| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 69.1 | | ROYAL::RAVAN | | Wed Feb 20 1985 09:50 | 27 |
| Sounds like a rough situation. How long did you leave them at a time?
If I have to be gone for more than a couple of days, I like to have
someone come check on my cats, even though there is plenty of food
and water; they appreciate knowing they haven't been forgotten! It
may be that your piratical cat would tone down a bit if it knew it
was being watched...
Whatever you do, it will probably take time and effort. You might
spend a lot of time at home with both cats, giving a lot of attention
to each one in turn. If you can persuade the ruffian that it will
only benefit by being nice to the other one, you've won, but as we
all know, persuading cats of anything can be difficult.
My Abigail went through a "nervous ailment" after one of my moves,
forgot her litter training, the whole bit. The vet put her on tranquilizers
for a month or so, and after that she was fine, but I have no idea
why it worked or if it would help your situation. As for cat psychiatry,
well, it exists, and it might even work, but it sounds a bit extreme!
My cats have never been buddies, but after almost ten years together
they've finally gotten to where they will both sleep on the same bed
sometimes. But they never terrorized each other. Difficult as it is,
the simplest course for all concerned might be for you to find another
home for your rogue cat and let the victim be Only Cat for a while.
Good luck,
-b
|
| 69.2 | | FDCV03::PLOSKI | | Wed Feb 20 1985 11:27 | 8 |
| THANKS FOR THE CONCERN. WHEN I DO GO AWAY FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME, I
AM ABLE TO ARRANGE FOR SOMEONE TO STOP IN TO MAKE SURE THINGS ARE OKAY.
IT'S HARD WHEN YOU GET SO ATTACHED TO ANIMALS. SOMETIMES I WISH THEY
COULD JUST TALK OUT THEIR DIFFERENCES, TOO BAD THEY CAN'T. I WILL MENTION
THE TRANQUILIZERS TO THEIR DR. MAYBE THAT WOULD BE THE ANSWER DURING THE
REUNITING STAGE. I REALLY HESITATE TO MAKE A CHOICE.
GAIL
|
| 69.3 | | PARSEC::DREW | | Wed Feb 20 1985 12:40 | 11 |
| Have you taken the aggressive cat to the vets for a thorough examination?
For such a radical change in behavior...there might just be a medical
explanation.
Could you separate them in different areas of your house (with separate litter
facilities) while you are away. Then try letting them mingle only when you
are around to supervise.
Good luck...I'd really hate to be in your predicament!
-nn
|
| 69.4 | | FDCV03::PLOSKI | | Wed Feb 20 1985 13:49 | 32 |
| I AM DOING SO RIGHT NOW. I HAVE ONE AT MY HOUSE, AND THE MEEK AND MILD ONE
IS AT MY FIANCE'S HOUSE. BOTH OF THEM WERE JUST RECENTLY CHECKED OUT.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, SUKI WAS ADMITTED TO THE HOSPITAL LITERALLY ON HER
DEATH BED. SHE HAD JUST COME HOME FROM BEING NEUTERED. I STAYED UP WITH THEM
ALL NIGHT THAT NIGHT. SUKI SHOWED NO INTEREST IN EATING OR DRINKING, SO I KEPT
MOISTENING HER LIPS WITH WARM WATER AND KARO SYRUP FOR ENERGY. THE NEXT DAY,
I DECIDED TO GO TO WORK BECAUSE THEY WERE BOTH STARTING TO ACT SOMEWHAT NORMAL.
HOWEVER, WHEN I CAME HOME THAT EVENING, SUKI SHOWED SIGNS OF DETERIORATION.
THE NEXT DAY, SATURDAY, WE WERE GETTING READY TO MOTOR TO CONNECTICUT. SUKI
WENT TO JUMP OFF OF THE PLATFORM BED, AND COULDN'T. IT WAS AS IF SHE WERE
GOING DOWN A STEEP MOUNTAIN. SHE TOOK SEVERAL STEPS AND COLLAPSED. I WAS
BESIDE MYSELF AT THIS POINT, AND SHE HAD CRAWLED UNDERNEATH THE COUCH.
I CALLED THE VET AND BOB TRIED TO GET HER OUT FROM THE COUCH. SHE WAS ALL
FLAT AND ALMOST TWICE HER LENGTH, AND HER TONGUE WAS WHITE.
