In article ,
enlightened us with...

i'm not familiar with cat psychology, and thought only dogs were
into the i'm-the-dominant-animal-bow-down-before-me/i'm-the-submissive-
animal-i-don't-dare-intrude-on-your-territiory thing. do cats do this
too?


Yes, they do.

Cats have a complex social structure, just different from the
heirarchical structure of a dog pack. They can switch roles sometimes
and they can be on even footing. Dominance and territoriality are the
main reasons an intact male sprays. Submissiveness is why a cat buries
its excrement. A truly dominant cat will not bury it.
There are reams of books on the subject, far too much for me to put
here. Look over at amazon or google the subject. You'll find lots.

how long is this going to last? am i doomed to have a cat who won't
_ever_ come down from the table/bedstand/windowsill?


Depends. On many, many things, not least of which is how adaptable he
is and how much of a **** the other cat is. You can influence their
behavior by rewarding appropriate responses, punishing inappropriate
behavior, using time-outs, etc. If the brat likes attention, remove your
attention when he's evil and lavish it when he's good. He can earn extra
playtime by being good, etc.
Took almost a year for my one girl and my boy to get along well. Took
nearly 6 months for her to allow him within a foot of her (no fights,
just a spitting and hissing female cat and a perplexed male). He's
friendly with anything that moves. She's a brat affectionately termed
"Princess" . LOL
Now, the other female accepted him pretty quick and they became good
buddies within a couple months. They sleep together, groom each other,
etc.
None of my cats are particularly wallflowers, though, and don't take to
being pushed around. But they're not aggressive, either. So, I have it
pretty easy. The brat gets a time out if she's evil, so she usually
behaves. heh

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