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- Aug 27, 2015
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Hi everyone!
I would love some input regarding how to handle my resident cat chasing the newcomer. On 6/1 my husband and I took in a semi-feral cat (Oskar) that has been living in our backyard for a year (also took in her baby Catsby a year ago when he was about 4 weeks old). We went through the appropriate way of introducing all of them (scent swapping, site visits, mutual feeding sessions etc). They've been together without gates since middle of July. The problem we are having is that our 1.5 year old resident cat Uszka chases the newcomer multiple times a day. I would say 1/3 of the time is playful (butt wiggle-pounce), 1/3 of the time it's curiosity (she just wants to get a good whiff of Oskar's butt) and 1/3 of the time it's semi-aggressive (cornering and swatting). While Oskar stands up to her son's attempts to play by hissing and swatting at him, she is terribly fearful of Uszka and either runs away or lays down in a defensive manner. We have feliway (regular and multi-cat) plugged everywhere, use Spirit essences Peacemaker in their water, and Composure Liquid max in the AM and PM. There are no hot spots in the house. It happens anywhere. However, Uszka just needs to LOOK at Oskar and Oskar runs away squeaking. Often Uszka really just approaches her in a very calm fashion and Oskar flips out.
The thing is Oskar and Uszka eat right next to each other without any problems, they play across from each other without without problems, and often Oskar can walk past Uszka without getting chased. This is why we decided to not go back to having gates up. Whenever I see Uszka having that look in her eyes I re-direct her attention with play and food, and for serious offenses she has to cool down in the bathroom for 5-30min (depending on frequency of offenses in a given day).
Also, we have no clear top cat (Catsby dominates Uszka, Uszka dominates Oskar, and Oskar dominates Catsby).
Maybe I shouldn't but I generally intervene when chases of any nature happen, and Oskar seems to have become sort of dependent on my rescues. Oskar needs to learn to stand up for herself but it hurts me to see her so scared
What is this all about and how should I handle the situation? I'm at a loss.
I would love some input regarding how to handle my resident cat chasing the newcomer. On 6/1 my husband and I took in a semi-feral cat (Oskar) that has been living in our backyard for a year (also took in her baby Catsby a year ago when he was about 4 weeks old). We went through the appropriate way of introducing all of them (scent swapping, site visits, mutual feeding sessions etc). They've been together without gates since middle of July. The problem we are having is that our 1.5 year old resident cat Uszka chases the newcomer multiple times a day. I would say 1/3 of the time is playful (butt wiggle-pounce), 1/3 of the time it's curiosity (she just wants to get a good whiff of Oskar's butt) and 1/3 of the time it's semi-aggressive (cornering and swatting). While Oskar stands up to her son's attempts to play by hissing and swatting at him, she is terribly fearful of Uszka and either runs away or lays down in a defensive manner. We have feliway (regular and multi-cat) plugged everywhere, use Spirit essences Peacemaker in their water, and Composure Liquid max in the AM and PM. There are no hot spots in the house. It happens anywhere. However, Uszka just needs to LOOK at Oskar and Oskar runs away squeaking. Often Uszka really just approaches her in a very calm fashion and Oskar flips out.
The thing is Oskar and Uszka eat right next to each other without any problems, they play across from each other without without problems, and often Oskar can walk past Uszka without getting chased. This is why we decided to not go back to having gates up. Whenever I see Uszka having that look in her eyes I re-direct her attention with play and food, and for serious offenses she has to cool down in the bathroom for 5-30min (depending on frequency of offenses in a given day).
Also, we have no clear top cat (Catsby dominates Uszka, Uszka dominates Oskar, and Oskar dominates Catsby).
Maybe I shouldn't but I generally intervene when chases of any nature happen, and Oskar seems to have become sort of dependent on my rescues. Oskar needs to learn to stand up for herself but it hurts me to see her so scared
What is this all about and how should I handle the situation? I'm at a loss.