Hi, I posted a little while ago about my situation. My two cats Damien and Sly moved with me back to my parents house, where there is a 10 year old cat Buzz. Damien and Buzz have no problems but Sly delights in stalking, chasing, and pouncing on Buzz and is making him miserable.
Well Buzz has been checked by a vet and is just fine health wise. They three co-habitate fine most of the time. But unless Sly is sleeping or otherwise occupied Buzz spends all his time under the dining room table, where Sly can't sneak attack him, and is often chased around by Sly. This is a problem because Buzz weighs 14lbs and launches himself onto furniture while being chased. Today they knocked over a chair and it was inches from smashing into a china cabinet. This is my mom and dads house and rearranging the furniture to suit the cats isn't an option, unfortunately. Buzz hates being chased, he snorts and hisses and looses a lot of fur. Sly is obssesive about chasing and stalking Buzz. I have been putting Sly and his friend Damien in the spare bedroom and night, but Sly has actually begun trying to burrow under the door and as a result is cutting his nose, from trying to squeeze under the door. He has become obssesive about that too, I spent the night in the room with them and he would keep at it- despite attempts at distraction with treats and play.
This situation is not fair to Sly or Buzz. If a solution can't be reached I'll have to find a new home for Sly, and sadly Damien who is innocent but is best friends with Sly. Please don't tell me to 'reintroduce' them. The only way to do that would be by keeping Sly locked up somewhere for a long time, and he would hurt himself if I did that. They've already been introduced, introductions are over.
Any advice would be great, thanks.
Problem with old cat/new cat
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Guest
Re: Problem with old cat/new cat
As I was writing that post I had Sly in the room with me, and he was going nuts trying to get under that door. I've never seen anything like it. if he had claws there'd be no carpet left, and he seems oblivious to the pain he must be inflicting on himself. His pretty white face is red and raw, its horrible, and nothing stops him except letting him out...and he goes right for Buzz 
Re: Problem with old cat/new cat
First of all, since you've now described Sly as having cuts and scratches on his face, it's time to get him seen by your vet to ensure that bacterial infection doesn't set in. Can't stress this enough, the face area is a prime area for bacterial infection, and if there are raw areas as you say, you can't afford not to get him seen.
Second, Jason gave you good advice in your first post about this situation. The introductions page he posted for you is full of excellent tips in re-introductions as well. While we would all like to think introductions will go smoothly, sometimes they don't, sometimes the situation fails, for various reasons, but the main reason it fails is that it wasn't implemented long enough, or the owner wasn't committed to the task and didn't correct problems as they occured. Many of us in fact, have had to re-introduce cats at one time or another, if the situation requires a second re-introduction stage, then so be it, it is important that the cats tolerate each other, become acceptable toward one another and can all live in a harmonious environment. They may never be best buddies, but tolerance of each other is paramount.
The solution? Re-read the Feline Introductions page, and start applying the advice/tips again. Yes, it sounds like you will have to start over, but there's no harm in doing so, it's necessary to achieve harmony amoung the cats.
The problem seems to be mostly with Buzz not accepting Sly. You can't really blame him for this, since he was the alpha male, and was the first and only cat in your parents' home. When another cat was introduced to him, it was a normal reaction for him to react agressively or even submissively. If he was more submissive at your apartment it was because that was not his normal territory. Now he has two new kitties in his territory, and he is not adjusting too well to the new situation. It's up to you to either reintroduce them again, or to manage behavorial training techniques for Sly, in keeping him from terrorizing Buzz.
