Transferred aggression in a cat

My partner and I work an 8hr x 5 day lifestyle and we have Genghis a 5 yo domestic short-haired cat that we got as a kitten.. He is mostly house-confined. The neighbourhood cats outside terrorise him and twice now, when aggressive to the outside cats, he has turned aggressive to my partner who has been so injured he needed hospital treatment.

Genghis also suffers from urinary tract disease which seems to be caused by his distress.

What can I do to help Genghis and stop my partner and myself being injured again?

Cheryl - Newton Sout Australia

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Hi Cheryl,

It is very common for house-confined cats to be distressed, anxious and aggressive when they are tormented by other cats that roam through their territory.

Genghis' aggression towards you and your partner is called Transferred Aggression (or referred aggression) and this occurs in cats, dogs and even humans.

It occurs when aggresison is caused by one stimulus and is directed towards a second independant and neutral stimulus and is a sign of 'mood overload'.

Cats are very sensitive to smells and odours, so you are correct to presume the presence of the local cats and the odours of their sprayed urine is part of the problem.

If you can humanely reply the local cats from your garden that will help greatly by elminating the cause of the problem. That's not easy to do but this member's sheet (Feline Mad) will give you good advice on that.

To clean away any smell of the local cats then enzymatic laundry detergents such as Bio Zet are quite effective but there is a wonderful product called Bac to Nature which is my favourite.

When Genghis is aggressive, avoid interacting with him as it's obviously dangerous.

You may be able to divert that aggression when it occurs to other outcomes using play based routines (Refer to the member's file Feline Frolics) but that's unlikely to be a powerful remedy.

As this is an anxiety similar to a Panic Disorder then the calming effects of Pheromones could help.

Sometimes homeopathic preparations are useful but if Genghis' anxiety and aggression continue if the local cats can't be repelled then you may want to protect him from further 'emotional' harm by asking your vet for low-side effect medications.

You will find the two-hours of Podcasts on Cat Aggression here very useful and well worth the cost of membership.

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