Ti and Miley are still enemies!

[sasvermont]

Last night I thought Ti was in another part of the house and I let Miley into my bedroom area as she had been in the computer room / bathroom area all day by herself. Well, Ti was hiding under the bed and jumped Miley as she walked by. I heard it first, then spotted them all in a tangle on the bathroom floor. I tried to observe just what was going on since Miley always screams as though she is being murdered regarless of the nature of the play/attack. She was like that with Graemer too. Any way, Ti was sort of hugging her and not biting and Miley was just staying put, yelling at the top of her lungs. Finally, as Miley escaped to the bathtub area, Ti took off after her and that is when he got rather mean. I gave Ti the boot from the bathroom area and of course Miley took off to her homebase, the closet.

Lesson learned? Gee, I don't know. It wasn't as bad as it has been in the past, but if I were a cat, I wouldn't want to live in fear of another cat.

I put a screen (pet proof, sort of bouncing material) over the door leading from the living room to the computer room so that Miley and Ti could inter-react. Well, Miley hates it, as one might guess, because she thinks the door is open and Ti can GET her. Today I have closed that door, to give Miley a break but will leave it open for the next few days.

I am really resisting druging my cats. I have tried the Remedy Rescue and they won't drink the water with it in it. I use the spray bottle on Ti, but his drive to attack is stronger than his fear of the water. I think I will go back and ask the nice Bengal breeder for some advice.

Sorry this is so long. There are so many more important topics to discuss and this is getting old, even for me!

Thanks for listening.

P. S. I keep thinking about Chuck and his kitty that needed to be rehomed because he hated the other cats. At least Ti likes the kitten, although last night, after the Miley attack, he was mean to the kitten too!

[Barbara]

Sallyanne, I was waiting to hear how things are going. I don't want to ask all the time, so I am very happy for the update.

I understand that you are worried about Ti's behavior to Juni after he attacked Miley -I think this is just because he had so much adrenaline in him he had to continue. Tigris does it sometimes when he's in a bad mood (maybe we said: no you won't get new food until the one that is half an hour old is eaten) -he simply has to attack Filou

The relationship between Ti and Juni looks too stable to me as if it could be influenced by a short time of bad mood.

With Miley it looks more difficult. Looking back I think it would have been the better solution just to introduce a kitten to her. She has no confidence in an adult cat and her shyness defines her as kind of prey to Ti. The best you can expect is that they avoid each other. And I hope they get used at least to see each other

I am sorry I don't sound more positive. I am sure the stress between Miley and Ti can be reduced but they will never love each other.

Give my cute Miley girl an extra nosekissie from me

[trinity]

We were having that type pf problem with two of ours. WHen I made the plans to bring our latest addition into the house I bought a diffuser from the vet that has the Feliway stuff in it. You just plug it into an outlet and it does its stuff. It seems to me that it is working 'cause we have had no MAJOR issues with the latest addition just some minor hissing/fussing but no straight out attacks....maybe give that a try?

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Originally posted by sasvermont
Sorry this is so long. There are so many more important topics to discuss and this is getting old, even for me!

Do not apologize, SAS! You should know that not only are we all wondering how things are going with Miley, Ti and Juni, but we're hoping it all works out in the end, and are glad to get the update. It sounds like maybe things aren't as bad as they were because they were only laying there and Ti wasn't tearing into her yet. We'll just have to be satisfied with baby steps if that's what Miley girl needs. She has been through so much - as have you - and we really like to hear how things are progressing - or not - as the case may be.

And sometimes if I'm playing with Tubby and I've had enough but he hasn't, he will, just out of the blue, jump on innocent little Peanut who gets a little upset becuase she never saw it coming. So I don't think this is a sign that Ti will start being aggresive with Juni, he just had some pent up frustrations and she happened to be there for him to take them out on.

Please keep posting updates, because it's not getting old, it's a work in progress.

[sasvermont]

Well, I will go spend my paycheck on disfussers then and try that. I wonder if I should go buy stock in PETCO first!

Thanks for the honesty Barbara, and yes, Ti and Juni were sweet with each other only an hour later. He was in a bad mood or maybe his hormones got all riled up when he was in attack mode for so long with Miley!

Ti continued in that mood for some time. I kept yelling at him and he KNEW.....the little devil!

Thanks,
SAS

As I recall the disfussers were expensive, but then so are drugs for ME! The screening was $35 so what the heck...what's a few more dollars so that there can be peace in the house. Maybe I will buy a bottle of wine too!

[trinity]

I think I paid about $40 but I bought it from the vet instead of Petco, or Petsmart...they will probably be cheaper. And the bottle they give you with it is supposed to last 4 weeks...I can't remember what the refill was....all fingers crossed for a peaceful household.....

[Edwina's Secretary]

Welcome to my world...or your world as the case may be.

I bought the diffuser. It was over $30.00. Refills are cheaper ... I also bought a spray bottle that was about $20 (expensive stuff!!!!) The difuser is good for four weeks. My problem was deciding where to plug it in for maximum benefit. (The diffuser is for Edwina since she is the one with aggression...) I chose our bedroom as that is where she sleeps at night and oftne during the day.

