Married, with cats

[Jenne]

I have four cats; my husband has two. All of us have been living under one roof for just over a month. Everyone seems to be adjusting just fine, except for Dayla. Dayla seems intimidated by my cats. Two of them seem to be bullying her a little. I'm not sure if they are responding to her acting intimidated or if she is acting intimidated because they are bullying her. But she is hiding upstairs and although we aren't smelling anything yet, we are concerned she eventually won't make the long and scary trip to the basement to use one of the litter boxes. And just as important, we want her to feel happy and secure in her home, as she once did. I'm spanking the bullies whenever I catch them picking on her. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

[Amanda]

Hello Jenne and welcome to the board! It may be that all your cats (yours and your husbands) are trying to see who will be the "alpha" cat. I have cats and dogs and I know that each one of them has had to find out where they stand in the pack. Generally speaking, the oldest one becomes the "leader" of the pack ... but that's not always the case. Sometimes, a younger cat/dog will have a more aggressive personality and they will try and become the "alpha".

I would just let your cats sort it out by themselves, unless you see that Dayla is being hurt by your other cats (then by all means, step in and stop them). Eventually, I'm sure they will learn where they stand in the new pack and will get along with each other.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

[Squawksx3]

Hi Jen and welcome :)

Wow... sounds like a wonderful new family. Sounds like your doing ok so far, I always make sure my fur kids know I am the Alpha in the house ;) . I agree with Amanda, they are sorting out the pecking order and just may take a little time for them to get used to the new family life, in the meantime, if it was me I would put a litter box in an upstairs bathroom just to be safe. If Dayla starts to potty in a place she's not suppose to, you might have a heck of a time stopping it.

Best of luck to you.