Help!!!!!

[blaqax]

I have a problem.. I have four cats 2 dilute torties(female), 1 domestic long hair-calico(female) and 1 domestic short hair (male---under a year old). when the torties were babies they got along fine, now they fight all the time with the other female but not the male. the 2 torties are fine with each other and are very loving to people. Its just recently that they have been fighting with the other female.
they were all neuterd at the same time including the male. these fights get really bad(fur; blood; etc...etc). ITs soo bad now that we have the 2 torties in a seperate room from the other two. now my kids are crying because I told them the torties may have to go since the other female we had first and the male is her son. PLEASE HELP any info is appreciated. help me to not have my daughter hate me and my wife to not start bawling!

[catwoman999]

I will tell you, this is not an easy behaviour problem to fix!!! :(
Female cats notoriously do not get on. And you have 3! Even though they were brought up together, the other two have decided to gang up on the other female :( And as in nature the two that look alike are picking on the one that looks different than they do... For some reason, female cats that look similar get on better than with females who have different coat/ colour :?
You are doing the best thing really for now, keeping them apart but this, I know is not ideal.
I would only let them out together when there is an adult present who can supervise, and when your not home put in separate rooms again.
I had two female cats, one has now sadly been pts and they NEVER got on no matter what I tried. It was more that one threatened/dominated the other rather than fur and blood flying, like in your case.
Feeding them together at the same time can help bonding, but I am sure you have tried that already. Whenever the long haired cat is in the same area as the other two give them all a special treat food and hand feed them it evenly. The dominant cats may then associate long haired cat with goodies... worth a try...
Also Feliway diffuser plug-in or zylkene capsules can have a calming effect on cats, your could try the gruesome twosome on that. Try Feliway first, before resorting to capsules, that you would have to pill.
Good luck, sorry I could not be that much of a help...
Maybe someone else will come along later, who may have better ideas :D

[blaqax]

thank you ===i will look up feliway----YES they are the grusome twosome

[catwoman999]

Here is a copy of a testimonial from www.feliway.com
They were in the same situation as you.... And had success with Feliway

"Morris, Bentley and Co." from Katie Costello / Hubbard - Ohio - USA
I was the owner of 3 adult felines when my husband and I met, fell in love, and married. He was also the owner of 3 adult felines. Most of these cats were males. When it came time for us to move in together, we moved forward with trepidation, consolidating 6 cats into one household. Read more...

We followed the books on how to introduce them. We had lucked out with the exception of two - Bentley, the bully and Morris the attacked.

Every time we would try reintroduction, Bentley would rush towards Morris, even if it was to rush the gate. Morris would respond the same way....by hissing like mad and trying to retreat and escape. We finally bought a Feliway® Diffuser after nearly a year of the hissing and upset, and waited it out.

The results are amazing. It took a few weeks for visible difference to occur, but it was well worth the wait!! Thanks to Feliway®, we now have cats that tolerate each other, they will sit in the same room eating their canned food in the morning, and I can't tell you the last time we have heard hissing or screaming. I think Feliway® is the most underused and under-suggested product ever! The bonus for me is that this is a pheromone, I don't even have to drug my cats!

[Elaine]

Good advice from CW and I agree about the feliway, also rescue remedy may help.
Wishing you lots of best wishes, I have one female and that's more than enough;)

[dandysmom]

Very sound advice from Catwoman. I definitely would try the Feliway, then resort to medication if that's not helping. I had two females (unrelated) that did not get along, but it was not as serious as what you describe. Do let us know how things are going, and good luck!

[blaqax]

Thank you all for your input my wife and I are going to try out the feliway hopefully it works. can anyone tell me how long you have use it for or is this going to be permanent process?

[blaqax]

oh btw which is better the spray or the little diffusers?
tx again :-)

[yola]

I think it can take several weeks to fully work, but it depends on the cat/s. I would say the diffuser is better on the whole but if you have a big house or the cats are all over the place you'll need diffusers around the house and that can get a bit expensive. But overall I would still say they are better than the spray (IMO of course).

[kado]

Just too but in. I agree that you should use the diffusers but somewhere i remember that you are supposed to use it with the spray. Please put me right if i am wrong.

[catwoman999]

I think it can take several weeks to fully work, but it depends on the cat/s. I would say the diffuser is better on the whole but if you have a big house or the cats are all over the place you'll need diffusers around the house and that can get a bit expensive. But overall I would still say they are better than the spray (IMO of course).

I agree diffusers, and you are gonna need a few of them around the house. Maybe have 1 spray, just to have at hand.
And yes, it is something you will have to use it on a permanent basis :shock: But maybe after a several months you can see how your cats are without it....