[mitze]

Hello,

in August we took in an old stray spayed tom-cat. About 3 weeks later a young stray unspayed tom-cat came to live with us. In the begining things weren't too bad as the cats more or less tolerated each other. During the last couple of weeks things got worse. The younger cat is bullying the older cat and is often chasing it. The old cat got very nervous and hides in a corner a lot. He also doesn't come to the bedroom anymore, he used to sleep with us but now the young cat seems to have taken over the place.
Usually if they start fighting or the younger one starts chasing the older cats we shout NO or make a loud noise and they stop but of course we are not around all the time.
We wouldn't like to give one of them away as we are very fond of both cats. Is there anything to improve the situation? We are planning on having the young cat spayed very soon.

Thanks!!

 

[kristi]

Hi, Mitze! How old is the young one? If he's less than a year old, this sounds pretty normal; he should settle down after getting fixed and just growing up. I would give him some time outs and separate them for a few hours a day just to give your older cat a break.

 

[Aonir]

I've almost always had problems with male cats together, AND female cats together. It's best to stay with oposite sex if you ask me. Neutering will help the problem some, but probably not fix it.

They are having a territorial issue. The young cat thinks he is the alpha, and so does the older cat. Only ONE can be the alpha male. Sometimes they usually settle their differences and one backs down. But not all the time. You have to encourage one cat to be the alpha, and make the other male cat the beta. To figure out which one should be alpha is the tough call. If you choose the wrong one, the fighting will not stop. But neither could be the right choice.

Once neutered, see which cat is the one who insists on fighting. That should be the alpha because he feels the other cat is trying to get his rank. Always pet the alpha first, then the beta(second). Works for dogs also. Some agression with cats can not be helped. The best thing you can do is monitor both of them to make sure neither gets hurt.

 

[mitze]

Hi, Mitze! How old is the young one? If he's less than a year old, this sounds pretty normal; he should settle down after getting fixed and just growing up. I would give him some time outs and separate them for a few hours a day just to give your older cat a break.

Hi,

The younger cat is about 19 months and the older one about 15 years (guess from the vet).