|
Written by Wendy Christensen
Q: We have an 11-month-old neutered male, who is a wonderful cat. He came to us as a rescued kitten at about 12 weeks old. We have two rough collies and he has become very doglike in his behavior and is great mates with one of our dogs. He is very large - over 16 pounds.
We have bought home a small kitten, who is 12 weeks old and he is yet to be neutered. He is coping quite well with the other cat but our older cat is harassing him and behaving very oddly. He is showing signs of being really obsessive about the cat, but not aggressive at all. He ends up becoming very stressed, he pants, is agitated and is fixated on grabbing the new cat but is never savage but is very rough. We're not sure what to do.
A: I suspect your boy cat is just feeling maternal. A surprising number or male cats, especially after being neutered, show a strong "maternal" streak that can look like obsession in many ways. The cat tries to hold down the kitten, groom him, wash his ears, etc., just like MamaCat would do. It's quite possible that he is being rougher than necessary because he's never had a female to teach him how to do "the Mom thing" correctly.
Interestingly, I recently adopted 2 kittens, who are now about 15 weeks old. One of my 5-year-old males is acting in just this way. He just loves kitten-grooming. Fortunately, his sister and litter-mate taught him the Mom ropes with my 2 calico babies about 4 years ago. Even though she had never had kittens herself, she had perfect instinctive mom skills, and taught them to both of her brothers.
It's perhaps the case that your cat has not been exposed to enough "cat culture" (teaching and examples from other cats) so doesn't know quite what to do. So he's imitating "dog culture," which is the culture he knows best. Over time, he'll "learn by doing" and figure out how to better interact with the new little fellow. Meanwhile, the fact that he's not being aggressive or harmful in any way shows that his heart is in the right place. The two cats will adjust to each other, and discover at their own pace how best to structure their relationship, and their relationships with the dogs and with you.
Q: I have a rescued kitten who is now 7 months old, very healthy and recently neutered and tattooed. He goes absolutely insane to go outside - howls and paces. I've been letting him outside little by little on a halter as I want him to get used to his garden.
His first 5 weeks of life were horrible - he was essentially feral. We have another male cat (3 years old) who goes outside for a few hours a day, and when the little guys sees this he goes crazy. I am terrified to let him out. I have introduced him to cars (made a loud scary sound to scare him away from cars) and have done everything I can think of to ensure his is safe.
I want him to be able to go outside to play and explore, but I'm afraid he will not come back. Any suggestions? Or do you feel that he is acclimatized enough to his home that he will stick pretty close? Will he revert back to being the feral little I found 7 months ago?? My cats have a huge cat enclosure and tons and tons of toys to keep them entertained but I know he would be happy frolicking outside every once in a while.
A: I have a very strong bias in favor of the safe, enriched indoor-only lifestyle for cats. So my first thought is to keep him indoors, and also wean your older cat away from outdoor excursions.
But, this is also a very individual matter. Mainly, it depends upon what kind of relationship you have, and want to have, with your cats. Some people are perfectly fine with indoor-outdoor cats, knowing that there are possibilities that someday they will simply not come back and their fate will forever remain a mystery. I'm just not like that.
Many owners have devised clever solutions to this dilemma, such as outdoor cat enclosures. There are some huge and quite magnificent ones you can "visit" online. Other owners train their cats to walk with a leash and halter and take regular turns about the neighborhood. One friend of mine has enclosed her entire back yard with Cat-Fence so her cats can go in and out at will, yet still be "in" and safe.
You also need to evaluate the your own specific risks of unsupervised outdoor excursions. For example, around here, coyote and fisher are a bigger danger than vehicles. But there are lots of risks, everywhere.
Whether your former feral will stick close to home, or wander far off and disappear, depends on many things, including your neighborhood/area's special characteristics, his own temperament, the mix and number of other animals (domestic and wildlife) also out and about in the area, climate, proximity to busy roads, etc. It can be a tough decision.
Knowing my bias... I would strongly advise you to improve the appeal of your indoor environment so that the outdoors becomes much less interesting. Many cat owners have discovered that the "just a little bit of outdoors" doesn't really help, and just makes a cat think about going out even more obsessively, while "indoors only, cold turkey" actually makes it easier (after a transition period). In my book, "The Humane Society of the United States Complete Guide to Cat Care," I include a step-by-step plan for convincing a cat that indoors really is better.
Again, though, it's your decision to make, and is, I feel, based on your expectations for your human-feline relationship. Perhaps your best move would be to enclose part of your garden, or put up a screened gazebo or shed for the cats.
Herding Cats at Home - April 2006 1
Herding Cats at Home - April 2006 3
|
