Help with cats......please?

[mwr885]

...the older girl will sort of flirt with the male but then he gets too close for comfort and she starts growling at him. He just kinda looks puzzled...

It's good to see other animals having the same woman-troubles I have! :scratch2:

I second (or is it third by now?) the opinion of clipping the sharp points of the claws for safety and using a squirt bottle to teach them wrong from right. We used a super soaker on our animals and it works pretty good, they hate being wet and the water gun provides enough pressure to surprise them and get them to stop the behavior right then.

 

[jt1stcav]

All good advice from what I can tell. I have 5 cats currently; 2 females, 3 males, ranging from 6 months to 13 years of age, all indoor cats that are fixed and declawed, whom seem to get along nicely (very little fighting, mostly all play, but can get a little rough when one cat or the other doesn't want to be disturbed). I've been lucky so far, so I can't really recommend what to do. But I would assume your vet would be the best bet for exact information on how to handle your situation if all help here fails.

 

[Tughillblues]

Cat nip also helps.

You guys have it down:
Huge supply of catnip. Don't declaw but keep them trimmed. Spray bottle or whistle when things get too intense. They will figure it out fairly quickly, and they always seem to eventually ay least tolerate each other. Sometimes they become best of friends. Cats are fascinating animals. Good Luck!

 

[pahtcenter77]

You could always put them outside and let God/Mother Nature/Darwin handle it.

 

[slow_jazz]

I have 3 cats 2 females and one male. The 2 females hate each other and constantly hiss at each other. Cats are more for pretending to fight then actually fighting...

Even though they hiss all the time they don't physically fight....

 

[electronjohn]

Most of the time the hissing is a territorial thing: "Don't invade my space!!!" If the other cat continues to approach the hisser, the initial salvo will be a few quick swats. If that doesn't work...escalation is likely to ensue. It's nearly impossible to anthropomorphize cat behavior...but it is evident they share many human emotions. It's been noted how empathetic cats can be...my wife was watching a particularly tragic movie and started to cry. Within seconds Sashi's up in her face...meowing, delivering numerous chin buffs with the top of her head...generally saying "It's OK,,your kitty's here." One book for multiple cat owners trying to keep the peace is " Cat vs. Cat: Keeping Peace When You Have More Than One Cat" by Pam Johnson-Bennett. Another book (far from scientific but very enjoyable to read) is "Nine Emotional Lives of Cats" by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson. Basically a tale of five kitties and you become intimately familiar with the unique personality each of his cats has. I know one thing: you can observe them for hours on end and only scratch the surface of what's going on under those pointed ears.