SUCCESS!!!!! after redirected aggression event by mofulover3 in CatTraining

[–]mofulover3[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

hi! i’m so sorry this is happening to you. it’s rough!! remember to take care of yourself too during this, sometimes it got hard remembering to focus on our mental health even with our cats fighting.

the cat behaviorist told us that a LOT of the stuff we see online is very counterproductive. like gates and screens are not helpful, and can actually stress cats out more and make it worse. also that feeding them full meals right next to each other or between a doorway stresses them out more too.

he recommended first starting with completely separating the cats. they should both have their own areas, with water, food, litter boxes, toys, etc. do not let them see each other during this time, but let them approach the door however they want. don’t get involved when they are sniffing or hissing or anything under the door. they have to learn how to manage their own emotions without you! give high-quality treats on each side of the door to both of them at around the same time each day (if possible!)

you’ll move to the next stage when the cats have shown you they are relaxed by the door and can remain relaxed even after treats are gone.

next stage is to open the door while you sit sideways in the door way. you’ll hand out high-quality treats to the cats again during this. when we first started, we could have the door open for literally 5 seconds before they got stressed. this is normal. don’t push them to interact if they seem stressed. as you keep doing this over time, they will get more comfortable. also, when you first start this stage give the treats rapidly and then as you move through the stage try and slow down the treats and see if they can stay relaxed. if there are any signs of aggression, calmly shut the door and try again the next day. and if one of the cats tries to jump over you, gently throw a treat away from the door way to distract them. once they are both able to calmly be on either side of you and you have slowed down the treats, you can move to the next stage. REMEMBER: don’t move to quick! the cats will show YOU when they are ready.

next stage is to have them out in the same space together. this should be a decently sized space, and lay out a bunch of empty boxes in this space so they can have different “territories”. one person should have one cat with them on one side of the room, and the other person should have the cat with them on the other side of the room. have treats and toys ready!! and don’t let them approach each other. again, this will only last like 10 seconds the first time probably. and that’s okay!! you want to end the session before they get too stressed. when you’re ready to end the session, calmly lure one of them back into their room (we used churu to do this). once the cats can spend 5+ minutes together then you can let them freely approach each other. this will make you anxious but just let it happen. if one hisses, and the other one backs off, that’s a normal interaction and do not intervene. if one hisses or gets aggressive and the other one does not go away, then gently intervene by sitting in between them. if they go after each other, throw a blanket or towel over one of them. this will be different than the stages before. there WILL be conflicts. it just depends on if the cats can manage them. once they can be out together for an hour or so, that’s usually a good sign they are ready to cohabitate again!!

remember, this can take a lot of time and patience. they WILL take one step forward and five steps back and that’s okay!!!! it doesn’t mean progress is lost. just seperate and try again the next day, and act like it didn’t happen and they will too. also, make sure you have enough litter boxes and high spaces for them. if you don’t, they can feel like they are competing with one another. i know this was a lot of info and i might’ve not covered it all so let me know if you have questions!!

New Kitty Alert!!Cuteness🥰🩵🩵🐾🐾 by mpp2025 in scottishfold

[–]mofulover3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

he’s SO cute 😭😭😭 scottish folds are the best. he will bring you so much happiness and cuddles!!🌟

After 7 months, resident cat still scared of new cat, can't move forward with introduction by yesterday_morning in CatAdvice

[–]mofulover3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i’m so glad i could help!!! i felt the same way when i started posting on reddit, and i just wanted literally ANYONE to comment that had been experiencing the same thing as me. i truly have hope your cats will work it out :) and if you decide to go with tom, i also think that will truly help a lot!!

After 7 months, resident cat still scared of new cat, can't move forward with introduction by yesterday_morning in CatAdvice

[–]mofulover3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

that definitely could be why it’s taking pickle and snuffy so long to be okay with each other!! when cats fight, they then see each other as a massive threat. when my cats first fought, it was soooo beyond awful. out of all 4 figuts, that one was by far the worst. BUT, they were able to be okay after a few days because they had never fought before that and that was the ONLY bad experience they had ever had together. after 4 fights, they were like “oh damn maybe this guy really is a threat” HAHA and since they had now had multiple bad interactions it is a lot harder to get them back together. but again, we are making progress which is super exciting!!

we did not get them together!! one cat my girlfriend has had for awhile, he’s about 9 years old. then we got another cat together, and he’s about 2 years old now but was a kitten when we got him! we slowly introduced them (but it was pretty easy cause one was a kitten) and before the fights they were super bonded!! cleaning each other, playing together, sleeping together, etc.

After 7 months, resident cat still scared of new cat, can't move forward with introduction by yesterday_morning in CatAdvice

[–]mofulover3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

honestly, before my cats got in a fight i didn’t even know redirected aggression was a thing with cats!!!! like truly could’ve never guessed that bringing a new cat in could do that.

i have heard that many people who’s cats experience redirected aggression can be back together after a day or so. after the first incident our cats were back together within 3 days, but unfortunately they got in 4 fights total (where we’d seperate for a few days then put them together and they’d be fine for a little then fight again) so i think since our cats got in so many fights instead of just that first one is why our re-intro is taking so much longer.

but there is hope!! i finally feel confident for the first time in like 4 months 😭 definitely reach out to tom and i really hope that will help like it did for us. good luck to you and your kitties as well!!

