Damn, things are getting worse with Luna and Lily!

[Kirsten]

Ever since Lily moved in (at the age of 11 weeks; Luna was 3 at that time), she started dominating Luna. It began that she made Luna babying her; Lily wanted to suckle, and Luna obeyed. This went on for three years, and when that episode was over, Lily started intimidating Luna. She'd stare her down or jump at her, and Luna would hiss and growl, even paw at her - but back off eventually. Always. And this is getting worse over the years, especially now that Luna is getting older.

Right from the start, they have slept in my bed with me - every night, both of them. But now it's happening more and more that Lily won't let Luna. Luna is usually the first who's coming to bed, soon after I switch off the lights. But now, as soon as Luna's laying down to sleep, Lily's attacking her, making her hiss and scream. Usually she's chasing her out of the room. I'm scolding her, but of course this won't impress Lily one bit. Last night, after she ran Luna off, Lily came back and wanted to lay down at the same spot where Luna had made her bed minutes ago - I didn't let her, I was sooo mad. Lily jumped onto the top of the cabinet, pouting. Luna, after being chased away by Lily, is usually irritated and most unhappy, she would walk up and down the hallway, whining and crying in a most pitiful way. She just doesn't know where to go. All Luna wants is to be with me, but Lily won't let her. It took lots of efforts on my part to make Luna come back to the bedroom, where she first sat beside my bed forever, before she made a new start to lay down to sleep. Eventually she did, and Lily came down from the cabinet, jumped into the bed, and started attacking Luna again. By the time I switched on the lights, Luna was already on her back, trying to defend herself. I chased Lily away, and this time, Luna didn't get up. A while later, Lily came back to bed, and this time, she was laying down next to Luna.

Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep last night, especially since Lily has developed the bad habit of getting up at 4 in the morning, wanting some treats. And she's very demanding!! She's sitting next to my head, poking my face - and she doesn't hesitate to use her claws! This little sweet girl has turned into a tyrant par excellence!

I really hope tonight will be better as I'm having a doctor's appointment tomorrow in the morning; and I really need to get some sleep. But the worst is that I'm feeling so bad for Luna; I can tell she's always uncomfortable now, always on her guard and fearing Lily's attack. My poor poor baby!! :(

[pomtzu]

Prozac???

[Taz_Zoee]

Sounds like my house. When it gets really bad or won't stop I end up putting Jax in "his room" and closing the door. So we can get sleep and Paizly can relax. Not sure if your place is set up to do this, close the door to your bedroom and you and Luna sleep in the bed. Or something to separate them so Luna can relax.
I know how frustrating it is. I love Jax to death, but he makes me SOOO mad when he does this to Paizly. I usually have a squirt bottle, but that only stops him for a second while he licks the water off. The other night I had a bath towel in my hand and I threw that at him. He just doesn't get it!
I swear that when we are not home they play and have a grand old time together. But when we are home Paizly wants nothing to do with him and he doesn't understand why. I really want to set up a camera or even just audio equipment to see how they are when alone.

I hope you can figure something out so you can get some sleep.

[catmandu]

I have to hide the treats from Mickey Fluffy Tail and Tubster Panther as they will grab the bag swing them about and making meewoing noices until I get up and feed them.
Thank God they dont scratch me.
We are praying that you can come to a solution Kirsten that is snot a lot of fun when you need your sleep.:eek:

[mon]

Awww, poor Luna, poor you. That amounts to quite a challenge for sure! I guess Lily wants to assert her dominance, hopefully she'll grow out of it. Sorry that sounds lame but it's all I got :o

[Queen of Poop]

Sounds like your Lily has been taking lessons from my Diego. He's been on kitty prozac for a while and the issues are pretty much gone now. When they do have a flare up I have breakaway collars for each of them, I give these collars a good spray of feliway and install them one on each cat. This curtails all activity and they each go find a cat bed and leave each other and me alone. Once things are calmer, or once morning arrives I remove the collars. Good luck.

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Sounds like your Lily has been taking lessons from my Diego. He's been on kitty prozac for a while and the issues are pretty much gone now.


Are you serious?? Does Prozac also exist for cats??
I really hope you can find a solution for your cats Kirsten, it must break your heart to see this behaviour............. :love:

[Kirsten]

Damn, I was just posting my reply, but Firefox crashed - and all was lost! :(

Will reply again tomorrow as it's late here and I'm tired.

[sasvermont]

Are you serious?? Does Prozac also exist for cats??
I really hope you can find a solution for your cats Kirsten, it must break your heart to see this behaviour............. :love:

It is the same Prozac as for humans, just in a smaller dose. I tried it with my two monster cats and they stopped taking the medications... so now they reside in two different parts of the house. A house divided. Oh well. Juni usually gets a room all to herself, now. Every now and then I try to reassociate them and so far, it has not worked.

I would suggest medication, if at all possible. Female cats can be a real pain in some households.

