Cat behavior question *Kitten mauled* His decision, more stitches

[bagendhens]

firistly i dont belive cats, or any animal, to be "spitefull" i bleive its a human emotion that we place on our animals to feel better when we dont understand why there doing somehting or our own training methods have failed.

cats urinate for a number of reasons, STRESS being a big one and considering you call her a nasty cat it sounds like shes a very insecure kitty who needs alot of one on one and personal reassurance.
cats do NOT like change, they dont like change in routein they dont like new people, new places, new situatons, heck even a change in average temperature in a room can send a cat into a hormonal breakdown...
cats also urinate to mark their teritory, yes even females...insecure cats mark more frequntly, its comforting for them to be surrounded by their own scent, shes also claiming his main place (the bed) as hers, this is my person kind of behaviour.
she does need to see a vet to rule out UTI's but if this has been going on for a long time id put money that this is a behavioural problem from a very insecure cat.

the best ways to help with that kind of issue are products like feliway (comfort zone), and lots of one on one time.
the new kitten probably just agrivated the situation too.

some cats are also one cat kitties...its just the way it is sometimes, other times cats are terribly picky about other cats and who they like and dont like...
given that it sounds like the older cat is already very insecure, brnging a kitten in would just tripple the stress in her life and make her a very flustered, upset and "angry" kitty.

is mean kitty declawed?
and what kind of food is he feeding?
and is she spayed?


personally i would rehome the kitten, a kitten has a MUCH better chance of finding a home than an older cat with "issues" so i do give your frined a huge round of aplause and a thank you for choosing to rehome the kitten and keep the problem child...honestly this cat would probbaly end up being bounced around back and forth to shelters and probably wouldnt find a long term home given her current issues...offering her up for adiption would probably in the long run be a death sentence...people simply dont want animals with issues...even you said youd personally give away the mean cat...

its not her fault, a combination of genetics, and early socilization make all the difference, kittens should idelaly stay with momma untill 10-12 weeks of age because of these issues.

so offering a friendly kitten to a good home would get the best results.

now in terms of suggestions for your frined reguarding the older cat.
step 1: vet check, rule out health issues, litterbox problems are very frequently the result of other underling health issues. and its always better to be safe than sorry.
step 2: assuming health issues are ruled out...id suggest the plug in pet difusers, feliway is the cat one, its not cheap but ive found them to be a great help in high stress situations, they are pheremone based.
wash the comforter and her normal pee spots in natures miracle just for cats or other enzamatic cleaner, i usually throw it into the bleach cup for those with the feature, but if not i toss about a cup full in at the softener stage.
give her her own blanket on the bed, dont move it, and only wash it if she pees on it...if you ever have to go anywehre with her take the blanket with you.
lots of playtime...he needs to spend some serious 1 on 1 time with her, playing, snuggling ect...

good luck to him, its tough. cats are such tempermental animals that what they love one day could change the next...
but it sounds like shes in the right hands.

 

[86121]

Quote:
Oh no its spite, if he does not pet her when she wants it, if she has to have a bath, if she does not get her canned food on time, she pees on the bed, and every time he plays with the kitten more then her she pees on the bed.
To me, thats spite.
She 'always' gets one on one attention, she loves people and every chance she gets shes on his lap or in his arms, sleeping on his shoulders so its not like she gets ignored, or is a loner. So that can be ruled out.
I can understand the change thing, but nothing has changed apart from the kitten. And the only thing that has changed in her behavior is she randomly attacks it and what I posted above.
Though I will let him know about the Feliway.
She is fixed, not declawed, and is eating table scraps and Taste of the wild.
Shes not stressed and shes not upset, shes quite happy and spoiled with a lot of attention. So again we can rule that out.
I do think its got something to do with genetics because the mother, who my neighbor adopted, has always been quite odd. She did not leave her mother until 10 weeks old, so again we can rule that out.
Actually, I hate to come across as horrid, but in the field of Animal Control, I have put down far to may good well behaved cats and dogs, and watched people struggle and then give up things in there life for a cat/dog with unfixable behavior issues, to want to deal with it, im bitter in this category, but hes already been to a behaviorist about this cat and even they said shes just a...well, insert a name you think would fit. Shes wonderful with people, but with animals, shes just horrid. I guess I just have zero tolerance for her when he has done practically everything.

