cat behavior

[debj52]

hi,im a newbie here  and im hoping someone can help me.i have 3 cats one is 8 and the other two are around one year.

the 8 yr old picks fights with mainly the female..they can nap only inches away from each other on the same bed.i just dont get it ..they never interact and i have had the male since he was about 3 weeks ..i found him outside around the corner of my home and the female i have had 6 months....they are all fixed...if any one could help i would appreciate it...thanks so much ahead of time ...deb

p.s. i also have 2 dogs and none of the cats are bothered by them...

[Savas]

Heh heh...well, to cats, food is lord and sleep is God...so I can see them being touchy about their religion. :)

[debj52]

hi, thank you for answering .yeah my older female really has issues with the younger female...not so much with the male but he has been around since he was 3 weeks old...but mind you if he gets to close to her she will put him in his place...

but if she goes to him like while he is eating and she wiill smell him if he turns around to look she will spat at him....dont make sense to me ...thanks again....deb

[Savas]

Probably your older cat has some resentment of the intruders (even after all this time) as well as is establishing his desire for dominance.

It could also be a space/territory issue. These are indoor cats? Regardless, cats think in instinctive terms of square feet of living/hunting ground. The older cat is accustomed to having all that space for himself and feels the others are intruding on his territory. since he's a house cat, and food is plentiful, this deep instinct only flares up occassionally.

But since cats despite solitary hunting natures are accustomed to living in a "clan" when allowable, he'll make concessions for their existence, albeit grudgingly. Think of it as a pain in the *ss brother who shows up and stays while his house is being built. You don't really want him there, and he irritates the heck out of you, but he is family, so you put up with his living with you...albeit grudgingly.

To be sure it isn't a jealously issue, pay equal attention to him if he acts up when you handle/pet one of the others.

Otherwise, there isn't much to be done for it, especially in a cat of this age unless you can work out a way to give him a room of his own that is "his place" and no other cat may enter. Possibly that would alleviate the hostility he feels towards invaders.