Cat guests scaring resident cat.

Question
Certain circumstances forced me to move back in with my parents. Along with me came my three "children". Three cats, one male and two females. They all get along famously, but my mom recently rescued a stray, and the two girls could care less about his existence, but my 3 1/2 year old male just won't leave him alone. My three stay in their own room, and are let out to explore almost everyday under my supervision. The male always seeks out my mom's cat (also a male), but doesn't hiss or try to fight him, just gives him lots of very low meows, until mom's cat has backed himself into a corner and gets so scared he pees himself. How do I get mom's cat to fight back just once, because I just know if he did, my cat would stop pestering him? They wouldn't have to stay in that room anymore if my male could just leave my mom's kitty alone.

Answer
Katie,



Is your male neutered?  If not, you need to do that immediately.

It is not clear to me that this is not a game.  One of the things we humans often do is ascribe human emotions and motives to things cats do.  This leads to making assumptions about how the cats think which may not apply at all.

So, I would leave them be and not even worry about it.  Even if your interpretation is accurate, there is nothing you can do.  BTW, by not separating the cats at all, they may work out their differences and get along better.

Normally, my advice to people is to not separate the cats if you want them to get along.  Ignore any discussions they may have.  Rarely will two cats ever really hurt each other.  The only thing you may need to do is to provide an additional litter pan in a separate part of the household as cats can get very territorial about litter pans.  To a lesser extent there may be a need for separate food dishes, as well.

Best regards... Norm.