For Eduardo I sprayed some on the various furniture corners in his basement.

Results........to be determined

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm sorry to hear that Ti and Miley are still not getting along. Some cats will never get along with other cats. Hopefully they'll learn to tolerate each other. Thanks for the update.

My Storm is will still chase Cirrus and terrorize him until Cirrus starts hissing and growling. The other night he chased him into the litterbox. It doesn't happen every day but when it does happen I put Storm in my bedroom for a time out and it usually seems to help. I'm just glad that Cirrus is afraid of Storm so there's no bloodshed. I guess Storm and Cirrus will never really be friends. They have learned to tolerate each other though.

Sky loves to play rough and he's been attacking Sunny and it makes Sunny squeal like he's being murdered. Sunny will usually jump up high to get away from him but then he'll go back for more so I'm not worried. I've almost had Sky for 4 weeks now so I think he's getting along fairly well for this amount of time. I'm sure by next month that everything will be much better. We just need to be patient with our cats and let them work out things on their own.

[sasvermont]

Now that I was reminded, when I was at the breeder's picking up little Juni the itch, they had a cage (wire and included a perch and litter box) for a timeout place for any cat that was being ugly. They put the same one in there twice while I was there. That cat's name was Looney.....and she was looney....they actually took her one kitten from her because she kept putting it in the litter box. They will not breed her anymore. Anyway, I think I might buy a cage for a misbehaving cat......rather than just put him, ahemmm, in another room. Does that sound awful?

[Barbara]

They say that it works with dogs that way: just showing to the animal that the consequence of unwanted behavior is a life with no play, no fun and especially no treats. (Of course only for a short time). The dog should connect its behavior to boredom.

I have no idea whether it works with cats.

I did not want to criticize you. When I was first writing I wanted to add that after things happened you always know better (especially when you're not involved) but then I forgot. We have now this situation in which we have one happy little kitten, one big boy who still feels not completely confident but who has started to make friends and to install himself, and one completely mixed up little lady.

Miley has so many similarities to my Filou who is my little special boy -and I have no idea how he would accept a new brother or sister, this is why I think so often of her.

[sasvermont]

Barbara, you called it exactly the way it is at my house!

Last night, after I gave Juni and Ti the boot from the bedroom, Miley came dashing on to the bed - tearing from her closet to the bed trying to avoid any attacks. She cuddled with me the entire night.....grooming me....purring.....she is so sweet by herself and sometimes when Juni is around....but when Ti is around, she is a different cat. She plays when she feels safe and happy.... It was so sad last night when she "landed" in bed - she kept looking around waiting for the furry bomber Ti. She stopped eventually, but it broke my heart to see her so upset at the thought of having him in the same room with her! She is terrified of him! Even his meow sets her off!

Maybe I should change the name from Camp Vermont to House Divided!

Thanks for the support and your opinions.

[Pam]

Sallyanne as I was reading your initial post it brought something to mind. Have you ever seen the magic act where they place a coin or small object under some upsidedown cups and you must try and keep track of which cup the coin might be under? It sort of reminded me of life these days in Camp Vermont and I guess you might say that Big Ti is the coin and I am sure Miley is the one trying to keep track!

I'm so sorry to hear about the latest disturbance of the peace. It makes me sad to think of poor little Miley getting herself all worked up and unable to relax and play with Ti even being within earshot. Please don't apologize for coming here and venting and seeking suggestions. We are all concerned and wonder when a few days go by without an update. I know that you are doing all that you can to work this all out and my hat goes off to you. I also think it is a splendid idea to stop off for that bottle of wine just in case!

[sasvermont]

Thanks Pam. Things have been quiet for a change and there has not been much change or improvement. You can rest assured that if I found Miley and Ti all cuddled up together I would have a professional photographer come in and document it!

I have been enjoying other means of entertainment...i.e. gardening, playing with Juni Rose, shopping...... you know the drill....and since the room situation is so screwed up, door wise, I don't often roam the house and play on the computer. It is too much trouble. It is a bit like you described. Where in the world is Ti. He is like my bad penny. Or is it Miley? Maybe I have TWO bad pennies!

I shall have some wine tonight. I am not going to work tomorrow, so it would be perfect time to ummmmmm, indulge!

[slick]

I'm so sorry to hear about the furry unrest!! My cats will never get along and they only tolerate each other. Max continues to go after Speckles (God, you should hear it at 6am poor girl). I don't think he would hurt her on purpose but he does get a rush knowing that he's intimidating her and she is afraid of him. They will sleep at opposite ends of the same couch but get within sniffing distance and watch out! It's a swipathon.... I don't interfere anymore unless it gets really vocal.

I pray the diffuser will work and you can once again get some peace and quiet.

[catland]

This is just an idea -

Since Miley and Ti are separated, they never get used to each other's scents - so they always think of each other as "strangers". What if you try taking something that each of them sleep on and leave it in the part of the house occupied by the other? That way they can get more used to each other's scent and maybe start to accept each other as housemates.