Our one yr old boy Maine coon is jealous of our female 3 yr old Ragamuffin and cannot stand to be left out of the petting, holding, or cuddling. He always has to be the center of attention and our poor girl cat gets bullied. How should we handle this?
Anonymous
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First, is he neutered? Second, any time two or more cats are together, one will always be dominant...head of the clutter. Third, you don't say how long they have been together. Generally after a few weeks order will be established. Fourth, the previous comment that Maine Coons have a bit of a tendency to be "aggressive" is true. They also have some real extremes which are amusing but frustrating! We have a spayed female. She is 8 years old and nuts. Always was, always will be. Invents new ways to annoy and will talk your ears off with more vocalizations than any cat we have ever had! We also have an older little Angora who is my favorite, and Munchie, the Coon knows it and leaves her alone. Any time Munch goes after my Spook, a firm "Leave that cat alone!" does the trick. Although the catz have their pecking order, I suggest you pay a bit more attention to the older cat and firmly but gently put the Coon in his place but don't ignore him. One thing to consider, he is technically just out of kitten hood and has a lot to learn! If he isn't neutered, do it! If the female isn't spayed, it's not too late. One thing to watch out for. If you pay more attention to your older girl, that little young snot will annoy you in more ways than you can imagine! Maine Coons are among the most unusual catz we've shared our lives with, and we've done that with 11 over the past 50+ years. Patience, and use that water torture as a last resort!
cutie pie
Well does the other cat care about attention if she doesn't that's easy pay alot more attention to your Maine coon then your ragamuffin. Then the Maine coon wont be jealous
California Girl
I work with cats and I have three of my own. This is very common. They may never get along but they will probably eventually sign a truce. Just make sure you give each cat the love and attention they need. I have three cats and they all hate one another. However, they now are able to exist together. You may need seperate them. Keep them on opposite sides of a door for a few days. Let them smell one another. If they have a favorite bed or blanket, exchange it. Each cat will get the others blanket. They can smell that cat. Bottom line is this. They may never get along. You may have to seperate them. Keep a water bottle close by. When one cat is picking on another, use it. Water will not hurt them. Lastly, your one year old is still a baby. He will calm down.
~gigi~
Ive got 2Maine coons (1 grl &1 boy) and a black stray cat (male)that is in the center of attention so ur in luck.My Maine Coon grl is an inside cat and the 2 boys r jelous cause there outside cats (the grl only likes the house).
Anyway the 2 boys are jelous of her and try to chase her out of the house or one of them trys to pin her down and hurt her! Anyway, all of my cats fight (they will slap each other occationally) and they all want attention!
So When the 2 male cats are NOT in the house, we pay super close attention to our lil'grl cat. And when the males come in, we hold them and pay them close attention and send them out.
My advice to you is to give them both attention (example:your family member pays attention to 1 while you play w/1 in another room.) and when they start to fight (they must know there names), call ther name like I will say to mine "Oliver!" in a scolding voice and they will get used to it every time you say it.
I also will pick up my cat if it is trying to hurt the other and say "no!" scoldingly and put them down. This worked for me!My cat just started to understand everything! When I changed he sound of my voice scoldingly and said their name or "no"! It worked!He now stops trying to bully our cat around the house and leaves her alone!
~I just hope this helps
?
This sounds like common Maine Coon behavior - they tend to need to be the center of attention and can be somewhat aggressive. I don't think you'll be able to change his behavior. Hard as it is, you might consider finding a new home for him if he is actually harming the other cat.