I HAD TO LEAVE HER UNTIL SUNDAY. THEY WERE NOT SURE SHE WAS GOING TO MAKE
IT. AS IT TURNED OUT, SHE HAD CHEWED SOME LEAVES FROM A PHILADENDRUM PLANT
AND POISENED HERSELF (I HOPE IT WASN'T A SUICIDE ATTEMPT!). SO OUT WENT
THE PHILY IN THE GARBAGE THE NEXT DAY. ALL PLANTS IN MY HOUSE ARE HANGING
NOW. JUST THE OTHER DAY SHE GOT INTO MY VITAMIN E CAPSULES. AT LEAST SHE'LL HAVE NICE SKIN!
WELL, I'M SURE WE ALL HAVE OUR PET HORROR STORIES. EVEN SO, I WOULD BE LOST
WIHOUT THEM. I STILL BELIEVE, DEPENDING UPON HOW ONE TREATS THEIR ANIMALS,
CATS CAN BE TRAINED AND CAN SHOW ALOT OF EMOTIONS. I KNOW MINE ARE RIGHT THERE
WHEN I'M DOWN IN THE DUMPS, AND THEY CAN SURE MAKE ME LAUGH. SUKI AND YAKI
WILL EVEN BRING A TOY AND DROP IT AT MY FEET WHEN THEY FEEL LIKE PLAYING.
EAT YOUR HEART OUT DOG LOVERS!
GAIL
|
| 69.5 | | FRSBEE::ELLIOTT | | Thu Feb 21 1985 08:43 | 12 |
| gail, don't start thinking about giving one up yet...i have 5 cats, and
after i had my youngest 2 neutered, one of the older ones was terrorizing
my 14 year old...i talked to my vet, & he gave me the name/number of an
animal behaviorist who came to my house (he likes to see the environment)
& recommended OVABAN for the problem cat...it has really worked...i'm starting
to decrease the dosage now...its a hormone that seems to cut down on agression
...my point is, though, that there IS help available...if you're interested
in talking to this anmimal behaviorist, send me mail & i'll give you the
information (name/number)...incidently, his fee was most reasonable...much
less than i thought he'd charge for staying at our house for 1.5 hours...
karen
|
| 69.6 | | FDCV03::PLOSKI | | Thu Feb 21 1985 09:07 | 8 |
| karen,
I WOULD APPRECIATE THE NAME AND NUMBER, JUST IN CASE THINGS CALL FOR
SUCH A SERVICE.
THANKS,
GAIL
|
| 69.7 | | RAVEN1::HEFFELFINGER | | Fri Feb 22 1985 10:31 | 29 |
| An obvoius help would be to maintain two litter boxes even after they
are reunited. (The brute can't stand guard over both especially if they
are at opposite ends of the house.) Tranquilizers really seem to help.
We have a brute in our house. He's usually a lamb except for extremely
aggressive behavior at the vets. (He mauled one of the assistants!) But
if one of the other cats comes home smelling like the vets or something new
is introduced into their environment, he would get into a real snit. Hissing
at the other cats, hissing at us... During one of his snits, he jumped up
onto to my lap and then hissed at me cause I petted him. That was the last
straw. I gave 1/2 of an acepromizine tablet. (We had them on hand and knew
the dosage cause the vet suggested tranquilizing him before his next visit
to the doctor's). That dosage kept him mellow for about 6-8 hours. After
that dose, we didn't have to give him any more. It seemed to break the
behavior cycle. We told the vet about it the next time we were there and he
said that that was fine. Acepromizine is very safe. He said to not give it
to Pip for more than a day without checking with him first. But we've never
had to use more than one dose. So you might not even have to keep the cat on
drugs for an extended period of time.
If you are squeamish about using drugs on your cats, get a copy of
"You can Train your Cat" by Jo and Paul Loeb (A fireside Book published by
Simon and Schuster copyright 1977 isbn 0671-22578-2 isbn for paperback
0-671-25147-3) and read the section on Aggressive cats.
Please do try the two litter box solution! It's easy enough and you might
be surprised. The Loebs' book had example after example of cats whose person
alities or behavior had been changed by someone or something messing around
with their litter boxes and use thereof.
tlh
|
| 69.8 | | FDCV03::PLOSKI | | Fri Feb 22 1985 12:41 | 8 |
| THANKS FOR YOUR WISDOM. I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT MY SITUATION IS NOT UNIQUE.
I KIND OF PRIDED MYSELF ON HOW MY CATS REALLY KNEW THE MEANING OF LOVE AND
COMPANIONSHIP. HA! THEN IT GOT THROWN IN MY FACE LIKE A FRIED EGG. I WILL
TRY THAT, AND SEE IF I CAN GET SOME TYPE OF TRANQUILIZER JUST IN CASE IT BECOMESNECESSARY FOR A PERIOD OF TIME.
THANKS AGAIN.
