8
Spits and Spats
Aggression, Biting, and Fighting
In the animal world, aggression is a natural part of life. In one form or another, it is how cats establish colonies, find mates, determine territory, protect their nests, and capture their food for survival. In the home, aggressive behavior, whether it is directed toward a companion cat or a human family member, is always scary. It is one of the top two reasons cats are relinquished to shelters, abandoned, rehomed, put outdoors, or euthanized. The other top reason is elimination outside the litter box.
Aggression can be difficult to correct because it is often misunderstood. A cat may display aggression only under certain circumstances, or she may seem unpredictable in whether or not she’s going to lash out. It’s important to understand that aggression can be either offensive or defensive. Cats use posturing to display their intent, often in the hope that they can avoid an actual physical confrontation. Urine marking may also be used as covert aggression if cats are trying to determine how much of an opponent they may have to deal with. Many owners fail to recognize such behaviors as aggressive. They may assume their cats are getting along because they never see any overt displays of battle. They may often misinterpret a urine-marking problem as simply a litter box issue when it’s actually due to aggression.
Aggressive behavior can have an underlying medical cause, so you should never tackle it as simply a behavior problem until your cat has had a thorough evaluation by your veterinarian. The aggression could be due to a previously unseen injury or illness. Don’t bypass this step even if you’re sure the problem is behavioral.
As with any other behavior problem, it’s important to try to find the cause of your cat’s aggression because there are several types. If you can figure out what might be setting it off, you can hopefully eliminate or at least modify the trigger. In so many cases, a cat owner will tell me that his cat’s aggression is unprovoked, but in reality it rarely is. There’s usually something consistent that triggers it, and in many cases the cats give some warning signals beforehand.
THE BITER
Your cat may be a mild biter during play or she may be one who means business when she chomps down, inflicting pain and drawing blood. In either case, biting behavior must be corrected.
First, figure out the trigger. Does she bite your hand when you’re playing with her? One of the most common mistakes people make is to use their fingers as toys to entice cats to play. This may have seemed harmless enough when your cat was a kitten, but as she grew and developed adult teeth, those bites probably started to hurt more. Unfortunately, if you used your fingers as toys, you sent a message to her that biting flesh was acceptable. In her mind, if biting flesh is okay during play, then it’s also okay for her to bite when she needs to communicate other things as well. Some cats bite to solicit playtime. From previous experience, they learned that biting gets a response from the cat owners and a toy is tossed for them. Unfortunately, that just reinforces the biting behavior. In this way, she has trained you.
If you use your fingers as toys, even if protected under a blanket or other fabric, it’s time to stop. No more mixed messages are to be sent to your cat. From now on, all playtime that involves you should be done with an interactive toy. The typical fishing pole–type toy puts a safe distance between your fingers and your cat’s teeth. Don’t even use a small toy when playing with her. Little fuzzy mice and other small toys are meant for her solo play. Even if you’ve never used your fingers as toys, if you’ve tried to hold a small solo toy for interactive play, your cat may have bitten you accidentally because she couldn’t distinguish where the toy ended and your fingers began. Her prey-drive was in gear and she was focused on capturing her prey, and that experience during playtime should be set up so that you don’t have to worry about where your fingers are.
Your cat may bite moving hands or feet because that’s the only stimulation she receives that satisfies her desire to play. If there are no other outlets for her, it’s not surprising that she’s resorted to biting anything that moves, even if it’s your bare feet.
Your biting cat may also be communicating that she wants you to stop doing something. A bite to the hand that’s been stroking her often gets you to stop doing what you’re doing. She may have been giving other signals to let you know she was no longer enjoying the interaction, but if you missed them, she may have felt her only option was to bite. If your cat seems to bite during petting, see the section on petting-induced aggression later in this chapter.
Biting may have become a very effective means of communication for your cat. She may bite you when she wants to take your spot on the couch or to be fed, let outside, given attention, left alone, and so forth.
Don’t use any physical reprimands when trying to get your cat to stop biting. Hitting your cat will only confuse her, and if she bit you as a defensive reaction, that’ll only heighten her feeling of being threatened.
If your cat bites during play, stop the game and ignore her for a minute. Let her see that biting doesn’t produce desired results. Then direct her back toward the appropriate interactive toy. If she bites to elicit playtime, don’t reward her with play. Instead, tell her “No bite” and then ignore her for a few moments. Offer playtime when she’s well behaved and doesn’t bite.
If your cat has your hand in her teeth, it may seem natural to pull away. Instead, gently push toward her. If you pull away, it often triggers her to bite harder because struggling to get away is what prey does. If you push toward her mouth, you’ll momentarily confuse her and she’ll disengage. If she isn’t biting hard, you can add a freeze motion before pushing forward to show her that the play has stopped due to her biting. You can also add a verbal “No bite.”
Many people are under the false impression that thumping the cat on the nose is a good way to correct a cat for biting (or any misbehavior). These cat owners have been led to believe that the thumping action mimics the way a mother cat corrects her kittens for misbehaving. While a mother cat may thump her kitten, that correction is also accompanied by specific vocalizations and other body-language signals that humans can’t replicate. Don’t follow the advice of nose thumping because all forms of physical reprimands are inhumane and counterproductive.
AGGRESSION
There are multiple types of aggression that cats may exhibit. In order to apply the appropriate behavior modification technique, you have to identify the one you’re trying to correct. In many cases, a cat offers some warning signals before engaging in actual aggression. If you become more familiar with how your cat communicates, you may be able to avoid or interrupt some instances of impending aggression. Refer to chapter 1 for a refresher on interpreting your cat’s signals.
Fear aggression
Many people are familiar with this behavior in a cat, most especially when trying to get kitty out of the carrier at the veterinarian’s office. It can come as quite a surprise to find your docile, sweet-tempered cat suddenly channeling her inner crocodile.
In general, your cat would prefer avoiding confrontation if at all possible. All of the posturing that cats go through when faced with an opponent is either to look big and intimidating to scare the enemy away or to communicate that no threat is intended. When a cat exhibits fear aggression, it’s because she feels backed into a corner with no means of escape.
Fear aggression is a defensive behavior, which means the cat is reacting to a potential threat. Her posture indicates that she doesn’t want you to continue approaching, but if you do, she’ll defend herself.