:eek:

[Freedom]

I would suggest medication, if at all possible. Female cats can be a real pain in some households.

:eek:

Here, it is Crystal (female, and a calico as well :rolleyes:) and Tommy (male) constantly after one another. You'd think 9 cats with 9 rooms plus a cellar could manage to keep out of one another's way. Oh no, they will actually HUNT when on the prowl.

I do time outs, with one in a room with the door closed. When I started this, I was saying, "you really don't want me to come in there!" and now they break off the minute they hear that. But it took 3 years for that to click in for them

[Queen of Poop]

Diego would stop his prozac in a heartbeat, but I'm currently smarter than he is. I get it in "chew" format, fish flavored. This I mush up with kitty junk food (fancy feast) in a variety of fish flavors. I mush it up really good and he scarfs the whole thing down. It might not be the best thing for him to have but the vet and I both agree it's more important to get the meds into him than worry about the teaspoon of junk food he's getting with it. I change up the flavors daily (tuna/salmon) so that he doesn't get a chance to get used to one particular flavor and begin to get picky. So far it works for us, along with the occassional collar spray when they get really rambunctious.

[cassiesmom]

Dear Kirsten, Lily and Luna -- I hope today was a better day. Thinking of you :love: :love:

[mon]

Spicy is doing SO much better now. I'm not quite sure why.I guess so many changes, we pay far more attention to her. Make the old man brush her after dinner, I brush her in the morn. She has completely stopped bellering for all she's worth. Even let her sit in the same room with Mia. Oh not for bloody long, if looks could kill man. Cannot take your eyes off Spicy for a second, predator to the bone. Bless her wee heart:D Mia truly believes that the whole universe loves her intensly :rolleyes: I have told her many times that Spicy HATES her guts and always will. She does not believe me. Or maybe she don`t speak English. Better brush up on me «spanish

[phesina]

Dear Kirsten, would Feliway help at all ? Or perhaps Prozac, as some have suggested.

Hoping and praying things will work out soon with your girls.

:love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

[Kirsten]

Thank you very much for the advice, and for listening... :) I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one dealing with feline terror. ;)

However, the past two nights have been better; last night, they slept in my bed together without any problems, and the night before, Luna left the bed before Lily attacked her. Luna rested for a while in her kitty bed, then came back into my bed, and Lily tolerated it.

Actually, I don't want to put Lily on any psycho drugs such as prozac because most of the time, she's just sweet and good natured. However, she can be bossy, and very demanding, but in many ways, she's easier to handle than Luna. Anyway, instead of meds, I'd rather try something holistic, bach flower remedies maybe. I used Feliway in the past and it didn't seem to help, but I'm willing to give it another try. Also, Lily will get a time-out in another room the next time she's acting like that!

During the daytime, they're okay, sleeping most of the time in their kitty bed together, usually in identical positions. They always did that; remember that I used to refer to them as my "synchro kitties"? ;) I just wish Luna had a little more self-esteem so she could cope with Lily's antics. Lily seems to be power-tripping every now and then, and Luna just doesn't know how to deal with it. Here it shows that she has been taken away from her kitty mom at the age of only 6 weeks, whereas Lily enjoyed a happy kittenhood where she learned all the feline skills. I think it was a mistake bringing her home, but well, too late now, I should have thought about that 10 years ago...


Here's their kitty bed where they're spending a lot of time during the day, and they never fight in there:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/309825_10200168987534862_641590443_n.jpg

[aTailOf2Kitties]

I had the same thing happen with my 2 boys. They kept getting worse and worse and I tried all sorts of things short of prescription drugs. I ended up keeping one of them in a big cage at all times (they each had a 12-hour shift) while I tried to convince my parents to take one of them. They have Havoc now and he's very happy to be the only kitty. He's a neurotic little thing and whenever he had one of his freakouts Toby would attack him (actually Toby would attack ME, as I was trying to grab either one of them to put in kitty time out)

Glad your girls have settled down though. Hopefully they will remain tolerant of each other:love:

[phesina]

What a nice picture of the two girls on the kitty bed! That looks promising for future kitty harmony.

I don't think it was a mistake you bringing either of them home. They and you are SO well bonded! You all will work this out.

Continuing prayers and good wishes,
:love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

[Kirsten]

Pat, I hope you're right, and there are at least a few moments in which they appreciate each other's company! ;)

aTailOf2Kitties, that sounds really bad! I think before one of mine would be ending up in a cage, or getting drugged, I'd rather rehome one of them as well, but I don't think it's necessary here. Glad you've got your situation solved!


BTW, here's another one of them in their kitty bed; it's not a great picture, but you'll get the idea. This is how they're spending their days, and while in their bed, Luna doesn't seem to feel too uncomfortable with Lily next to her. And yes, I know that Luna put on way too much weight. :o

http://www.catmom.de/2013/kittybed.jpg

[cassiesmom]

http://www.catmom.de/2013/kittybed.jpg
when I think of Luna and Lily, this is exactly how I picture them! I hope there will be many moments when they appreciate one another's company. Sending you hugs, kisses, snuggles and lovies, Lily and Luna! :love: :love:

[krazyaboutkatz]

Female cats can be a real pain in some households.

