follow up aggressive behaviour

Question
follow up on aggressive herman...grey cat has always been true cat! he was our first cat ever..he allows you to pet him when he is ready and lets you know when your done....if served the wrong food you will get a disgusting glare and he will leave...until herman arrived he would play with black cat...i do not know how black cat was raised his first year...she was my oldest roomate at college...after spending her first summer with us, she wasnt leaving...her and grey cat hit it off from day one even though we did every thing wrong in introducing them....black cat took to our great dane and would not go outside without her...our nieghbors cat miss k would pick on black cat whenever the chance arose and rarely black cat would fight back, ps miss k had the run of our home also..black cat has always been skittish of everything, she likes to lay next to people but not be rubbed, she also likes to cuddle with katie the dane(catherine the great)...our nieghbors moved and took miss k about 2 months ago but this seemed to make black cat happy....herman is 7 months old, i rescued him at about 1 month old..upon his arrival grey cat treated herman likehe was his son! playing together and stalking together it was truley fascinating to watch...now when herman tries to play with grey cat, grey cat usually walks away...black cat has always been scared of herman since day one...yes we introduced them wrong also...we didnt know the rules then...this everything i know to tell you...thanks for the help!    ps.....katie is scared to death of fireworks and at her age this is not a good thing.....july forth eve black cat would sit next to her face licking her and meowing in her ear...if im lying im dieing...dont tell me animals dont think , feel , and have intuitive emotions...they will never cease to amaze me
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Followup To
our kitties sound so cute...adopting your great dane as a mama...that's so adorable!  :o)

Let me start off by asking a few questions so I can see if I can identify what, exactly, is behind this sudden change in behaviour.

- Did anything at all change in the household at about the time your kitty started behaving this way?  Did any of them go to the vet?  Any new people, new or moved furniture?  Did you guys change residences?

- Have you ruled out any possible health problems?  Sometimes kitties start behaving this way when they (or the kitty they're suddenly acting out against) have a health problem.

- Have there been any other problems with Herman lately?  Any inappropriate peeing?  Any litterbox issues at all?


Now, here are a couple things you can do:

- Take some natural vanilla extract (not imitation) and dab a bit under each kitty's chin and at the base of their tail on their back.  This will serve to neutralize each kitty's scent, in case it's changed at all, and thus eliminate that threat.

- I would also recommend buying some Feliway.  It's a product that emits feline pheromones that help to calm kitties.  It comes in either a spray or a plug-in.  The spray is good for certain areas of the house and initial concentration, while the plug-in is good for bigger areas, and constant emition.  It's totally up to you which one you choose.  If you get the plug-in, be sure to remember that it takes a few days (depending on the size of the space) for it to fill the room/space you've put it in.  Be patient, and give it time.  :o)

- If neither of those work, or you find they've worked for a couple days and then things start going back to the way they were, I would recommend taking both of those kitties in to rule out any physical problems.  Sometimes kitties can smell that something is wrong with the other kitty, and the scent scares them, and the other kitty thus becomes a threat.  If this is the case, then when the vanilla extract wears off, the scent will still be there, and thus the threat will come back.  If you find that Herman starts acting like this again, and primarily to Black Cat, it could very well be that Black Cat has a health issue.  If you find that Herman starts acting like this again, but with various targets, it could easily be that Herman has a health issue.  

Okay, so bottom line, try to relax.  Try the things I've mentioned, as well as answering the questions I've posed to try to figure out things in general for you.  If you try the above things, let me know how things turn out, okay...and always feel free to write me again if you have any additional questions or concerns.  :o)

Hugs to you all!  :o)

Rosie

Answer
Hello again, Wayne (and gray cat, black cat, herman, and Catherine the Great)

So, my advice before about the Feliway and the vanilla extract still stands, but let me add a couple things.

I would suggest taking Herman in to be sure there aren't any health problems behind his change in behaviour.

I would like to also ask...what was Herman's relationship like with Miss K?  Did they play together like this a lot?  

I ask because it sounds to me like he's trying to play with her, but she's so skittish, it's only serving to introvert her instead of starting a game.  Does that make sense?

If Herman played a lot with Miss K like that, and now Miss K is gone, it could be that he's turned to the next female to play with in his environment.

Bottom line, I would suggest setting up a room with all the necessities for Black Cat.  It would be good if it's the same room you sleep in, or frequent, so your scent is there.  It will help to calm her.  Also be sure to get some Feliway, and have plenty of that in the room to help calm her down.  It would be great if you could set up a room that has a closet, and if you put her litterbox, food, water, etc. near that closet so she doesn't have to go very far to get to them, she'll be more comfortable.  The goal in this is to set up an environment where she can hide peacefully, but come out if she wants to.  This way, she has an area where she can feel safe, and that will lend in helping her feel more bold about things in general.

Just so you know, her being skittish doesn't have any reflection on anything you or anyone else have done.  Sometimes cats just have that kind of personality.  Our responsibility in having a kitty like that is to be sure to provide a nice, safe environment for the kitty that he/she can hide in, and come out in their own time.

Be sure when Black Cat is out, that you keep things quiet and calm, and make sure to do everything in her time.  Don't try to approach her, let her come to you.  Don't try to coax her out, let her come out on her own.  Does that make sense?

So, put all the things I've mentioned in action, and let me know how it goes, ok?

Hugs to you all!  :o)

Rosie*