Help: Two cats, not exactly getting along

hannahkaty

This is a bit of a long wrong, so apologies and thanks in advance!

 I am looking after two cats (on a long term basis as their owners moved abroad) and i'm having a few issues with the behaviour of one of them. 
The cats are a male Nebelung, Baloo (adopted, 3 years old) and a female Maine Coon, Boo (1 1/2 - 2 years old). 
Before i moved into the flat where the cats live I was told the Maine Coon tended to sleep in her bed outside the main bedroom door and not disturb until morning. I was warned that Boo was quite playful with Balloo, who in return wasn't really into the rough and tumble that Boo kept trying to initiate. 
Initially when i moved in all seemed well, however after a few weeks Boo the Maine coon started to cry at my door every night and stopped sleeping in her bed. It was getting so crazy I ended up just letting her in (which i realise is probably a bad idea)nas it was disturbing my sleep and she seemed to settle on a chair in my room. Now i just leave my door a jar and  now they both pop in and out as they want with Baloo also popping in to pick a cozy spot to snooze in. 

Recently, boos friendly kitten play I feel has taken a bit more of a bullying turn, she does it when Baloo is fast asleep or just returning from a trip out, and often chases Baloo out of the house. Boo is constantly watching for where Baloo is, what he's eating and often looks like shes about to pounce on him. I really don't feel like it's fair on Baloo who is just trying to have a nice little snooze most of the time.  Last night i tried to close my door on Boo as she was being such a nightmare and it just ended up with her crying all night.

I feel like there's a bit of territory dispute going on and i'm not really sure how to deal with it. I'm wondering if Boo will grow out of her pouncing behaviour and also if there's something i should be doing that would help them co-exist? I also wonder if i need to get them both new beds - particularly Boo as the current ones she no longer uses as i think she's grown too big for. 
Aside from this Boo is a great cat, but i really worry her pouncyness is affecting Baloo's ability to live happily in the flat.
 Any help gratefully received. 

donnac2558

I suggest go look at youtube and videos by Jackson Galaxy, he does a US show called My Cat From Hell.   He deals with things like this all the time and has very good advice.

CocoM2020

Agree - he is also on TV - Channel Home and Health but yeah he has definitely dealt with similar problems. 

hannahkaty

Funnily enough, I just this morning followed him because I saw he's appearing on Jonathan Van Ness's podcast! I will absolutely check out his youtube channel, thank you so much

hb2

One of the things he usually recommends is lots of interactive play to wear the younger cat out and give her an outlet for her aggression - be it play aggression or the real thing.

Aranyani

Do they have any access to outside space?

hannahkaty

Aranyani said:

Do they have any access to outside space?

Hi! Yes, i have a garden and they roam around the local area quite regularly, however the younger one does tend to spend a lot of time with me when i'm in the flat (which is a lot atm). 

Robin9

Sounds just like my two - the youngest, Kizzy, is a 4 yo female who just seem to have a devilish streak in her.  Occasionally she, playfully attacks Bob, 8 yo male, a lot of waving of paws, the fur flies, she gets a bloody nose and retreats only to do the same again the next day. 

DD265

Feliway do a 'friends' diffuser. I'm not sure how well they work, but we use the regular one (for stress) in our house as one of the cats has a condition which can be made worse by stress.

If Boo is much bigger, would it be possible to make a safe space for Baloo somewhere that only he can get into? At least then he'd get a break.