kitten aggression

by Wiss
(Yeovil, somerset)

I have 2 cats Toes is 12 and I have had her since she was a kitten, she moved in with me and my partner and after about a year we decide to get a kitten, Marmite. Toes did not like the kitten and I kept them seperated but would allow them into different rooms at different times to get used to each others scent. They have frequent spats which I thought were territorial but as Marmite is getting older Toes seems to be terrorized by her. Marmite will sit in doorways or at the bottom of the stairs so Toes has run a gauntlet to get out. I am worried Toes is miserable and their fights are quite bad at times as Toes tries to get in or out of a room. Is there any way to help them get along better? Also, Marmite is obsessed with food and water and has even stolen from our plates. Could this be her trying to be queen of the whole house? She is also aggressive towards me at feeding times growling and hissing or just hissing when I walk in her direction at any time. Would like some help to tame the little black beast that is constantly harrassing the rest of the family.

Answer by Kate
Hi Most cat behavior such s food stealing and aggression stems from how they are treated and what experiences they have during the first 2 months of their lives. Sometimes you can change their behavior by using the cat discipline described on this page

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-discipline.html

As for the problem with your two cats. well unfortunately it is not always possible to get cats to get along with each other. Most of the aggression etc is over territory and is usually sorted out by the cats themselves.

Make sure that both cats are spayed /neutered to reduce any aggressive tenancies too.

the only other thing you can try is a period of introduction for them both but this does take some time and effort to put into place. the method is described here

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/introducing-cats.html

best wishesd Kate

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