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7 Tips for dealing with a high energy cat

Without breaking his spirit.
There's one in every multi-cat household,
but there are ways to restore peace and balance.

7 Tips to turn your bully cat into a team player.

Last updated April 19th, 2023

When your cat goes around giving everyone in his path a powder puff for no reason, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s aggressive. When your one cat is bullying another cat things can quickly escalate into an unwanted behavioral problem. There’s one in every multi-cat household and through no fault of his own, he’s labeled the “bully cat.”

When we add more cats to an already established group, it causes a shift in the cat hierarchy. The shift may be as obvious as a stare down and a brawl with fur flying or it may be very subtle, such as blocking the pathway to a litter box. The resident high ranking cat may or may not relinquish his title as Top Cat … at first, or maybe never.

Mr. Jack, watch your back!

But that doesn’t stop the cat with ambitions to keep trying by asserting his dominance over the rest of the clan through undesirable behaviors. This could include anything from relentlessly ambushing and chasing a timid, docile cat, guarding litter boxes, taking ownership of toys, games, sun puddles and refusing to timeshare.

how to deal with a bully cat
Someday, Mr. Jack, I shall usurp the throne. Watch your back!
Right now in your multi-cat home, there is most likely a daily episode of Game of Thrones at play. Is there a cat in your home set on ruling the 7 cat kingdoms?Click To Tweet

The last thing you want to do is punish the so-called bully cat with water bottle spraying, yelling or throwing things at him. It’s not going to solve his bad attitude and may cause him to fear you and lead to stress. I compare these tactics to just taking pills to mask the symptoms of illness, instead of treating the cause. These high energy cats have a strong prey drive and they love nothing more than to chase anything that moves like prey! The key is providing him with tasks that will fulfill his desire to hunt and creating an enriching, changing environment that he cannot resist.

But, is your cat really a bully or is he just a high energy cat?

In many cases the latter is true. Our resident rescue cat, Baggy, is definitely more high energy than a bully. He’s not aggressive at all, a complete love bug to the humans, but has a high prey drive with lots of energy to expend. He claimed this title because he enjoys whacking the other cats with his paws like he’s in the octagon in a UFC match. During these slapping sessions, he never uses his claws and is easily distracted while engaging in these ‘games.’ Because to him, it is a game, and with that in mind, we know that we can easily redirect this negative behavior into something positive.

Throw something crinkly across the kitchen floor, and you’ve got him! Take out the fishing rod toy, now we’re talking! Instantly he loses interest in taunting the victim cat. We know that to keep the harmony we really have to provide an ultra stimulating environment for this high energy cat.

Always pay attention to how your cat is showing aggression. Displaying overtly aggressive and harmful behavior such as biting or drawing blood due to full-blown fights, first and foremost, warrants a vet visit to rule out any underlying medical issues. Cats are masters at being stoic creatures and they hide pain well. The only outlet they have to express pain is sometimes through redirected aggression – taking it out on another cat that happens to walk by.

7 Things you can do to provide stimulation for your high energy cat

1. Interactive pre-supper time play

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Interactive playtime is at the top of the list of things to engage your high energy cat. Coming home after work, one could easily give in to the whims of wailing cats wanting to be fed first thing. Now is the time to ignore their persuasive “acatpella” and get them moving. Spend about 15 minutes playing with your cats to release all that pent-up energy. Remember, you’re the one who is tired, not your high energy cat. He’s been sleeping all day. Now is the time to get him moving until you see he’s really had enough and allow him the thrill and excitement of the ‘catch’ to mimic a successful ‘hunt.’ My cats’ favorites are feather teaser toys such as DaBird or any kind of feather attached to a rod. Don’t feel guilty if you’ve skipped the gym that night because running up and down the stairs with toys in hand and cats in tow not only gets them pumped but is great for fitting in a mini cardio workout yourself!

NOTE: There are many imitations of the cat toy called Da Bird. The real deal is hand made in the US with quality materials tough enough to withstand some rough cat batting. When flung about in the air the feathers rotate so as to mimic the sound and sight of a bird in flight. Imitations of this toy closely resemble Da Bird. Look for the one made by Go Cat.

When I see there seems to be a little tension between the cats, I know it’s because I have been neglecting this vital part of our routine. Just like going to the gym, make it a habit and stick with it, no excuses. You are establishing routine and cats thrive on routine. That’s no surprise, being the best alarm clocks never requiring recharging. I’ve noticed that when I do pre-supper play sessions, they eat so much better and I never have to refrigerate leftovers.

