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Adopted stray cat problems (continued)
This is an update on the stray cat saga told here over a month ago.
I've been living with three cats who are free to go in and out of the house at will, for nearly three years now. The older two were once confined, but the youngest one, nearly age two, has never been confined. To recap, a stray unneutered male created a big disruption by coming in the house at night, all through the winter. I shooed him away many times, but he became bolder, and I became less willing to deny him food and warmth. But then, not having done it for the first few months of sneaking in, he started 'marking his territory' this spring, and that caused two cats to stop coming in the house at all, and the youngest one to jump around from one piece of furniture to another, to avoid the marked places. He too started staying outside most of the time. So I decided to take the stray cat across the river and leave him to find a way to survive, hopefully. I did that, but went back and got him after an hour because I was overcome with guilt and remorse. The cat was where I had left him with food and milk, just sleeping. Not willing to take him to an animal shelter, where he would be killed eventually, I decided to have him neutered and hope that he would stop marking territory, though that result is not assured for an adult. So he was neutered and had a rabies shot and I gave him an Advantage flea treatment. For the next two weeks or so I was able to make him content by feeding him downstairs, and he did not come upstairs. He knew just to come in for food and sleep downstairs. But that didn't last. Luckily he -did- stop marking his territory, but he started acting like a kitten and following me everywhere, always wanting to be petted and wanting to snuggle up to me wherever I was. That was pretty much OK, except that the other cats kept their distance from him. It was difficult to arrange to have time with the other cats, but the situation gradually got better. Then the big trouble started. Though the other cats were gradually getting used to him, he started being aggressive toward the younger male, chasing him away. The older male never would get close enough to him to have a confrontation, and the older female is dominant over the stray, so there's no problem with her. Interestingly, if she is present when the stray and the younger male have a confrontation, she will intervene effectively. At other times I try to intervene, but not very effectively. I can stop the stray's aggression by yelling and clapping my hands, but I scare the other cat too, so he runs away. In any case the aggression by the stray toward the younger male continues to flare up. It's intolerable and horrible, and I don't seem to have any hope of stopping it. The stray cat is very docile with me, making me think he was not originally a stray. But he is not docile with the other male cats. As I write this, the younger cat was last seen running out into the rain after I made a situation worse by trying to prevent a confrontation. The stray is locked up in a bedroom with food, milk, and a litterbox and he will stay there until I am able to feel good about the other cats being dry and fed. Other than perpetually keeping the stray cat locked up, I see no way of solving this problem. I thought the primary flaw in my plan was that the neutering might not stop the cat from marking territory. I was very lucky on that account, but the aggression of the stray toward my youngest makes the overall problem worse now than ever. I suppose some will say that I have shown why it is not a good idea to allow cats to go in and out of the house at will. They may be right, but I'm still not willing to confine my three adopted cats. I'm only willing to confine the stray cat, if that is the only way to solvc the problem, but it's not a good permanent solution. Calvin Rice |
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"Calvin Rice" wrote in message m... | This is an update on the stray cat saga told here over a month ago. | | In any case the aggression by the stray toward the younger male | continues to flare up. It's intolerable and horrible, and I don't | seem to have any hope of stopping it. The stray cat is very docile | with me, making me think he was not originally a stray. But he is not | docile with the other male cats. | | Calvin Rice Hi Calvin, I have no personal experience with Feliway, but have heard many other rave about its magic when dealing with aggressive behaviours in cats. It almost sounds as though your new stray has "adopted" you as his own and does not wish to share your time or attentions with the other cats. This is not uncommon, but I'm at a loss other than to suggest trying Feliway. Hopefully others here will have more ideas for you. -- Hugs, Lynn *strip CLOTHES to reply* Homepage: http://members.shaw.ca/sewfinefashions/ See my boys: http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/papavince_29/ |
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"Calvin Rice" wrote in message m... | This is an update on the stray cat saga told here over a month ago. | | In any case the aggression by the stray toward the younger male | continues to flare up. It's intolerable and horrible, and I don't | seem to have any hope of stopping it. The stray cat is very docile | with me, making me think he was not originally a stray. But he is not | docile with the other male cats. | | Calvin Rice Hi Calvin, I have no personal experience with Feliway, but have heard many other rave about its magic when dealing with aggressive behaviours in cats. It almost sounds as though your new stray has "adopted" you as his own and does not wish to share your time or attentions with the other cats. This is not uncommon, but I'm at a loss other than to suggest trying Feliway. Hopefully others here will have more ideas for you. -- Hugs, Lynn *strip CLOTHES to reply* Homepage: http://members.shaw.ca/sewfinefashions/ See my boys: http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/papavince_29/ |
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Karen Chuplis wrote in message ...
