Spike's Bad Wednesdays....

On Wednesdays each week now, my DH has a nurse come in and stay with him for the day. The kitties KNOW it is that day. Missy, my little white kitty is sort of nervous, but she is a very nice (but timid) little kitty. Spike, on the other hand (was an abandoned kitten at age 4 weeks, that I rescued) is now 7 months old. He is neutered and actually, is less raucous than he was! But on Wednesdays, he is just TERRIBLE for the nurse and my DH!! He is constantly, climbing up on the refrigerator, on up to the top of the cupboards, knocking things down and breaking them. Last week, he jumped up on the headboard of the bed, and knocked the lamp down and just barely missed DH's head! I do all the same morning routines and they are fine(but watchful) before I leave. But, when I leave, all he** breaks loose here! The nurse is real nice about it, but he HAS to be driving them both crazy while I am gone on that day! He does a lot of aggressive chasing of Missy that day too. I have even given him some of those calming drops that I found on Drs Foster and Smith website... So, any good suggestions as to how to contain little Mr. Spike??? I appreciate all input on this! Thanks!

Hi! I read your post this afternoon (it's night here), and have been thinking about it off and on since then. Do you think Spike's behavior is more, "Pay attention to me!" or more, "I have to drive this trespasser out of the house!"? Does the nurse ignore him, or does she try to interact with him? I really don't know what to suggest. Our cat doesn't like kids, and was a real pain whenever our niece and/or nephew were here. He seemed very jealous of our nephew, so we tried the "simply ignore the cat" routine, and E. avoided sitting next to me. It worked - JC got very curious, and did everything he could to interact with E. That won't work with the nurse, of course. Our niece, D., simply couldn't ignore the cat and let him come to her, so we tried bribery (she sat on the floor with kitty treats, which he only got when he didn't hiss at her or try to scratch her). How long has the nurse been coming? I imagine that he'll get used to her and settle down eventually. One very good trick to settle aggressive cats down I've learned from taking in ferals - get on their level, i.e., on the floor, catch their eye, and slowly blink several times. If Spike is feeling aggressive towards her, her simply blinking at him might help. In catspeak, that means, "I mean you no harm." At any rate, good luck!

Actually, there are two nurses who come in here for my DH(One is here on Wednesdays for three weeks in a row, then the other nurse is here on the 4th week, as an alternate nurse) They both LOVE cats and are very friendly with them, and think Spike is SOOOOO cute and funny (even if he IS up to no good the ENTIRE time they are here!) I was thinking it is the change in routine, as I am usually here 24/7 with my DH???? And if that IS the reason, --because they are not "transitioning" well with the change of people being in here, I am at a loss as to how to get him to be less stressed out. He is/has always been more aggressive than my little white kitty (who is 7 years old now) Spike is about 7 months old now (has been neutered--2 1/2 months ago.) The nurse who is here the most, has been coming here before I ever even had him. She has cats and she just adores him. The alternate nurse has been here 4 times now (they stay 8 hours) She is a cat person and LOVES him too--and thinks he is so funny! But I would think it would get old really quickly for them!!! Thanks for your post--and I am going to tell them to blink at least 100 times a minute!! haha But if that would help him settle down-- I am sure they would be willing to try it! Thanks so much for your help,and if anyone else has any good tips--please add on!

Have you tried the Feliway, if he's so stressed? I'm going to "bump" this to the top - maybe you'll get some advice.

Thanks!
I thought Feliway, was for if they were marking their territory(spraying)??? If it would work, I would SURELY get some today!!!
I appreciate your input!

A lot of cats spray because they're stressed out, which is why the Feliway is recommended. I know people who use it when introducing new cats into the household. Since it imitates pheromones, it's supposed to create a "comfort zone" for the cats. Perhaps you could post a question about Feliway and see who has had success with it. A lot of people also swear by Dr. Bach's flower remedies, but I haven't tried them or the Feliway.