Sometimes we tend to think a cat toy has to be flashy or colorful, embellished with bells and whistles, to catch a cat’s attention. This is not always the case and the simplest of toys can be a real winner. For some cats, bottle caps and milk rings are the best things since catnip! But for quite some time I’ve been ignoring a toy called the Cat Dancer until I decided to buy it for the cats after reading some good reviews. The cats love it so much that it has become an essential tool to get them moving for our pre-suppertime play sessions. Another observation was that the toy piqued the interest of all the cats which would bring them all together in one location, even the cats who avoid each other! The ‘bully’ cat soon learns that the ‘prey’ or victim cat is not prey and is acting just like he does, i.e. hunting and stalking the same toy.

2. Create several little cat kingdoms in your home

The more cats you have the more space you have to provide for them. ‘Territory’ is our operative word here in the Chirpies household. We are lucky that we have a large backyard to accommodate a decent-sized catio and building it was one of the best things we could have done for our cats. We have definitely noticed a more confident and happy cat in George, our cat who was easily intimidated by the more dominant cats. But any space, no matter how tiny can accommodate smaller versions of these multiple kingdoms that they can each own, or timeshare throughout the day.

These “kingdoms” or micro territories could be a cat tree in one corner by the window, perhaps a smaller cat bar stool in the kitchen, maybe a few climbing shelves near the bookcase, a little getaway cat cave in the corner, a cat hammock on the landing or one under the coffee table.

Create vertical space for those quick escapes up the nearest ‘tree’ for your cat to view her world from a safe space. One of my favorites which I have in my bedroom and does not take up much space is the cat tree from PetFusion called the Ultimate Cat Climbing Tower & Activity Tree. This is ideal for our agile and high energy cat Baggy who is happiest in the highest spot as he claims ownership of yet another cat kingdom! If your cat likes to climb up vertical spaces, this is the tree for him.

jacksongalaxy.com

Every bit of space in your home, vertical and horizontal, is important to your cats as they relate to their environment first and foremost, to feel a sense of security within their micro territories. When you have a multi-cat home your feline family displays almost the full spectrum of cat personalities; from the shy to the dominant, assertive, playful, docile, ground/bush dweller or high flyer. When all cats feel comfortable and confident in their environment, and each cat can own some space, the bully cat loses interest in picking on the lower-ranking cat. His environment enrichment needs are met so no need to pick on Timid Teddy. Besides, he cannot guard several kingdoms at the same time!

3. Interactive cat toys to prevent boredom in cats

When you don’t have the time, there are some great electronic interactive toys for all cats’ play styles. One of the kitties’ favorites is the Frolicat Flik, best enjoyed by the cat who is a master pouncer! Another is the PetSafe Laser Tail automatic laser cat toy (which cat doesn’t like chasing the red dot?) A word of caution though, I would always follow up this game with letting the cat catch something tactile. Biting and gnawing at a toy, whether it’s a catnip-filled kicker toy or toy bird, actually feels like prey. The red laser light, while great for getting them off the couch so to speak, never actually gets ‘caught’ and may make a cat feel a little cheated and frustrated. There’s a lot of weight to the saying “the cat that caught the canary” because for a cat, after a good hunt, feels very pleased and satisfied with himself. Indulge his instincts!

Texture and substrate are things to keep in mind when considering an interactive toy. Most cats cannot resist cardboard, I know mine can’t! Here’s another puzzle that’s perfect to keep your cat mentally stimulated and challenged for more than just a few minutes. This three-tiered cardboard puzzle has adjustable difficulty levels for the cat that needs a little bit more incentive and is easily bored.

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4. Know when your cat wants to play!

Take advantage of those zoomies sessions. All that pent-up energy seems to come out just before bedtime, not exactly the ideal time. But just whip out a toy for 5 minutes to let him ‘kill’ his prey and this should keep your high energy, bully cat from disturbing you or the rest of the cats during the night. Short play sessions before bedtime is a great way to train a cat to merge his sleep patterns with the humans in the house.

Tip: Put away toys when not in use

This is hard to stick to but it’s best to put toys away when not in use. Unmoving toys are of no interest to a cat and he just gets bored and ignores it. But if these toys emerge during play sessions only, that creates a sense of novelty and intrigue and the cat is a more willing participant in a game of fetch, pounce or jump. Favorites such as the fishing rod toys always get put away in our house. If left out they could damage the toy or worse, ingest parts of it which is a potentially dangerous situation.

5. Provide more litter boxes throughout the house

Follow the rule of 1+1. Again in the same way the bully cat cannot guard several kingdoms at the same time, he also cannot guard all the pathways leading to a litter box. See my post on Litter box rules cat owners should not ignore. 

