Sprout in disgrace.

Tricky isn't it, Phoenix? DD now lives with us and although the dogs all get along fine, we hear terrifying shrieks and yowls if the cats meet eachother on their night time prowls. They seem to avoid eachother during the day as they are out for the count in their respective 'dens'.

I suppose you could give it a bit more time. Sprout is obviously throwing his weight about as a way of stamping his mark but whether he will stop bullying Digby and your neighbour's cat remains to be seen.

Did you find out why he was in the CPL home? Maybe he's had a few too many ASBOs in the past.

Good Luck.

Hopefully he's just turf stamping and things will settle down once new boundaries (physical and personal) have been established? Sort of 'new kid on the block' behaviour.

Oh dear, I thought that little minx was settling down in his new home. It is not right that he is terrorising Digby and/or Marvin- he does not own the area but he is obviously making his mark but not the way that you would have liked.

Maybe give him 2 more weeks but if he continues as he is doing I am afraid that it is Digby's home and he has had enough upsets this year without this upstart taking over.

I agree, why was he in the CPL home? Unfortunately I have no advice to give except to give Digby extra hugs.

Perhaps when you catch him bullying you could put in a room on his own for a "time out" - not that I am any expert on cat behaviour!

Cat naughty step?

BAD SPROUT!!!

We had this same problem when we introduced Ferdie (x bengal) to our other 2 cats. She was fine with the male but was very aggressive with our female Mia. It has taken several months but finally they are OK together. You'll need a spray bottle- the sort you get from the garden centre for misting plants. Then you need to be alert to the beginning of any aggressive behaviour i.e hissing, stalking or staring at the other cat. A quick blast with a spray of water to the aggressive one should do the trick. We also found a space for Mia to go to when it all got too much for her....none of our cats are allowed upstairs but we made an exception for Mia. Once Mia was more confident with Ferdie the aggression disappeared. Ferdie and Mia now have an understanding and whilst not best buddies they do get along together. Best of luck....

What a shame! I had a problem with bullying between my cats. I followed advice suggesting separating them for 2 weeks then gradually re-introducing them, firstly only letting them smell each other's sleeping space. Unfortunately this didn't work, so I reluctantly found a new home for Nutmeg (Saffron's sister), who was attacking Sugababe, a very nervous kitten,who had not been socialised with humans.
A Google search should find more ideas, hope it sorts itself out. Sprout is definitely asserting himself!

Thank you all.

Sprout and his 2 siblings were with CPL because their owner had died (oddly Digby and his chums were with CPL for the same reason.)

If only Digby would stand up to him, or even just sit on him, that make make a difference!

I think you are right Charleygirl give him a bit more time and if it doesn't improve........

lucid the spray could be worth a try as long as it's not in the office, I don't think it would do the computer a lot of good.

I do hope it works out, as Sprout is a very affectionate boy with us, and amusing to have around when he goes "cracker cat" with his ball, although a very nice toy that I bought him on Saturday morning was in the bin by Saturday evening as he had completely destroyed it

Would a feliway plug in help? And keeping their food bowls quite a distance from each other? I know when my daughter had problems with cats spraying in her house [not sure if it was her cat or other cats that got in through the cat flap] it stopped it happening.

Has he been "done"? It seems to solve aggression problems in other anals. If no luck ypu'll just have to threaten to push him up Snowdon.

Yes, I was going to suggest that, too!
We've had cats bullying dogs, but it has settled eventually.
Our new pup (8 months) is flexing her muscles and trying to be the dominant one. The middle dog (which we'll call Whatevah, because she's so chilled) lets her, but the oldest, Miss Nowtie knickers, puts her in her place.
The dogs' names have been changed to protect their darling identities!

Spray of water is a good way to go!

Oh what a shame Phoenix The spray may work as a deterrent and keeping food bowls well apart.

Do you keep the cats in at night? How do they get on then, or do they have separate sleeping quarters?

If the worst comes to the worst and he has to be returned to CPL, would it be an idea to have a girl cat, so there's less male territorial tension?

Tegan it's odd but they are quite happy to eat together in the same area, no problems there. Not sure about a feliway, might be worth a shot. As I said they were making good progress, Sprout was very keen to be friends with Digby, but Digby was a bit reticent. Sprout now seems to be of the "sod you then, if you won't cuddle let's fight instead" attitude.

Terra I'm loving your typo! Yes, he's been done, CPL are strict on that.

I'm a great believer in pheromone plug ins/sprays; wish they were a bit cheaper, though.

Tegan please tell me if I'm wrong, but are they supposed to work in a sort of calming anxious cats down sort of way? If that is the case, I'm not sure how they might work with the current situation with Digby & Sprout?

The Feliway website does mention aggressive behaviour because stress can lead to aggression.

Yes, Sprout may be stressed himself - new home, new companions etc. Give him a break!