in article , L. Kelly at wrote on 7/10/03 11:32 PM: "Calvin Rice" wrote in message m... | This is an update on the stray cat saga told here over a month ago. | | In any case the aggression by the stray toward the younger male | continues to flare up. It's intolerable and horrible, and I don't | seem to have any hope of stopping it. The stray cat is very docile | with me, making me think he was not originally a stray. But he is not | docile with the other male cats. | | Calvin Rice Hi Calvin, I have no personal experience with Feliway, but have heard many other rave about its magic when dealing with aggressive behaviours in cats. It almost sounds as though your new stray has "adopted" you as his own and does not wish to share your time or attentions with the other cats. This is not uncommon, but I'm at a loss other than to suggest trying Feliway. Hopefully others here will have more ideas for you. -- Hugs, Lynn I think Feliway could be useful. I also suggest that maybe you actively campaign to find this cat a nice home of his own. He is a nice, neutered, vetted cat. I would certainly consider it at this point. Of course, he never really had a slow intro to your cats, and at this point I don't know if it would work, but it might also establish a pecking order. Give him a room that he is confined in part of the time. If he can be out with the others and behave unagressively fine, but when ever agression presents, put him in the room for a half hour or so. I would do this in combination with Feliway. A difficult situation but there are some options. Karen Calvin, Karen's suggestion about establishing a "pecking order" might help you. When you do have the stray out with you and your other cats, make a point (if possible) of petting the other cats before you pet him. Or hand out treats to everyone, feeding the stray last. Whenever the opportunity arises, acknowledge your existing cats before the stray. Unfortunately, some cats just aren't cut out for multi-cat households, want to be alone with their people and won't tolerate any others. Your new guy may be one of those. If your situation continues, I would definitely look for an opportunity to adopt him out to a house where he would be the only pet. I have also heard good things about Feliway - a spray for "marked" places and now a diffuser to help spread the calming scent around? Good luck! |
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Calvin wrote:
I can stop the stray's aggression by yelling and clapping my hands, but I scare the other cat too, so he runs away. And this is where the problem lies. You are using negative reinforcement which does NOT work. When you yell the stray associates that with the presence of the other cat and becomes resentful thinking that the other cat is to blame for the yelling and loud noise, and this only makes him more intent on being aggressive to the other cat. It becomes a vicious circle. The way to handle this is to use distraction and praise. You want the stray to associate only good things with the presence of the other cats. Anytime you see something happening or starting to happen, do not yell or do anything negative. Instead get the stray's attention using a calm, happy voice and then pet and praise him in the presence of the other cats, even if he has just been aggressive. Make a point of giving the stray positive attention or treats at other times when he is in the presence of the other cats. You must be consistent doing this and you will start to see the problems lessen to a point where they are eliminated altogether or minimized to a tolerable level. I have use this method *many* times in a house of 25 and it works. It wouldn't hurt to get a Feliway diffuser and some spray to help things along, either. Megan "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -Edmund Burke Learn The TRUTH About Declawing http://www.stopdeclaw.com Zuzu's Cats Photo Album: http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22 "Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way." - W.H. Murray |
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Calvin wrote:
