Angry Cat

Question
I have two cats, sisters from the same litter. I got one a year before the other. They have been in my home together now for over 6 months. The one that came later kind of pesters the other... to the point of messing with her while in the litter box. It was alright until they got neutered and now it is worse than ever. The one that pesters is so mean to the other she won't even come out of the room. I had to bring the food and water to her and lock the other out. Then later on lock the mean one up and let her roam the house and use the litter box. The mean one will even go find her where she is hiding and attack her for no reason. She is so scared of her sister she hisses and her hair rises if she even thinks she is coming... I've tried the water bottle and loud noises to let the mean one know she is doing wrong. They just got back 5 days ago from getting neutered... What do I do?

Answer
Liane,

I am not sure if you introduced the cats properly when they were reunited. Even though the cats are related they do need the same introduction process as any other new adult cats in the home. I would recommend that you isolate the newer addition to your home with food, water, litter, a bed and some toys behind a closed door for 2-3 weeks. Because you have a kitty who is extremely timid I would recommend that you try a homeopathic remedy called Bach's Rescue Remedy. You can generally find Rescue Remedy in health food/natural health stores. Rescue Remedy is a blend of flower essences that will help to calm and reassure your timid kitty. I would recommend that you administer a dosage of approximately 10 drops per day in fresh water each morning. Over time the two cats will get used to each other's scents and sounds again, after 2-3 weeks you can start to introduce them under careful supervision. If a fight breaks out you will want to have a squirt bottle or a glass of water to dampen the tempers. NEVER stick your hand or any other part of your body in between two cats that are fighting, you may accidentally get hurt. I would also recommend that you make sure that you have one litter box per cat plus one per level of your home, you may want to do this for the food and water dishes initially as well since it sounds like one cat is significantly more territorial than the other. If this continues I would strongly recommend that both kitties be checked over thoroughly by your vet just to ensure that there are no medical causes for this nasty behavior. If there are no medical reasons for the intimidation and aggression and you have tried the suggestions that I have offered then I would recommend that you speak with your vet about a referral to an animal behaviorist to help get things back on track in your home. Hopefully this information helps. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again.