Fwd: [NMHP] One cat at the bottom of the totem pole

[Lernermichelle]

Hi. I am trying to clear out my email box, saw this, and thought it might help some of you with multi-cat stress problems (cat stress, not your stress! though decreasing their stress helps decrease ours, of course).  I would try the hidden treat thing if Lucy was not on a special bladder stone diet that prohibits treats at the moment. I may try it in the future. My three remaining positives fight constantly ever since Simon died.  Ginger loved him, Lucy liked him, and Patches hit him when she needed to hit someone and he ran away rather than hit her back. Now they all just bicker all the time, and sometimes worse.
Michelle

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My Groups | NMHP Main Page Question from Chris: 5 cats is probably one too many: Misty (female, 8 years), Tucson (female, 7 years), Bumper (female, 5 years), Little Boy (male, 4 years), Romeo (male, 5 years).  All are spayed/neutered; all are strays that ‘found’ me as kittens except for Romeo, who was a stray I fed for a couple of years before I brought him in last year.  In the past, as each new little one came in, I never had problems with adjustments & Misty was sort of the ‘mother’ to Tucson & Bumper she balked a bit at Little Boy but I never had problems.  When I brought in Romeo, I did a very slow introduction, keeping him in my room & having them all see each other through a plastic sheet at my door.  The intro was long as it took him a couple of months to settle into the sweet, loving & VERY affectionate cat he is now.  When I started letting them mix, with supervision, things went great for about 3 weeks.  They would eat together, sleep on the same beds, couch, etc.  Romeo is a very passive sort of cat—even outside, he would always move away from the food dish or resting spot if one of the other cats shoved him out of the way.  Then one day, Tucson went a little wild & attacked him making howling sounds that I never heard her make.  She pinned him down (she is large), & before I could get there to separate them, he bit her.  Since then, when he sees her, he runs to hide & she runs to chase him, making those howling sounds.  Thrown into this mix is Bumper, who is sort of the town bully;  she chases everybody! All but Romeo know that if they don’t move or if they just swat her, she backs off.  Romeo runs to hide from her.  If Tucson or Bumper get too close to his hiding place, he now growls and that incites them even more.  He has never gone after the two of them, although he has no problem swatting Misty if she tries to get his food!  He gets along great with Little Boy & they spend a lot of time playing & chasing each other.  I can do anything to him but pick him up—he still gets scared at that & jumps out of my arms. Placing any of them somewhere else is not an option.  Interestingly enough, being indoor-only cats now, they all get spooked if the doorbell rings or someone comes in.  They all instantly retreat to the nearest hiding place, usually under beds, where they all spend hours together, nose to nose without a problem.  Tucson & Little Boy get spooked with thunder & the same thing has happened.  No growling, no hissing, no howling!  Any and all ideas would be greatly appreciated as I have to keep moving them from room to room so that nobody gets stuck in one room all the time.   Response from Dr Emily Weiss:  Chris – sounds like you have quite a mix on your hands!  Multi cat households can be quite a challenge.     There are several things that I suggest you do to help decrease the tension in the home.  First, I would like for you to have several feeding stations in the home.  And more importantly, I would like for you to provide quite a bit of food-based enrichment for the crew.  In other words, place pieces of tasty treats in toilet paper tubes, hide kibble under a paper cup, put a few tasty treats in a roller ball.  We can often decrease aggressive interactions in captive groups by providing enrichment.  Non-food enrichment would be helpful as well. Tie feathers on a short, cotton thread over a air vent,  sprinkle a bit of allspice on a towel, or even pick up one of the new automated charmers.    Be sure that there are plenty of visual barriers in your home. In other words, there should be places in the same room where one cat can be and not be in the visual field of any other cat.  These visual barriers decrease stress and aggression.   It does sound like the cats have worked out the issue to some extent.  Alliances have been made, and animals are avoiding interaction.  This is normal and a good way to cope in a colony situation.  While it can be hard on you to watch as poor Romeo runs from the others yet again, he has found a way that works for him.  Your job will be to reduce the overall tension in the home–and to quietly observe the interactions, without appearing to take sides.  If the cats feel that you've picked favorites, this can add to their angst.  YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS  Visit your group "NMHP" on the web.    To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:  [EMAIL PROTECTED]    Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

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