Well this will be a long story, so bear with me!
One of my cats is an overly aggressive player. He was found in the wild about 4 years ago by someone and taken to the humane society, emaciated and nearly blind in one eye. My friend saw this pathetic little kitty and took him into her home. Eventually the eye thing cleared up and he put on some weight. He's always had a great attitude towards people, but even back then he would aggressively attack her cats. One of the cats would stand up for itself but not the other.
That is why I have him now - she moved out of town and decided it was best to leave the cat with one of her friends, who subsequently decided it was best for me to keep him. However, after having him for a few months, I decided maybe he needed a playmate, as he seemed really bored and lonely, and obviously has abandonment issues. I now have two cats, and it's been about 9 months. He does the same overly aggressive attacking of the other cat even now.
He doesn't ever hurt her physically. He's done this so consistently that she doesn't ever want to play with him. Usually if he gets too close she will swat at him. The exception to this is when I am sleeping and she is in bed with me, sometimes he approaches her and they lick each other for a while, though eventually she hisses at him when he's had enough.
I've tried play therapy on him. It seemed to help for a while, but now he's bored of all the toys I have - laser pointer, da bird, the purrrfect cat toy, and a cloth ribbon on a stick. Some days he will play with them, but never long enough to become exhausted. Other days, such as sunday and monday, he won't play much at all. This is when the attacking is the worst.
When he's in an attacking mood, not much will deter him. Sometimes he changes his mind if I talk to him, but on the flip side sometimes (lately especially) he will keep going after her until she hides. Even if I pick him up and pet him, trying to calm him down, he will jump off my lap and run after her.
I don't want to give the impression that he attacks her 24/7, it's just when he's "in a mood" and sees her lying there. Other times he will lay down next to her on his back and try to entice her to play. She never does, though, because she hates him so much for those other times. Whenever he approaches not on his back, she will his and growl at him.
I have tried a lot of things, such as only playing with them when they are near each other, giving them treats whenever they stay near without a fight, etc. I am not sure I'm doing the treat thing right, though... I don't exactly have a bunch of treats in my pocket at all times, so I have to actually get up and open the treats. I've also tried feliway with no discernible difference.
I'm just not sure what to do. The toys seem to work mostly, though there still is an occasional incident, but he has become bored with them, and regardless it does nothing to improve her attitude towards him.
My vet told me that sometimes that's just how cats are, and as long as it doesn't seem to be seriously affecting her life, it should be ok. She seems to still lay around in open places and play.
Does anyone have any ideas or techniques as to how to make it a better family? Specifically how to modify his behavior so that he doesn't attack when the other cat doesn't want him to, and how to modify hers so that she actually enjoys playing with him...??
One of my cats is an overly aggressive player. He was found in the wild about 4 years ago by someone and taken to the humane society, emaciated and nearly blind in one eye. My friend saw this pathetic little kitty and took him into her home. Eventually the eye thing cleared up and he put on some weight. He's always had a great attitude towards people, but even back then he would aggressively attack her cats. One of the cats would stand up for itself but not the other.
That is why I have him now - she moved out of town and decided it was best to leave the cat with one of her friends, who subsequently decided it was best for me to keep him. However, after having him for a few months, I decided maybe he needed a playmate, as he seemed really bored and lonely, and obviously has abandonment issues. I now have two cats, and it's been about 9 months. He does the same overly aggressive attacking of the other cat even now.
He doesn't ever hurt her physically. He's done this so consistently that she doesn't ever want to play with him. Usually if he gets too close she will swat at him. The exception to this is when I am sleeping and she is in bed with me, sometimes he approaches her and they lick each other for a while, though eventually she hisses at him when he's had enough.
I've tried play therapy on him. It seemed to help for a while, but now he's bored of all the toys I have - laser pointer, da bird, the purrrfect cat toy, and a cloth ribbon on a stick. Some days he will play with them, but never long enough to become exhausted. Other days, such as sunday and monday, he won't play much at all. This is when the attacking is the worst.
When he's in an attacking mood, not much will deter him. Sometimes he changes his mind if I talk to him, but on the flip side sometimes (lately especially) he will keep going after her until she hides. Even if I pick him up and pet him, trying to calm him down, he will jump off my lap and run after her.
I don't want to give the impression that he attacks her 24/7, it's just when he's "in a mood" and sees her lying there. Other times he will lay down next to her on his back and try to entice her to play. She never does, though, because she hates him so much for those other times. Whenever he approaches not on his back, she will his and growl at him.
I have tried a lot of things, such as only playing with them when they are near each other, giving them treats whenever they stay near without a fight, etc. I am not sure I'm doing the treat thing right, though... I don't exactly have a bunch of treats in my pocket at all times, so I have to actually get up and open the treats. I've also tried feliway with no discernible difference.
I'm just not sure what to do. The toys seem to work mostly, though there still is an occasional incident, but he has become bored with them, and regardless it does nothing to improve her attitude towards him.
My vet told me that sometimes that's just how cats are, and as long as it doesn't seem to be seriously affecting her life, it should be ok. She seems to still lay around in open places and play.
Does anyone have any ideas or techniques as to how to make it a better family? Specifically how to modify his behavior so that he doesn't attack when the other cat doesn't want him to, and how to modify hers so that she actually enjoys playing with him...??