Ill tell him to try the defuseres because that seems to be the only thing he has not done, I hope it works because nothing is worse then seeing a grown man cry over his cat....
But thank you for the advice, ill have him read it just in case im off on something!



She has been to the vet so a UTI has been ruled out as well as crystals, FIV and so fourth.

 

[86121]

bagendhens:
I take back what I said, the older cat scalped the younger one and put stitches in his arm.
Shes on very thin ice at the moment, and her fate will be decided depending on what happens to the kitten.

 

[MED747]

Sorry but if a cat or any animal gives me 7 stitches it will be taken out back and killed before it knew what was coming!! But then again I have a 2 month old so there is a no aggression policy when it comes to animals! Im a paramedic and once saw a german shepherd kill a 9 month old

 

[dewey]

Keeping new intro's apart for several weeks or more is routine. If the guy reached in to save the kitten from an attack by the older cat and got scratched in the mix then I believe that's on him for not keeping the cats safely apart to begin with. One can't reach into a dog or cat fight and expect to walk away uninjured no matter how tame and loving the animals usually are. Some cats will never get along safely with other animals (and especially so when not intro'd properly), so they need to have turns being rotated out for free run of the house or apt. Marking "her" territory when it's always been just that is surely unpleasant

but does not seem surprising. Hoping a pleasant outcome for both can be reached.

 

[annaraven]

Quote:
Agreed. There's a way to introduce a new cat/kitten into a household and he has NOT followed it. The problem isn't just the older cat, who appears to be a "one-cat" animal, but the process he used to bring the new kitten in. You can't just dump a new kitten on an established cat and expect it to all be rainbows and unicorns.

From your description of his place (one bedroom apartment?), and after his "introduction" of the kitten without any knowledge of the proper way to do it, it doesn't sound like he should be taking in extra pets anyway.

 

[drdoolittle]

Sometimes you can only help one animal at a time. I applaud the fact that your friend had decided to re-home Lucky and keep Kit. There are enough hard to place cats and dogs at the shelter-----she would probably never get adopted. Seems like your friend really loves Kit, and lots of people only have one pet at a time-----he can adopt one or two other kittens or foster after Kit is gone (maybe that seems like a really long time, but at least he gave one cat a good forever home----tossing her to "help" by fostering other cats isn't really helping).

 

[carolinagirl58]

If Kit was nasty (peeing on bed and spiteful) prior to the new kitty's arrival, I would have to think seriously about creating a caged play area for that mean cat and let her live out her life there. This cat is only 2 and he faces many more years of life with her. ANY new thing that comes into his life for the next 10 to 14 years is a potential target for this nasty cat. I'd either confine her to a big caged play area or consider euthanisia. There is no way I would tolerate being a slave to a cat, which is what he is right now.

 

[SarahBeth9394]

Why did he put up with a cat that pees on his bed and blankets in the first place? That cat should have been an outside kitty long ago. My cat decided after 3 months of the new cat she was going to start peeing on things. She is totally healthy. I ended up putting her outside and she loves it. Before she was the "you get to pet me when I feel like it type". Now I go out back and she comes for lovin.

 

[86121]

A lot of you must not have read properly, or misunderstood, the kitten was kept 'separated' in his bathroom, she SNUCK out of it, just like dogs and happy puppy's do.
Shame on you guys for jumping to conclusions like that.
I dont think this misfortune is on him, nor do i think its right to blame him when all he did was try and save his kitten from his ill tempered cat.
He scruffed her, picked her up and she grabbed hold of his arm and ripped a good sized chunk out of him.
No shelter will take that, he does not trust his cat anymore, and now he is waiting to hear back from the vet WHO AGREED that his cat only has two options...
Barn cat, or euthanasia.
If a Beahvioralist, and a vet both say the same thing, then that should show that there is a problem that cant be fixed.

It is not his fault that he did not scoop his kitten back up again in time as his older cat attacked it again for no reason, and this time with severe repercussions. As many of you know, sometimes these things happen in a split second, and all you can do is react.
I do not blame him at all.