My cats...

Question
QUESTION: I have two cats, they are both males. One of them is neutered, my oldest cat is a year old and the youngest is 4 months. Kyo (the oldest) keeps attacking, and when I say attacking, I mean attacking my kitten Kai (youngest). And he recently drew blood and tuffs of hair from his ear. I don't know what to do. This has been going on since the kitten was a month old.

ANSWER: Tiffani,

I am not sure if you introduced the kitten to your older cat properly. Cats do tend to be somewhat territorial and possessive of their belongings. I would certainly suggest that you try introducing the new cat properly by isolating him in a room with food, water, toys, litter and a bed for 2 weeks or so. This pattern of attacks that you describe must not be allowed to continue as it sounds fairly extreme. I would suggest that during the period of isolation you give each cat a homeopathic remedy called Bach's Rescue Remedy. This should help to calm and reassure each cat and hopefully contribute to a much more peaceful home. Rescue Remedy is a blend of flower essences that can generally be purchased at health food/natural health stores. I would recommend a dosage of 5 drops daily in fresh water for the kitten and 10 drops daily for the adult each morning in fresh water. If you find that the reintroduction doesn't go smoothly I would suggest that you isolate the kitten again to protect him and speak with your vet about treatment options for the aggression. You may find that it is healthier and simpler to rehome one of the cats as the psychotropic drugs used to treat aggression and anxiety are not without side effects. Another avenue for you to consider is asking your vet for a referral to an animal behaviorist who can offer some suggestions and possibly help to eliminate the fighting through the use of medication from your vet and a behavioral program. Hopefully this information helps. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: But one of the other things is that Kyo does the attacking, the kitten loves him..

Answer
Tiffani,

Kyo probably feels like his home and territory have been invaded, at the moment he really doesn't have much concern for how the kitten feels about him. Cats are naturally quite territorial and bringing a new cat into a home with a resident cat needs to be done properly regardless of how cute the new kitty is. My recommendation is still to reintroduce the kitten properly by isolating him behind a closed door for 2 weeks with food, water, litter box, toys and a bed. I am in no way suggesting that you ignore or favor either cat. The reasons that I generally recommend that the new kitty is to be isolated are partly to protect your resident cat from any contagious illnesses as well to allow Kyo to get used to the idea of a kitten in the house. You may want to also feed Kyo and the new kitten on opposite sides of the door which will allow them to smell and hear one another without the anxiety of seeing each other and the potential for injuries due to fighting. The fact of the matter is that your resident cat has every reason to be upset and feeling territorial at this point. In human terms I could compare this situation to someone you don't know coming into your house and living there. I would imagine that an experience like that would be quite upsetting for you. Kyo is feeling much the same way. He is going to need some time to cool off and adjust to the kitten with a proper introduction. I would recommend that you try a homeopathic remedy called Bach's Rescue Remedy at a dosage of 5 drops daily in fresh water for the kitten and 10 drops for Kyo. The Rescue Remedy should help to settle both cats down a bit and allow the reintroduction to be more successful. This can be a frustrating situation for cats and owners, but it is a fairly easy and inexpensive fix. Kyo should be pretty close to his usual self once the kitten is isolated for a day or so, within the two week period of isolation for the kitten Kyo will get more of a chance to get used to the idea of a house mate. I do think that my recommendations will be successful, they just require a bit of time and patience. Kyo needs to understand that he is still loved and that you understand him as he is trying to communicate that this is his home and you are his humans.  As far as Kyo is concerned at the moment he is protecting his home and humans from an intruder, he is taking care of his territory, this is purely instinctual. I hope that this information helps, if you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again.