Cat help. Tension in multi cat household

Claire W

Claire W

Forum Donator 2024/25
Joined
Mar 23, 2008
Messages
37,041
Reaction score
29,608
Points
2,915
Location
Lancashire (Originally from Nottingham)
Austin and Morris have been here for nearly 4 years and Harrison 14 years. Austin and Morris are both house cats where as Harrison goes out. They used to all get on to some degree but since the summer, there’s been lots of hissing, growling and chasing especially between Austin and Harrison. From what I’ve witnessed, Austin initiates it and is the source of the problem. Harrison was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism in November but had a thyroidectomy at the beginning of January to have the troublesome thyroid removed. We’ve tried feliway friends diffusers but they’ve made no difference. I’m stressed out by all the tension and am wondering if anyone has any advice to provide a calm, multi cat household? I don’t understand why they’re suddenly not getting on after sharing a house for nearly 4 years together 😞
 
I'm sorry I don't really have any advise to offer, thankfully my two boys got along well together for the most part. But I hope you are able to find some answers and things improve.
 
piggieminder said:
Debbie @furryfriends (TEAS) has been studying cat behaviour and may be able to offer some insights.
I can also recommend reading Vicky Hall's books for some solutions, you may be able to get them from a library.
I hope they settle down soon.
Click to expand...

Thank you. Debbie has been a godsend to me with cat and piggy problems already so hopefully she’ll be able to help me again.

It all started when we had our 15 year old niece and 4 year old nephew come to stay for a week during the summer holidays. Having my nephew here really upset the household as he’s loud and boisterous where as my cats are used to a quiet home 😞 Harrison rarely came in that week as my niece was sleeping in ‘his’ room so he had nowhere to go to get away from Austin and Morris. Other people do sleep in there when they come to stay but she had stuff everywhere and spent a lot of time in there so he wouldn’t go in. Austin has other issues going on as he was recently diagnosed with pica syndrome and is one of the main reasons he’s an indoor cat. Him and Morris came together so we thought it be unfair to separate them letting Morris go out and not him.

But all the conflict is stressing me out 😞
 
You need lots of separate resources! Separate places for eating, within the house. Cats don't see eating as a social occasion, in the way that humans do. You need lots or raised areas, lots of safe spaces (this can be the bottom of the wardrobe, cardboard boxes, hooded beds, etc. As you have three cats, you need four litter trays. How many scratching posts do you have? I honestly would look at letting Austin and Morris outdoors. As you have kept them in this long, I doubt they would wander far. You could look at getting cat-proof fencing for the garden, if you worry about them leaving the garden. I think being in the house together, all the time, is causing a lot of pent up stress. I know you worry about letting Austin out due to the pica syndrome, but this is seen more in indoor only cats, so it might help that too!
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
You need lots of separate resources! Separate places for eating, within the house. Cats don't see eating as a social occasion, in the way that humans do. You need lots or raised areas, lots of safe spaces (this can be the bottom of the wardrobe, cardboard boxes, hooded beds, etc. As you have three cats, you need four litter trays. How many scratching posts do you have? I honestly would look at letting Austin and Morris outdoors. As you have kept them in this long, I doubt they would wander far. You could look at getting cat-proof fencing for the garden, if you worry about them leaving the garden. I think being in the house together, all the time, is causing a lot of pent up stress. I know you worry about letting Austin out due to the pica syndrome, but this is seen more in indoor only cats, so it might help that too!
Click to expand...

Thank you. I’ll have to invest in more hooded beds and cardboard boxes etc. we feed Harrison in a separate room to Austin. We have 4 litter trays and 3 scratch posts. Harrison has started to spend more time in the house whilst it’s winter and takes himself off upstairs most evenings.

We let Austin and Morris have supervised time out in the garden but they come running back indoors if they hear a dog bark or it’s wet and windy. We’ve spoken about letting them out when summer time comes round and we have lighter nights but I fear we’ve left it too late with them being indoor cats for so long?

It’s very stressful when they start and I really worry that they’ll get in to a proper fight one of these days and hurt each other 😞
 
Here is my sweet Katie sat on my lap.Claire you have been given some good advice above.ive some Vicki hall books,if you would like me to post them to you?I hope the tensions await.x
 

Attachments

  • 20230211_190359.webp
    20230211_190359.webp
    27.5 KB · Views: 4
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
One of my pet sitting clients adopted two 7 year old cats who had been kept indoors all their life. She let them out and they’ve absolutely loved it. They don’t go far but they’re so much happier.
Click to expand...

Thank you, that’s reassuring to hear. I’ll revaluate the situation when we have lighter evenings. Realistically, what are the chances of them getting in to a proper fight? Most of the time, they tolerate each other but sometimes they just seem to hate each other. I so miss Dexter and I’m sure Harrison does too 😞 x
 
eileen said:
Here is my sweet Katie sat on my lap.Claire you have been given some good advice above.ive some Vicki hall books,if you would like me to post them to you?I hope the tensions await.x
Click to expand...

Aw thank you @eileen I would very much appreciate a read of the book. I don’t mind paying for it or at least the postage x
 
Claire W said:
Thank you, that’s reassuring to hear. I’ll revaluate the situation when we have lighter evenings. Realistically, what are the chances of them getting in to a proper fight? Most of the time, they tolerate each other but sometimes they just seem to hate each other. I so miss Dexter and I’m sure Harrison does too 😞 x
Click to expand...
Hopefully they won’t get into a proper fight, but living in constant anxiety isn’t good and that needs to be addressed. Not long until the clocks go forward, so we’ll soon have lighter evenings. Is Harrison winding them up? You can get redirected aggression, where they’ll take their anger and frustration out on whoever is near them, rather than the one they’re annoyed with.
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
Hopefully they won’t get into a proper fight, but living in constant anxiety isn’t good and that needs to be addressed. Not long until the clocks go forward, so we’ll soon have lighter evenings. Is Harrison winding them up? You can get redirected aggression, where they’ll take their anger and frustration out on whoever is near them, rather than the one they’re annoyed with.
Click to expand...
It can’t come soon enough! I think they’re both just winding each other up to be honest and poor Morris is stuck in the middle. Harrison came in earlier and was laying down by the door minding his own business and Austin suddenly attacked him which caused Harrison to hiss and growl. I don’t think Harrison’s hyperthyroidism has helped as that’s caused him to be more grouchy, he even growls at us and like I say, having the kids here upsetting their routine too didn’t help x
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top