Cat suddenly attacking his former bff now she won’t come home.

I took in 2 neighborhood strays that are now indoor / outdoor. (I know ALL the reasons people think they should be indoor only and I agree but it’s not going to happen for myriad reasons so I’d really like to skip that conversation and get some constructive advice.) Another neighborhood stray has been coming into my yard and fighting. Both have incurred several injuries. This week the small female was hurt and I took her to the vet. A huge betrayal, so I lost a lot of the trust I’ve worked so hard to earn over the last year. Since the incident (and another big fight between my male and the bully the next morning) my male is now attacking the female and chasing her out of the yard. It took her two days to come home. I got feliway plug-ins and he is semi-calm in the house but is still making some moves to go for her and she is terrified. I think when he’s outside he is smelling where this stray has marked and is now being hyper vigilant / experiencing redirected aggression and targeting the female out of fear and overstimulation.

I have him closed in the guest room now to give them space. I’ve done this for 4 hours at a time a few times now but he goes right back to it when he’s let out. If I trying locking him up for longer he will go totally berserk. I’ve ordered some hemp oil to try and also bought a super soaker, thinking that maybe if I get him a little wet when he’s about to pounce he’ll think twice. Or will this only curb the behavior while I’m nearby? I also bought a live trap for the bully to get him fixed and relocate him but so far only caught a cute little possum. I fear he’s too savvy for the trap. Has anyone worked through a similar issue? Will they ever be able to cohabitate again? Things I’m reading say the longer it goes on the harder it is to reverse… I am at a loss for how to end this and it’s crushing to see my little girl cat being victimized by her once best buddy.

submitted by /u/86486753o9
[link] [comments]

from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/gcv2mb/cat_suddenly_attacking_his_former_bff_now_she/