This type of aggression, which is most commonly seen at the veterinarian’s office, usually consists of the cat tucking her paws under her body and backing up against a wall, if available. If she’s in her carrier, she’ll be against the back wall of it, letting you know that she doesn’t want any interaction. Although her head and front paws may be facing her opponent, her back paws are not. This conflicting posture indicates that should an escape possibility arise, she’ll take it. Her hind feet stay in position to propel her out of harm’s way.
CATWISE CLUE
The cat displaying fear aggression will try to avoid direct eye contact, since that’s viewed as a challenge or threat.
The cat’s pupils are usually dilated, her whiskers are flattened back against her cheeks, and her ears are rotated and flattened against her head. Initially, her ears may be in a T position, resembling airplane wings, but as the perceived threat increases, the ears will rotate back.
Vocally, the cat hisses and often growls. She usually doesn’t move to strike until someone or something continues to advance. That’s when a paw lashes out with lightning speed.
The cat may also display piloerection of the hair on her back and tail to appear bigger and more threatening, or she may curl up as tightly as she can to appear as invisible as possible. Either way, if the opponent continues advancing, the cat might roll over into the ultimate defensive position to be able to utilize all of her claws as weapons as well as her teeth.
If your cat displays fear aggression while at the veterinarian’s office, there’s a way to reduce her stress before and during the visit. Follow the instructions in chapter 10.
A cat who didn’t receive adequate socialization at an early age, or who was gradually and gently exposed to various experiences, sounds, and sights, is more likely to display fear aggression. As an adult cat, if changes are presented to her abruptly, such as the addition of another pet or person in the home, she may also exhibit this behavior.
If your cat exhibits fear aggression on a regular basis, it’s time to evaluate what might be triggering the repeated episodes. Are there small children in the home who corner the cat? Is there another pet in the home with whom your cat has a hostile relationship? Is there a particular person in the home or a guest who visits regularly who might be the trigger? Once you’re able to figure out what causes it—and there may be multiple causes—you can try to modify the situation to help your cat feel less threatened.
When your cat is displaying fear aggression, don’t attempt to comfort her. In most cases, any attempt at interaction will only heighten her reactivity. When she’s feeling backed into a corner, the best thing you can do for her is to either provide a means of escape or remove the aggressive trigger. She needs time to calm down and feel secure again. Let her stay in a quiet area so she can settle down. Reduce auditory and visual stimuli by turning off the TV or radio and darken the room if it’s brightly lit. Then leave her alone to settle down. After she has had a chance to relax, you can approach her at a distance using a soothing tone of voice. If she seems as if she’s open for more interaction, you can let her out of the room (if she’s sequestered) and open the drapes or turn lights on again. If she approaches you and wants to be petted or held, don’t overdo the affection or tone of voice at the risk of reinforcing and rewarding her fear. If you cuddle and comfort too much, it can send a signal that her fear was justified and that will increase the chance that she’ll show fear aggression in the same situation in the future. Never reward an unwanted behavior. That’s also one reason why you don’t want to try to touch and cuddle your cat while she’s in the middle of exhibiting fear aggression, but the most important reason not to reach out to a cat under those circumstances is that you’ll undoubtedly get injured. For many people it’s hard not to reach out and try to soothe their cat during these times, but trust me, when your cat is showing fear aggression, especially if she’s extremely reactive, she isn’t going to take the time to figure out if it’s your hand coming toward her or an opponent. She’ll react first and think later.
In the case of a cat who routinely shows fear aggression in the home, there are some likely environmental modifications that need to be made in addition to the behavior modification, depending on the specific dynamics in your house. If you have young children, your cat needs adequate areas of sanctuary and avenues of escape. With a cat who routinely displays fear aggression, these areas need to exist in every room she occupies. She needs hiding places, safe elevated areas, and clear paths to her litter box and feeding station. You can also use the Feliway Comfort Zone plug-in diffuser in the areas where your cat and your children must coexist. If your children are old enough, they should be taught about “hands-off” areas and when not to approach kitty.
If the fear aggression is routinely triggered by a particular person in the home, use techniques to help the cat gradually become more accepting and less fearful. Start by having that person on the opposite side of the room while you either conduct a gentle interactive play session, feed your cat a meal, offer a treat, or do a clicker training session. The person must be far enough away that your cat doesn’t show fear. She has to be comfortable enough to focus on the game, the food, or the clicker training. After a few sessions, the person may be able to inch closer. More specifics on this type of retraining can be found in chapter 9.
Fear aggression caused by a dog in the home requires the same type of behavior modification mentioned above. One technique is to feed the animals in the same room but far enough apart so that the fearful cat is within her comfort zone. If the dog is a legitimate threat to the cat in terms of chasing, even if in play, then additional training must be done to teach the dog how to act around the cat. Additional information on dog-cat relationships can be found in chapter 9.
If the trigger is another cat in the home, see the section on intercat aggression later in this chapter.
Petting-induced aggression
This one usually takes people by surprise because it occurs when the cat owner and cat seem to be enjoying closeness. What happens is that at some point while the cat is being petted, she suddenly whips around and bites or scratches the very hand that’s showing her affection. It’s scary and it seems to come out of nowhere, but there are usually several warning signs that are exhibited before the cat reaches the point of having to bite.
Specifically why and when petting-induced aggression occurs can vary from cat to cat. It can happen as the cat starts to get very relaxed during a petting session, maybe even to the point of starting to doze. Suddenly, she becomes aware of being touched and her survival instinct takes over and she reacts defensively to whatever is touching her. In other cases, and this is what I see most often, the cat initially enjoys the physical contact, but then it gets to be too much. That’s where the warning signs start to be displayed, because what was previously pleasurable is now crossing the line into overstimulation. It might be due to the particular way an owner is petting, or it might be due to the length of time the petting has been going on. When warning signs are ignored, the cat feels she has no other option but to bite. After biting, the cat may jump down and start self-grooming or just look confused. Although you may think your cat is being bad for having bitten, she’s actually anxious due to the fact that she gave “official” warnings that went unheeded.
To avoid being the target of petting-induced aggression, your best plan is to become more aware of the warning signs your cat gives while being stroked. Some typical ones include skin twitching, tail lashing or thumping, meowing, cessation of purring, ears going into a T position or rotating back, and shifting of body position. If the cat is facing away from you, she may glance back in your direction. If she’s facing you, she may glance over at the hand doing the petting. Although these may seem like warnings that you wouldn’t miss, it’s easy to overlook them if you’re petting while watching TV, talking on the phone, reading, or conversing with another person in the room. If your cat is prone to petting-induced aggression, you can’t absentmindedly pet her anymore. During your petting sessions, you have to watch for warning signs so you can stop petting at the first signal.