:eek:

I totally agree. Both of my girls not only fight with each other but with any of my male cats as well. This is one reason why I do much better with male cats.

Kirsten, I'm sorry to hear that your having these problems.:( Hopefully things will work out soon.

[cassiesmom]

Dear Kirsten, Luna and Lily --- I hope things are getting better at your house! :love: :love:


Thinking of you and sending a (((HUG))),
Elyse

[phesina]

We hope so too!

{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}} and ~~~~~~~PURRS~~~~~~~ and :love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:,
Pat and cats

[catfamily]

Hi Kirsten
I know how hard this is on you and Luna.
I was wondering if you could put Luna(your older original kitty) in your bedroom.

Luna deserves to have you all to herself for a while.
She's older and now with the weight issues and maybe some depression.
not as quick to get back at her younger sister,it may help Luna's self worth and it will remind
her of how important she is to you.
making her the Queen.

Or better yet,only at night when it's time for bed,bring Luna in.
i know Lilly will protest but after awhile the noise outside the bedroom will quiet down.
(we had to do that on different occasions):rolleyes:

litter boxes and water bowls in both areas are a pain but i think it may help.

If this is not a good idea,i still am thinking of another.:confused:

or...how about a spray bottle for Lily when she acts on Luna.
Spraying Lily every time she starts to pounce on poor Luna.:D

[Kirsten]

Catfamily, thank you for offering some advice. Luna and Lily are always allowed in my bedroom, and they're sleeping in my bed right from the start. In fact, that's the place they're fighting about. :( A spray bottle may be in an option in the summer, but right now it's too cold. I have started scolding Lily whenever she started threatening Luna, and the last nights, it worked. She backed off then and spent some time at the top of the cabinet while Luna stayed in bed with me. I have always thought it's not a good idea to interfere their fights and taking sides, but now with Luna getting older, I really think she needs my support. May raise more tension on Lily's part, but I can't help it...

[catfamily]

Catfamily, thank you for offering some advice. Luna and Lily are always allowed in my bedroom, and they're sleeping in my bed right from the start. In fact, that's the place they're fighting about. :( A spray bottle may be in an option in the summer, but right now it's too cold. I have started scolding Lily whenever she started threatening Luna, and the last nights, it worked. She backed off then and spent some time at the top of the cabinet while Luna stayed in bed with me. I have always thought it's not a good idea to interfere their fights and taking sides, but now with Luna getting older, I really think she needs my support. May raise more tension on Lily's part, but I can't help it...

i just thought of an idea.( i forgot about our problem child 'vicky' ,lol )
she is a terror.always was from the start.
But she has been doing really well lately,because i am using reverse psychology with her.
While in her prey mode,i get her preoccupied,calming her and the other cat she wants to fight.or jump on,
by patting both at the same time talking soft.
it's working but it is a lot of hard work for me and mike.

[cassiesmom]

Catfamily, thank you for offering some advice. Luna and Lily are always allowed in my bedroom, and they're sleeping in my bed right from the start. In fact, that's the place they're fighting about. :( A spray bottle may be in an option in the summer, but right now it's too cold. I have started scolding Lily whenever she started threatening Luna, and the last nights, it worked. She backed off then and spent some time at the top of the cabinet while Luna stayed in bed with me. I have always thought it's not a good idea to interfere their fights and taking sides, but now with Luna getting older, I really think she needs my support. May raise more tension on Lily's part, but I can't help it...

Awww, ladies, please don't fight about the big bed. I am sure there is plenty of room for both of you and your meowmie also. I'm glad things have gotten better. Here are some gentle ((((HUGS))) for Luna and Lily :love: :love:

Your admiring fan,
Elyse

[catnapper]

Same scenario in my house, only with Pouncer coming to me first. Them Mystic shows up and the growling starts.

I don't understand why Pouncer let Mikey and Flutter share the bed but not Mystic.

[Catsnclay]

By any chance did this take place either on a full moon or no (new) moon??

My cats change with the moon.....scary, huh?!!

[moosmom]

How about calming collars for them both? I swear by them! My niece has two cats (females) that tolerate, at best, each other. The collars did the trick!! They are both beautiful, Kirsten!

[krazyaboutkatz]

How about calming collars for them both? I swear by them! My niece has two cats (females) that tolerate, at best, each other. The collars did the trick!! They are both beautiful, Kirsten!

I wish that these worked on both of my girls. I tried them and they didn't do anything for them.:( My home would be so peaceful if only Pearl & Ziggy would just learn to get along with all of their brothers. I hope that Luna & Lily are getting along better now.