Help, cat problems?

Question

Please helpme, I have two cats, the female is coco, She is really old, I had her ever since I was 8 years old, and now I have a male that is in his middle age, I dont really know how old he is, his name is JJ, I dont know how to get him to stop picking on coco, eveytime he see's her, he wants to pick on her, and bite her neck, and wont let go, he is fixed , since he was 5 months old, and I cant spray him with a water bottle, cause he loves to swim in the bath tub, I give them the same amount of attention, but he wont leave her alone, any advice you can give me, and why does he pick on her

Sorry if I spelt things wrong, I really need help

Answer 1

He picks on her because he knows she's old and frail and he doesn't want to see her die. By doing this he is literally attaching himself to her. His actions are out of affection, not out of trying to hurt her.

Answer 2

How does Coco react to his attention? Probably she hisses or meows, but does she act really upset, or stressed out at times when he's not bothering her? Does she kind of tolerate it, though not necessarily completely without complaint? I'm wondering, because if she doesn't seem overly upset about it, she might be tolerating it ok. We have a household where a younger male was introduced to an older female, and though the female isn't entirely thrilled with him and his "attacks". . . she does tolerate him. She even gives him little baths from time to time (and she certainly seems to like him better than the younger female we also introduced).

I personally think that disciplining JJ, especially with noise, would be unfair to Coco. It's unlikely that JJ would stop (especially since you can't discipline him when you're not home), and Coco would just have to deal with JJ /plus/ the same discipline you're trying to give him!

Break up the fights whenever you can, and try removing JJ to another room whenever he attacks her. If Coco seems very stressed out about the situation, you may need to find a way to keep the two cats apart. However, be sure not to make her suffer even more in an attempt to stop behavior she may not be that concerned about.

Answer 3

One suggestion I read is to put a laundry basket over JJ when he is bothering Coco. Could he be jealous? I have 2 cats. Midnight (black persian mix) picks on Pumpkin (tabby maine coon) quite often. Midnight is jealous. It doesn't seem to matter how much I dote on her. But I have noticed that she is more apt to pick on Pumpkin if she gets agitated. It's called misdirected aggression. I'll be petting her, maybe a little too long and then she will take it out on Pumpkin. Pumpkin is very easy going and relaxed. She cries when Midnight bites her. Midnight has a mean bite. I separate them. That's all I do. But also with a male and a female, it could be a power thing. At my mom's house, there were 9 female cats and 1 male cat. The male cat was very domineering and would pick on the females. The leader of the female cats and him did not get along so we had to keep them separated. The male cat lived in my Grandmother's room and the other cats had free reign over the house. He was an older cat who formerly was an indoor/outdoor cat. Hope at least some of this helps you.

Answer 4

I don't think there is much you can do about that problem. I have a male that does the same thing to the female. She is only a year older. He was fixed at 3 months of age. That isn't the problem. I noticed he seems to do it for two reasons. 1: He shows his dominance, he is the 'MALE' ..... 2: This is also a way of them showing affection. My cat will bite me sometimes. It's called a 'Love bite"...

I'm sure he won't hurt Coco. The only time you would have to worry is if they were hissing, clawing and biting....Good Luck!! Just have to have a little patience.

Dahrma

Answer 5

He is a baby and probably more playing. But part of that play leads to who "is the boss." He realizes she is old and cannot defend herself.

Spraying with water is an adversive tehcnique that does not work for long, if it ever works. Use a loud voice and YELL NO, pick him up and put him in another room. Then give her special attention. You do it each and every time for consistency, closing the door for 5 minutes if you have to. Any longer and he will not know why he is in the there (like a wee kid). Remember Yell, DO NOT hit or spray, and be consistent.

And when you see him playing nicely with her, praise with soft words and a hug or pet.

It usually takes the "first" animal about two weeks to adjust and then I expect she will last out and tell him who is the boss.

Answer 6

his behavior is that of a tom cat trying to mate. What you might look into ( im sorry I cant remember what it is) Is an oil that you would put on the other cat. There is a smell to it that is suppose to deter male cats. I dont know if it works or not I have never tried it.

The other option is a loud noise. But unfortantly your other cat will have to deal with it to. I have use pennies in a can to produce the horrible sound. The animal shoud stop what hes doing and once you have his attention then you can correct him.

Answer 7

First- please do not ever hit your cat as was suggested by another poster.

That kind of behavior is normal, actually. Your male cat probably got a reaction out of her when he did that when they were younger, and I'll bet she either chased him off or played with him.

As she's getting older she's probably not responsive so he works harder to get a reaction.

Since she's really old you might make sure that she has a place she can go where he isn't allowed, like a bedroom, so that sometimes she can go chill and sleep without being bothered.

They will still want to see each other sometimes, but I think it would be best to separate them when no one is home so she can rest.

Answer 8

try putting a light amount a pepper on the cat you want the other cat to stay away from. The cat won't like it at first.. Just do it occasionally or another way squirt pepper on the other cat every time the cat picks on the other cat. Most cats don't like pepper. Once the cat gets the message will stop picking on the cat and you can stop the pepper usage on the cat. If the cat restarts the picking on habit again just start the pepper usage all over again. Eventually the cat will get the message! Pepper don't hurt them just be sure you don't get it in their eyes!

Answer 9

I had this same problem with my (at the time) 15 year old and 2 year old cats. Female was 15 and male was 2. I don't know if your cat is neutered or not but as soon and my male cat was snipped he became very loving. If you have neutered him then sorry I can't give you any suggestions other then good luck.

Answer 10

There were a lot of good suggestions...
Of course no hitting!

I would use the shaker or spray bottle technique when you are around and keep them in separate rooms when you are not.

Another thing you can put in a spray bottle is oil of pepperment or cloves. I like to spray that in my apartment to freshen it and I noticed that my kitty hates it.

JJ wants to assert his dominance because she is old and females are naturally dominant in the cat world. He is trying to replace her.

Answer 11

i have a dog that is the same way, she'll growl if we pet the other animals even if we've spent an hour playing with her. the best thing to do is to lock them in seperate rooms when you're not home so he doesn't do something to seriously injure her. Possibly try getting his smell on you first after a shower or bath before petting her. For discipline try a small rolled up news paper. It doesn't hurt the cat but the noise scares the bejesus out of them. The rolled up news paper is what broke my cat from jumping on the stove.