Modern Furniture For Cats

6. Provide puzzle feeders for mental stimulation for your cats

Puzzle feeders are great for encouraging hunting and foraging behavior. With these feeders, the cat is actually working for his food. It may take a while for him to get the hang of it but he soon learns that his paws can be used for other things besides powder puffing his housemates. A really fun and engaging feeder is called the Fish Bowl. This inexpensive, simple, yet clever design will have your kitty amused and intrigued while he tries to get his paws inside. A little tricky to get the treats but your high-energy cat is not about to give up.

Check out one of our popular posts on creating a unique and fun cat grass puzzle made from egg cartons and other upcycled materials you already have.

Fish Bowl cat toy by Petsafe
Look at me, I’ve got one paw stuck in the wild! I can work for food

7. Clicker training!

I left the best for last! I love clicker training my cats and it’s amazing how willing cats are to learn. Years ago I bought the Karen Pryor clicker training for cats starter kit which includes a clicker and booklet on how to get started. Cats inherently please only themselves, so you have to find something that motivates them, um that’s easy….food and treats! Just find out what they absolutely cannot resist in the treats department and you have yourself some willing feline participants. It’s also no surprise that it’s the high energy cats like Baggy and his brother Ollie that respond extremely well to clicker training. Using this simple clicker, I have trained the younger cats to love their cat tree.

For a wonderful interactive clicker training guide, the Cat School training Kit provides a fun and interactive way to engage your most eager and energetic cats! Yes, this is also part of the actual Cat School program! 😀

Tired of counter cruising while you’re trying to cook? Clicker training your high energy cats on their very own clicker station in the kitchen will keep them engaged while learning a new skill like “sit” and “high five.”

A monthly box of healthy treats, unique toys, and other goodies for your cat!

I have also taught my cats to “sit” and stay off the counter using this clicker. For best results set up a ‘clicker station’ that is exclusively used for this purpose. My cats’ treat station is a set of shelving floating units in the kitchen and when I need to cook in peace without wanting the pitter-patter of paws across my counter, I get them to sit on this station instead and it works a charm!

So while Baggy, our high-energy cat still probably dreams of ruling the several cat kingdoms in our home, with all the activity we have planned for him, he just doesn’t have the time.

Do you have a high-energy or bully cat in your household? We have had some success with calming Baggy’s urge to dominate the 7 Cat Kingdoms with Jackson Galaxy’s flower essences blends created by a holistic veterinarian.

Need help with friction in your multi-animal household? Get Jackson Galaxy’s Peacemaker Solution today!

Which cat in your household has his eyes set on ruling the seven cat kingdoms?

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If you liked this post you may also like 5 Must-have Essentials for a Happy Chirpy cat 

7 Tips to turn your bully cat into a team player.

About the author

The Lady Cat

Whiskers make me smile.
Coffee is good for you.
And cats are for life.
Helping cats live enriched lives with their people.
(Yasaar Nakchbendi)

30 Comments

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  • What a wonderful article! We definitely have a hierarchy in our house and though making sure there are many different kingdoms to explore and lay claim to, upon rare occasion we find a few hour “time-out” session in a quiet bedroom alone (with water, food, and litter box within, of course) works wonders for our high energy, high attention tuxie girl. Thank you for sharing this great information!

  • our Junior “acts” like a bully but it appears more and more that he just may speak a different version of “cat” than everyone else in the house. fortunately he will back off from the stalking routine if mom can catch him and call his name, but obviously she isn’t always there. we would love to have a catio, but alas, no yard. we do have a puzzle feeder and mom needs to get another and remember to fill it as it certainly seems to keep his attention.

    • Oh yes, you will love clicker training. See, contrary to what it sounds like, it’s not hard work, actually, it’s lots of fun and it involves treats! Purrs, not powder puffs, from Baggy xx

    • Glad you liked it! And yes I’m sure Sophie has her own opinions about what she thinks of all the new fosters ‘taking over’ her territory.

  • These are great tips! And we love the Game of Thrones inspired graphic! We’ve been watching GoT with our Mom for six years! Anyhoo, when I first came to live here, Lexy and I did not get along at all, and Mommy used a few of these tips with us. There’s still some whapping going on from time to time, but now neither of us is a bully.
    Lola The Rescued Cat recently posted…Lola, Where are Your Manners?!?My Profile

    • Hi Lola! The Lady Cat only started watching GOT after being purrsuaded by the Big Man Cat a year ago and she really got into it. She thought I am the purrfect subject matter for a GOT drawing because she thinks I have inflated desires to rule, but she’s wrong. I’m really all about love and I just like to play! Glad to hear you and Lexi are good pals. But hey, between you and I, there’s nothing wrong with a little friendly slap now and again, right? Kitty licks from me, Baggy

  • Since we adopted Ellie, I’ve seen Bear’s attempts to get my attention switch from misbehaving to attacking her. I work from home – so he’s never short on attention. But giving him an outlet for his stalking/attacking needs helps a bit. While having both cats play at the same time seems to help them adapt … one cat usually gets left out – so I try to do it separately.

