Discipline for aggressive cat

What is the best method for getting a cat's attention when he is doing something you don't want him to do?

I introduced a new cat to my household of two older cats. The new cat (Sammy, a male) is about 9 months old. The other two are 9 yrs (male) and 10 yrs (female). Sammy is young and has a lot of energy. He is affectionate to humans, but not so much to the other cats. In fact, they are terrified of him and just try to get away, up on counters, into the cabinets, etc. He charges at them, and hissing ensues. There have only been minor scratches on noses. It is mostly noise, although the second day after I let him loose in the house *someone* sprayed in the living room. I cleaned it up with Nature's Miracle and also bought some sort of calming spray. To give the two older cats a break, I keep Sammy isolated in my bedroom during the day and "unleash the hound" at night.

Everyone is fixed, although for Sammy it was recent... right before I adopted him a few weeks ago.

Should I squirt Sammy quickly with a water gun when he goes after one of the cats? Shake a can of pennies? Or do I just let them work it out?

This is the badass in question:

Thanks for any help.

My understanding is that you're supposed to keep the new cat bottled up in a small room for a week or so, so everyone can get used to each other's smells and let their curiosity replace their fear.

Letting them fight at night while you're asleep doesn't seem to be a great solution. If anything, I'd think you'd keep him locked up when you're asleep or out, and only mingle when you're around to pull them apart.

Punishing the new cat for aggression won't do very much, he'll just take it out when you're not around.

You can't punish fear and aggression out of a cat. Prozac is cheap though, and works on my little psycho. He has a TBI and PTSD. His daddy found him with a mother raccoon in an EPA hazmat facility. If Prozac works for him, it could work on yours.

There was a cat on "My Cat from Hell" a few weeks back that they put on some sort of anti-psychotic. This cat would hiss and attack for no reason and without provocation. Even tried to attack Jackson for no reason at all on the show.

I have had three cats in the past and one was aggressive. I used a $3 squirt bottle I had bought at Home Depot filled with water. When he got aggressive towards my other cat I gave him a squirt.

Thanks for all the advice!

I did keep him locked away in my bedroom for the first week and all the cats knew about each other's existence... I had a short introductory session mid-week. I would keep him in my room at night, but I needs me sleep! He bounces around all night long :)

Things seem to be calming down a bit now, but it is because my older cats are just avoiding him and slinking around. Sammy is a very nice cat otherwise. I will look into the prozac idea after I try the squirt bottle. I will also try to find that episode of "My cat from hell." I've heard that the guy on the show is pretty amazing with cats.

Also, put a bell on his collar or something, so he can't sneak up on the other cats easily.

That's a good idea... I'll think about that one. I wonder if the bell would drive the poor cat crazy since he is so active. Worth a try though.
Thanks!

Not being pack animals, every cat thinks it's the alpha until it finds its place in the social order. As long as there aren't any real injuries, my advice is to let them work it out amongst themselves. All 3 cats are just doing what they're supposed to do, and interfering in any way will just prolong the issue and likely exacerbate the problem. Moreover, dominance, once established, isn't set in stone - theyll constantly be pushing the limits with the dominant cat. You have to know who's dominant because the dominant one will expect more attention from you and may take it out on the others if he feels you spend too much time with them. It took my 3 year old male (Hannibal) and 9 year old male (George) almost 2 years to come to a mutually acceptable understanding, with 8lb George having run 15lb Hannibal ragged for most of that time. George is still dominant, though not as much so as before, and "his" time with me is usually when I'm brushing my teeth - he'll jump up on the sink to be petted, and I keep the other cats from coming in and bothering us. Hannibal started getting his revenge recently, though! The only times I'd intervene were when one had the other cornered and submissive with no escape route, and then all I'd do is walk up clapping loudly to get the cats' attention off each other so the beleaguered one could run off.

To get a cat's attention, I've always liked throwing a rolled-up sock at them and loudly saying "NO!" just before it hits. That way they're not warned ahead of time like if you went running to stop him. It's enough to get his attention but won't hurt him. Cats respond better to positive reinforcement than negative, though, so keep plenty of treats on hand. When one is sitting in your lap purring its little cat heart out, make sure to rub it and say "good boy/girl" in a soft, calm, soothing voice. That more than anything will teach them to be calm.

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