Monday, November 12, 2012

Mancat Monday.....

Spud may look all relaxed, but he isn't so much.

Twice this weekend he has been on the receiving end of some ferociousness. Saturday afternoon he was chased down the hall by Tommy (mom didn't see what started it) and when he went to run behind the chair, he hit Cleo and it was war (thankfully Spud is longhaired and only lost some fuzz).

Sunday morning something happened in the second bedroom again (where our stuff is kept) and Spud ended up on the run again as well (and mom found Spud fuzz on the floor in there too). And mom heard us again this morning.

So, mom has a question: Has anyone tried feeding separately? As much as she likes having everything in one room, she wonders if it is too much too close together and if having bowls spread around a little might calm things down some.

Of course, about an hour after Spud got nailed on Saturday, mom had to stop him from stalking Ivy, so she will be the first to admit that he does sometimes bring it on himself. She is baffled by the infighting around here sometimes. Our v-e-t said feliway isn't her favorite thing. Mom isn't sure that a calming collar on Spud will help since he doesn't always start it. And with only 980 square feet here, there are only so many places she can use to separate us. Not to mention it is so hit and miss. We can go for quite a while and get along fine and then something (that mom never sees) set someone off.

What do you all think????

26 comments:

  1. That is a hard one. I know just how you feel. We have the same problem here, just not enough room. Luckily the ones that stay in all the time seem to get along but when one of the outsiders comes in, it gets interesting. Good luck. Maybe they need their toys moved around to give them something new to do. Take care.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lots of vertical space worked well for Trish and the Lounge cats...Do you have enough tall platforms/condos for everyone?

    I'm trying Derry on PetAlive's PetCalm right now, but I'm not sure it's making a difference. I AM having good success (fingers crossed) with their UTI-Free, which he gets 2x a day. That leaves only one before-bed canned meal for the PetCalm, when he ought to be getting it 2x a day too.

    Both remedies are homeopathic--granules that I put into the canned food. They also have something for aggression, but I have no idea if it would work. Cheri uses some of their products for other health issues and has good success, but I guess it depends on what the issue is, each cat, etc.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Try Jackson galaxy's spirit essences. I've heard that they work. Also some separation and reintroduction may be in order to calm everyone down

    ReplyDelete
  4. We use feliway plug ins here, one upstairs and one downstairs so I would be interested to know why your vet doesn't like them. I won't have them in the house if they are harmful.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Every so often Sherpa gets a wild hair and takes off on Harry so maybe it's just their nature? He will tear into that little guy like Harry is a rat or something. Harry SCREAMS and I have to pull Sherpa off of him and put Sherpa in the bathroom. Happens maybe twice a month. Usually they are attached at the hip like they were actually brothers. I think they just get bored.

    ReplyDelete
  6. At the moment feeding time between Charlie and Gumtree is totally supervised. They eat far away from each other and preferably with a door closed between them. Gumtree tends to upset Charlie and Charlie won't eat with Gumtree around.

    Separate eating areas definitely helps for me!

    Hugs to Spud! Take care
    x

    ReplyDelete
  7. The kitties in the Slimmer Household have 3 different eating and living quarters. They can have full run of the house with food for Luna and Socks in Mama Mindy's room. Socks and Jack share a space in daddy's room. Luna, Percy, & Golden share a living space in the basement that is warm in the winter and cool in the summer. So...yes we do keep them separate a bit, but its not because of attack but because we don't want our pugs eating the cats food and litter or Jack getting into Socks' food since he is on a special "lose weight" diet. Also, Jack is not fond of the pugs (timid) and Percy & Golden are still timid, too. Luna and Socks are about the only one's that will fall asleep next to a pug and have no problem putting a pug in his or her place or finding a vertical space for safety if they feel their space is being infringed on and they need a get-away.
    I agree that the more vertical space the better, too.
    I hope this was helpful.
    Much Love,
    Mama Mindy :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ahhh...This is like Cosmo and Ling. They get along splendidly 99.9% of the time, but there will be that 0.1% where Cosmo will get all upset and angry (usually with a stray cat) and take it out on Ling. I find that food is usually the best way to get them back on good terms (once the initial madness has died down - this can take a full day).

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am afraid that is a mystery to us too.

    ReplyDelete
  10. My mom would solve this by giving someone a stern talking to, then a whole bunch of walkies to tire everyone out. That probably doesn't work with kitties, though, does it?
    Good luck. Maybe it's just a phase that will blow over!
    Play bows,
    Zim

    ReplyDelete
  11. The only time I've used separate feeding areas was with Silas, as he had to be on different food than the other cats. He didn't like it, neither the separate nor the food. The three remaining do have tussles occasionally but normally not at meal time. Sorry, I'm not much help am I?

    Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Could this just be a basic personality conflict?
    Periodically (once a week or so) Faraday gets on Allie's last nerve and a big fight ensues. Though we kinda wonder if ANYone could get along with Faraday, he's such a brat....

    We too, would like to know why your vet doesn't like Feliway. Is it the collar or the diffuser that isn't liked?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hmmm. Cat Politics! If only we could figure them out. Everyone used to get along perfectly here and then all of a sudden, Levon started to pick on Esme. I am trying to tire him out, playing with Da bird daily and I do separate them as well. I guess, like people, some times they get on each other's nerves. I didn't see a diffrence when I tried feeding them their wet food in different locations although I do free feed dry food at three different locations but always have.

    Hopefully they will calm down!

    the critters in the cottage xo

    ReplyDelete
  14. Poor Spud. Have you guys tried some Rescue Remedy or Feliway?

    ReplyDelete
  15. I feed in three different rooms, and there's usually five bowls out at any time. And one on the counter, for the tree dwellers!

    ReplyDelete
  16. well, there's only four of us and we all eat something different (and some of us have special diet needs) so we are fed separately (separate rooms). and we just get meals - no free food :(. Spud reminds us a bit of Minnie - Pip doesn't like her but alot of the times Minnie starts things! maybe because the results of Feliway can be hit and miss that your vet doesn't like it? maybe something like flower essences could help too.

    Pip, Smidgen, Minnie, Hollie

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hmmm,
    our problem is different.
    Lego is a cat each loves eating crazy, no matter how much my bean give him, he finish in 1 time.
    But as for me, I will separate to 3~4 dishes. And Lego wants to steal my food which didn't finish yet.

    So, right now my bean separate our food bowl, just in case Lego eats too much, because lots of our cat friends here had thrombus and pass away all because of fat, So, my bean do the food separate.
    We only eat at different place, me at my bean's bedroom, Lego at bean's study room. Lego often asks for food, but we just need to endure not to give to him.

    But in your case,
    I think they could separate for a while, just to notice and get use to theirselves, I heard pheromone spray might works, but I haven't try.

    Anyway good luck, I think previous friends giving great advice.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow, there is lots of good advice here! I too say yes to creating vertical space, plus any of the other things, such as spirit essences and calming stuff. But I think creating the space is the most important because the other things address the symptoms instead of actively solving the problems. BTW, I always get fed separately from Binga, and when my human is out of town, I eat and sleep in a completely different part of the house because Binga is so food aggressive and I tend to graze more when my human is away.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I love Spud, he's so cute and that name is awesome!
    I dont know about feeding them separately. Honestly in our house, feeding time is the only time these two are together without fighting.. If the fights are happening at feeding time, then yeah, separating them might help. If the fights happen at other times, then feeding them separetly will only reinforce distance between them maybe.. But I'm no expert! I hope it calms down for you!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Changes in weather is a big trigger for the WDA to get a little hmmmmm shall we say disrespectful of each other. And that is happening now as NM heads into winter and the heat kicks on and the house is closed up. We normally all eat together but during testy times sometimes momma separates out one or another of us by feeding us in another room...but we ARE woofies.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Admiral was not affected whatsoever by Feliway. It cost all that for nothing. But Katie seemed slightly calmer after a few go-rounds with the racoons outside (she is an indoor cat but gets very angry with introoders who are just a wndow pane away). I sprayed till even *I* felt calmer!! (Katie's mom)n

    ReplyDelete
  22. It works on some cats and not on others and you don't know till you've spent all that money

    ReplyDelete
  23. Feliway is a mimic of the welcoming pheromone that cats rub on things with their chins. it is not a 'calmer', it just makes the environment more friendly. if that is your issue then Feliway work great. If your kitty is high strung it won't do anything because it is not designed to work that way.

    Rescue Remedy can help kitties feel braver or not quite so stressed. Used a lot in dogs for thunderstorms. I used it for Eli to help him not run when I walked in a room (cause he thought I was going to medicate him. I use it for ferals when I can put my hand on a bottle (I have several in the house, but I can't find one at the moment) Bach's flower essences that makes RR has individual essences and one might be more approprieate for your situation..or not.. but it can't help to look at them. You can find them at your local health food stores or online.

    speaking of on line. Spirit Essences are pretty cool too. I love safe spaces.

    ReplyDelete

We love to hear from you.....