Hi Everyone, I'm new to this site out of desperation for help with the newest addition to our furry family. She is now just over 14 months old, being born on Oct. 17, 2013. She is a seal lynx point bengal that my husband bought for me last year for Christmas. She was spayed at 6 months of age. I also have 3 regular house cats and a Main Coon mix. Within the last few months,since the weather has started to get cold out and the cats don't want to go outside as much (we live in the country and I have a cat door,they go in and out at will),Jasmine has become very aggressive towards the other cats,especially towards the Main Coon,who will not fight back,to the point where she is tearing out her fur. The other cats are scared to death of her and she goes around growling,hissing and charging them to see who runs or stands up to her. I don't understand why she is acting out all of a sudden when she got along with everyone before and they would all bring her mice when she was little and she would bat them around till she got bored. Jasmine has also started to pee outside the litter box.She has peed on top of my bedroom dresser,on the kitchen counter,on a computer carrying case. There really isn't any pattern to where she decides to pee and its not very often, maybe once every couple weeks. She's never peed on bed or couches,so it doesn't appear to be marking behavior. I have 4 litter boxes, but only 2 are used by the cats,most of the time,they go outside instead of using the litter boxes. Jasmine also will try attacking the other cats if they try to use the litter box and she's nearby. My husband says he will not put up with her peeing around the house,so I really need help figuring this out.I love her and I can't bear to lose her.Please help

I'm sorry you're so stressed out over this. I hope you have at least 4 to 5 litter boxes in your home. Even though your cats go outdoors, you'll still need about one per cat plus an extra. As for the behavioral problem, this is bullying. There will always be one alpha cat and it appears your bengal has become that. Cats are very territorial so each of your cat needs their own space. Make sure you have several cat trees for them. Your bengal, in particular, loves high places, so placing shelves on the wall and creating a super highway for all your cats to enjoy can go a long way. Search "catification" in a search engine and you'll find lots of suggestions.

There are also holistic and herbal remedies that you can try. Jackson Galaxy has a line called Spirit Essences http://www.spiritessences.com

There are remedies for almost all situations and you can see if this would calm your bengal down. People who have tried these claim they work. I have not, so I don't know, but I do trust Jackson as a cat behaviorist!

A whole other problem is that your other cats are terrified of your bengal and their confidence level is zero at this point. You're going to have build that confidence back up and bring your bengal's down just a little bit. I believe some of his behavior is just typical bengal, but the bullying goes a little too far.

Once you get to where all your cats can get along -- or at least tolerate each other -- and the bengal is not attacking any of the other cats or preventing them from using the litter box, the peeing outside the box should stop. Cats do feel anxiety and stress -- and if you're feeling the same -- they can sense this. If you take control of the situation and find solutions, I think all can live safely and comfortably in your home. A last resort would be to find your bengal a new home.

5 cats in one home, one of which being a bengal, is going to be a challenge for anyone. Now that they all want to be in the house simultaneously there is all kinds of contention for all the resources in the house: access to people, people beds, cat beds, food, water, perches, litterboxes, heated spots etc., and having contention for any one of these things can cause cats to get upset and territorial.

I think at a high level, you need to make sure that each cat has sufficient access to all these things without contention from the others. Which means that you need to carefully observe what is going on, and what specific things are setting off the unhappiness. Making sure there is enough vertical space (elevated perches, shelves, trees, cat beds), litterboxes, and spots where they can be warm are probably the top priorities. And since your cats are being very defensive and territorial about these things, you may need to spread them out. Also, with my bengals I've found that there is a huge difference in their behavior when they've been played with sufficiently that day. They are much more relaxed, much more forgiving and gracious towards the other cats etc., once they've had a good hard play where they get tired out.

You may need to bring in a cat behaviorist for something like this, to see all the nuances of your situation, but there does come a point where there are too many cats in a given space, and the more you add, the more problems there are likely to be. You may have already reached that point. I don't even know how one would go about a re-introduction of 5 cats.

As far as the peeing goes, that certainly does sound like a territorial thing (i.e., marking), given what else is going on, but I'd be actually more worried about the fur pulling, as that means your cat is really not in a happy place so to speak, and a cat can start to go downhill once things have gotten that bad. There is a chance of course that this could all be due to some sort of illness in your bengal, and that is causing the extra aggression and defense of the territory. A trip to the vet might be warranted.

I doubt that there is an easy fix to this, and it's ironic that your husband is intolerant of cat pee since he caused this problem by introducing the 5th cat. It's grossly unfair to blame the cats in this matter, as this sort of thing was 100% predictable and will probably take some doing to resolve.

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The little monsters 3

Thank you for the advice. I did go out and buy another litter box yesterday and now that makes a total of 5,they all have the same litter,they are all they same size (big,because of my Main Coon )but they all want to use the same 2 boxes,go figure. My house is a huge 2 story house with a cathedral ceiling in the livingroom with a walkway around the edge about 10 feet up. Jasmine loves hanging out upstairs on the walkway looking down into the livingroom and she walks the handrail on the railing,just about gives me a heart attack when she does it, as it's 13 feet up in the air. I already have a cat tree,it's pretty big and stands around 7 feet tall. Jasmine allows all the cats except the Main Coon to use it most of the time,so I will be getting another one of those and placing it in a different part of the house. As far as the cat beds go,they all have their own and no one fights over those,which is a miracle. I will visit that website and check out the stuff Jackson has,maybe I can find something to help with Jasmine's attitude. She picks on the Main Coon the worst because she is the only one who never fights back and always runs,but when I am around and tell Jasmine "no", she backs down and walks away. That's why I was wondering if this is a stage she is going through that she will outgrow,like a teenager, or is she going to keep getting worse as she gets older. Thanks again for the advice,I will be trying the different suggestions and hope it helps Jasmine to get along better with the rest of my girls.She really is quite the little rebel,but I so love her and I'm not giving up on her just yet.

