The single most effective addition I've found for cat behavior issues, especially if it's multiple cats fighting, has been synthetic pheromones. I've had a Feliway Optimum (or whatever it's called) plug-in diffuser in my living room, and it helped my new kitten adjust to both the apartment and his younger brother (also a kitten, but whom…
The single most effective addition I've found for cat behavior issues, especially if it's multiple cats fighting, has been synthetic pheromones. I've had a Feliway Optimum (or whatever it's called) plug-in diffuser in my living room, and it helped my new kitten adjust to both the apartment and his younger brother (also a kitten, but whom I've had for longer) much faster than I'd expected. It's not a substitute for other behavioral management, but it sure as hell helps.
For behavioral management, as I'm sure you've heard a million times, cats don't really respond to punishment, which is true; it just damages their trust in you and makes them think you're an asshole. The best thing is just to reward them for playing nice and separate and ignore them when they're being shitheads. Younger is still an obnoxious little shit to Older sometimes, but whenever he's being a brat—ignoring Older's cries and growls, for instance, and attacking even though he clearly doesn't want to play—I just pick up Older and ignore Younger for a solid minute. Similarly, Older sometimes growls at Younger over toys or food, so I just take the toy or food away and ignore him. I don't brook any food or toy aggression in my household, as it can grow into more serious problems.
The single most effective addition I've found for cat behavior issues, especially if it's multiple cats fighting, has been synthetic pheromones. I've had a Feliway Optimum (or whatever it's called) plug-in diffuser in my living room, and it helped my new kitten adjust to both the apartment and his younger brother (also a kitten, but whom I've had for longer) much faster than I'd expected. It's not a substitute for other behavioral management, but it sure as hell helps.
For behavioral management, as I'm sure you've heard a million times, cats don't really respond to punishment, which is true; it just damages their trust in you and makes them think you're an asshole. The best thing is just to reward them for playing nice and separate and ignore them when they're being shitheads. Younger is still an obnoxious little shit to Older sometimes, but whenever he's being a brat—ignoring Older's cries and growls, for instance, and attacking even though he clearly doesn't want to play—I just pick up Older and ignore Younger for a solid minute. Similarly, Older sometimes growls at Younger over toys or food, so I just take the toy or food away and ignore him. I don't brook any food or toy aggression in my household, as it can grow into more serious problems.