You can try the "time-out" techniques Jason so clearly outlined in the Feline Introductions page.......for everytime that Sly approaches Buzz in a negative way, immediately put Sly in another room for a few minutes at a time. It may be necessary to do this several times, but eventually, he will get the idea that he will not be rewarded for the behavior. He's not going to like being confined every time he chases or terrorizes Buzz, so he will in fact learn that confinement is punishment, and he will lessen the behavior. Don't do this minutes or hours after the event, you must do it immediately after you've seen him chase Buzz. A few minutes confined in another room directly after the chase is all that is necessary for him to get the idea (again, may need to repeat this a few times til he gets the idea)
Another tip you can do is try getting them all involved together in playtime, whether this be chasing a string throughout the house, catnip, playing with toys, etc.....anything to get them in the same area together with playtime to make it fun and interesting for them. If they are playing or engaged in play, they are less likely to focus their attentions on each other, but will in time, become more accustomed to each other's presense.
Lastly, your own stress has probably added to the situation. Cats are very sensitive and they can sense our stress and will react to it. Keep calm, and forgiving and be patient at all times. Ask your parents to also review the Feline Introductions page so they too are familiar with the techniques and can help you during this transition.
As for the door and Sly digging at it underneath, you need to cover that open area with something....whatever it takes to keep him from harming his paws, his face, etc when he claws or chews at it. If there is an area underneath that is large enough for his head or other body area to get stuck in, you can't take the risk of an accident, put something in front of the open area that he can't harm himself. (rolled up towel or blanket, etc)
Second, Jason gave you good advice in your first post about this situation. The introductions page he posted for you is full of excellent tips in re-introductions as well. While we would all like to think introductions will go smoothly, sometimes they don't, sometimes the situation fails, for various reasons, but the main reason it fails is that it wasn't implemented long enough, or the owner wasn't committed to the task and didn't correct problems as they occured. Many of us in fact, have had to re-introduce cats at one time or another, if the situation requires a second re-introduction stage, then so be it, it is important that the cats tolerate each other, become acceptable toward one another and can all live in a harmonious environment. They may never be best buddies, but tolerance of each other is paramount.
The solution? Re-read the Feline Introductions page, and start applying the advice/tips again. Yes, it sounds like you will have to start over, but there's no harm in doing so, it's necessary to achieve harmony amoung the cats.
The problem seems to be mostly with Buzz not accepting Sly. You can't really blame him for this, since he was the alpha male, and was the first and only cat in your parents' home. When another cat was introduced to him, it was a normal reaction for him to react agressively or even submissively. If he was more submissive at your apartment it was because that was not his normal territory. Now he has two new kitties in his territory, and he is not adjusting too well to the new situation. It's up to you to either reintroduce them again, or to manage behavorial training techniques for Sly, in keeping him from terrorizing Buzz.
You can try the "time-out" techniques Jason so clearly outlined in the Feline Introductions page.......for everytime that Sly approaches Buzz in a negative way, immediately put Sly in another room for a few minutes at a time. It may be necessary to do this several times, but eventually, he will get the idea that he will not be rewarded for the behavior. He's not going to like being confined every time he chases or terrorizes Buzz, so he will in fact learn that confinement is punishment, and he will lessen the behavior. Don't do this minutes or hours after the event, you must do it immediately after you've seen him chase Buzz. A few minutes confined in another room directly after the chase is all that is necessary for him to get the idea (again, may need to repeat this a few times til he gets the idea)
Another tip you can do is try getting them all involved together in playtime, whether this be chasing a string throughout the house, catnip, playing with toys, etc.....anything to get them in the same area together with playtime to make it fun and interesting for them. If they are playing or engaged in play, they are less likely to focus their attentions on each other, but will in time, become more accustomed to each other's presense.
Lastly, your own stress has probably added to the situation. Cats are very sensitive and they can sense our stress and will react to it. Keep calm, and forgiving and be patient at all times. Ask your parents to also review the Feline Introductions page so they too are familiar with the techniques and can help you during this transition.
As for the door and Sly digging at it underneath, you need to cover that open area with something....whatever it takes to keep him from harming his paws, his face, etc when he claws or chews at it. If there is an area underneath that is large enough for his head or other body area to get stuck in, you can't take the risk of an accident, put something in front of the open area that he can't harm himself. (rolled up towel or blanket, etc)
..........Traci