If one is getting too aggressive, separate that cat from the others for 10-15 minutes to deescalate whatever is going on. Also make sure they are getting positive time with you so you aren't one of the resources they are competing for. Try to give meals together and treats together, even if they are all five feet from each other, it is a positive experience together.

Is the Bengal bored? Do you have any puzzle toys or other favorites that can keep them occupied? Mine love to team up on the treat ball.

The first thing that comes to mind is separating the cats to reestablish their pecking order. If your bengal likes hanging out upstairs, make that her area for a few weeks. I would also grab a few Feliway diffusers and plug them in around your house. To me this sounds like 100% territorial behavior. Your bengal is likely stressed because she doesn't have the space she needs and your Maine coon is getting the rough end of it. You have to build your MC ' S confidence and that's not going to be done with Jasmine around. I would start by separating the two that have the problem and slowly reintroduce them once they both have settled and are confident in their selves. I can say from experience with my Jasper that it is not easy to keep them separated. I had to do this with him to reintroduce him into my home and my kids. It was extremely hard(emotionally) keeping him away but I had to try anything I could. He was like your Maine coon and was really stressed to the point of fur pulling. Once it gets that bad it's almost impossible to turn back. If after a couple of weeks of separation it doesn't get better I would call in a behaviorist.

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Well, I'm trying a few things....first off,I have a couple Feliway diffusers going,they have been plugged in for about 4 weeks now. That was the first thing I tried before even posting on here. Second, I bought some new toys,they're called Neko Flies, and the cats absolutely love them. When I get the flies out, they all come running to play,including Jasmine, and she totally ignores Lexi,the Maine Coon ,whom she can't stand. While they are playing,Lexi and Jasmine come within feet of each other and as long as I can keep Jasmine occupied,everyone is happy. It's a start and it's the closest they have been to each other without Jasmine trying to intimidate Lexi in some manner in a long time. Lexi is also starting to venture into the livingroom when she knows we are around. That is a huge step for her, as she wouldn't even leave the kitchen. I have been squirting Jasmine with water every time she goes after Lexi,then putting her in time out in the bathroom with the door closed for 15 minutes when she acts up. It seems to be working because she is starting to tolerate Lexi more and more every day,at least when I'm around. I don't know what goes on while I'm at work,but while I'm here,Jasmine is acting better. Jasmine has also started sleeping with me every night again,so I don't think she hates me yet for squirting her. Hopefully,if things keep going the way they have this week, Jasmine might even get to like Lexi the way she used to when Jasmine was a kitten.

I would advise against squirting with water. Cats don't like it and they don't always associate it with their bad behavior. A firm, "No" doesn't always help either, but the water is not necessary! Now you've found a toy your cats love (I have one of those Neko flies, too. Raiden went crazy for it the first day, but not he would much prefer the wand only). I commend you for going through what you've gone through to try and remedy the situation. For five cats, you're going to need a minimum of 3 cat trees. Since you have a multi-story house, you need litter boxes on both floors, cat trees on both floors. I know a lot of cat owners would prefer their house didn't look like they had cats, but cats are part of the family and they need their own furniture and space. A bengal and a Maine Coon are about as far apart on the cat spectrum as one can get, so getting them to really tolerate each other may take some time. There's no fast fix to this. It takes time and patience and baby steps. Having five regular cats in a house can be daunting, but put a bengal in the mix and it can become havoc. At least you appear to have the room to spread the cats out. You need to make sure your Maine Coon has the ability to escape from any bullying, which means jumping on cat trees, shelves, furniture, so she can get away ..... and be safe. I can't wait until you let us know things are good and your Maine Coon has her confidence back. There is a topic on here about the Spirit Essences where a couple of members have ordered and are using the product. I've read that sometimes they can take over a month before they start working .... You're doing a lot of the right things and appear willing to do what it takes to have a happy family! Good luck and keep us posted.

Thanks Sherry.....As far as my house looking like a cat house,I really don't care,lol, my cats are my kids and I don't care what anyone thinks about how my house looks. I have cat toys, scratch posts and cat stuff every where. There are litter boxes on every floor of the house now and stuff for them to play with scattered throughout the house. I also have feeding stations in 3 different places so no one has to be bothered when eating.I've never had a problem with any of the cats getting along until Jasmine started getting older and she started becoming more aggressive. We took a backward step today, she again went after Lexi,so I had to put her in time out. When I let Jasmine rejoin us again,she came out calmed down but still a little bratty,but she stayed away from Lexi.She really does seem to understand. I haven't found any pee spots anywhere all week,I'm hoping she's stopped doing that. Maybe the 2 extra litter boxes I bought fixed that problem. Thank you all for your help again.

Are you sure the bengal is the one doing the peeing outside the box? I thought one of my two were doing this and it turns out it was my neighbor's dog during one of his frequent visits!

Unfortunately,yes,I'm sure it's Jasmine,I actually caught her peeing on my dresser. Although I don't know what happened,but she hasn't peed anywhere in over 2 weeks and she has actually started playing with 2 of the younger cats. She is still acting bratty towards my Maine Coon,Lexi, but it's not as often as it used to be and not as severe. I'm thinking there might be a light at the end of the tunnel. Not sure what is bringing the changes about,if it's the Feliway finally starting to work or the time outs when she acts up or extra playtime with all the kitties in the same room or a combination of all ,but something is making a positive impact on her attitude. I'm just thankful for the more peaceful, happy household we are starting to become