    • Yes! That’s great that you give them separate play sessions, especially when one cat tries to take over the game. I sometimes take Sly Pie, the lower ranking cat, into a room by himself and let him go wild with a pouncing session. So cool that you get to work from home so that you can really watch over the new transition taking place with the newcomer, Ellie!

  • As always, what a super post Miss Yas & Chirpies! There is just me & the D-O-G & my humans at my house. I could bully the doggie, but that is just not in my purr-sonality, but sometimes I bat at her tail when it’s swinging. My neighbor kitty is a diva & she hisses at me through the screen door. I think if I were let outside on my own she might take whacks at me with her paw even though I only want to luv her. I hear she kind of bullies her sisfur when they are both inside their house. Mew Mew.
    Valentine recently posted…Almost Wordless Wednesday: Meeting the Neighorhood Old TimerMy Profile

  • Great article and tips on how to actually drain some energy out of a fully loaded energy cat! Love the part where you talk about the exercise part and turning it into a ‘playing with the cat’ part. This way it is a win-win situation, hehe! Not only that. I think it also helps to gain their trust even more, right? When they feel you care for them by spending time with them, they notice and appreciate it and you.

    • You are spot on about how interacting and playing with your cats establish even more of a trusting relationship! I do agree that they appreciate those bonding moments and it shows in their personalities. How often has one heard “oh my cat ignores me” but when you press further it’s because they don’t really spend time with their cats! Thanks for dropping by 🙂

  • Sad to see “flower essences” mentioned here, as it undermines the credibility of some otherwise good suggestions.

    Homeopathy is not real. Water doesn’t have “memories” and these products are so ridiculously diluted that there is no real active ingredient. Passing a flower through a glass of water is not the same as adding it as an ingredient.

    Look at the “inactive” ingredients for Rescue Remedy, and see them listed as 80 percent glycerin and 20 percent water. That’s 100 percent of the ingredients—a total scam. The Jackson products actually include alcohol as well, which is toxic to cats.

  • I love your enthusiasm for your cats wellbeing and training. I have a clicker I used successfully with my poodle and chihuahua. I never thought of using it with my 2 cats. Thank you so much for such great information. I am certainly going to try these training ideas with my 5 month old Siamese Blueboy. He aggravates my 6 year old female cat Dinky. He also likes to counter surf. I love my fur babies and I also like for them to be disciplined and around our guests.. Thank you again’.

  • my daughter brought a stray into our home we already have two cats. The one cat is like whatever but Nala my daughters cat goes up and watches and gets close to the new cat. the new cat growls and hissies. I talk to her saying you are a good kitty and you are safe. I saw where you said no spray the bully, my daughter has been doing that to Nala her cat. How can I get the new cat to understand that Nala is ok and how to get Nala to stop bothering the new cat. She has been in my home about two weeks the first week she stayed in the basement and the last week we introduce her to the family.

  • A month ago I took in a feral cat I’ve takin care of for 10 years. I decided no more hard life for Suzy , my resident cat Sam has been seen playing with her the times he would get out even sharing her heated house. He would meow non stop if I didn’t know she came to be fed as if he lived her. Now that she’s in the house he’s a bully and I have to be white them all the time afraid what he will do if I’m not. If I go out I have to come home as fast as possible I have no social life now. She hates being crated it causes more stress and fear I’ve put her in my room under my bed is her safe spot if I close the door she gets very very upset . Sam will also get upset meowing nonstop also scratching the door from the other side so I let her roam as it makes her happy but she has to see me there. She constantly is looking to see where he is. He’s doing all the bully things you mention. Will it ever stop? I’ll try your tips and hope for the best but would love some advice . Thank You Theresa I

  • I’m having a lot of trouble with our new 9 month old cat – things were looking okay but now she’s begun chasing our two older cats upstairs everytime they try to come to the first floor. I’m spending 3 hours a day total playing with the 9 mo, and she’s running/jumping/hauling herself up and down the cat tree/up and down the stairs chasing after a toy mouse my husband rigged on a fishing pole but even after all this she still has energy to “guard” against the other cats and chase them back upstairs.

    Our older male cat is very gentle and doesn’t bother the 9 mo at all, but our older female cat tries to creep around behind the 9 mo just to seemingly hiss at her (which then triggers a huge chase). We’re going to try putting the 9 mo back in a separate room and reintroduce the three cats, and we’re also going to start all three on the Purina Pro Calming probiotic supplement, but any other advice would really be appreciated!

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