GAIL
|
| 69.9 | | BERGIL::WIX | | Thu May 30 1985 16:54 | 27 |
| Re: .5
When I brought my two cats (one early altered male, one late altered male)
into a two cat house (one 50's ranch with an altered male and an altered
female) there were problems. The older established male, Mack, did not take
this well, and neither did the late altered male, Cisco. They both started
territorial spraying. There was some fighting but mostly hosing. My veterinarian
guardedly suggested OVABAN. It worked, though the dosage was high, after
about 2 years. We gradually tapered the dosage down and now they sleep together.
The OVABAN made them gain 1-2 lbs. from water retention, I believe. But it
worked. Now that I have brought Malcolm into the house Mack has sprayed a
little but that hasn't been enough to matter. Malcolm is about 14 weeks at
this time and is protected by the mysterious kitten instinct from the wrath
of the Siamese.
Re: .7
I have used the ACEPROMISINE to tranquilize Cisco when he travels. If I don't
He is apt to get car sick. I don't like him being so dopey but the alternative
is quite messy and for him quite torturous. As a result he very rarely is
taken anywhere.
.wIx.
|
| 69.10 | ANOTHER JEALOUS BULLIE | CTOAVX::DUSZAK | | Fri Mar 25 1988 11:29 | 21 |
| I ALSO HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH TWO MALES. ONE WAS FIXED AND
THE AGGRESSIVE ONE NOT. WHAT A FOOL I WAS. THE UNFIXED ONE BULLIED
THE OTHER TO THE POINT THAT THE TIMID ONE WANTED TO STAY OUTSIDE
ALL THE TIME EVEN ON COLD NITES. I NEVER REALIZED WHAT THE PROBLEM
WAS FOR YEARS UNTIL THE BULLIE WENT TO THE VET FOR MANY WEEKS AND
THE OTHER ONE BECAME A HOUSE CAT. I THEN HAD THE BULLIE FIXED AND
IT HAS MADE A SLIGHT DIFFERENCE. THE TIMID ONE IS NOW IN THE HOUSE
MORE, BUT I STILL FIND THE BULLIE TERRORIZES HIM AND ALSO GUARDS
HIM AND WON'T LET HIM OUT OUT OF ROOMS OR GUARDS THE STAIRS IF HE
IS UPSTAIRS AND WON'T LET HIM DOWN. ONE DAY I CAUGHT HIM GO UP
TO THE TIMID ONE, PRETEND TO HISS HIM AND THEN QUICK AS A SNAKE
STRUCK AT HIS THROAT.
I LOVE THEM BOTH. THE MORE AGGRESSIVE ONE IS A VERY LOVING PET
AND IS OBSESSED WITH MY YOUNGEST DAUGHTER. HE FOLLOWS HER EVERYWHERE
AND MUST SIT WITH THE FAMILY EVERY NITE TO WATCH TV. HE IS RIGHT
THERE IN THE MIDDLE.
HE MUST BE VERY POSSIVE OF US AND VERY JEALOUS OF THE OTHER. I
WILL NEVER GET RID OF EITHER, THEY WILL JUST HAVE TO ADJUST TO THE
SITUATION.
|
| 69.11 | | CIRCUS::KOLLING | Karen, Sweetie, Holly; in Calif. | Fri Mar 25 1988 14:22 | 7 |
| Have you tried some behaviour modification? Every so often Holly
is a little b**** to Sweetie, and I go shower Sweetie with lots
of attention. This is not the result Holly wants. When she comes
walking by sulking, I then cuddle her too, so she knows she is still
loved. It also means that she has to stay near him in peaceful
circumstances for awhile if she wants to be cuddled.
|
| 69.12 | Aggressive neutered male become mother | CTOAVX::DUSZAK | | Fri Aug 19 1988 17:31 | 20 |
| You'll never believe this! I wrote months ago about the bullie.
Well, my kids brought home a very tiny tiny kitten (It fit in the
palm of my hand). The mother had been killed by a car. We took
this sweet little girl in and fed her with an eye dropper. She
is now almost three months old and guess who became her mother.
Yes, the aggressive male cat. He loves her. He cleans her,
disciplines her and comes running to her rescue when she cries.
When I bathe her for fleas, the aggressive male goes crazy worrying
about her and has to jump up on the counter to make sure I'm not
drowning her and all the while pokes her on the head for what reason
I don't know. Maybe its a fact that two males don't get along and
a male and female is better. Anyway, my whole family is amazed
by this turn of personality. To watch them, you would think he
is her mother.
The baby is our third cat and my husband was not pleased to have
three cats and three ferrets and believe he agreed to keep the baby
was because Frisky (the neutered male) was so attached to her.
We laugh and call her Frisky's pet.
|