(Tracy) wrote in message . com...
In the end, the two cats are going to have to work it out and the
confinement is only delaying the inevitable. Upsetting as the bullying
behavior is to witness, it is unlikely that it will go on forever, or
that one cat will genuinely hurt each other. But you aren't giving
them a chance to settle their hierarchial issues once and for all.

You will need to let them confront each other periodically. Do it when
you're around for a fairly short period of time and pick a space that
each cat can escape from. Expect a lot of hissing, stalking, chasing
and maybe some wrestling. You can try sharply clapping your hands to
see if that deters an attack, but other wise don't interfere. Slowly
make the sessions a little more frequent and a little longer. You can
try it unsupervised (still inside) after 5-10 sessions and the cats
have gotten used to the idea that they are forced to be in proximity
to each other periodically. After a few sessions, they should be able
to coexist with only occaisional bouts of hostility and you can slowly
reintroduce the outdoors. They will probably always chase and stalk
each other and they may well have regular spats, but that isn't
necessarily the end of the world. But they will learn how to live
together.

Essentially I tried this last year. The effect was to drive my two male
cats, one of which has been missing since the day after I confined the
bully, farther and farther away from the house. I could not, and cannot
stand having my happy home ruined by a stray. So confining was the only
answer I could think of.

I know the difference between friendly cat play, chasing, wrestling, etc,
which I love and encourage, and this horrible behaviour, which is a
nightmare. I will confine this cat for the rest of its life if necessary,
rather than let him spoil the other cat's home.

After the former stray cat was neutered, he lived with us as free as
the other cats for two and a half months. But the problem of him menacing
the other males got steadily worse, and finally intolerable.

-cr