1 Ragdoll vs. US = Unhappy Household

[hawaiianorangetree]

. All of his aggressiveness happened when we moved into our new home. He's been biting her, nip at her, pick fights, growl at her... I have goodexperience at training dogs, but cats - it's a different ballgame!

This is the crux of it right here. You moved, so it is a territorial thing. He's trying to claim the entire house as his territory...that's what males do. He's stressed out, and your little female is stressed out, so try the safe room, total separation thing to defuse the situation. Then you can re-evaluate after a few weeks when they have had time to get their inner balance back.

Good luck!

This was my first thought as well.

The suggestion to keep them separated is a good one, but seems so inconvenient in the long run.

Get a squirty bottle and fill it with water and a touch of vinegar. Put it on the setting that makes it squirt like a jet and when he goes to attack your other cat squirt him with it. Keep doing it and he will soon get the message not to attack her, cats don't like water and especially vinegar.

We have a bottle at home that we use on the cats when they jump on the kitchen bench or go to scratch the lounge or the speakers. Now all we have to do is reach for the bottle and they stop whatever it is that they are doing. My mum was using the bottle for her newest cat who kept play fighting with the old one. He was too rough for the old cat so when he pounced mum would spray, he wouldn't go back for a second shot.

I know this won't help when you are not home, maybe that would be a good time to separate them. This is the only thing that inhale found that helps with behavior modification with cats.

Also, about the touchy feely thing, he is only one so maybe he is too young for cuddles still? The reason i say this is because our most recent cat, Jet, was never one for cuddles up until about 6 months ago and he has just turned 2 and now he cuddles all the time! Before that though he would let you pat him And there was no way you could hold him but he has gotten a lot better in the last six months, so it could be an age thing too.

Maybe you could talk to the vet about it? I'm wondering if he still has a lot of testosterone in his system even though he has been fixed and this is causing some of his bad behavior?

Goodluck!

 

[tenorgirl33]

Get a squirty bottle and fill it with water and a touch of vinegar. Put it on the setting that makes it squirt like a jet and when he goes to attack your other cat squirt him with it. Keep doing it and he will soon get the message not to attack her, cats don't like water and especially vinegar.

I'd say it depends on the cat. One of my cats doesn't mind water at all, and squirting him doesn't work, he just shakes it off and goes on doing whatever he was doing. (He also LOVES tinfoil, the sound of it and the way it feels, and that's also something people recommend you use as a training tool because a lot of cats are don't like it. Maybe my cat is weird.) I've actually had a lot better luck with canned air because he hates it and will run away if he sees the can. They actually make a product that's pretty much a motion triggered bottle of canned air. You can leave it on countertops, etc. and it will spray if the cat jumps up. I think the MSPCA sells it.

If you choose to go the water route, make sure you don't spray it in your cats face. Water can get in their ears and cause infections.

 

[Aoife]

[

This was my first thought as well.

The suggestion to keep them separated is a good one, but seems so inconvenient in the long run.

Get a squirty bottle and fill it with water and a touch of vinegar. Put it on the setting that makes it squirt like a jet and when he goes to attack your other cat squirt him with it. Keep doing it and he will soon get the message not to attack her, cats don't like water and especially vinegar.

We have a bottle at home that we use on the cats when they jump on the kitchen bench or go to scratch the lounge or the speakers. Now all we have to do is reach for the bottle and they stop whatever it is that they are doing. My mum was using the bottle for her newest cat who kept play fighting with the old one. He was too rough for the old cat so when he pounced mum would spray, he wouldn't go back for a second shot.

I know this won't help when you are not home, maybe that would be a good time to separate them. This is the only thing that inhale found that helps with behavior modification with cats.

......

Goodluck!

I'm sorry, HOT, I strongly disagree with this. The water squirt, or the air squirt can be useful if a cat is getting onto something like a kitchen counter, but to squirt water at two cats who are already stressed out and hostile is unlikely to do anything to improve matters. In fact, my guess is that it would significantly ramp up the stress level. They need to associate good things with being close to each other, rather than yet another thing that upsets them. And you definitely don't want them to associate it with coming from you. Cats just don't react to this stuff the same way a dog would.