Some cats will be able to handle only a certain amount of petting, while others enjoy lots of it depending upon whether the timing is right. Your cat may jump up to sit on your lap, but it may not be because she wants a cuddle session. She may want the security of being on your lap as she surveys the room. In a multicat home, she may want to be on your lap or close to you because she feels safest there; however, her mood while in your lap may not be one of contentment.
If your cat is predictable in terms of how long she generally enjoys being petted, use that knowledge to avoid even getting to that first warning signal. For instance, if your cat usually lets you pet her for ten minutes before biting, then stop after five minutes. This way you leave her in a contented state or even wanting more rather than reaching the overstimulation point. If you stop petting before the warning signal or, at the very latest, at the nanosecond you see the first sign, then she’ll probably relax again and remain on your lap. After several minutes, you might be able to pet her again for several strokes. If you aren’t sure whether she wants more petting, then be content with just having her on your lap or sitting beside you. The more sessions you do in which she sees you have understood her body language, the more she’ll enjoy being near you. With some cats, you can gradually work to increase the number of strokes over the course of numerous sessions. Watch her body language and pay attention to timing.
CATWISE CAUTION 
No matter how relaxed your cat may initially seem when she’s being petted, if there’s a history of petting-induced aggression, you must pay attention to subtle changes in body language.
Reevaluate your petting style as well. If you’re doing fast short strokes, your cat may prefer long and slow ones. Maybe she doesn’t like it when you go near the base of her tail. In a dry environment, static electricity may bother her every time you reach to pet her. You may notice that when you stroke down her back she seems tense, but if you switch to just petting her behind the head or under the chin she relaxes again. She’s letting you know what she prefers, and if you pay attention you can both enjoy this time together.
Redirected aggression
This is often misdiagnosed as unprovoked aggression because it appears as if the cat is lashing out for no reason at all. You might be walking by, not even looking at your cat, when suddenly you’re the target of her aggression. Redirected aggression can also be directed at other companion cats or dogs in the home.
Redirected aggression occurs when a cat is unable to gain access to the primary source of her agitation, so she lashes out at whoever is nearest. The cat is in such a highly reactive state that she doesn’t realize she has just attacked her closest companion or her loving cat owner. Her anxiety takes over and her good kitty judgment takes a backseat.
The most common occurrences of redirected aggression take place when an indoor cat is sitting at a window and spots an unfamiliar cat in the yard. She becomes highly aroused and frustrated that she’s unable to get to her target. As luck would have it, a companion cat just happens to jump up to that area, or maybe even just walks by, and is immediately attacked. The interaction just elevates the original cat’s agitation. The victim cat either fights back in defense or runs for cover. Either way, it’s an extremely stressful and dangerous situation for both cats.
Usually, a cat calms down soon after displaying redirected aggression, but some kitties can stay aroused and confused. The reason aggression is so often misdiagnosed as unprovoked is because you may not have seen the original cause of the agitation. The cat in the yard may have been visible only momentarily before disappearing, but after seeing that outdoor cat, your kitty can stay agitated for a long period, so you or another pet could be the victim of the attack hours afterward. If the cat redirected the aggression toward a companion cat, then it can take a while for the two of them to get their relationship back to normal, depending upon the severity of the episode. The attacked cat may start to posture differently around the original cat. She may start to show more defensive body language, and that can cause the original cat to continue to connect her with the cause of her agitation. In some cases, the sight of each other can cause the aggression to continue, repeating the cycle again and again.
When your cat shows redirected aggression toward another cat, the best course of action is to keep them separated until both cats are calm and back to normal. DO NOT try to break up a fight by sticking your hand between the cats or attempting to pick one up—you’ll surely get injured that way. Instead, bang a pan on the counter, clap your hands, or make some kind of noise to startle the cats into separating. If you use the technique of throwing a blanket, towel, or jacket over them, make sure you cover only one cat so the other can get away. If you throw something that covers both cats, you lock them in closer together and cause more panic, which could increase the intensity of the aggression.
Once they’re separated, one will probably run into another room. If not, try to usher one into another area (don’t handle an aggressive cat) where you can close the door. The sooner you separate the cats after an episode of redirected aggression, the better your chances of having them get back to a normal relationship. Many of the cases I’ve seen in which cats have seriously damaged their relationships due to redirected aggression have occurred because cat owners didn’t separate them soon enough.
When the cats have been separated long enough (the time can vary from a few hours to several days, or even weeks, depending on the severity and your cats’ personalities), reintroduce them gradually. Don’t attempt this until each cat appears to be back to normal behavior, such as displaying normal posture when walking, eating, using the litter box, playing, and so forth. If the aggressive episode was severe, or the event occurred awhile ago and the cats’ aggression toward each other has escalated, then the separation should be long enough to give them adequate time to settle down. See the section on doing a reintroduction later in this chapter for how to gradually ease the cats back together again. Depending on how mild or severe the aggression was, you can modify some of the reintroduction process. If the aggression was mild and the cats seem just slightly tense around each other, then you won’t have to take it as slowly as you would if the episode was traumatic. Don’t rush the process if the cats aren’t ready. If the reintroduction isn’t done properly, the cats may remain opponents indefinitely.
If your cat appears agitated at something, or you’ve been the victim of redirected aggression, leave the kitty alone so she can calm down. If the cause was the sight of another cat outside, close the drapes or blinds, darken the room, and let your cat recover. Watch for signs that she has returned to normal behavior, such as eating, grooming (not displacement grooming, though), using the litter box, or sleeping. Look for signs of your cat’s typical patterns returning. With grooming, your cat should be returning to the length and pattern of grooming that was done before the redirected aggression episode. If she typically self-groomed after eating or being petted and you now notice she’s grooming her stomach or flanks for long periods, or seems nervous while grooming, it probably means she’s still dealing with the anxiety from the recent event. If she normally would eliminate in the litter box, cover her waste, and then hop right out to go on with her activities and now you notice she’s sleeping in the box or jumping out before she has even finished taking care of business, that’s another indication that her stress level is still elevated.
