I have a kitty like this too, (Sophie Matilda), you might remember me
telling you about her when you first wrote to the list about Caroline.
I think it might be better to start with letting Caroline visit with a
friendly, slow moving kitty in the other kitty's territory. The
bathroom belongs to Caroline and she's defending it. It's also too
small a space for her to feel comfortable with the "flight" instead of
"fight" response to an interloper. I'd clear an adjacent bedroom of
everyone else besides you and Caroline. Let her sniff around and get
used to it a little bit, no more than an hour at a time. Then when you
feel she is somewhat comfortable in there, introduce the cat that you
think she could make friends with. What I did to start, was let Matilda
know I was brining in the other cat. I held the other cat, (Matilda's
friend is named Timmy), on my lap and just let Matilda get used to being
in the same space with Tim wo them actually interacting. I've thought
about pharmaceuticals more than once as a solution to help Matilda get
over her fear aggression. So far, I've decided to take it slow and work
with her with behavior modification instead. It is a SLOW process, I've
had Matilda for about 7 mos now, but she is much improved. She now can
be in the bathroom, small back hall and back bedroom unsupervised with
Timmy and another friendly cat, Kimba. Matilda used to charge and
attack anyone with four legs, now, if she has enough room, she'll sit
back and watch instead. It's one step forward and two steps back, but
she is making progress. Do you have a screen door on the bathroom? Is
there any other cat that she seems less threatened by that might work
with her?
You may think I'm crazy, (what else is new?), but I had long talks with
Tim and Matilda before I began introducing them. I asked Tim's
permission before putting him in contact with Matilda and he's been just
wonderful with her. I understand completely about the "quality of life"
issue. I used to struggle with Matilda's isolation and the fact that
she was taking up such valuable real estate that the other cats were
denied. I changed my mind set when I realized that the alternative was
her injuring my other animals, being drugged all the time, or the worse
case scenario, Matilda being pts.
Let us know how it goes and what you do,
Nina
Kelley Saveika wrote:
Hi guys,
Some of you remember I took in an aggressive owner surrendered cat
named Caroline. Well, Caroline is fine with me now. She loves me,
rubs up against me, wants pets, etc. Unfortunately, she is still cat
aggressive.
She's been living in my bathroom since November. I don't think this
is a great life for a kitty, but I can't risk my other kitties well
being. I'm thinking of medicating her and giving that a try. I've
tried short periods of time one on one with another kitty in the
bathroom and not only is she aggressive to the other kitty, she
backslides and starts trying to bite me. I am starting to think it
would be better for her to be on meds than for her to be stuck in the
bathroom for any longer.
What do yall think?
Thanks,
Kelley
--
Rescuties - Saving the world, one cat at a time.
http://www.rescuties.org
Vist the Rescuties store and save a kitty life!
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