I now own 2 cats; my older cat (8 yrs) is a medium maine coon with 3 legs, very sweet and very docile. I've had him for over a year and he has become the love of my life - the perfect cat in many ways. However, he was very lonely, so I decided to adopt another cat as a companion. After a few failed attempts we got a 4 year old Tortie; (I did want a slightly older, more settled female). She came from a garage sized rescue that houses and circulates about 400-500 cats at any given time; they are all very well cared for.

She is a very smart little girl, and I would love to keep her as she is sweet to me, but so aggressive to my boy. I hope that will pass, but the big problems are that she seems to be trying to displace him as the "main cat". She eats his food, even though she's not hungry at all, they eat the same food, so it can't be that his food is better. I'm afraid he will lose weight from not eating. He's been free fed with no problems but now that she's here, that won't work and there's no way to place her food up high because I don't want her getting into the habit of climbing. She also jumps in his place on the bed, on the couch, etc. She wants ALL my time, all the time. My boy seems sad because he just wants to cuddle and be friends. He is becoming very submissive and annoyed with me. I've had cats all my life ( a very long life at that) and I am very versed with cat behavior but this is a new one on me! My Tortie's been with us for about a week now...what can I do so that we all live harmoniously? Any help, suggestions etc., will be GREATLY appreciated!

I want to thank you all for answering the "food thief" question. So now I own 2 cats; my older cat, Beaudie (medium maine coon with 3 legs), very sweet and very docile, and Lily-Rose, a 4 year old Tuxxie (I did still want a slightly older cat). She came from a home with 4 other cats, male and female and apparently was bullied by one of the boys, so now she fights back. Lily is a very sweet and smart little girl, and I plan to keep her as she is sweet to me, but again, aggressive to my boy. I hope this will pass, but I see the same problems with her that I saw with other girls I tried to adopt: she eats his food, jumps in his place on the bed, on the couch and is just generally bitchy to him. She is a good girl in manys ways and very independent. Again, my boy just wants to cuddle and be friends; but he is showing signs of aggression back at her, which is not his character at all. I'm afraid they'll hurt each other in a cat spat. Lily's been been with us for about a week now, and I know she probably needs more time. But is there anything I can do to help the situation along? I've used calming sprays, collars, hand clapping, stern commands, etc. They seem to work - sometime. Again, any help, suggestions etc., will be GREATLY appreciated!

Here's a good thing, they both LOVE Celtic, classical and melodious music; that's when they're both calm and settled,so it's on all the time now - however, it's hard to get stuff done around the house when you're in a constant zone - LOL!