Once you know your cat is susceptible to redirected aggression, you can plan accordingly to avoid future episodes. At the first sign of agitation, make sure children and pets are safely in another room. If you suspect that a certain event—such as having a repair person in the home—might trigger an episode, put the susceptible cat in another area so she isn’t exposed to the trigger.
If the cause is the sight of other cats or animals in the yard, make some environmental modifications to reduce your cat’s chances of exposure to the trigger. If there are one or two windows in particular through which the unfamiliar outdoor cat is usually visible, cover the bottom part of those windows with an opaque material or white poster paper. The paper has to be strong enough not to be easily ripped by cat claws. You have to cover only as much of the window as is needed to prevent your cat from seeing out. That way, you can still leave the top of the window uncovered to get adequate light.
If your cat’s favorite cat tree or window perch is at the trigger window, move it to a neutral one. Use lots of playtime and treats around the tree in its new location to help your cat realize this is a positive and not a negative move.
Keep the covering on the windows for a week or more, depending upon how serious the incident was. In some cases, you may have to create some kind of permanent (and more attractive) blockage if the outdoor cat is routinely visible there, as in the case of a neighbor cat in his own yard.
Keep a long-range water pistol handy in case you have to chase the outdoor cat away from your yard. If the cat doesn’t have a home and you don’t feel comfortable attempting to capture him in order to take him to your local humane organization, contact your veterinarian or shelter to find out if there’s a feline rescue group in your area. They may be able to help you trap this kitty and find it a safe home. If the cat belongs to a neighbor, perhaps you can gently inform him or her that the presence of the cat in your yard is creating aggression problems for your indoor kitty. I know it can be a touchy subject for some people when you even hint that their outdoor pets are becoming a nuisance, but if done gently and without getting emotional, you may have success. Show your concern for the neighbor’s cat as well as your own and your message may be received less defensively. You might find that the neighbor would like to keep the cat indoors as well but didn’t know how to do the transition.
If your yard has become a favorite hangout for the neighborhood cats or dogs or other animals who trigger your cat’s aggression, look into installing the ScareCrow, a water sprinkler that’s motion-activated. If you do this, make sure you set it up so it doesn’t go off when people walk up your driveway or sidewalk. For more information on the ScareCrow, see the appendix.
If the outdoor cat is coming around to use your garden soil as a litter box, place garden netting over the soil and then cover it with a light layer of additional soil or mulch. You can also place large stones on the soil if it fits with your landscape design so that the cat can’t find enough room to dig and eliminate.
Pain-induced aggression
This can be caused by an underlying medical condition, an injury, or if the cat is handled in a painful way. Pain-induced aggression may occur when the cat’s tail is pulled or when she is petted aggressively by a child.
A cat who is allowed outdoors may come home with an unseen injury that can cause pain when touched. It’s common for bite wounds to turn into abscesses due to the very sharp canine teeth that harbor bacteria. The wound seals over and the infection grows beneath the skin.
An older cat may experience pain due to arthritis when petted, groomed, or handled. Some cats with kidney infections are sensitive when touched along the back.
If your cat displays aggression when touched, the first step is to have him examined by the veterinarian because there may be an underlying medical cause. If a cat who normally enjoys affection has suddenly started showing aggression when handled, don’t assume it’s a behavioral problem. There’s a very good chance that something is hurting her. In the case of an elderly cat, many people explain away the aggression as senility or old-age grumpiness when the cause really is medical.
Territorial aggression
This behavior can be exhibited toward another animal or toward a human. Since a cat is a territorial creature, there are certain times when you can count on territorial aggression rearing its head. A common example is when a new cat comes into the household and the existing cat displays aggression because she feels her territory is in danger. Territorial aggression can also be displayed toward a person who comes to visit the home. It is also not uncommon to see it displayed toward one person or cat and not toward another.
Territorial aggression can even occur between companion cats who have previously gotten along well if one of them oversteps her bounds. Cats who are going through social maturity (between two and four years of age) may start showing more territorial aggression toward companion cats.
This type of aggression isn’t always obvious to the human family because cats are masters at posturing and subtle forms of communication. A higher-ranking cat may lounge in the hallway in front of the room where the litter box is located as a way of guarding her side of the house. Even though it may appear as if she’s merely relaxing, a companion cat may be intimidated enough to know not to try to pass by. This can lead to an inappropriate elimination problem if the companion cat has to find a safer place than the litter box.
Many cats who share an environment work out their time-sharing of the space and create a peaceful coexistence. Others, though, remain in conflict, either through subtle ongoing communication that manages to stay just below the surface or through outright day-to-day battle.
In a multicat household, when one cat goes to the veterinarian but the companion cat doesn’t, sometimes the cat left at home displays territorial aggression toward the returning kitty. The cat returning from the veterinarian doesn’t smell familiar and, in fact, smells threatening, since vet-clinic scents aren’t viewed by cats as very comforting.
If the territorial aggression is between two cats in your home and one is a relative newcomer, then the proper introduction may not have been done. When you do a proper introduction, it prevents the resident cat from feeling as if her entire territory is up for grabs. It also prevents the newcomer from feeling as if she has been dropped behind enemy lines. Don’t let the two cats “work it out themselves.” Take a few steps back and start the introduction over again. It doesn’t matter that they’ve already met. Separate them and let them calm down and then do the whole process over, only this time do it the starting from scratch way. The proper introduction method can be found in chapter 9.
Even if the aggression is between longtime companion cats, you can still start over again. Yes, even if they’ve been together for years, there’s a good chance you can improve the relationship by doing a reintroduction. Details can be found later in this chapter.
If the behavior between the cats isn’t consistently aggressive, or if the territorial aggression seems to just sit under the surface, you may not need to reintroduce them, but you’ll need to make sure there’s adequate space for each cat. That doesn’t mean you have to add on a room—just make more use of vertical space, which will automatically increase the size of the territory. Increase the number of litter boxes in the home so that there’s one for each cat and don’t put them all in the same room. Place the litter boxes so that one cat doesn’t have to cross over into another cat’s area. This applies to the feeding station as well.
For a cat who displays aggression toward a companion cat returning from the veterinarian’s office, place the returning cat in a separate room until she has time to groom herself and take on the familiar scents of the home. You can also rub the returning cat down gently with a towel that has first been rubbed on the cat who stayed home. Don’t do this in the reverse order, because you don’t want to spread the threatening scent. After the returning cat has had time to groom and get adjusted, you can reintroduce the cats by offering a meal or a treat.
