Aggression in Cats and What to Do About It
- Kimberly A
- Nov 6, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Mar 5
I wasn't expecting this to happen when I started making organic catnip toys to sell. I didn't know I'd run into so many people that were looking for advice on how to deal with a multi-cat home where one cat aggressively dominates another cat in the household.
At Keep Up Creations we do have a lot of experience with being a multi-cat home, and we've had to face our share of cat behavioral problems. I can easily say there is no one-size-fits-all solution, however there are simple steps I highly encourage struggling pet parents to begin implementing immediately.
Make sure each cat has their own safe place to hide when they need to hide.
Nothing keeps a creature in crazy survival mode like feeling there is no safe space available to them, especially in times of trials and attacks. Both cats (or all cats in multi-cat home) need to have their own separate safe spaces they can obtain at any time, whether you're home or not.
Some cats are going to prefer dark hidden places, other cats while desire something high and climbable. Please note which is most used by your cats specifically and ensure they have options in their preferences.
Take time daily to play one-on-one, just you and your shyer or more submissive cat.
Shyer cats need time to build their fighting skills AND their confidence. While the shyer cat may be prone to "flight" for survival, all cats have wonderful natural skills to fight off attacks, dispatch wild prey, and generally rule over their territory. Often the shyer cat simply has not developed these skills enough in safe space (such as littermates in kittenhood) that allows them to practice. You are now that space.
You can start with small toys: milk rings, strings, whatever might get their attention. The goal, however, will be to get them to learn to play fight with slightly bigger toys. Keep Up Creations' large catnip blocks or Catnip Crinkle Kickers would both be ideal toys to help shyer cats in their next steps of play fighting and learning to tackle or thump or kick a larger sized item.
At first your shyer cat may be passive and not engage in playtime with you, or they may choose not to let out their full range of skills. Regardless, keep playing together, one-on-one. Praise the shyer cat when it catches, or swipes, or holds onto and thumps a toy. Verbal praise, head and shoulder scratches, or even treats can help the shyer cat make the connection that these playtime skills are good and that it's okay to attack this way around others.
Your shyer cat will most likely never become the aggressor, but they can become skilled enough to teach their aggressor to respect their limits. It is possible that the two cats can even learn to play non-threateningly together in the years to come depending on the individual cats.
Ranger MiAmigo reaches for the prize. Consider changing their diet to a higher quality food and/or grain free food. Gut health is mental health. This will not stop all attacks, but this could be a small change that makes a great long-term impact on animals' abilities to live together peacefully.
The aggressive cat may become calmer and maybe less aggressive when it chooses to be dominating.
The shyer cat may have great mental clarity and able to build better body conditioning to deal with more dominate animals.
Redirect the aggressive cat's attention.
It's not just enough to tell them "No. Don't attack." or "Leave your sibling alone!" By the time you see your aggressive cat "hunting" the shyer cat, then they've already locked into their brain that they're going to win a battle. Now they want the chemical rush their brain is going to reward them with when they conquer this mission.
Instead, try bringing their attention to another part of the house with a toy or with a treat. If you use treats, try to get them to play with you in another part of the house. Let them play hard enough to get some of the tensions out of their bodies. Affirm that it is good to use the toys to play hard.
Again, head and shoulder scratches, treats, or verbal praise or a mixture of each should be good affirmations for your cat. This helps rewire their brain while still receiving a brain-body chemical reward for what they've accomplished.
When you do play with your more aggressive cat, consider using catnip toys or silvervine toys to help the calming effects last longer. Silvervine toys are great alternatives for cats that get aggressive when they're on catnip, and we do sell them in our Keep Up Creations shop.
Ranger MiAmigo stalking Shadrach M'hail. As your shyer cat develops skills and confidence, step in less and less.
Personally, when I see a conflict rising or I hear a screech during playtime, I like to raise my voice to tell them I'm close by. However, because we've practiced playtime individually, I'm usually saying something like "Oh, you better look out!" or "You're a big warrior. Show them!" And these are similar to the things I say during individual playtime.
It's literally about empowering my cats to be their best.
It's a little bit physical skills, it's a little bit of brain rewiring, and it's a little bit of nutrient and herbs to support the mental and physical health. It's all the little things that I can do to help bring a better situation, regardless of whether I am there or not to referee. Yes, most of the time the shyer cat is still going to run off first. But now, instead of it being 9 or 10 times out of 10 the shyer cat running off, it's more like 5 or 6 out of 10. I see that as big WIN.
While you're bridging behavioral gaps with the first few suggestions, don't be afraid to some herbal help. Catnip, silvervine, valerian, and chamomile are all good choices for calming and taming anxiety. They can be found in cat toys, powders, non-alcoholic tinctures, or cat nap mats and satchel pillow. (If you would like to know the specific brands we use in powders or tinctures, feel free to message or email us.)
Our first two recommendations are always catnip and silvervine. At Keep Up Creations we have a variety of organic catnip toys and silvervine toys available in our store. This is something that the Keep Up Creations clowder has regular access to as needed. Most days it solves any minor issues that need a reset time or timeout. On the days we notice any upswing in aggressive behavior we can get ahead of it with starting the next day with herbal aids.
Secondly, depending on the circumstances, we'd recommend valerian for it's strong calming effects and it's ability to take the edge off of anxiety.
Thirdly, we'd recommend chamomile and mixing it with either catnip or silvervine if you happen to have these herbs on hand.
One last thing to mention: a clean litter box.
Often this is not a big key role, however I have seen it make an impact in multi-cat homes. Whether that means twice a day cleaning, or adding an extra litter box, or even simply getting larger litter boxes to share, a clean litter box will benefit mental health.
On occasion, this can be linked with a cat displaying more aggressive behavior, almost as a constant irritation in their life that's turning into frustration or anger.
In conclusion you might simply want to know: Have I ever seen two cats who fought become friendly towards each other? The answer is: Yes.
In lesser aggressive situations where it was just miscommunication of rough playtime practices, I've even seen them cuddling and grooming each other in the years after we began these small implementations.
Results will vary, absolutely, but it is possible have a more peaceful relationship with all your cats.
We hope you find exactly what will work best for your very own households. Please feel welcome to leave a comment or send us a message if you have a specific situation or if you have experienced conflict resolution successfully through other means not listed in today's blog.
Wishing everyone the happiest of homes, and most rewarding playtimes and rest times.
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