5 cats and a one bully

(Baltimore, MD)

I have 6 indoor cats of varying ages (the oldest is about 6 years) rescued from various situations. One of the 6 cats, Roxie (she and her sister were my first 2 cats), is a bully. She is very clearly the alpha cat. She bullies all of the other cats occasionally, but constantly picks on 2 specific cats (moo cow and fluffernutter).

She will corner them, chase them, hiss, swat and sometimes draws blood. She generally just make their lives hell. She also marks the house pretty much every day (and mostly in the same 2-3 spots). I've tried non prescription remedies for her agression and marking (feliaway, more litter boxes, separate room for time outs, spray bottle etc.) with no success. I have also tried valium as prescribed by the vet, with no success.

The other five cats get along fairly well (with the occasional fight). I have a large house and the cats have plenty of room to roam and claim territory. I've exhausted my vets knowledge and it seems I've exhausted the internet's knowledge.

I don't know what else to do. The marking is annoying, but bearable. I am more concerned about the mental and physical health of the other cats.

Should she be permanently separated from the others?

RESPONSE:

Re-homeing her is always an option. But only as a last resort. Have you tried playing with her more. Shut her up in a room and play with her until she is too tired to pick on the others. We have a couple of bullies and we play with them til they are exhausted every day. This as really cut down on their agression toward the others. We also use Bach Flowers (Vine and Holly) in all the water bowls to help cut down on their desire to bully. There are still occassional dust ups but not nearly as bad as it used to be with them. Try increasing play time and Bach Flowers and if it does not help, you may need to consider finding her a single cat only home.

Donna, House Full Cats Mom