Never leave cats alone to fight it out. There’s a high risk of injury and the stress level that’ll be created in the home can have a lasting effect that’s devastating to everyone. The cats may never become friends if their first encounters with each other have been hostile. One cat may end up living in fear of the other and spend most of her days under the bed. Even the intimidating cat will live under stress with the constant worry of having to guard her territory.
Play aggression
You may be playing with your cat and suddenly notice that her behavior seems more aggressive than playful. She may bite or use her claws on your skin. This is often seen in cats who were taken away from their litter too early, robbing them of the lessons learned during social play with littermates. This behavior can also be unknowingly taught to the cat by a person through improper play techniques. If you use your fingers as toys, allow your cat to bite you, or wrestle with her, you’re sending the message that you can treated as a toy or as prey. These inappropriate techniques may have seemed fine when the cat was a kitten, but now that she is an adult, she gets carried away and crosses over into aggression. Play aggression can also be brought on if your play technique is too energetic and you frustrate your cat by teasing her with a toy or waving it in her face. Although she wants to play, the movements of the toy may have her crossing in and out of aggression.
It’s never too late to correct the way you play with your cat and teach her that biting is unacceptable. Reevaluate your play technique. If you’ve been using your fingers as toys or playing too aggressively with her, start using the interactive play techniques described in chapter 3. Keep a safe distance between her teeth and your hands by always using interactive toys. Do several play sessions a day to prevent her energy from building up over the course of the day to the point at which she gets too over-the-top when playtime finally does come around.
CATWISE REMINDER 
Don’t send mixed messages to your cat. Educate all members of the family not to use fingers, feet, or clothing as toys when playing with kitty.
If she does bite, use the technique previously described in this chapter by pushing toward her mouth rather than pulling away. Stop the game when she gets aggressive, let her calm down, and then restart at a more low-key level. If you’re consistent, she’ll learn the difference between the behavior that gets her what she wants and the behavior that ends the fun.
Predatory aggression
When a cat displays predatory behavior toward actual prey or a toy, it’s normal. When she displays that behavior toward you, it’s unacceptable. With predatory aggression, the cat displays stalking behavior toward you, attacks your feet as you walk, or pounces on your hands as they move. She’ll display typical stalking behavior by hiding behind objects and then advancing with low-to-the-ground stalking motions. Her head remains still and her eyes are fixated on her target as she walks. There’s nothing fun about this behavior, and in many cases the cat draws blood and causes painful injury. Being afraid of your cat isn’t the type of relationship you want to have.
Cats who display predatory aggression need more appropriate outlets for their prey-drive. They need at least two interactive play sessions per day. With this type of cat, it’s absolutely crucial that you wind the action down toward the end of the game to allow her to relax. Follow the game with a portion of her meal or a treat to show her that predatory behavior toward the appropriate object is filled with rewards.
Carry a squirt bottle with you during the initial retraining period, because there will probably be a few slipups that result in her reverting back to inappropriate predatory aggression. You can find small squirt bottles in the beauty-supply section of the discount store, and they’re more convenient to carry around. Some of my clients even attach them to their belts with coiled stretch cords. When you notice your cat stalking you, give a quick squirt. If there are no other pets in the household, you can also use a small bicycle horn. Don’t use a sound-generating aversive when there are other animals present. The sound could easily startle an unsuspecting pet who is doing nothing inappropriate.
To help your cat engage her normal predatory behavior between interactive play sessions, use puzzle feeders and tunnels, or hide toys in boxes and paper bags.
Put a bell on your cat’s collar so you’ll be more aware of her location during retraining.
Intercat aggression
This is a big one and it can have many causes. If you have an intact male, I can pretty much guarantee that you’re dealing with some intercat aggression. He’s either fighting with other cats in the home or, if you let him outdoors, engaging in battles with other males. Once your cat has reached sexual maturity, his main goals are to find females for mating and to fiercely defend his territory. Before any behavior modification can be put into place, the cat needs to be neutered.
Intercat aggression can rear its ugly head when you least expect it. You may have a multicat home in which everyone has gotten along well. Then suddenly things turn upside down. Social maturity, which happens between two and four years of age, can create conflict as cats become more concerned with their place in the pecking order.
Intercat aggression can be obvious, with lots of growling, fur flying, and fighting, or it can be less obvious, with lots of posturing and intimidation. If you notice a change in the relationship between your cats, it means more detective work needs to be done to figure out the cause so that you can apply appropriate behavior modification.
Confused About Whether Two Cats Are Playing or Fighting?
- When playing, there should be no growling, hissing, spitting, or screaming.
- Companion cats usually take turns being the mock aggressor in playtime.
- With aggression, ears are rotated back and flattened against the head.
- If companion cats who don’t get along are wrestling, it’s not play.
- Unfamiliar cats do not play together.
- Swatting with extended claws is a sign of aggression.
- Tufts of fur on the floor indicate the wrestling was aggressive.
- If the cats avoid each other after the encounter, it was aggressive.
- If one cat routinely chases the other away, it’s not play.
- Any sign of injury or blood indicates aggression.
If you allow your cat outdoors, just because you don’t see her engaging in intercat aggression doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. It’s not unusual for an owner to be unaware of any conflict until the cat develops an abscess.
In a multicat home, be aware of the dynamics and don’t disregard changes in relationships. Guarding, intimidation, stalking, hiding—these are just some of the clues that all isn’t harmonious. Litter box problems can develop as a result of one cat intimidating another.
Make sure that there’s adequate territory for the cats and that it’s set up in a way that limits competition and intimidation. There should be multiple litter boxes spread throughout the home. Make use of vertical space and include multiperched cat trees to allow the cats to share space while maintaining their status. Watch for intimidation at the feeding station and set up multiple stations if needed.
Clicker training works well with intercat aggression problems. Once your cats have learned what the click sound means through individual training (see chapter 3), you can use it to mark good behavior as you retrain them to share space peacefully. Click and reward any positive behavior they display toward each other. For example, if the cats pass each other in the hallway without incident, you can click and reward. These baby steps that move them in the right direction keep reminding them that there’s a benefit to good behavior. They’ll eventually start displaying more positive behavior in the hope of hearing that click. In time, they’ll likely move beyond whatever was creating tension in the relationship. They may never become the best of friends, but even if you get them only to the point of peaceful coexistence, that’s a huge relief.
