I have four cats, a mom and three of her kids. The mom, Mandi is 11 years old and the kids are 10 yrs. So, they all get along except for the past six months, Cybil starts attacking her mom, Mandi. This is totally new behavior. Poor Mandi spent the summer outside, refusing to come in because she is terrified of Cybil. It wasn't so bad because the weather was nice and she is an outdoor cat. Now that it's cold and snowy, she comes in out of desperation, but is tormented constantly. I try to keep them separated, with Cybil spending most of her time in the basement since she is the instigator. I have a very small house, four rooms totalling 900 square feet, not counting the basement. I feel guilty keeping Cybil in the basement, but it's the only peace Mandi gets. I have tried giving Cybil extra attention, thinking that might be the problem, but to no avail. The vet said if the behavior continued that Cybil should be medicated. I'm not too keen on this idea and was wondering if anyone else here has any suggestions, maybe experiencing this type of problem themselves? Thanks.

Well, I'm no expert, but I would think it might have to do with age. I have a 12 year old tabby cat myself, and he's always been very placid and calm. Recently, though, he's taken to attacking my parents and I every so often. We thought it might be changing his diet suddenly on him, but putting it back to normal didn't stop it. The vet told us it's probably just age, and we could squirt him with a water gun when he attacked us, to see if that stopped him. But we don't really want to squirt him, so I can't say if that works or not. :D

So, to summarize that probably very disjointed paragraph... it might just be age, like with my cat.

try getting some feliway diffusers for the house. they're like plug ins only with phermones (but only the cats can smell them). it can be very helpful for this sort of thing.

try getting some feliway diffusers for the house. they're like plug ins only with phermones (but only the cats can smell them). it can be very helpful for this sort of thing.

Oh, this worked for my cats. I second that!

I have no help. My old guy *loves* fighting and all the other cats enjoy it, too. Even the puppy likes it. There's a ripping through the house fight every hour here (but all the animals are OK with it).

Six months ago would have been around June. Are you SURE nothing changed in June that could have triggered this? Animals can be upset by changes in their homes that are completely below our radar. Something as simple as, for example, moving a chair into a different room could cause a territorial battle, if the chair iss Mandi's spot and the room is Cybil's territory. Look for things like that-- some kind of change in the house, a change in who's coming and going from the house, a change in your routine, something that might have caused Mandi to smell different, anything,. Cats are very routine-oriented and they hate change.

Meanwhile, I'll second the vote for Feliway. I've never had to use it myself, but I've heard good things about it. I also wonder if re-establishing the communal scent by stroking them both with a sock over your hand or brushing them with the same brush might help.

Thanks guys!