Tuesday, November 29, 2011

We need some ideas....

Some of you may have heard mom complain about the relationships around here that revolve around Spud. For the longest time she thought it was just Spud and Ivy doing the too-close-in-age thing. Spud gets Ivy cornered, she hisses, he won't back down and the chase is on.

Then it evolved to Spud and Junior. If Junior got too close to Spud's personal space, then a battle would ensue. The problem with most of these battles is that the others can't just watch - Tommy especially feels the need to engage. And it doesn't help that Junior doesn't have the sense to back away slowly. :)

Mom asked the v-e-t Dr Taylor about Feliway. She said it sorta works but not reliably enough to justify the cost. She suggested more vertical space, so mom cleared out one of her shelves - and of course the only one she has seen up there is Mozart. (and mom won't medicate Spud - he is skittish and she is afraid of making him even more tense by trying to catch him everyday)

Well, it got worse over the weekend - mom has now caught Tommy stalking Spud across the living room. She distracted Tommy a few times, but other times he got away and would chase Spud down the hallway.

Poor mom often thinks that Spud might do better in another home but she won't put him through that. When she took him in as a kitten it was with the intent to get him big enough and then take him to the shelter to be adopted. But he looks a lot like our Angel Tigger and mom has some guilt issues, so Spud stayed.

Plus she knows that 7 adult cats in 1000 square feet isn't ideal either.

But, here is where is gets more interesting....Mom caught Spud sleeping under one end table last night. She thinks he ended up there cause Mo was sleeping on the/spud's floor vent. MOL  But she got to thinking....what about putting one of those soft cubes under the end table for Spud to sleep in? He would have his own space (assuming someone else wasn't sleeping in it). But she is afraid he will feel cornered. We think if Spud had his wish mom would leave him in the bedroom all day by himself, but she doesn't like that option for a number of reasons.

So, anyone have any suggestions? There is a limit to how much cat furniture we can put in the living room. Mom is considering turning part of the 2nd bedroom into a foster fort and that will clear some floor space for an elevated bed or another tree, but that may not happen until later this winter. Mom just worries about the stress this causes everyone here. All ideas welcome.....

16 comments:

  1. OH man...I HOPE that someone has ideas. I am the only cat here and mom has never had more than one at a time. I feel badly for Spud on one hand but I also feel for the others who are confused and irritable with all of the drama. I will come back hoping that others who have handled this have some viable ideas.

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  2. I say go for it - why not try and see what Spud makes of it - he might just surprise everyone and really like to have a place to himself! Awww good luck - Spud sounds so lovely.

    Take care
    x

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  3. There has never been more that 2 cats here at any time so Mum hasn't got any idea - no change there then!!
    Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx

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  4. There are six of us here, but we all get along. Sister Precious has some issues being scared of us since she was an only cat for six years. I wish I had some answers for you, but I would try the feliway, we have 4 diffusers here so maybe it helps us.

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  5. The publicist says she has never had a problem like this with all of her kitties. She was once crazy enough to have 17 kitties in 900 sq ft so she understands where you are coming from.....

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  6. Oh I hope Spud sorts himself a place that's safe for him. Being a one cat family we haven't any ideas, but I know that sometimes these things just sort themselves out x

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  7. You could get a cubby that has more then one hole if you think he'll feel trapped. But in general cats like "caves" because in the wild they would be necessary for survival.

    I really liked the book "Cat vs Cat" and it helped me understand what was going on in my house after Em died and Ollie became a great big booger. I thought he was being unnecessarily aggressive, but the book helped me understand he was trying to be the Alpha and by giving him MORE attention and treats, he would be less aggressive and it worked wonderfully.

    Eli is a bit like Spud in that medication is right out unless it is vital. He was quite fearful of us having spent the first six months of his life being medicated, and then after that he forgot why he ran, he just ran when he saw us. I used rescue remedy in water and on treat food and it helped him a great deal. RR is great for calming, and it can be put in food or water. You can use it yourself when you are having stressful days.

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  8. Mama has used Rescue Remedy with us, too, especially when things were stressful around the house. Some of our furriends have worn calming collars during stressful times. We hope somebuddy has some better answers for you guys. It's tough when its so stressful around the house. :(

    Love,
    Tazo

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  9. We think Spud would love his own little cubby cave.And clearing the second bedroom for extra "territorial space" sounds like a good idea too. Having multiple cats can be a challenge at times as you well know but hopefully your great ideas will help settle the "cat politics"!

    the critters in The Cottage xo
    P.S. We've tried Feliway and saw no difference at all.

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  10. We just put Lucky on some stuff called composure and it has worked pretty good for him. And it is a treat and he eats it and likes it a lot. That might help Spud but I do think, having so many cats around is hard on the cats. I know some of my older cats get really ticked at having so many new cats all the time. Maybe you could put the fosters in a room of their own. That is all just my opinion. I can see how my cats react to the young ones. Here is the link to composure.
    http://www.4petsusa.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=2704

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  11. We tried one feliway, which I dont think was enough for our house, but it only seemed to effect Leo, and Star, the agressor, was unphased. If we'd had two, one up and one down, we might have had better luck, but I dont know. I believe they have collars, and I have thought about getting one for Star, but she's over 12 and has never worn a collar in her life so that might be just as stressful as dealing with the barbarian.
    I wish I could help.. but if you find something that works, let us know too!

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  12. Hmm.. Our mom doesn't know much at all about kit-cats (other than I just love making friends with them!). She was going to ask if DAP diffusers work on kitties - then she Googled Feliway and it sounds like the same thing. What about Rescue Remedy?
    Play bows,
    Zim

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  13. Can your mom put him in the bedroom but put up some baby gates so he'll still be part of the house but have his own territory? When I came to live here, mom kinda rotated us til we got used to each other. The kittehs had some time and we had some time. And then she started just separating us by putting up two baby gates stacked on top of each other so nobuddy could get over it.

    I hope you can figure something out. Mom says it's tough when all the kids don't get along.

    Wiggles & Wags,
    Mayzie

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  14. Good luck with the lovely Spud, I hope it all works out for him.

    And thanks so much for visiting my blog, hope to see you again some time soon.

    Sarah
    xo

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  15. Try the cube, sometimes giving EVERYONE options helps the entire situation.

    Also, we use Composure, bite-size chews by Vetri-Science to take the edge off when one of the Army is agitated or afraid or stressed. It is non-habit forming and safe. Our vet suggested them for Puff but they also make a kitty version. They taste like treats so we have no problem gettig her to take them. They are inexpensive on Amazon (less than $10 for 30).

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  16. Sounds like a real challenge. I hope something can help Spud settle.

    I wonder if some one-on-one play and love time with Spud on a regular basis might help. That would tell him he is still special regardless of the other kitties. I have found when some of my cats don't get enough attention they start treating each other meanly, in fact as I was writing that last line, my Nahum just attacked Willow - a sign that Nahum is not getting enough solo attention from me. So, I had better go and take care of that...

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