If one cat is consistently being the aggressor, put a bell on her collar to give the other cat advance warning of her presence.
CATWISE CAUTION
The assumption that feuding cats will “work it out” on their own often proves dangerous and counterproductive. You risk injury to one or both cats and you may cause the relationship to continue to deteriorate instead of improve. Both cats end up living under unnecessary stress.
Use Feliway Comfort Zone diffuser in the environment to help each cat identify with the space in a more relaxed way. Locate the diffuser in the part of the house where the cats spend the most time together.
If the aggression is serious or if the cats are even unable to be in the same room without tension, then the starting from scratch technique is needed in the form of a total reintroduction. Instructions can be found later in this chapter.
Status-related aggression
A cat may display this aggression toward a specific person but not others in the home. This type of aggression also doesn’t influence the cat’s own status within the multicat environment. Just because a cat displays status-related aggression toward a human doesn’t mean the behavior will cause her companion cats to view her as higher-ranking.
Behavior can include stalking, direct stares, blocking a person’s path, and growling. The cat may accept affection from the person, but only when it has been initiated by the cat. If the person attempts to pet her first, the cat will bite or swat with her paw.
To retrain a cat displaying this behavior, get familiar with her body language so you’re more aware of when you’re being stared at, challenged, or blocked. If she’s blocking your path to another room, walk past her but have your squirt bottle ready. Don’t let her win the challenge by intimidating you away from the area. If she jumps onto your lap and gives you a challenging direct stare, stand up so she’ll be released (gently) back down to the ground. Don’t lift her off with your hands, because that physical contact may trigger her to bite. Your motion of removing her from your lap lets her know that she can’t successfully intimidate you.
If you free-feed her, switch to scheduled feeding. She’s about to learn that nothing in life is free and that YOU are the source of her food and comfort. When you switch to scheduled meals, you can incorporate clicker training to give her a mission and help her focus on the good behavior you want. Make the clicker-training sessions fun and keep them short so she doesn’t get frustrated. As she learns the connection between behavior and consequences, you’ll see a change for the better.
Once she understands the clicker-training concept, you can use it to initiate petting and touching. Click and reward her when she accepts touching that you’ve initiated.
If the cat displays aggression toward another family member, you can do training sessions with your cat on a leash and harness. Don’t use the leash and harness to yank your cat. You and your cat should be far enough away from the targeted family member so that the cat is within her comfort zone. The leash and harness are just to be used as an extra safety precaution. Provide your cat with treats or a portion of her meal when she’s calm and relaxed in the presence of the family member. If using clicker training, click and reward any positive behavior. Work up to the point at which the family member (if old enough) is the one offering the treats or food. This may have to be at a distance, with the family member tossing a treat at the cat or placing a drop of wet food on a small plate in front of the cat. The family member shouldn’t attempt to hand-feed the cat.
Incorporate twice-daily interactive play therapy sessions to help her work off her built-up energy, but also to continue the process of letting her see that you’re the source of her fun. If another family member is the target, he or she should be the one conducting the play sessions. In some cases, you may have to work up to this by starting the game yourself and then handing off the toy.
Maternal aggression
This can be directed at humans or other animals if the queen feels her kittens are being threatened. Even a cat who was normally very gentle before giving birth can show aggression to protect her nest.
Make sure she has a quiet, safe place for herself and her kittens. Don’t let other cats near the nest, especially males.
If the queen feels her nest isn’t safe, she’ll start moving her kittens, and the new location she chooses may not be where you’d prefer. Set up an area where she has a comfortable nest, a litter box, and her food and water. For specific information on preparations needed when a cat is due to give birth and how to do kitten training, refer to my book Think Like a Cat (published by Penguin). You should also seek the advice of your veterinarian.
Idiopathic aggression
This aggressive behavior is totally unprovoked and seems to have no identifiable cause. Idiopathic aggression is rare because if there isn’t a behavioral cause for the aggression, there’s usually an underlying medical cause. As previously mentioned, redirected aggression is often misidentified as idiopathic aggression because the source of the agitation isn’t always visible to the owner.
Before labeling a cat as exhibiting idiopathic aggression, your veterinarian needs to do a complete workup, including more extensive diagnostic tests beyond routine blood tests. If the cause still can’t be identified, you should seek the advice of a behavior expert.
THE STARTING FROM SCRATCH REINTRODUCTION TECHNIQUE
If you have feuding felines, it doesn’t matter how long they’ve been fighting; it’s time to stop going down the same dead end. Whether it has been just a few weeks or years, they’ve established a negative pattern that keeps feeding the tension. Stop what you’re doing, let everyone take a breather, and then start from scratch—yes, even if they’ve known each other for years.
To start the reintroduction, you need to temporarily separate the cats who are fighting. This is an important step because it allows each cat to calm down and develop a sense of security within her environment again. It also stops the destructive cycle of aggression that has become the pattern.
How they should be separated takes careful consideration. If one cat is routinely displaying offensive aggression, then that cat should be separated into the less-premium area of the home. The intimidated cat should be given the run of the house or separated in the preferable area. If you put the offensive aggressor into the choice area, then she’ll assume her bullying tactics worked when she no longer sees her victim around. The intimidated cat also needs to build up some confidence and establish a feeling of safety and comfort in the house. She’ll start to do that as she realizes that she can walk around without fear of being ambushed.
If, however, the intimidated cat is too overwhelmed and frightened in the main part of the home, then she needs to be sequestered in a smaller room. The offensive aggressor still needs to be separated in a less-than-prime area, though. It may be inconvenient to have two cats sequestered in two different rooms, but this is the best way to do the reintroduction when one cat is terrified and the other is a bully.
The separation period is not a prison sentence, even though you may feel as if it should be for the aggressor. It is to let each cat calm down and regain a sense of security. Even though you may be frustrated with the aggressor, her behavior is due to feeling threatened, and that’s very stressful. Both cats need loving behavior modification and in no way are deserving of any punishment. The cat who is separated is put into a “sanctuary” room. This room has all the necessary items, such as a litter box, food, water, toys, and a scratching post, but also hideaways and a perching area, if practical. Family members should go in to visit the cat regularly so she doesn’t feel as if this is a punishment.
