How to Solve Dominance Problems With a Maine Coon Cat

Spay or neuter your Maine Coon cat to prevent fighting with other cats in your house or marking territory. Doing this as early as possible when the cat is young will reduce its desire to defend its territory or compete for a potential mate, according to Pet Place. This will also reduce the possibility that your cat will spray urine to mark its territory.

Create a peaceful environment by making some hiding spaces in your home for your cat to escape to and feel safe. Purchase cat condos with cubby holes, carpeted surfaces for your cat to scratch or multi-level cat trees for your cat to climb. Adding levels to your cat's environment increases their territorial range and lets them feel safe by observing other cats below from a safe distance. These "safe spaces" help avoid conflict and aggression with other cats in your house. Ensure your Maine Coon cat has spaces large and sturdy enough to accommodate their size.

Provide an ample amount of litter boxes for your cats to use. The recommended amount of litter boxes to have in your home is one more than the amount of cats you have, according to Pet Place. If your Maine Coon feels that a litter box is in its territory it may not allow other cats to use that box. Put these litter boxes in various places in your home, giving your cats separate spaces to use them without being intimidated by a cat exerting dominance. Place each box in a quiet area of your home and ensure each is large enough to accommodate the larger size of the Maine Coon cat. This should reduce inappropriate elimination outside of the litter box due to aggression or even by accident due to size.

Create several feeding areas for your cats. Maine Coons require more food than smaller cats, due to their large size. They may intimidate another, smaller cat if not enough food is given so provide an ample amount of food for your cats. If your Maine Coon is involved in a dominance battle with another cat in your household, separating their feeding dishes will reduce aggressive behavior. Cats intimidated by a dominant cat will not eat properly due to fear of that cat. If your Maine Coon is threatening other cats while eating, even with separate feeding areas, consider confining the dominant cat to a separate room with the door closed while feeding.

Give each of your cats an equal amount of attention. Maine Coon cats tend to bond strongly with owners, especially one owner of your house, thus establishing a dominant position in your home. Since cats consider owners part of their territory, by showing equal attention to each cat may alleviate some stress between cats.

Take your Maine Coon to a veterinarian for a check-up as a medical reason may be the cause, if aggressive behavior appears suddenly with other cats in the household. Maine Coons are prone to hip dysplasia and hypertropic cardiomyopathy, a serious heart condition. In addition, your veterinarian may recommend putting your cat on an anxiety medication should aggression problems persist in your home.

Use synthetic pheromone products such as Feliway to calm cats. These products mimic the facial pheromones of cats which send the message that an object or other cat is safe and promote a calm, friendly environment. These products come in both sprays and diffusers to use throughout your home. In addition, these products reduce inappropriate marking with urine or feces by cats.

Separate overly aggressive cats if a fight occurs. Once cats are separated, slowly, over a period of days, re-introduce the cats to each other. Rub each cat down with a towel and let each cat smell the scent of the other. You can also rub the towel on the other cat to place their scent on them, acclimating them to each other.