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Conference misery::feline_v1

Title:	Meower Power is Valuing Differences
Notice:	FELINE_V1 is moving 1/11/94 5pm PST to MISERY
Moderator:	MISERY::VANZUYLEN_RO

Created:	Sun Feb 09 1986
Last Modified:	Tue Jan 11 1994
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	5089
Total number of notes:	60366

1068.0. "What to do?" by LEZAH::KARENK () Thu Jan 28 1988 07:36

    I'm having a problem with my cats that I hope some of you feline
    noters can help me with.
    
    I have 2 cats:  Morris - a 4 year old neutered male, and Mindy -
    a 3 year old spayed female.  I really don't know her real age, she
    was found as a stray - pregnant, starving and alone.  So the vet
    estimated her age at 3.  We've had Mindy for about 2 years now.
    
    The problem is in the winter months Morris decides he's going to
    beat up Mindy.  He attacks her at every turn.  She spits, growls
    and then runs for cover.  He does this more so in the winter, because
    I assume he's bored.
    
    But I feel so bad for Mindy.  I shout at Morris, squirt him and
    he runs out the cat door, only to come back a few minutes later
    and repeat the whole scene. I think he wants to play, but Mindy
    doesn't like that kind of playing.  
    
    They have plenty of toys, they have their scratching post, tons
    of catnip toys, a "kitty caboose", kitty tease and a cat shelf.
    
    Has anyone else had this problem?  My husband and I were talking
    last night about getting a kitten.  Would that help the problem
    or make matters worse?
    
    Karen

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
1068.1	We've also that problem...	QBUS::MITCHAM	Andy in Atlanta	`Thu Jan 28 1988 10:50`	27
	Tabatha is 15 years of age, Toby is approximately 1 1/2. We found Toby in our garage during a snow about 1 year ago and have kept him since. Toby is all the time waiting around corners, behind doors, etc., ready to pounce on Tabatha at any given moment. I've even caught him walking up and sitting down just in front of Tabatha to intimidate her. At times, though not nearly as often, Tabatha will get so frustrated that she'll do similar things to him (attack without provocation, that is). I haven't noticed any major damage yet (only scratchs to the face, mostly on Tabatha) but it's scary thinking about what they must do when we're not around. Something that may be of interest is that he will frequently walk beside her and begin biting her just behind the neck (as if he wanted to mate). We've also tried all the things mentioned in the previous note with little results, except that Toby's now a bit wary of me (daddy is the disciplinarian, mom's not much of one). Any suggestions on how best to break him (them) of this (aside from getting another cat) would be appreciated. thanx, -Andy
1068.2	some thoughts on "active" cats	THE780::WILDE	Imagine all the people..	`Thu Jan 28 1988 13:21`	21
	My experience is that a playful cat needs someone to play with...if one of your two cats won't play, the player can get a little rough as all play is really a game of "who's first" and has alot to do with dominance/mating rituals. I would not suggest a little kitten for .1, as Morris is a grown cat, but adopting a 6 month old or so will definitely get another player in the house....after everyone gets to know each other which may take a few days or can take weeks. When I brought in Hannah (7 months - neutered), my most active male NEVER hassled her at all. From day one, he was trying to play with her. It has taken the other (13 year old) female in the house approx 6 weeks to play with Hannah....I'm no expert, but I suspect the fact that Nicholas and Hannah are different sexes, both neutered, and both active makes them "best playmates". If you don't want to adopt another "active" cat, then you can become a player by giving the active cat at least 45 minutes to an hour of active "chase the wild rope" (my solution for Nicky before he found Hannah) or some other really active game for the cat. Now that Nick has Hannah, he doesn't play with me nearly as much - but they play constantly.... and everyone sleeps in exhausted comfort at the end of the day.