Bit of cat advice, please
Discussion
We've got three cats. I've got one called Donkey, my girlfriend has one called Winnie and the third is Bailey, who used to belong to my old housemate. I shared the house with her and Bailey when I first moved there, then I got Donkey. Donkey and Bailey became brilliant friends after a slightly shaky start.
Housemate moved out and took Bailey with her, girlfriend moved in and bought Winnie as a kitten. Again, a shaky start but Winnie and Donkey now appear to be firm friends.
The problems started when Bailey returned. The ex-housemate moved and couldn't take him with her so it was me or an ad in the paper. I love him and didn't want him just going anywhere so we had him back again, about a year after he'd left.
Initially things seemed fine - it was clear that he recognised where he was immediately and was really affectionate, more than he'd ever been, rolling around, rubbing up against us like they do, so I thought things would be fine. We introduced him to Donkey right away since they knew each other from before but he changed immediately, going straight into a bad mood and growling.
Since then he spends almost all his time outdoors, only coming in to eat and then only late at night. I occasionally see him in the garden and maybe once or twice a fortnight I can get close enough to pick him up and give him some attention. When I do that he's really happy.
How can I make him more at home? He used to spend a lot of time indoors and was a bit of a lap cat. Ideas appreciated
Housemate moved out and took Bailey with her, girlfriend moved in and bought Winnie as a kitten. Again, a shaky start but Winnie and Donkey now appear to be firm friends.
The problems started when Bailey returned. The ex-housemate moved and couldn't take him with her so it was me or an ad in the paper. I love him and didn't want him just going anywhere so we had him back again, about a year after he'd left.
Initially things seemed fine - it was clear that he recognised where he was immediately and was really affectionate, more than he'd ever been, rolling around, rubbing up against us like they do, so I thought things would be fine. We introduced him to Donkey right away since they knew each other from before but he changed immediately, going straight into a bad mood and growling.
Since then he spends almost all his time outdoors, only coming in to eat and then only late at night. I occasionally see him in the garden and maybe once or twice a fortnight I can get close enough to pick him up and give him some attention. When I do that he's really happy.
How can I make him more at home? He used to spend a lot of time indoors and was a bit of a lap cat. Ideas appreciated
I suggest a look on the Feline Advisory Website. Quicker for me than writing out everything they're only going to have in there!!
Needless to say we push cats too the brink of their coping mechanisms a lot and Bailey has possibly just been expected to deal with too much upheaval in recent months.
Winnie could also be playing a part in his confusion.
Did you get any feliway before he arrived back. If not it'd be worth getting some.
Needless to say we push cats too the brink of their coping mechanisms a lot and Bailey has possibly just been expected to deal with too much upheaval in recent months.
Winnie could also be playing a part in his confusion.
Did you get any feliway before he arrived back. If not it'd be worth getting some.
Jasandjules said:
How long has he been there? Since the really hot days?
He came back in February after being away for about 13/14 months. When the weather's bad he hides under a bed, when it's dry he disappears outdoors. It's making me sad as he's nothing like his old self 
We've locked the cat flap this evening so we can catch him in and treat him to some wet food, which he loves. I've had a look at the feline advice site and based on that we'll also get some Feliway and chuck a couple of scratching posts in different spots in the house.
One of our two cats isn't taking well to the new puppy. She's frightened, basically, and just tries not to be anywhere near him. The other cat has smacked him round the head a couple of times for being cheeky and will happily sit very near him, as long as she knows she is out of his reach. The frightened cat is spending all day in the garden. She would probably be doing that to some extent anyway with this good weather, but still, I'm not really happy about it. The big worry is that she's going to leave.
I'm basically bribing her with lots and lots of tuna, and lots of attention when she does come in. Seems to be working, and she does seem to be getting a little bit braver round the mutt, but it's going to be a long struggle. Anyway, that's our tactic for a similar sort of pissed off cat situation.
edit - we've got Feliway diffusers going, too, and have created safe places for them.
I'm basically bribing her with lots and lots of tuna, and lots of attention when she does come in. Seems to be working, and she does seem to be getting a little bit braver round the mutt, but it's going to be a long struggle. Anyway, that's our tactic for a similar sort of pissed off cat situation.
edit - we've got Feliway diffusers going, too, and have created safe places for them.
Jasandjules said:
Ok so it isn't just that he is hot and hunting then.
Can you feed all three of them together? Using ham to attract them...
I actually wouldn't advise this yet. I get the thought behind it but offering food to 3 potentially stressed cats in close proximity is only going to create more conflict, for now any feeding should be done completely separately. Different rooms if possible.Can you feed all three of them together? Using ham to attract them...
Once initial relations between all cats improve this would be a good thing to try.
otolith said:
I'm basically bribing her with lots and lots of tuna, and lots of attention when she does come in. Seems to be working, and she does seem to be getting a little bit braver round the mutt, but it's going to be a long struggle. Anyway, that's our tactic for a similar sort of pissed off cat situation.
If you can control the dog sufficiently, what we did was put ham on the front paws of the dog (with them lying down) and the cats would eat them. Then have the dog sitting and put the food directly under the dog mouth and let the cat take it. 3 days of this and the cats were rubbing off the dogs. Cat also had a cat flap into the utility room so somewhere they could go to be away from dogs.
Bex - maybe, it would (to me) depend on how aggressive the cats are being.
Yep I think separate rooms for food could be a good idea. I might also get Bailey a food bowl like the one he used to have, little things like that are important to cats I think.
They don't have cat beds so this could be something to look into. I think I know where Bailey would like his if I get him one, too.
They don't have cat beds so this could be something to look into. I think I know where Bailey would like his if I get him one, too.
Jasandjules said:
If you can control the dog sufficiently, what we did was put ham on the front paws of the dog (with them lying down) and the cats would eat them. Then have the dog sitting and put the food directly under the dog mouth and let the cat take it. 3 days of this and the cats were rubbing off the dogs.
Cat also had a cat flap into the utility room so somewhere they could go to be away from dogs.
Unfortunately, he's a 9 week old puppy and just wants to play with them, they don't want to play and run, he chases. We've fitted a cat flap to the understairs cupboard, and the cats now have their food bowls and litter trays in there, so they can use both in peace and so he can't eat the contents of either. That's working fairly well. We got new cat trees, one of which the bolder cat uses to stare at him from, and we control where he is with baby gates. The chasing is the thing we're working on stopping - I don't mind if they're never friends, but chasing is dangerous from a prey instinct point of view.Cat also had a cat flap into the utility room so somewhere they could go to be away from dogs.
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