One Cat Still Scared of The Other

Yes, my two cats (Cat and Loki) are still having "issues". Although it appears that this time it is Cat (and not Loki) who is having a hard time coping.

Almost 2 months ago, Cat had gone to the vet and Loki did not recognize him when he came home. After two weeks of misery, I finally put Cat in his own room with food, water and box. After total seclusion for almost 3 weeks, we began to allow visual sightings of each other. Oh, I also put a Feliway diffuser in the room to calm Cat (and Loki during his visual "visit").

Well, Loki no longer is hissing at Cat. In fact, he is just curious but Cat remains TERRIFIED of Loki from when Loki was really mean to him. Cat just huddles under the bed and will not come out if Loki is in the room (not even for food or water). Over the weekend, Cat spent a solid 24 hours under the bed!

Tonight, when I came home from work, I opened the door to Cat's room. Loki went in, and immediately crawled under the bed. I laid on the floor and watched him, as he got within inches of Cat - no hissing, no fighting. Yet, Cat will have nothing to do with him.

On occasion, if Cat moves too quickly, Loki will give chase which I fear just reinforces Cat's terror.

I actually gave Cat some of Loki's valium over the weekend and he stayed on the couch with us for awhile; he seemed to relax a bit but then bolted back under the bed upstairs. Any suggestions to help Cat calm down? Loki truly isn't showing aggression this time around.

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

P.S. Sorry to continue the ongoing drama.......

Have you rubbed them with the same towel? If you rub one cat with the towel then use it to rub the other cat, and then back to the first cat it will blend their scent and maybe, just maybe calm things just a little bit.

Try the vanilla extract tip. Take some vanilla extract and place a small dab of extract under their chins, on their chest and at the base of their tails. Cats are scent driven and making them smell the same will sometimes quell any aggression they have towards each other.

This tip was brought to you by a cat behaviorist- who is tops in her field!

Thank you for the replies.

I have tried the towel technique but with no success. I have not - yet - tried Hissy's suggested vanilla extract technique. I will try this new method in a few days when I have time to be around them both and observe their response. For the time being, we keep the door "open" when we're home (to allow for any mingling) and keep the door "shut" when we're away.

Again, thanks for any ideas. This web site has been most terrific in terms of ideas and support. I'll let you know how the vanilla works!