
Territorial Cats
I moved into my boyfriend's house with my two cats, Max (15 lb. neutered 5-year-old male) and Maddie (spayed 10-year-old female). My boyfriend has a 9-year-old 9 lb. timid neutered male named Ivar. We have kept my cats locked in the guest room except on 3 occasions. During the first encounter between Max and Ivar, they stayed at opposite ends of the hall and Max acted up with his tail puffed up and cried like tom cats do when they meet in the yard. Ivar just sat and watched. After fifteen minutes, Max stalked him and attacked him from the rear viciously till we separated them. On the third encounter, as soon as Max spotted Ivar, Max went charging after him. I adopted Max at 12 weeks old. I wasn't working at the time and he got my full attention. He slept under the covers with me every night. Maddie slept with and got full attention from my ex-husband. Two years ago I went through a divorce. A year ago I uprooted the cats and moved from a spacious house (where the cats were indoor/outdoor) to a tiny apartment. Max had always had 2 or 3 buddies, neighbor's neutered males that played together. After a month in the apartment Maddie suffered an injury to her spine while outdoors and they have been house-bound ever since. She can get around but has trouble jumping up on furniture or running fast. Max has become extremely aggressive and stalks and terrorizes her all day long. If he sees me pay attention to her, he attacks her. Now I have an even greater problem. He seems to want to be the only cat in the household. He wants all the attention. How do I break him of these habits? This morning I put him on a leash and let him out in the house so he wouldn't attack Ivar. It calmed him down a bit. Is this the best approach? Should I keep him on a leash until he learns not to chase and attack Ivar? Will letting him outdoors so he can run and interact with other boy cats (we have several neighbors) help him release some of his energy? I know that he misses the outdoors, and now I am back in a house where he can go outside.
Cats, by nature, are territorial. As a neutered male, Max interacts with these territorial instincts, and without the expected male-female space sharing behavior in non-neutered males. The cats must be assigned and taught their own territories, with no overlapping zones. Try keeping them separate for several weeks, and allowing them to meet only on neutral ground after this time. They should have individual cat boxes and food dishes. Leashes and sedatives are not recommende
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Territorial Cats

I moved into my boyfriend's house with my two cats, Max (15 lb. neutered 5-year-old male) and Maddie (spayed 10-year-old female). My boyfriend has a 9-year-old 9 lb. timid neutered male named Ivar. We have kept my cats locked in the guest room except on 3 occasions.

During the first encounter between Max and Ivar, they stayed at opposite ends of the hall and Max acted up with his tail puffed up and cried like tom cats do when they meet in the yard. Ivar just sat and watched. After fifteen minutes, Max stalked him and attacked him from the rear viciously till we separated them. On the third encounter, as soon as Max spotted Ivar, Max went charging after him. I adopted Max at 12 weeks old.

I wasn't working at the time and he got my full attention. He slept under the covers with me every night. Maddie slept with and got full attention from my ex-husband. Two years ago I went through a divorce. A year ago I uprooted the cats and moved from a spacious house (where the cats were indoor/outdoor) to a tiny apartment. Max had always had 2 or 3 buddies, neighbor's neutered males that played together. After a month in the apartment Maddie suffered an injury to her spine while outdoors and they have been house-bound ever since. She can get around but has trouble jumping up on furniture or running fast. Max has become extremely aggressive and stalks and terrorizes her all day long. If he sees me pay attention to her, he attacks her. Now

I have an even greater problem. He seems to want to be the only cat in the household. He wants all the attention. How do I break him of these habits? This morning I put him on a leash and let him out in the house so he wouldn't attack Ivar. It calmed him down a bit. Is this the best approach? Should I keep him on a leash until he learns not to chase and attack Ivar?

Will letting him outdoors so he can run and interact with other boy cats (we have several neighbors) help him release some of his energy? I know that he misses the outdoors, and now I am back in a house where he can go outside.

Cats, by nature, are territorial. As a neutered male, Max interacts with these territorial instincts, and without the expected male-female space sharing behavior in non-neutered males. The cats must be assigned and taught their own territories, with no overlapping zones.

Try keeping them separate for several weeks, and allowing them to meet only on neutral ground after this time. They should have individual cat boxes and food dishes. Leashes and sedatives are not recommende

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