bleeding, and Squirt was REALLY angry...he made a cat noise I have never heard before. Squirt recovers fast, though, so as soon as I removed Ripley, he laid down and started snoring. Ripley has quite an attitude with us as well, so it is not just Squirt...just not sure how they are going to work things out or if I should be doing anything differently to help them out.

Oh, and Ripley plays with my youngest cat in a different part of the house during certain times of the day when things get to be a bit much, and he sleeps in the bathroom at night so we get some peace.

Thanks,
Karie and crew

This is something they have to figure out on their own. Ripley is becoming a mature male and he is trying to establish his position in the hierarchy of the house. The younger one is always going to challenge the older one for position and unless the older one is very old, frail or ill, it won't roll over and give in so easily.

I'm assuming both are neutered, if not you need to start there.

A couple things you can do...keep their nails clipped, maybe use Soft Paws for a while until things calm down. Use Feliway atomizers, they contain synthetic calming pheromones. If Ripley tends to do sneak attacks, put a bell on him so Squirt knows where he is at all times. When you see Ripley thinking about starting something...distract him, give him some attention. I know it goes against the grain to reward him when you know he was thinking about being a jerk...but it actually works (I have the same problem with Kobi beating up on Maggie).

BTW...in your title, you used the description Cat vs Cat...have you read the book by that name? If not, I'd really recommend it. I learned quite a bit from it.

Yes, they are both neutered. I do clip their nails...Ripley actually has soft paws on but is missing two right now that need to be re-applied (Easier said than done. We tried yesterday with very, very bad results. He hates being restrained and starts to hiss and bite and kick in about a minute or two. My husband is also not the greatest at holding cats in a firm grasp. Ripley also bit me about a week or two ago when I was trying to restrain him to wipe some poo off of his paw, but luckily I had a shirt and a thick sweater on, although he still left marks on my arm, ugh. But I digress. )

We had Feliway for awhile, but I couldn't tell that it made any difference. Maybe I need to get more and try it again. Ripley does do sneak attacks. I posted another message about how he takes his collar off and this has continued...I would LOVE to put a little bell on the monster, though. I am not comfortable putting anything but a safety collar on Ripley since he and my little kitten wrestle like crazy with each other, and they often grab each other around the neck. (At least someone gets along with him, though!!!) I will have to distract Ripley with a toy. When he is out of home base (the bathroom) he does not wish to be petted or touched in any form of fashion, and he only likes it in the morning when he is in the bathroom. He starts growling if you pet him when he doesn't want to be petted. Fun cat, huh?

I do have the cat vs. cat book, although I wasn't thinking about it consciously when I used that title. Hope I didn't violate any copyright laws, ha. I read it awhile ago as I have had multiple cats for awhile, but never an issue quite like this. It might be time to read it cover to cover again.

Thanks for your suggestions!
Karie and crew

I sometimes have problems between Dude and Kit N. that are similar to this. For the most part they get along, but Dude is somewhat of a bully and picks on Kit N. When I see him going after her or looking like he's thinking about it, it sometimes helps to distract him with something other than a "correction" from the spray bottle or a loud "UN-UNH!". I might call him to me in a really sweet-ish singsong voice and pet him if he comes, or take him upstairs alone and have a 15 or 20 minute vigorous play session. Maybe the distraction and petting might not help as much, but see if distracting Ripley and playing with him until he's worn out helps at all.

By letting Ripley sleep with you, but not Squirt, you're telling Squirt that you want Ripley to be top cat. Sleeping with their humans is a cherished privelege for cats. Perhaps if you think of other things where you're unconsciously (or purposely) showing favoritism to one or the other and try to eliminate all of them they'll be able to figure what their places are and come to an accomodation.

It is Squirt (and Dizzy, the oldest and lowest on the totem pole) that sleep with us. The two youngest get "put up" at night. Haiku is 7 months old and is a calico with a TON of energy who is "not ready" to be out at night...she jumps on our heads and our faces and generally loves on us.

Ripley has his home base in the bathroom (and not a small bathroom, I might add) because that is where he started out when I was getting him used to the others through the door, etc. He still goes in there at night, only because he won't leave Squirt alone and will keep us up all night. Even when out and asleep, he prefers under the bed, not on it. He usually does not hang out with my husband and I when we are downstairs, either. He kind of prefers to do his own thing.

Sorry, my mistake.....I must not have been awake. Never mind.

Hi karie

I'd love to be able to tell you that it always works out but my Mum has experienced with two of her cats that sometimes that just isn't the case. She has a whole bunch of cats (8 ) who all get on very well apart from two of the males. Joshua is a big bengal and Muffin is a Burmese. They used to get on pretty well and then one day something flared up between them and they have never been allowed to be together again since then. We have tried all of the reintroduction techniques, feliway and so on but they go in for the kill with each other as soon as look at each other. Fortunately Mum and Dad have a decent sized house as they now have to be kept completely apart from each other. The vet said we should pretty much let them battle it out between themselves but Joshua is so much bigger and stronger that in all seriousness I don't think Muffin would stand a chance and that's not a risk any of us are prepared to take.

I hope some of the others can come up with some solutions for you and perhaps you could also try separating them for a while and attempting a re-introduction.

I hope you and they can work it all out.

I think that most of the time the cats can usually work it out between themselves, but in the same sentence I'm going to add my disclaimer that I have a split household because of this reason. My Lucy has kidney disease and gets attacked by all of our males - I think that's "culling the herd" at work though. They can sense that she's sick and is trying to get rid of her. Whatever the reason though, I think that most of the time they come to some kind of understanding, but occasionally they do not. All of my males get along really well, but even we have our occasional scuffles and sometimes we have a knock down, drag out fight. It happens in families of all configurations - look at how often humans in the same house fight . My parents had two cats that did not get along well but they learned to tolerate each other's presence until the day one of them died. It was a uneasy truce, but it worked for them. Sometimes that's what has to happen and other times you have to think of a way of life that keeps the two feuders separate because that's the only option left.

Good luck! I hope the boys resolve their issues soon.