How to stop my bigger cat from bullying my scared, declawed cat?

Question

I have a scaredy cat, Juno. She gets along great with one of my other cats but not my biggest cat, Bitty. When he walks by Juno she shrinks down. He'll chase her until she's cornered and hissing at him. They've never had a "real" fight. but I'm worried it will happen and in addition to being 5 pounds smaller, Juno is also declawed front and back (got her that way.) should I make her more or less hiding places? is this a Juno or a Bitty issue? would meds help? Pet's info: Cat | Russian Blue | Female | spayed | 6 years old | 9 lbs

Stacey Anstaett, DVM · Accepted Answer

That is a tough situation. I'm sorry poor Juno is getting picked on! Try to make "safe" places for her where Bitty isn't allowed, with food and water in those places as well, so that she doesn't feel stressed for "resources." Keep lots of litter boxes around to avoid Juno developing a bad habit of going outside of the box, as sometimes a "bullied" cat gets jumped on the way to the box an then starts to avoid litter boxes all together. This is probably more of a "Bitty" issue, and meds may be helpful. Some cats do very well on fluoxetine, so you might want to talk to your vet about that. Be sure that Bitty is getting plenty of opportunity to "stalk and hunt" an appropriate target (i.e. toys) as well. Here is some good info on inter-cat aggression that I think you will find helpful as well: https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/common-cat-behavior-issues/aggression-between-cats-your-household Thanks for asking PetCoach!

How to stop my bigger cat from bullying my scared, declawed cat?

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