If the intimidated cat is in the choice area, it may take her a while to realize that her opponent isn’t waiting around the corner to attack her. Encourage her with interactive play therapy, starting in the areas she’s most comfortable and working up to the spots in the home where she may be more nervous. Eventually, you should see her begin to relax. She may start walking more in the center of the room than around the perimeter. Don’t rush; let her enjoy this sense of freedom and comfort before you move on to the next step of the reintroduction.
Use the Feliway Comfort Zone diffuser in the main part of the house. In addition, some environmental modifications may need to be made before the actual reintroduction. Make sure there are plenty of escape options for when the two cats start sharing space again. You may need to move the sofa out from the wall a bit to create a tunnel behind it. If you currently have a cat tree, reevaluate its location to be sure it’s in a common area that all the cats share. This way, the higher-ranking cat can go up there when she feels the need to show everyone who’s boss without resorting to aggression. It can also allow the cats (when they’re getting along better) to share a closer space while maintaining their pecking order. Make sure there are adequate hideaways so that a cat doesn’t feel totally left out in the open when she enters the room. This can be as basic as using a tablecloth on the dining room table so it flows over the sides to create some degree of cover for a cat sleeping on one of the chairs. If you purchase cat beds, choose both semicovered and open ones so the cat can decide where she feels safest. She needs the security of not being ambushed as she naps. Some cats want to feel hidden in a covered bed while others prefer the option of multiple escape routes. Having choices gives cats much more security.
When the intimidated cat is feeling more confident, you can start the next phase of the reintroduction. Place her in another room temporarily and let the other kitty out for a brief tour of the house. Use the time to engage her in some interactive playtime so she doesn’t just walk around the house looking for her victim. The interactive play therapy sessions will also help her change her association with these areas. Previously, just as with the intimidated cat, the main part of the house was essentially a battlefield. Through the interactive playtime and the fact that the other cat isn’t there as a trigger, the area starts becoming one of fun and security.
After a good play session and some time to sniff around and deposit her scent, place the cat back in her sanctuary room and then bring the intimidated cat back out again. This brief outing for the aggressive cat is important because she’s leaving a fresh scent in the area in addition to smelling the fresh scent of the victim cat. It’s important for each cat to know the other one is still around but without the direct confrontation. Repeat this exercise several times a day to help the cats through the scent-recognition phase.
If each cat is handling that stage well, you can move on to the next step. Treat this stage as if the cats have never met each other before. The key is for them to see each other at a safe distance and for a very brief period. Use diversion to keep them only semifocused on each other. If there’s another family member in the home, this will make the reintroduction process much easier because you can each concentrate on one cat. Open the door to the sanctuary room, armed with a small amount of delicious food for each cat. Let them eat their treats in sight of each other, but make sure they’re far enough apart that they’re within their comfort zones. Also, keep them far enough apart so that you have time to close the door if the situation gets tense. You can also have the more aggressive cat, or both cats, on a leash. Don’t use a leash with a cat who hasn’t been previously trained to one and isn’t completely comfortable with it. To do so would heighten the cat’s level of reactivity and make the situation worse. If one cat growls or stops eating and stares at the other cat, then they’re too close together or just not ready for this phase yet. Close the door or lead one of the cats out of the area. Don’t handle an aggressive cat or you’ll risk injury to yourself.
Close the door to the sanctuary room as soon as the meal is over. Always try to end the session on a positive note. Do this step several times so they see that whenever they are in each other’s presence, they get fed or they get extra treats. Use the clicker to click and reward any sign of positive behavior. If this stage is going well, you can gradually move the bowls closer together. This can be tricky, though, because you want to keep them in their individual comfort zones. Don’t get daring and try to put the bowls close together right away. What you’re trying to accomplish right now is for them to not shift into aggressive mode when they see each other. By feeding them small meals several times a day and incorporating clicker training, they’re getting used to each other, and they’re learning that if they don’t display intimidating or challenging postures, there’s a payoff—food!
When the feeding routines are going smoothly, you can move on to group-play therapy. In chapter 3, I talked about how group play involves the use of two toys. This is especially important when doing a reintroduction. If there’s another family member, he or she should be on one side of the room with one cat and you on the other with the second kitty. If you’re alone, don’t move to this step unless you’re sure the cats are comfortable being that close together. Keep the session short and positive. Don’t try to stretch it out if things are going well. You’ll risk one cat losing interest in the toy and locking the other cat into a stare-down.
As the cats get more comfortable in each other’s presence, you can start to let them stay out together after their meal or the play session. Keep an eye on them, but do it in a casual way so it doesn’t appear as if you’re following them around; otherwise, they’ll pick up on your anxiety and that can make them anxious as well.
When they’re out and about, keep some interactive toys stashed in various rooms so you can be ready to distract them from each other if necessary. You can even keep a few furry mice or Ping-Pong balls in your pocket in case you have to toss one out as a distraction. Keep your clicker and treats ready as well so you can click and reward if they do something positive, such as pass closely by each other without showing any aggression or lie down on chairs in the same room.
You’ll gradually build up the amount of time they spend together. Just because they get along for fifteen minutes doesn’t mean they’ll get along for an hour, so increase the time gradually over several subsequent sessions.
Distraction and redirection will be your main tools when your cats start spending greater amounts of time together. During retraining, you’ll need to keep a supply of toys in various rooms so you can easily get to them if needed. I like using the Cat Dancer because it’s easy to curl up and stash in a drawer or under a sofa cushion. It’s also a very inexpensive toy, so you can keep one in each room the cats tend to occupy. When you need to distract and redirect, you don’t want to be running down the hall trying to locate a toy.
Here’s how the distraction-and-redirection method works. When the cats are out together in the main part of the house and you notice that one seems to be starting to stalk or stare at the other, distract her with the toy and redirect her away from her intended victim. A typical example is when one cat is sleeping on a chair and the other cat is walking toward her with the body posture of a kitty about to pounce. If you distract her with the toy, you’ll trigger her prey-drive, which shifts her out of that aggressive mode and into the positive one of a hunter. Even though she may have been planning to attack her companion, she’d much rather go after the prey. Conduct an impromptu little interactive play session, moving her away from the other cat and allowing her to work out her tension in a positive, rather than aggressive, way. The victim cat remains safe and the aggressor gets to release all that anxiety. Everyone wins.
