
BehavioRx Case of the Month
for June 1997
The Attacking Cat
The HelpLine received a frantic call from a client whose 6 year old
neutered male tabby had started attacking the new female kitten. The kitten had never
fought back and had started spending her days hiding under furniture in spaces too small
for the male to reach her. It was so severe that the male had to be kept in a separate
room, where he almost incessantly paced and yowled. Both pets were in excellent health and
no obvious problems were found which might cause the male to re-direct aggression toward
the kitten, such as outside cats perching on window sills.
As it turned out, the owner, a single woman in her twenties, had always allowed the male
to sleep on her bed and spent the evenings with him on her lap. When the kitten first
arrived, the male had only attacked her when he was on the owner's lap. The owner had
swatted his rump with a rolled up newspaper, scolding him loudly. When this didn't work,
she would forcibly hold him on her lap when the kitten was in the same room. However, the
male began stalking the kitten within a couple of weeks and the situation was intolerable
within a month.
We explained the cat's association of her negative punishment with the kitten, which she
quickly grasped. She even suggested ways that she thought she might turn the negative to
positive feelings about the kitten. These were; withhold food from the male and feed him
when the kitten came out from hiding, and pet him only when the kitten appeared. [As it
happened, the client was a university professor of psychology.] We congratulated her,
suggested she try these measures and phone back with a report as soon as she noted the
male's reactions. She called two days later to report that he was getting worse.
We then suggested she board the kitten for four days in order to relieve her constant
stress created by the fear of being attacked. During that period of time the owner was to
ignore the male completely at home. She was then to take the male in a carrier to the
kennel and introduce the two in the kennel office, making an affectionate fuss over the
male. If he reacted favorably, i.e. did not attack the cat or even show friendliness, she
was to take them both home in carriers.
Back home, she was to put the male [still in the carrier] in the bedroom, then release the
kitten in an area with no hiding places, where she was to pet her pleasantly and make her
feel comfortable. The kitchen was selected as the reunion site. The next step was to bring
in the male and release him, making the same pleasant fuss as at the kennel. If things
went smoothly, she would need to continue the program until she felt the two pets had
adjusted comfortably to each other. If things didn't go well, she would need to re-board
the kitten and try again.
Three weeks later the client called to report that she had to board the kitten twice
before the male responded amicably to the kitten's presence in the kitchen at home. She
then opened the kitchen door. Surprisingly, both cats walked calmly into the living room,
sniffed around and settled down for a nap.
Turning negative social associations into positive ones is usually more successful than
working with food-based programs. All of which tends to support the concept that pet cats
may be far more sensitive to their owners' emotions than most dog owners appreciate.
Previous Cases
May 1997
April 1997
March 1997
February 1997
January 1997
December 1996
November 1996
October 1996
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