Stories, case studies, and recommendations of conflict between cats in the home.
One of the two most common reasons cat guardians come to me for behavior consultation is conflict between cats in the home (the other reason is litter box avoidance). A situation where cat-cat conflict can develop is when a new, young cat comes into a home with a resident, older cat. These “May-December” (younger-older) relationships … Read more
Not the Right Fit Cats are living beings with their own personalities, needs, and wants. That means they will each have their own unique requirements of a home. Some need peace and quiet, others lots of play and engagement. They may be happiest with a feline (or canine) friend or prefer to have only human … Read more
Hearing your cat hiss or growl can be scary. You might worry that they are going to harm you or your other pets. Hissing and growling is aggressive behavior, after all, so it needs to be stopped immediately, right? Vocab of the Day: Ritualized Aggression Before diving into why your cat might be hissing or … Read more
UPDATED: May 2022 – This post was originally written in 2019. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of helping many families introduce or reintroduce their cats. I’ve also continued my education on the topic of cat social behavior. This post has been updated to reflect some changes in my thinking on the topic. Although generally … Read more
Behavior issues in cats are often rooted in stress. What does this mean? Something, or more likely things, are causing the cat to feel unsafe, frustrated, uncomfortable, painful, annoyed, or bored. Stress reduction may be necessary to resolve behavior problems. It may also be recommended by your veterinarian for health reasons. Why can tackling stress … Read more
The meme of the randomness of cats is so popular you may not often look for a deeper explanation. But when your cat appears to “randomly” attack another pet or human family member, you need to understand what’s going on and what to do next. Not Random, Redirected “Redirected aggression” is aggression directed toward something … Read more
Helping two (or more) cats live peacefully together can be a big challenge. While most cats can live with others, many of these relationships take time and work. When there’s trouble in your home, you may have been told that the cats just need to work things out for themselves. In this installment of bad … Read more
Does your cat run from the vacuum, hiss at the new kitten, try to bite when you trim their nails, or have some other overreaction to a harmless thing? What’s up with that? You know that the vacuum isn’t a monster, that the kitten is just trying to play, and that nail trims are not … Read more
“How to Deal with an Alpha Cat” “Fixing Your Alpha Cat’s Behavior” “Taming your Alpha Cat” The internet is full of articles meant to help you deal with your “alpha” cat. Unfortunately, much of this advice misses an important point: actually identifying the root of the problem. What is an “alpha” cat and is there … Read more
It’s spring and that means prom season! But not all teenagers are donning dresses and taking pictures. If you have a feline teenager, they may be terrorizing your household instead. Cats have a much longer adolescent (or teenage) phase than most people realize and it can affect them, and those around them, in many ways. … Read more