posted 09-21-2003 11:42 AM         

I have had a similar situation with my cats. I ended up leaving the one that was being attacked, Bebe, in the spare bedroom when I am not home. Sometimes I leave a friendly cat in with her. If the other cats did attack Bebe when she was out I would give them a time out in a cat carrier. Different things work in different situations, but this seemed to help for me. Bebe was developing health problems from the stress. Since she is by herself when alone, she can relax. She isn't always on guard. She has developed more confidence and even wants to go out into the rest of the house by herself sometimes. I found that the time outs helped, but they have to be immediate and consistent. Also I would pay extra attention to the male cat while the female is around. This will reassure him that he is loved. I would also try to let mine be around each other in neutral situations. For example, with me holding the attacker and someone else with Bebe. We would each pet the cat we were holding and let them sniff noses and stuff. The attacks still happen sometimes, but it's getting better. This is a long process. I have been working on this for 6 months.

If it were my cats the first thing I would do would be to create a separate space for the girl and let the guy roam free. I would also start giving him timeouts for attacking her. Start with 15 minutes, and increase them if he keeps attacking her. After a while you can start introducing them to each other in neutral situations. Like I said different things work in different situations, but this is what I would try if I were you.