introducing very dominant cat to existing cat houseold

Question
QUESTION: I have 4 cats - 3 of which are your general domestic cat, and the 4th is a 4 yr old bengal mix named Akhi.  His place in the cat  household has been 2nd, under my dominant calico female.  Now we have introduced a 3 year old pure bengal named Tigger.  Tigger was kept in a seperate room for over a week, with a glass door seperating him from our other cats.  After a week and a half, we allowed him free reign of the house.  There was lots of spitting, growling, hissing and even flying fur for the first two weeks.  The three completely domestic cats now are fine with him - they ignore each other.  The problem is my 4 year old Bengal mix, Akhi, runs every time he sees Tigger.  This makes Tigger chase, and there is always a huge scuffle.  Now Akhi hides all the time, and is extremely skittish.  I cant even get him to eat, even if I put Tigger in another room and sit next to him, he still wont eat.  I thought they would work it out, but after a month the fighting is even worse.  They are causing each other bodily harm -  bloody, bitten ears, abscess and the like.  Is there anything I can do to create harmony between them?  I cant stand to see the strong cat I raised from a kitten become a recluse is his own home.  Help!

ANSWER: Jen,

Separate Tigger from your other cats again but this time put him behind a solid door that the cats can't see through. Keep him separated for 2-3 weeks with all of the usual kitty necessities and be sure to give him the attention he needs. All of your cats could benefit from you trying out a homeopathic remedy called Bach's Rescue Remedy which is a blend of flower essences that helps to calm and reassure. I would suggest that you place about 8 drops per day in each water dish throughout your home. Rescue Remedy is a very safe, effective remedy that is often used by pet guardians and vets worldwide to help calm pets who have become anxious, fearful or even been accidentally injured. You can usually find Bach's Rescue Remedy in health food/natural health stores, it's usually priced around $16 CAN. You should see a significant difference in the way that the cats interact with each other fairly soon after reintroducing Tigger.

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QUESTION: Tonight I did put Tigger back in his "upstairs apartment", with one light on and soft music(there are 4 rooms up there, and all his toys, food, water and litter box) and when I went to check on him one hour later, he had ripped the carpet up from the floor in his attempt to open the door.  But I will take your advice and put a heavier curtain on the outside of the door so that he cant see the other cats and visa versa.  I think I now know why his previous owner gave him away - but I cant do that- he may be wilder than my other cats, but I love him just the same, and he is extremely affectionate when it's just him.

ANSWER: Jen,

I'm not sure that Tigger was re-homed as a result of clawing carpets. Based on my experience it's much more likely that Tigger is less than impressed with being confined again. To his way of thinking there is a whole house out there to be explored, other cats to bug and humans that might give him attention. He doesn't understand why he's being confined and it's quite likely that he's doing his best to convince you that he wants to come out. It's very important that this little man is kept busy and entertained during his confinement because there are some cats that will hold a grudge and pick on the other cats simply because they weren't confined and he/she was. Between providing Tigger with interesting things to stimulate his mind, giving all of the cats Rescue Remedy, making sure that you take time out to play with him for at least an hour a day and making sure that he doesn't feel ignored I think that he should settle fairly quickly.

In order to prevent Tigger from damaging the carpeting further I would recommend that you try a couple of useful tools. A product called Sticky Paws is available in most pet supply stores and it is a medical grade double sided tape that you can apply to surfaces you don't want the cats to claw or chew. Sticky Paws has so far been safe on my furniture and carpeting, but you may want to test it on an inconspicuous area before committing to a full application. You can also try a great product called Soft Paws, also marketed under the name Soft Claws, these products are soft, blunt rubber or vinyl caps that are applied in a similar fashion to false fingernails. These caps may initially be chewed off and they will fall off when Tigger sheds the outer portion of his nails. Soft Paws/Claws are available at some pet supply stores, although if you aren't able to find these products in a retail environment you should be able to find them at a local vet clinic. Application is fairly simple and instructions are usually included with the product, but if Tigger hasn't had his nails trimmed regularly you may find that you have a fight on your hands. If this is the case your vet may be able to apply them with less fuss because he/she has assistance in the form of vet techs who have been taught proper techniques for restraining an unhappy feline. If Tigger creates too much of a fuss even with your vet and his/her staff then you may want to consider having him lightly sedated so that he doesn't have to endure any unnecessary stress and nobody gets hurt.

