I'm under seige!
This morning, MomKatt called & called for me because, as you know, I usually spend breakfast with her and I wasn't in the dining room, nor was I in the kitchen. She went to the foot of our stairs & called me several times, but I didn't respond. Yet, she knew where I was.
Where was I, you ask? Upstairs. In MomKatt's office. And outside, on the landing at the top of the stairs ...
My sisfur, Sasha. Sitting facing the door to the office, STARING ... (and she's got SOME stare sometimes, as you can see).
MomKatt wasn't amused. In fact, she ran Sasha off downstairs & scolded her. Then, I guess thinking that I would follow her downstairs, she went down, too, to eat breakfast. She called me a couple of times from the table, but I didn't show so she finished eating & came to find me. (I later learned Livia kept her company on the table in my absence. Wasn't that nice of her? She's such a nice sisfur.)
Once again, Sasha was in the same place at the top of the stairs. MomKatt had to visit the hooman litterbox next door and, as she was doing so, Sasha ran into the office & CHASED me. (Humph. Picked her moment, she did, when MomKatt was ... ahem ... occupied ... and couldn't follow her right away. I'll say this much: she's a devious little thing.)
MomKatt soon emerged, however, and she ran Sasha out of the room. I emerged from under the purple chair with a pitiful cry of greeting (I was attempting to sound "plaintive" - I've read somewhere that is a good thing to do sometimes with hoomans), with my tail up, SO glad to see my calvary - a/k/a MomKatt! She scooped me up in her arms & carried me bodily downstairs. We passed the cat tree and Sasha was lying on it. I saw her & squirmed a little but MomKatt held me & spoke softly to me and kept going with me in her arms, into the kitchen, where she sat me down on the counter. I promptly ran over to the window above the sink and MomKatt got the bag of treats because I hadn't had my morning treat yet, and everyone else had.
Now she's a bit worried. She doesn't want me "exiled" upstairs again, like I felt I had to be when Feisal was alive. This is MOST unfair. Plus, Peppers is stealing her lap from me at night! This is TRULY a pickle of the highest magnitude.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
*sigh* I'll tell ya, it's not easy living with two OTHER Alpha females that do NOT recognize MY superiority. (I actually dreamed the other night of shoving Boudicca back into the basement! hee hee)
Selina the Besieged
Where was I, you ask? Upstairs. In MomKatt's office. And outside, on the landing at the top of the stairs ...
MomKatt wasn't amused. In fact, she ran Sasha off downstairs & scolded her. Then, I guess thinking that I would follow her downstairs, she went down, too, to eat breakfast. She called me a couple of times from the table, but I didn't show so she finished eating & came to find me. (I later learned Livia kept her company on the table in my absence. Wasn't that nice of her? She's such a nice sisfur.)
Once again, Sasha was in the same place at the top of the stairs. MomKatt had to visit the hooman litterbox next door and, as she was doing so, Sasha ran into the office & CHASED me. (Humph. Picked her moment, she did, when MomKatt was ... ahem ... occupied ... and couldn't follow her right away. I'll say this much: she's a devious little thing.)
MomKatt soon emerged, however, and she ran Sasha out of the room. I emerged from under the purple chair with a pitiful cry of greeting (I was attempting to sound "plaintive" - I've read somewhere that is a good thing to do sometimes with hoomans), with my tail up, SO glad to see my calvary - a/k/a MomKatt! She scooped me up in her arms & carried me bodily downstairs. We passed the cat tree and Sasha was lying on it. I saw her & squirmed a little but MomKatt held me & spoke softly to me and kept going with me in her arms, into the kitchen, where she sat me down on the counter. I promptly ran over to the window above the sink and MomKatt got the bag of treats because I hadn't had my morning treat yet, and everyone else had.
Now she's a bit worried. She doesn't want me "exiled" upstairs again, like I felt I had to be when Feisal was alive. This is MOST unfair. Plus, Peppers is stealing her lap from me at night! This is TRULY a pickle of the highest magnitude.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
*sigh* I'll tell ya, it's not easy living with two OTHER Alpha females that do NOT recognize MY superiority. (I actually dreamed the other night of shoving Boudicca back into the basement! hee hee)
Selina the Besieged
Oh dear, we don't have any advice. Maybe some feliway diffusers to calm things down a bit?
ReplyDeleteThe Florida Furkids
MomKatt might have to be the BossKatt and make sure everyone knows the rules and plays nice!
ReplyDeleteThis is for your human, Selina, so make sure she reads: Feliway, or Comfort Zone (they are the same thing) diffusers might help. Also make sure there is enough vertical space for all of the kitties (Jackson Galaxy, the cat behaviorist from My Cat From Hell) always talks about this, and recommends more cat trees or cat shelves in prime locations. Maybe add another litter box too (most behaviorists recommend one per cat, plus one extra, but whatever works). And this last one may be kind of surprising, but it's important - instead of scolding the cat who is misbehaving (in this case, Sasha), give her POSITIVE reinforcement when she is in a good mood by playing extra with her. It's quite possible she does not think she is getting enough attention. If none of this works, talk to the vet - it's possible that there are meds that will help.
ReplyDeleteSparkle!
ReplyDeleteMomKatt Laura here.
We DO only have one cat tree between 7 cats, but it's been alright up 'til now. That suggestion, however, IS a good one, because both Boudicca AND Sasha like to get on our present one and it's right next to the stairs, so they're "primely" located.
Also we already have four litter boxes and Gary & I have tried to think of some place to put at least one more. The only real option is our upstairs bath, where there is one already. Our bath downstairs is too small and there are two already in the half-bath downstairs which, with the washer/dryer taking up half the room themselves, is maxed out, space-wise.
I've tried Feliway before (ironically, with Sasha) but it did not work. Maybe this time it might (and I used the spray, not the diffuser.) I'll get one or two this weekend & see what happens.
Thanks for the advice sweetie!
MomKatt Laura
We think Sparkle has some great advice for you to try. Actually, so does Brian! Please keep us posted, okay?
ReplyDeleteSparkle gave you some good advice, MomKatt. Another cat tree could help. The thing about Feliway is that you got to use a lot of it for it to really work. One diffuser isn't going to make a difference. I don't know how big your house is, but I keep 5 or 6 plugged in at my house...3 upstairs and 2-3 downstairs. If you use the spray, you have to use a lot of it and spray everyday. Sparkle mentioned Jackson Galaxy, the cat behaviorist. He sells Spirit Essences which are herbal remedies that can help with behavioral problems. I've tried them and I can't say whether they made a huge difference, but it's something you can look into. I hope things calm down for all of you!
ReplyDeleteIsland Cats' mom
Guys, thank you for all your suggestions. MomKatt's going to the PetSmart this weekend to get some Feliway!
ReplyDeleteWe have a two-story house so some up & down will be gotten!
PURRS!
Selina (who wonders if Revival Animal Health carries it cheaper than PetSmart)
Selina, Revival does have feliway cheaper than PetSmart. Our mom orders online from there and also from entirelypets.com.
ReplyDeleteTime will help, sweetheart. And sitting all round mummy cat on the sofa and eating treats together. At least, Target and Guido liked that.
ReplyDeleteIsland Cats - we checked! Thank you! We love Revival - MomKatt gets her Litter Locker refills from them. They are pawsome!
ReplyDeleteSelina