If you read last week's blog post, you know about some of the common types of aggression that you may see between cats. This week, we will discuss how to recognize aggression and conflict between cats.
There are two main styles of aggression displayed by cats:
1) Overt - This is behavior that is obviously hostile, such as
hissing, growling, spitting, biting, piloerection (fluffed up fur), lashing the
tail, staring at the other cat, standing over the submissive cat, flattening
the ears, dilating of the pupils, and swatting. The following images can be helpful in reading the level of your cat's aggression. In general, the more aggressive cat tries to make himself larger and more intimidating, and the more submissive cat tries to make himself smaller and less threatening.
Cat facial expressions
Cat tail communication
Body postures of the cat, increasing in aggression towards the right and increasing in submission/fear towards the bottom
2) Covert - Physically blocking another cat from
resources like food, water, sleeping areas and litter, either through actual
contact, chasing, or by sitting in a position of power over the resources.
Excessive marking of territory (either with facial pheromones or with urine
and/or feces) may also occur. In addition, human contact and attention may be
deprived from the victim by physical blocking or threats. The victim may end up
urinating or defecating in other places than the litterbox if the aggressor is
successful in completely preventing access to the box.
We had one client who had introduced a new, shy cat to her house, and her older, existing cat started urinating inappropriately. She was sure that it was because he was marking territory in the house because of the new cat. However, after consulting with one of our staff members and having a thorough physical exam and urinalysis to determine that there was no medical cause for the inappropriate urination, the owner went home and watched her two cats and discovered that when her existing cat got up and walked towards the litterbox, the new cat would run to the box, get there first, use the box, and then sit next to it and stare at the older cat. He would then turn away and go urinate by the door. There was no fighting or overt physical aggression between the two cats; in fact, they mostly ignored each other. However, the new cat was being covertly aggressive towards the existing cat by blocking his access to important resources.
Even though these cats aren't fighting, one is acting aggressively towards the other
Determining the best way to find a solution for inter-cat aggression issues can be a complex process, but being able to identify all the ways in which your cat displays aggression can help give a lot of insight to your veterinarian. If you have a problem with aggression between cats in your home, you can provide some helpful information by doing the following:
1) Identify problem areas of the home - areas where most of the conflict takes place. You may even want to draw a map of your home, identifying areas of conflict and prime resource locations (food, water, litter, sleeping spots, favored perches, etc.).
2) Document the aggressive interactions that you witness - who is involved? How did they behave? How did the conflict resolve? 3) What are the relationships between the humans in the house and the cats in the house? Who spends peaceful time together and when? 4) Describe your cats' personalities in detail. How does each cat feel about visitors, food, affection, and things that happen outside? Do your cats have any health issues?
If you can provide this information to your veterinarian, you will be helping him or her help you and your cat.
Hi, I need some advice. Unfortunately I have to move, and I have to move to a place that is probably going to make Venus and Serena pretty unhappy. I am moving to a home where there are 2 male cats and a boxer. I know in the beginning I'm going to have to have everything in my bedroom. Litter box, food dishes and their beloved tree. This is all making me pretty anxious, I really worry about their transition. Can you give me any advice on how I can make them more comfortable? This is going to be a huge change for them, and as they are older I want to do whatever I can to make sure they are happy girls. And how I can stop freaking out over this because I don't want them feeding off of my anxious feelings? I appreciate any thoughts on this.
Thanks! Aggie
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ECVH answer:
In addition to other suggestions that focus strictly on the girls' behavior, we would recommend bringing them in for a check-up, if possible, to ensure that they have no underlying health issues that would make the transition even harder - this would also hopefully help relieve some of your anxiety, if they both check out to be in good health. This way, we also have a current weight on your cat, so that if we need to eventually resort to medication, we can correctly dose it.
Prepare for some hissing and growling as you go along, even if things are going well.
Definitely, you are starting out right, by getting your cats used to one room where they can feel safe. Things like Feliway spray or diffusers have a calming pheromone that can speed up your cat's ability to acclimate to a new environment.
We also have NurtureCalm pheromone collars which they can wear (One of our technicians feels that they have really helped settle things down between her two old girls and her two new boys). We do warn that if they are not used to collars, the NurtureCalm collars may add stress, though, as some cats don't like having something around their necks. We have also had one patient who had a pretty impressive skin irritation after wearing the collar for 3 weeks.
Composure or Anxitane are non-medicated treats and pills that you can give (L-theanine and B vitamins) to elevate mood and calm stressed cats. In severe cases of anxiety, we can discuss the use of anti-anxiety medications such as Elavil, Buspar, and Xanax, if needed.
Under-the-door interactions are a good step forward!
When you feel that your cats are comfortable in their new bedroom, you can start to work on introducing them to the resident pets. I usually recommend putting the resident pets in the bedroom where the new cats have been and giving the new cats a chance to explore the rest of the house on their own. This also allows the resident pets to smell the scent of the new cats without seeing the new cats. When introducing cats, it is 99% about smell. The more the cats smell like each other when they first meet, the less stress there will be. They will be less likely to first think OMG STRANGER!" and more likely do think "You seem familiar - do I know you from somewhere?" Trading unwashed blankets between pet beds, using the same brush on all pets are other things that you can do to facilitate this.
Feed all pets near the bedroom door for a while. You can try encouraging play under the door with two cat toys tied together dumb-bell style and placed on either side of the door so both cats can play but can't steal the toy away. Eventually, prop the door slightly open so they can see each other while eating once you are sure that they will eat by the door. You may also consider replacing the door with a screen door for a while, or a tall baby gate, if your cats are not jumpers. If this is not an option, you can put your cats (the newer residents) in carriers and feed place the carriers in the room where the other pets eat and feed everyone - this allows visual interaction but not physical interaction, and allows the resident pets to feel non-threatened by the newer introductions to the house. Food lends a positive note to the experience. Once the animals are eating harmoniously, you can start to allow short, supervised interactions without the crates or screens. These interactions can gradually increase in length until you are comfortable letting them interact when they are not supervised.
