# New cat still terrorizing other cat



## Rex_cat_lover (Jul 7, 2004)

Help!!!! From one of my last posts... We got a new cat (Zack - male - 1yo). We have gotten past the introduction thing... Sasha (female - 3 1/2 yo) does not really want to be bothered (even by us most of the time). Zack torments her. He gets very jealous if Sasha gets ANY attention. So, to prevent her from getting any attention, Zack goes after her if she is in sight and attacks her. Sahsa is a terrible fighter. She has horrible defense techniques.  She ends up in a corner under a table and Zack beating the crap out of her. Sometimes I have to run and get Zack. I am not sure how to stop this from happening. Do I let them sort it out or do I need to do something to change Zack's behavior? Sasha never instigates any of the fighting. I just find clumps of her hair here and there. Zack even goes after her at night when we are sleeping and have the door closed. Any ideas are appreciated.

Rex


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Rex -

other than isolating them again, you probably just have to watch over them all the time and separate them when they fight. I find little tufts of hair from my cats' play fighting, but no one has ever gotten hurt, and they're still buds.

is the new cat really attacking or just mock fighting? look at the claws -- if he doesn't have his claws out, or just out a little ways, he's just playing. maybe this will help you feel better about it. I know the other cat may still think she's being attacked. I think boy cats are more rough in their play-fighting than girl cats.

one way you can help your girl cat is give her a defensible place to hide in if she feels threatened. those cat-caves are excellent because they have a fairly small opening.

hopefully this will work out in time. in the meantime, be sure to give each cat plenty of individual attention, separately when necessary.

Tim


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

PS - separating fighting cats is hazardous :!: :!: two ways I've done it without getting shredded:

1) wait until they pause, then grab the cat on top by the scruff of the neck and pull him off

2) squirt one or both cats with a squirt gun. while they're too startled to keep fighting, grab one or the other

Tim


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## Rex_cat_lover (Jul 7, 2004)

Thanks Tim...

Zack is playing most of the time, but you can tell when he wants to show Sasha who is boss when she is trying to get attention. He has his claws out enough that Sasha lets out some loud yelps. She is not really getting injured though that I have seen.

I will try the bottle on Zack, but he likes just about everything. He may enjoy it... I will try it out and see. I know that Sasha hates the bottle.

I hope that it subsides in time.

Rex


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## CTCat (Feb 19, 2004)

timskitties said:


> 1) wait until they pause, then grab the cat on top by the scruff of the neck and pull him off
> 
> 
> Tim


I'm glad someone else mentioned this first :lol: I have actually convinced one of my boys (years ago) to leave one oldest female alone by scruffing him and giving him a little shake and saying "no, no, no" in a stern voice and removing him from the situation. This was after much desperation and trying everything else. It worked! But like Tim said, be careful seperating cats. Safety first!


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

CTCat said:


> and giving him a little shake and saying "no, no, no" in a stern voice


I'm glad it worked for you, but I should mention for others reading this, that this part isn't actually recommended. Scruffing a cat is doing to the cat as the mother cat does to a kitten. So it's OK to pick the cat up and transport it that way. It's also recommended with an adult cat to support the hindquarters with your other hand while carrying by the scruff. But the shaking and the reprimand aren't part of the momma cat's repertoire. And it's well-known that cats don't respond well to discipline. So that part of it....well, your results may vary. :wink:


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## Tigerserf (May 22, 2005)

*Terrorizing Cat Tips*

Hello Rex,

When my husband and I decided we were going to get married two years ago, we had a furry family to blend (at the time, my three dogs and his three cats). When my daughter was 4 yrs old, we had a cat go berserk and attack her. I felt like I had lived through a Hitchcock movie, and although she came out of it relatively unscathed, I developed a deep aversion to cats. That was more than 20 years ago. 

I read up on their behavior to steel myself for cats back in my life and home. I am pretty obsessive/compulsive and I had dogs that were trained to my command and I seldom had to give a command twice. I knew I was in for some challenges with the cats. 

My husband, who has no children and utterly indulges his pets, didn’t think cats could be trained. He also doesn’t want anything or anyone upset with him. Having a child or two would have gotten him over that, but….

I have reaised three children and am pretty immune to temper tamtrums and anything being upset with me. I discovered that cats do train. I have water guns that I leave in strategic places around the house. The technique is perfect because at first, they had no idea where the water was coming from. They very quickly learned their behavior was inappropriate and it changed. When they would start the unacceptable behavior, I would watch them pause and the glance around at the ceiling as if to see if they were about to get zapped. It was really pretty funny.

Then, I began to allow them to see me with the gun and let them know what was going to happen when they broke the rules. I don’t have to shoot the water guns often any more. 

As young as Zack is, he’s probably playing more than he’s actually fighting. We have just added a two-year-old Persian to our rescued pets and he’s having to earn his strips. I’ve discovered that just as with children, unless things really get out of hand, these animals are pretty well equipped to fend for themselves and find their staging areas without a lot of help or interference from us. 

I have two Chows that could snap these cats in two with one clamping of their jaws, but they’ve been on the wrong end of our shop cat’s claws and quickly learned to give the cats wide berth and deep respect. 

Hope things shake out soon with Zack and Shasta.

Tiger’s Serf


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