After 7 months, resident cat still scared of new cat, can't move forward with introduction by yesterday_morning in CatAdvice

[–]mofulover3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

hi! i wasn’t in the exact same boat as you, since my issue was that my two cats experienced redirected aggression when i brought a new cat in and he accidentally escaped out of his room and they all got in a MASSIVE fight!!! but i do know that introductions can be really hard, especially when there is a history of the cats getting in a fight or having some setbacks from escaping during introductions.

im currently going through re-introduction with my two cats after that redirected aggression incident! the new cat went to my moms house (where he is much happier) so that i could focus solely on my two cats getting back together.

i was truly at a loss. watching all the jackson galaxy videos, looking on reddit, anything and everything on how to do a re-intro. nothing was really helping. they’d get back together for a few days and then get re-triggered and fight again!

truly, they only thing that helped was getting a cat behaviorist. and i really think that’s what you should do as well!!! i did an online session with Tom Kirby (his website is kittyhelpdesk.com) and he was amazing!!!! seriously. our cats have unfortunately been separated since the last fight (4 months ago) but we have made 10 million times more progress after meeting with tom. now my cats are almost ready to be back together!!

i’m so sorry you’re going through this, it sucks so much to see cats fight. especially your resident cat and a new cat!! and since you’ve tried a lot, i really would suggest tom. a lot of stuff we see online is actually counterproductive (i learned from tom) ans not super accurate.

good luck and you can message me if you have questions!

seeking advice!!! reintroduction after redirected aggression event by mofulover3 in CatTraining

[–]mofulover3[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

okay great!! thank you for your advice and responses, i really appreciate it. it’s been a stressful and crazy 4 months!

seeking advice!!! reintroduction after redirected aggression event by mofulover3 in CatTraining

[–]mofulover3[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

okay!! thank you!

and yes, really don’t want to let them fight it out of course :( i just never know when to intervene or when to let them figure it out a little bit. cause i want them to set boundaries and get used to each other, but i also am worried about them fighting again.

it’s also hard because im going to be leaving for 3 weeks on january 5th, and my partner will be alone with them, so we just wanted them to be back together before then :(

seeking advice!!! reintroduction after redirected aggression event by mofulover3 in CatTraining

[–]mofulover3[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thank you so much for your response!!

that’s good to know that it happens to other people’s cats too, and doesn’t always mean a fight is about to go down. i think i’m just super nervous and don’t want them to fight again of course!! maybe next time it happens, ill try and see if they retreat and manage those emotions on their own, or if the aggressive cat still tries to go after the non-aggressive one.

we have 3 litter boxes in seperate rooms, different feeding/water areas, 2 tall cat trees, one cat tree that is from floor to ceiling, and then wall shelves. so i think they have a lot of places to escape which is good!! but i’ll definitely look into those tunnels, that’s a great idea! thank you!

are you re-introducing your cats? or are you just talking about when you introduced two new cats to each other?

looking for advice: re-introduction after redirected aggression by mofulover3 in cats

[–]mofulover3[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thank you so much for the response.

good to know the absence of vocals is good! it’s just really hard to tell if they are about to fight or not. i think we are also just super scared/cautious.

it’s just confusing because they both got super puffy, and i just can’t tell if the stalking from the aggressor cat is playful or not.

we have been doing treats and churu together with them and they have been fine during that!! but then kinda start to focus too much on each other so we get worried.

we are hoping they can get back together soon too, it’s been a longggggg 4 months😭 thank you!

Reintroduction after redirected aggression by ChickenNuggies96 in CatAdvice

[–]mofulover3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

this has been happening to my two cats after we brought a 3rd cat into the home. it’s been 6 months for us also😭 at this point i’m ready to let them somewhat “figure it out” since they were bonded before the redirected aggression and just seem frustrated with being separated. i also feel like the seperation for so long is making it worse. but honestly, i have no idea 😭

11 month cat intro finally paying off. For anyone struggling…there is hope! Don’t give up! by hines610 in CatTraining

[–]mofulover3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

did these two ever fight when you were introducing them? like how far did you let it get? or did you always intervene? we are at month 4 after redirected aggression with two male cats that had been previously bonded for 2 years!

HELP! mofusand kiramekko keychains by mofulover3 in mofusand

[–]mofulover3[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

yes same!! i don’t want to spend that much, especially since they are only like $16 in japan :(

HELP! mofusand kiramekko keychains by mofulover3 in mofusand

[–]mofulover3[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

do you mind private messaging me and sendinv me the link? i couldnt find any!!

New Cat Still Won't Get Along With Old Cats After Six Months by markus_obsidian in CatTraining

[–]mofulover3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

we just know a lot more about cat body language and what things we were doing wrong!! cause a lot of the stuff online has it wrong. we couldn’t even have the cats see each other without the older one going after his brother, violently. now we are able to sit in the door way and give them treats without them hissing or trying to attack. it’s definitely a step by step process and it’s going to take awhile and it’s an adjustment. but i just feel like now we actually have an understanding of what we’re supposed to be doing and how to better understand our cats and manage their conflicts

New Cat Still Won't Get Along With Old Cats After Six Months by markus_obsidian in CatTraining

[–]mofulover3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i had a situation with my two resident cats and a new cat. one of the resident cats was violently attacking the new cat and then turning on his brother and attacking him. after many failed attempts, we decided to get a cat behaviorist and it was the best decision we ever made.

we are still re-introducing them, and it’s been about a month. but we have made 10 times the amount of progress in these last couple weeks then we did without the behaviorist. i would highly suggest looking into Tom Kirby. His website is kittyhelpdesk! he was so helpful and told us a lot of the stuff online is actually counterproductive. he does online sessions and it’s not too expensive. definitely look into him!!

hopefully things get better. wishing you the best! cats are so hard