I can stop the stray's aggression by yelling and clapping my hands, but I scare the other cat too, so he runs away. And this is where the problem lies. You are using negative reinforcement which does NOT work. When you yell the stray associates that with the presence of the other cat and becomes resentful thinking that the other cat is to blame for the yelling and loud noise, and this only makes him more intent on being aggressive to the other cat. It becomes a vicious circle. The way to handle this is to use distraction and praise. You want the stray to associate only good things with the presence of the other cats. Anytime you see something happening or starting to happen, do not yell or do anything negative. Instead get the stray's attention using a calm, happy voice and then pet and praise him in the presence of the other cats, even if he has just been aggressive. Make a point of giving the stray positive attention or treats at other times when he is in the presence of the other cats. You must be consistent doing this and you will start to see the problems lessen to a point where they are eliminated altogether or minimized to a tolerable level. I have use this method *many* times in a house of 25 and it works. It wouldn't hurt to get a Feliway diffuser and some spray to help things along, either. Megan "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -Edmund Burke Learn The TRUTH About Declawing http://www.stopdeclaw.com Zuzu's Cats Photo Album: http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22 "Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way." - W.H. Murray |
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wrote in message ... Calvin wrote: I can stop the stray's aggression by yelling and clapping my hands, but I scare the other cat too, so he runs away. And this is where the problem lies. You are using negative reinforcement which does NOT work. When you yell the stray associates that with the presence of the other cat and becomes resentful thinking that the other cat is to blame for the yelling and loud noise, and this only makes him more intent on being aggressive to the other cat. It becomes a vicious circle. The way to handle this is to use distraction and praise. You want the stray to associate only good things with the presence of the other cats. It wouldn't hurt to get a Feliway diffuser and some spray to help things along, either. Megan Learn The TRUTH About Declawing http://www.stopdeclaw.com Zuzu's Cats Photo Album: http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22 I agree! Positive reinforcement can bring great results. I adopted Duffy and needed to introduce him to Holly, who had always shown such a dislike for other cats that we called her the "black tornado." The two cats were introduced in a very slow, gradual process. I made sure that Holly got lots and lots of love and attention through all of this. After they were introduced, I watched carefully for any signs of aggression. At any time that the two seemed distressed, I would distract them and would give Holly lavish amounts of praise. For some extra distraction, I kept toy mice and interactive toys readily available (a favorite is a wand with strips of rawhide to dangle in front of their noses - even my blind cat Duffy plays with that). I never scolded the cats or yelled at them. This worked very well. The two cats now get along very well and are usually in the same general area. Holly will still come running any time she hears me talking to Duffy, but she is not upset - she just wants to make sure that she gets her full share of love and attention. Please let me re-emphasize another point: take it very slow, and don't try to rush things. Whenever you think it's time to move to the next stage in bringing your cats together, you should probably stop and wait it out for awhile. I "thought" I going slow when I tried to introduce Holly to my sister's cats some time ago (we took about two weeks), but that was a disaster and led to the "black tornado" references. This time, I took about 6 weeks before I left Holly and Duffy together at all times, and the difference has been remarkable. Friends who knew how Holly had reacted in the past really can hardly believe it. If you don't have a Feliway diffuser, it would be money well spent to buy a couple of them. Feliway is used for behavior modification and can be very useful in reducing stress. I bought some from ValleyVet (www.valleyvet.com). They have free shipping, which saves significantly on the cost. Do not get the one that says "with D.A.P." because that formulation is for dogs. To sum up: (1) Use positive reinforcement with lots of praise and attention; (2) Take it slow and easy. MaryL Photos of Duffy and Holly (pictorial history -- Holly and Duffy): Duffy, Part I: The Introduction -- http://tinyurl.com/8y54 Duffy, Part II: Life at Home -- http://tinyurl.com/8y56 |
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