The good thing about the distraction-and-redirection method is that it’s a positive way of retraining. Your previous method may have involved reprimanding the cats and separating them after one attacked the other. Even though that stops the fight for the moment, it doesn’t give them a reason to like each other. This new method breaks the negative behavior pattern they’ve set up and gives them a reason to like each other because they’re getting treats, meals, playtime, and lots of positive attention when the other cat is present. Use the clicker to accelerate the process by specifically marking and acknowledging the good behavior. The other good thing about this method is that if you were wrong in your assumption that one cat was about to stalk the other, the worst that happened is that she got a bonus play session. If you were using a negative method and you reprimanded the cat because you thought she was about to pounce and she really wasn’t, then you’ve increased her anxiety and confusion.
There’s one important caution with this method and it involves timing. You must use distraction and redirection before the aggressor starts the attack. If you use it to redirect her toward the toy after she has made contact with the other cat, you’ll actually be reinforcing the very behavior you don’t want. The earlier you can catch the behavior, the better. You know your cat, and if you really tune in to her body language and her patterns, I’ll bet you can tell she’s about to stalk the other cat as soon as the thought enters her head.
If you didn’t get the chance to distract the cat in time and she makes contact with the other kitty, interrupt the fight by making a noise. Don’t reach in there to physically separate them or you’ll get injured. Clap your hands, bang two pans together—create some kind of a disruption so that they go their separate ways. Then, once they’re apart, let them calm down in separate areas. If the fight was very bad, you’ll have to take a few steps backward in the reintroduction process and maybe keep them separated again, bringing them together for meals or playtime only. Gauge this based on how well they were doing, what triggered the attack (you may have had them together for too long), and the severity of the fight.
The main reason for failure during the reintroduction process is that many people rush through it. If the cats have been feuding for years, the reintroduction will need to be very gradual. You aren’t going to undo years of fighting in just a week of reintroduction. Think of the reintroduction process as wiping the slate clean and starting all over again. Although it requires more time, effort, and inconvenience on your part, you’re giving your cats the wonderful gift of a second chance at their relationship. The time invested in doing so will help ensure a lifetime of peaceful coexistence.
OTHER USES AND VARIATIONS ON THE REINTRODUCTION TECHNIQUE
Once you know the basics of reintroduction and become more alert to the body language of your cats, you can use variations on it in other situations. A common example is when one cat goes to the veterinarian and the other cat stays at home. In the section on territorial aggression I described how to temporarily separate the cats and use scent to familiarize them with each other again. If the aggression is more severe and they don’t seem to be back to their old selves, do a minireintroduction. It may not take weeks to reintroduce them, as it might if there are long-term aggression problems, but it might take a few days. In the case of redirected aggression, you can use the reintroduction technique to help them get beyond that traumatic episode.
Sometimes, when cats are extremely aggressive toward each other and you can’t even get to the stage of having them see each other in the same room without fear of serious injury, you have to create a buffer zone. This will also keep the cats physically safe at this point. You can install a temporary screen door on the room where one cat is sequestered. This will allow the cats to see each other safely. A less expensive but more inconvenient method is to install three sturdy baby gates up the doorway, one on top of the other. If you do this, you can’t just let the cat outside the room sit and stare at the sequestered kitty twenty-four hours a day. You still have to do the behavior modification where they’re in each other’s sight while eating, and you and a family member can still conduct group play sessions with one in the room and one outside the room. The cats still need that help in finding a reason to like each other. This interim step simply eliminates the risk of injury.
WHEN PROFESSIONAL HELP IS NEEDED
Aggression is scary. Whether it’s directed at you or at another cat, it’s frightening to see your cat displaying the behavior. It’s especially frightening when you have no idea what caused it. There’s professional help available to assist you if the aggression is severe or if you’re unsure what type of behavior modification to use. You certainly don’t want to get injured, nor do you want your cat to sink deeper into this behavior pattern. If you have children or elderly people at home with you, then you also have their safety to consider. A certified expert can help find the cause of your cat’s aggression and work out an effective behavior modification plan.
There are many people out there who call themselves experts, but they can do more harm than good if they aren’t professional and ethical. The way to start on the path toward getting professional help is to talk with your veterinarian. After your veterinarian gets an in-depth behavioral history from you, he or she may be able to refer you to a certified behavior expert. If your veterinarian doesn’t know of a behavior expert in your area, you have several options. You can contact the behavior department of the veterinary university closest to you. You can also contact the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants to see if there’s a certified cat consultant near you. Through the Animal Behavior Society, you can find a certified applied animal behaviorist. Through the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists, you can find a veterinary behaviorist. Depending on the area in which you live, the behavior expert will either do a house call or have you bring your cat in for a clinic visit. If there are no certified experts close enough to you, there are many who do telephone consultations.
The idea of consulting with a certified behavior expert may seem strange or even intimidating to you. Many people don’t even know that cat-behavior consulting is available. After all, who ever heard of training a cat, right? Well, it does exist, and with the help of a qualified professional who is certified in animal behavior, it can save the life of your cat. More information on finding professional help can be found in the appendix.
PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGICAL INTERVENTION
Nowadays, it seems as if you can’t go a couple of days without hearing about a neighbor’s or relative’s pet being on Prozac or some other psychoactive medication. Whether it’s the dog with separation anxiety or the cat who eliminates outside the litter box, it seems as if the answer is as quick as filling a prescription.
We have come a long way in behavior modification, and the use of psychopharmacology has been a tremendous help when prescribed and used appropriately. There are times when it takes the use of a particular drug to get a cat calm enough to be able to do effective behavior modification. The problem is that drugs get prescribed too quickly, without the veterinarian getting a thorough behavioral history, and some people just give their cats the medication and totally bypass behavior modification. I’ve seen so many cat owners who don’t even know what type of psychoactive drug they’re giving their cats, nor do they know what the potential side effects are, what the drug is supposed to do, or whether the cat must be weaned off the medication slowly. These are all things you should be informed of before you ever give medication to your cat.
If your cat is prescribed medication for a behavior problem, you need to stay in contact with your veterinarian and your certified behavior expert as you go through the behavior modification. Psychopharmacological intervention is a serious step to take, and your responsibility as a cat owner is to be informed and follow through on behavior modification. Otherwise, you’re merely temporarily suppressing the unwanted behavior and potentially putting your cat’s health at risk.