Sweet Female Turned Sour

Question
One day in January 2004 my husband opened the door to pay the paperboy and in ran a male orange tabby that couldn't get in fast enough.  He was hungry and dirty and had tapeworms from eating fleas.  We love cats and had no pets at the time so after we canvassed the neighborhood looking for the owner but no takers we decided to keep him.  We had him neutered, de-wormed, de-fleaed and current on shots and Otis has been the best animal ever.  The vet guessed he was about a year old and was a 'dumped cat' that no one wanted anymore from because of his general good health and good attitude around people.  I decided to let him settle in and about 6 months later in September 2004 I bought a female tuxedo that was only 8 weeks old for his companion.  We named her Sydney.  She too is a great little cat and took to Otis right away.  They played together, slept together and groomed each other.  One was never without the other.

In January 2006, a brown tiger stray female showed up and wouldn't leave.  She came up on the porch daily.  I would go out and pet her and she would curl up in my lap and purr.  She was so sweet.  I sat out food after a few days of her coming around because she looked like she needed it.  We resisted taking her in because I already had two cats, a 1 year old baby and another one on the way so my hands were full but after she showed up one day about two weeks later torn to bits from a fight we decided to bring her in.  I took her to the vet first to have her tested and current on shots and fixed up from the fight.  He guessed she was about a year old and was also a 'dumped cat' because of her general good health and good attitude around people.  We had her spayed and brought her in.  She was in her own room for a week.  We let Otis and Sydney sniff her through the door.  After a week we released Dixie into the house and all hell broke loose.  She hissed and batted incessantly at the other two.  Otis could hold his own against her and wasn't scared of her.  He actually seemed amused.  Sydney however was much smaller and Dixie would chase her down and really beat her up.  All of them are front declawed and indoor only so there was minimal damage they could actually do.  Sydney took to hiding - a lot.  She got to the point where she wouldn't even let Otis around her and rarely left my bedroom.  The vet said to just give it time.

Three years later it was just out of control.  Dixie still hated Otis and Sydney and Sydney still hid and seemed scared other than being around me.  Dixie had taken to peeing everywhere - in my daughters' beds, on the carpets.  We verified she had nothing medically wrong with her and it didn't seem to matter what she did.  She ruined the carpeting in the house so when we pulled it up and put down flooring we thought it would stop.  Oh no, she peed all over the hardwood too.  Dixie is a great 'people' cat because she adores me and my husband and my two kids, even when they were too little to know to be nice to the cats, but she absolutely hates other animals.  

In September 2008 I found a 4 month old kitten, a gray tabby female in the street that someone had run over and left for dead.  I could not just leave her.  I took her to the vet.  We had to amputate most of one of her hind feet but other than that she has been a trooper.  She too is a sweet little kitty, like Otis and Sydney.  Cassie immediately took to Otis and they remind me of the way Otis and Sydney used to be.  Sydney doesn't seem to mind her but she doesn't really want to play or groom with her.  Dixie hated her and tried to beat her up like she did Sydney.  The first time she went after her Cassie ran down the hall and jumped into my arms shaking.  That's when I had my breaking point.  I love Dixie but she is the only one with the issues and the other three seem fine.  I re-homed Dixie in January 2009 to a single young lady where she could be the only animal in the house.  The new owner tells me that Dixie seems really content and she is really happy to have her.  

It's been over 2 months since Dixie has been gone.  While Sydney appears around the house a lot more and no longer hiding she is, instead of returning to her normal self, becoming nasty with Otis and Cassie.  If she is laying on the bed with me watching TV and Cassie or Otis jump up on the bed her ears go flat, she has started to hiss and growl and jump away onto the dresser.  She never, ever did this before, even in the Dixie days.  She seems a wee more tolerant of Cassie, but she gets really nasty with Otis, who used to be her best pal.  If Cassie jumps up she usually just jumps down, but no hissing or growling.  I just have no idea why all of a sudden she has gotten so defensive with Otis.  Sometimes he's not even trying to play with her, he just coming to see me or tries to groom her and she gets bent out of shape.  I was hoping she would go back to her old self and they could all three be friends but I'm sure the last three years with Dixie has just really messed her up and I feel terrible because she is so good with me and my husband and the kids.  Is there anything that I can do to help her be her old self?  Thanks!

Answer
April,

It sounds like Sydney has determined that the bedroom AND YOU are her territory.

Here are some things you can try:

Try scolding her when she behaves like that with Otis or Cassie to let her know that you don't like her behavior. Cats try to please, so if you do it everytime she gets nasty then she should associate her behavior with them with being scolded.

Try getting a towel and rubbing each cat with it so all the cats have the same smell.

Try giving the cats some yummy kitty treat, like people tuna, tinned sardines in oil, etc. and feed it to them at the same time, together. That way it is possible for Sydney to associate the other cats with something pleasant.

Try playing interactively with the cats. Get a pet laser light (PetSmart/Petco/Wal-Greens/etc.). Cats love to chase the little red 'bug' on the walls, floors, and ceilings. They pay attention to the 'bug' and not each other which helps them play together but without physical contact. Pulling a string or rope around works too.

Give your other cats some quality time each without Sydney around. Lock her out of the bedroom for awhile and let Otis or Cassie, or both cats in to spend some time with you without the negative feelings from Sydney interfering. Then do the same with Sydney. Let Sydney have quality time with you with interference from the others.

I hope this helps.

Tabbi