Yuki has always had a tendency to "attack" her big sister who is a much more laid back tabby. Yuki will jump on Yoshi's back, hide then attack etc. She typically does it 1-2 times a day and it is NOT appreciated by Yoshi. We moved into a new house 10 days ago and I have noticed since we moved Yuki is constantly pestering and bullying her sister. It is to the point that Yoshi is becoming anti-social, doesn't sleep on our bed the last few nights because Yuki is there etc.

Any suggestions on how I can restore a little bit of the balance of power and peace for Yoshi? All we hear all day is poor Yoshi yelling at Yuki and I suspect Yuki hurts her sometimes as she is so rough.

Thanks! Danielle

It sounds as if the move and the new environment has affected your kitties. Moving is stressful for adults -- it can affect the pets as well. I don't know that starting over with "safe rooms" would help. You might want to get Feliway diffusers and/or spray and see if that helps. Jackson Galaxy has some holistic remedies at http://www.spiritessences.com and there may be one (bullying for example) that might help you out.

Hopefully, you've gotten settled in and have time now to play with the kitties and try to keep the distractions off each other. Bengals generally do not like change once they've become adults, although my bengal adjusted to our home just fine after living a few door down for six years. It really depends on the cat.

You may or may not know whether the previous owner/tenant also had a cat. A cat's sense of smell is 14 times stronger than ours, so even with a good cleaning of the home, it's possible the smell of another pet (cat or dog) may be present.

My advice is to monitor the situation and if you have to leave, make sure they are separated for the time you are gone. Cats really do things at their owns pace, so you may not be able to get things moving faster.

Thanks! I have picked up some feliway. So far not helping. It is really bad today. I want to give Yuki a "time out" in another room to give Yoshi some peace but don't see that helping.

We had a big cat tree at the old house but got rid of it as it the house was so small and they hardly used it- I wonder now if was because it was second ha d (smelled like other cat) and because not near window. Would giving Yuki somewhere vertical to be dominant help or no?

I am SO frustrated she is really hurting her sister and driving her crazy.

Thanks! Danielle

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The little monsters 3

Thanks so much! What would be my best resource to figure out how to "re-introduce" them properly?
Thanks!

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The little monsters 3

I have read cat vs cat it's very interesting. I would probably read the whole book

I was also going to add you might want to access all their resources to make each has enough access to scratching areas, food, water and litter trays. Make sure they aren't congregated all in one area so they are easy to guard. Spread them out.

Also just a thought but in your new property are there a lot of neighbouring cats? Could Yuki be seeing these cats outside and displacing aggression for them on to Yoshi?

Good luck! I do understand how stressful and upsetting it can be to live with cats that don't get on.
Emily xx

My only advise would be to separate the two for a while and gradually allow them play together under your supervision until they have settled in. Once the bullying stops then you can go back to your previous arrangement.

Bengals definitely need cat trees. I know you can find one with a smaller footprint. They come in all sizes, but your cats definitely need one or two of them. You can always do shelving on the walls, or stack up milk cubes or storage cubes into steps if you don't want to mess up the walls.

Moving just takes so much out of humans. I dread the time we move with our bengal! We're holding off as long as we can since he has his enclosure here. He's almost 10 years old, so it may be 5 to 8 years yet!