[tpolley]

red is about 11 years old. i got him in 2000-ish when i was a senior in high school and still lived with mom and dad. he was an only child untill about 2007-ish when i met my wife and moved in with her and her two cats, patrick and annabelle and dog, jack.

red's never gotten along with the other kids. at this point he can tolerate being within a few feet of the other two cats but once they get closer than that he gets highly upset. he's not confrontational, he won't fight. he just growls, hisses and runs away. i think patrick and annabelle think its funny. patrick will sit down next to red, knowing that it p**ses him off, then he'll chase red down the hall. they can all sleep on the same bed but thats about it.

red hates jack, the dog even more. jack doesn't care about red. he just ignores him. we recently brought a puppy into the house. morgan. red doesn't like her either.

red seems to be okay with other people. usually when other people are over, jack is there to greet them also so the people see the nasty side of red. he's my buddy so he and i get along. he's okay with the wife but he likes me better.

at this point is there any hope that they'll get along peacefully or is this as good as its going to get?

 

[somebody]

Since they are all introduced and been living together for four years now, I think it's safe to say it won't get any worse.

But there may be things you can do to improve relations.

How many cat trees do you have? Cats like to be in elevated spaces. Having enough elevation for all the cats is likely to make them (especially Red) feel more comfortable and secure.

Cat shelves on the wall, or the tops of tall book cases can also work.

How many litter boxes do you have? Some cats are really territorial about litter boxes. Adding a few extra in various places may help with tension.

Installing feliway plug in diffusers can help. Feliway is good for both territorial feelings and stress in general.

Adding some Rescue Remedy to their water, or even just rubbing it on Red's little face may help too.

 

[tpolley]

yeah... we tried that feliway stuff for awhile, almost went bankrupt. that stuff is insane expensive. i didn't notice an improvement.

we have one large cat tree by the living room window that they fight over. red is usually there to greet me when i get home from work.

we have another small cat tree thats level with the arm on my recliner that he likes to sit in when i'm in the recliner. he also likes to sit on the back of the recliner and fan me wit his tail. he sleeps at the foot of the bed on my side. he's always there at night. when i'm in the kitchen making dinner he's on the counter drinking out of his water bowl or trying to sneak a scrap of whatever i'm cooking. when i'm in the bathroom he's on the counter looking out the window or waiting for me to ge out of the shower so he can "bathe" me. he pretty much follows me around the house as long as morgan isn't around.


we have 2 litter boxes. it's a chore keeping up with the cleaning.

 

[somebody]

Rule of thumb for litter boxes and cats is "one more box than cats". With three cats, four litter boxes is the norm.

Adding two more boxes may help the cats co exist better. The boxes will be cleaner, for one thing, unless you are scooping every time they are used, which would be a chore, LOL

I actually do scoop as soon as a box is used if I am home to do it. However if you are like most people you scoop only once a day, and having to pee or poop over another cat's pee or poop can really rub a cat the wrong way. They may be happier in general with more choice of bathroom facilities.

Adding more elevated places for the cats, since they fight over the existing one, may help. Cats like to be up high, instinctively.

Feliway can be gotten relatively inexpensively through amazon.com or other places with discounts and coupons (I have a friend who just purchased several refills at $7 each).

Of course for it to be effective you have to have enough going, depending on the size of your home. So yes, it can get costly.

And granted, it won't help in every situation. I love it for stressful situations, and I know others who have had good results with it, but I have only a very small apartment so only need one. And I don't keep it going all the time, just when needed.

You might give the rescue remedy a try.

Otherwise, it sounds like Red isn't suffering much stress from his dislike of the other household pets, and the other cats have each other to bond with right? And the dog of course has his walks to keep him happy. Hopefully you are training the puppy to leave the cats alone.

Cats sometimes become more mellow with age, so you never know, someday.....

 

[wishbone]

I think too it will be more likely never get worse, unless there are things that makes them fight more. Keep them supervised and when things getting worse, keep them separated for a period of time.

 

[Elliriyanna]

My own cat is 8 years old and HATES my new Kitten after that long of a time though It wont get worse but I dont see it really getting better they are set in their ways