The important thing to remember in this situation is that you need to relax and let the cats drive the progress. In some situations, the process of introduction can take a few days, in other situations, it can take months. However, the more willing you are to take a step backward as needed, the more likely you are to have long-term success.
Watch your cats for subtle signs of relaxed or stressed behaviors:
Cats usually try to avoid direct physical confrontation by warning off a strange cat, or ignoring them completely. When it does come down to a real, physical fight, here is what to expect. As it mentions in the article, aggressive cats stare at each other, trying to gauge the other cat's next action. You can de-escalate an aggressive interaction by blocking the cats from each other's sight. This gives a cat who doesn't really want to fight a chance to escape, unnoticed. It also distracts the aggressor by making him relocate the cat he is trying to provoke. This is not a long-term solution, but can calm things down if they start to escalate.
One of our techs introduced two new cats into her house this past year (August and October - she introduced the October cat to give the August cat a young playmate and deter attention from her old ladies) and there are still occasional altercations - nothing too serious, but some yowling and growling when one of the youngsters gets too feisty. She uses a combination of calming collars on her old girls and Composure treats for her young boys, and it seems to keep everyone fairly happy. Initially, one of her old girls became extremely distressed whenever one of the young
Often cat aggression involves conflict over a distance. The cat on the right is being aggressive and the one on the left is submissive, but neither is happy with the situation...
boys pounced on her playfully. One of the young males would posture over her in an aggressive dominance pose - about a foot away from her), which would also cause her to roll on her back, scream and urinate in defensive-submissive posture (both almost exactly as in the photo above). Now, she just growls a little and hisses to warn them off, and they have learned to respect her wishes and keep their distance (most of the time...). Each situation is unique, though, so we can help guide you in your decisions to help ease Venus and Serena's transition.
We also have a blog article with some additional suggestions here:
Most people know that outdoor cats are at risk for picking up fleas - especially those cats that like to lounge in the shade under bushes where other animals spend their time. But, did you know that even indoor cats can get fleas?
Sometimes, the fleas are brought into the house by unsuspecting owners, on pants legs, on shoes, or other outdoor items. Most times, it is not the adult flea that comes inside. They have a large warm food source, already, why would they want to jump off into the great unknown and leave a good thing behind? Instead, the female flea is almost constantly laying eggs, which roll off the host - a rabbit, a squirrel, a stray cat - and into the dirt. There, the eggs can hatch, and the flea larvae can eat and grow under the bush until it is time to
Flea larvae are only a little thicker than a cat hair. Under the microscope, we can see this larva has eaten some flea dirt (adult flea feces - digested blood) which gives it a reddish color.
form the pupal cocoon. Once the pupa stage is reached, the flea is pretty much indestructible. No amount of pesticide is going to hurt that cocoon. After a period of time, that cocoons can be picked up by a human and transported inside. Once inside, when conditions are right, the adult fleas hatch and find a food source - your pampered indoor pet.
Other ways that an indoor cat can get fleas is from visitors to the home - with or without their own pets. We often find out that just before a cat starts scratching, Aunt Sally might have visited along with her Jack Russell Terrier, or maybe the kids just got home from visiting Grandpa Frank and his indoor/outdoor cat Puma. Or, maybe everyone just got back from camping in the Blue Ridge Mountains and the cats were rolling around in the luggage.
Sometimes, your cat will show signs of itchiness such as scratching or excessive grooming if he or she is bothered by the fleas. In cases where cats actually have an allergy to flea saliva, cats will develop hair loss and/or sores in a classic pattern - usually around the base of the tail and the neck. Other signs of fleas are more subtle. Your cat may be noticeably spending more time up off the floor, may be more easily irritated than usual or may have no signs of discomfort at all.
To check for fleas, use a fine-toothed comb and comb your cat from neck to tail, concentrating under the chin and near the base of the tail. Afterwards, check the comb for fleas or flea dirt. If you find a flea, you win! Well, not really, but at least you will know that your cat has fleas. Unfortunately, because cats are such good groomers, just because you don't find fleas, it doesn't mean they're not there. Sometimes, it can be very difficult to catch them in a flea comb - they're fast, and they're flat, and they know how to hide!
A cat flea caught in a flea comb. Look fast - he's going to jump!
Flea dirt is another indicator of the presence of fleas. Flea dirt, or flea feces, can be recognized as tiny black specks about the thickness of a hair, often curved, that turn red when water is added and they are rubbed on a white towel. If you find flea dirt, you have fleas, even if you don't find the naughty critter himself. If a flea has been on your cat long enough to produce flea dirt, he's been there a while! If you find a flea but no dirt, then it's likely the flea hasn't been around long.
The flea life cycle
The best way to be certain that fleas never enter your home is to make sure that your cat is receiving a monthly flea prevention medication along with his or her heartworm prevention. We usually recommend the all-in-one product Revolution because it also prevents heartworm infections and has some additional effectiveness against ear and skin mites, ticks and some intestinal parasites. Advantage Multi is another good topical product that is similar. However, if your cat is already taking Heartgard heartworm prevention, you may want to choose Frontline or Advantage instead.
If you already have noticed a flea problem, make sure to read our tips on fighting fleas. It is important to
remember that if you see adults fleas on your cat, you are only seeing 5% of the problem, so one application of flea preventive is never enough to solve the problem. Your best weapons against fleas are prevention and patience.
