dominating cat

Question
QUESTION: We have 2 feral cats that have been socialized and live in the house. They get along pretty well, but one has started dominating the other. He won't let him use any of the 4 scratching posts in the house. They both have their own litter, but he won't let the other cat use his own litter. How can I stop this?

THANKS!

ANSWER: Laura,

I would suggest spreading resources like food and water dishes, scratch posts and litter boxes around in such a way that one cat just can't guard everything at the same time. I would also suggest that because there is an issue with one cat being very dominant that you look at the possibility of following my standard rule of thumb with regards to litter boxes in multiple cat homes which is one box per cat plus one and given the situation I am going to suggest that you add one more. Make sure that the litter, food and scratch posts are not all grouped together because that makes it easy to police the resources. If the cats are not spayed or neutered I would suggest that you do this as soon as humanly possible because territorial behaviors like this will often diminish to a more manageable level without the hormonal influence. If your kitties have just recently been fixed you will be looking at approximately 6-8 weeks for the hormones to completely leave their systems and the aggression to tone down somewhat. If you feel that there is a danger that the more passive cat is not getting enough food to eat, not able to use the litter box frequently enough to prevent things like UTI (urinary tract infection) or other issues with eliminating waste then you may want to separate the more aggressive cat and reintroduce him after 2-3 weeks of segregation to help him reintegrate with a less fixated state of mind. Make sure that the room you place the more aggressive kitty in has all of the necessary kitty things including toys, food, water, a bed, and of course a litter box. You may want to rotate beds between the cats so that they get used to each other's scent in a positive and non aggressive situation. Please do feel free to keep me up to date, I know how frustrating it can be to try to properly integrate feral cats in a home together, but most times although it may start off a bit rocky things do get better fairly quickly. I hope that this offers some insight and is helpful. If you feel that you need any further guidance or have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again.

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

QUESTION: Hi,

Thanks for the quick response. Unfortunately, we have already addressed the issues that you mention. They are both neutered. Their things are spread out. Our house is an open plan, so the only way to realistically segregate them is to put one in the basement or a bedroom. If we did that, that cat would have very little human interaction.

These cats have been housed together for almost a year, so they are quite used to each other. I am not sure why one of the cats started becoming more dominant. Well, "dominant" isn't really the right word because they don't fight. He just doesn't allow the other one to eat, poop, or scratch. He will guard their food. He uses both litters. He puts his scent on everything so that the other cat doesn't feel like he has a place of his own.

I don't know if this makes a difference (just throwing stuff out there), but we also have 6 feral cats outside (all spayed and neutered and up to date on shots). Our inside cats are actually inside/outside cats in that they can pretty much come and go as they like. I don't think that the insides interact with the outsides, so I don't think that has anything to do with anything, but I am at a loss as to why this is happening now or what to do about it.

If you have any other ideas, I am open to trying anything.

Thanks,
Laura

Answer
Laura,

I really do think that separating resources and spreading them out would help a lot. A cat can't guard 4 separate litter boxes in 4 separate rooms at the same time, and ditto for other resources like scratch posts, food and water. The other suggestion that I have is to feed the kitties in separate rooms with one human supervising each cat...Make it so that the less dominant cat feels less threatened, possibly there is a way to give him his own stuff in a location that the other cat would not typically go. You can also look at trying various homeopathic remedies, but for issues this varied I would really suggest that you find a good holistic vet in your area so that both kitties receive appropriate treatment. The issue with homeopathy is that it can sometimes be like peeling an onion, you cure one behavior and there is another right underneath it that requires a different remedy. I don't know if that concept makes sense to you, but it is the way that my holistic vet explained it to me. This may be sort of an ongoing treatment with numerous homeopathic remedies being prescribed until the cats are happy and functioning well with you and each other again. The nice thing about homeopathy is that when you give the appropriate remedy you will cure the problem, homeopathy doesn't mask the symptoms like traditional western medicine. Not many MDs appreciate that take, but homeopathy has been used for thousands of years with success. Do your best to find a holistic vet in or around your area and see what he/she can do. You may be surprised at the courses of therapy, I know I was...To my amazement they generally work really well though....I hope that this offers insight from a different angle and that you find the information and suggestions useful. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again.