Cats are extremely intelligent and if they aren't given appropriate outlets to keep them busy their little minds can get them into trouble. The more attention that Tigger and the other cats in your household get the less likely they will be to damage property or pick on each other. There are tons of toys and creative games you can play with a cat to keep their mind busy. You could consider sending Tigger on a treasure hunt in his room once in awhile. What you would need to do is measure out his daily ration and put half into the bowl that he normally eats from and take the other half and hide them throughout the room. There are a number of different toys to entertain a restless/bored cat, some will even dispense treats when the cats play with them which may also prove to keep this little guy occupied and out of trouble. Providing your little man with a couple of sturdy, good quality scratch posts may also discourage inappropriate clawing of furniture and carpeting. There are numerous materials used for making scratch posts/pads. Usually materials like sisal, carpet and cardboard work well, it is a good idea to experiment and see what designs and materials your cats like best. Be sure that any scratch pad or post that you choose doesn't tip easily because if the post tips while your kitty is using it the likelihood that he will use it again is slim.

There are a number of great cat trees that come in varying colors and styles available on the market. If a cat tree is placed by a window most cats will simply sit on the highest perch and watch the world go by. When choosing a cat tree/perch or any other kitty furniture it's very important to be confident about the quality and stability of the item, it's also very important that kitty furniture doesn't tip while your cats climb on it, also you can usually find these trees with enough places for all of your cats to perch as well as play together. If the carpet at the door is the main place that Tigger has decided to claw then you could consider picking up a sturdy cat mat made of sisal and place it onto the floor where the carpet shredding is happening. You can secure the cat mat with double sided tape to avoid the possibility that Tigger would just move it out of his way and continue to destroy the carpet.

If Tigger's room has a TV and DVD player you can also entertain him with a DVD series called The Cat Sitter DVDs. As far as I know there are two volumes, you can usually find these cat friendly movies at pet supply stores. It has been my experience that the cats will watch their movies for hours without getting bored if you provide them with a comfy place to sit that allows them to see all of the action. The Cat Sitter DVD series is designed specifically for cats and features some great footage of prey animals including mice, hamsters, gerbils, birds, butterflies, fish and miscellaneous wildlife...These videos usually cost between $15-20 CAN and are well worth the investment in my experience.

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QUESTION: Thanks Ali!  We bought some Rescue Relief - but there is no dosing information but to give 4 drops - either on treats or in water.  We gave the cats 4 drops each on treats, but have seen no effects yet 4 hours later.  How often do we give them the Rescue Relief?  I don't want to "over-dose" them.

Answer
Jen,

I'm really not sure about the dosing of Rescue Relief as it isn't a product that I have used, unless you have spoken to a holistic vet that has experience with this product and he/she recommends that you exceed the dosage printed on the label I would suggest that you stick to the dosing instructions on the label...The remedy that I recommended is called Bach's Rescue Remedy and the ingredients are as follows: HPUS 5x Heliathenum nummularium, 5x Clematis vitalba, 5x Impatiens glandulifera, 5x Prunus cerasifera, 5x Ornithogalum umbellatum in a 27% grape alcohol solution. I base my recommendations on the dosing for Rescue Remedy on personal experience in terms of what works for a once daily dosing in the cat's water bowl. Rescue Remedy when used properly and carefully doesn't have any negative side effects in the event that you exceed the dosing information which is fairly generalized: 4 drops in a 30 ml glass of water and sip at intervals or 4 drops on tongue as required. I don't usually recommend that any pet guardian who shares their life with a cat drop Rescue Remedy into their pet's mouth because cats aren't terribly fond of the taste or smell of grape alcohol. Since I am unfamiliar with the Rescue Relief I would certainly be interested in what the active ingredients are and how it works. If this product works well and a pet guardian isn't able to get Rescue Remedy where they live I can recommend it to future questioners in need of a little extra help for their cat's anxiety or other problems.