Jealous Tom Cat??

Question
I have a Tom Cat, a female cat and a female Poodle. I have had these 3 for about 5 years. The Tom cat came first, the female next and the poodle last. All were very young when I got them and all have been fixed and both cats have been declawed on the front. My problem is that the Tom cat keeps attacking my poodle. Normally it's just a quick fight between them and it's over but recently he attacked my poodle and actually cut her so bad that we had to get her stitched up. She is terrified of him and he keeps stalking her. I'm afraid that he is going to attack her again and maybe try to kill her. He is a very loving cat with me and I wonder if he is jealous of her. What can I do? I love both of them but I feel bad for my poodle.

Answer
Hi Tonya.  My goodness!  I think this certainly goes beyond jealousy, and you need to have a consultation with a vet.  When aggression goes this far, you may need to work with a behaviorist and potentially even place the kitty on a medication to reduce aggression.  Some antidepressants can help.  I had an aggressive cat who was an amitriptyline for three months for an unrelated problem, and I was surprised at what a nice cat he became.  After his medical problem was solved, he was taken off the amitriptyline, and his aggression never came back.  One of my friends almost had to put her aggressive cat to sleep but as a last resort tried a medication called clomipramine for six months.  That worked wonders for her, and the cat's behavior never returned after that medication was discontinued, either.  If you do end up having to use a medication, work with a vet if you decide to end treatment once his behavior has been corrected, since the dose will need to be tapered before treatment is stopped completely.

Something I would recommend trying in the meantime is a product called Feliway.  I use it at all times in my own home to reduce spats.  I'm not sure it would completely resolve such a serious case of aggression, but I don't think it would hurt by any means.  I use the plug-in diffusers in my house, and I know when they run out just by rise in levels of testiness.  You can learn more at www.feliway.com  It's available at pet stores, online and through some vets.