Greetings! I'm new to the forum!
I've got a somewhat peculiar situation with my two cats that has been going on for months, so let me start from the beginning.
Back in December, we recently found a tiny kitten in our backyard, in the woods, abandoned in the snow. We adopted him into the household and named him Yukon Cornelius. He was barely two pounds at the time, but after a visit to the vet, he's given a clean-bill of health.
Now, we already have an older female cat, named Cleo, who is around 6-7yrs old. She's always been the only cat of the house. Cornelius, being a kitten, is playful and always full of energy. Cleo, surprisingly, chose to ignore him. She wasn't happy about him being there, but didn't really put up much of a fight.
The problems started when Cornelius got bigger. He is now a little over 9lbs. We've already neutered him, but his energy level is still that of a tiny kitten. He loves to play, and is extremely affectionate, but bullies Cleo. When ever she moves or goes anywhere around the house, Cornelius follows and loves to chase her. Cleo never puts up a fight.
We've set up separate food bowls, and started feeding Cleo separately because she's lost a lot of muscle and a little bit of weight, because she can't eat regularly and can't play because Cornelius is always there, chasing her. He guards the litterbox and her own separate food bowls.
Now, here's where our little issue on what to do to solve the problem comes in. Cornelius pretty much believes the entire house is "his" territory. He tolerates Cleo being there, but regularly guards and bullies her around the food bowls.
Cleo doesn't have a "safe-spot" in the house to call her own. If we put multiple litter boxes and food bowls out, Cornelius just guards them all.
I've read that separating the cats to different rooms helps, but at this point, it feels unfair because both cats are very affectionate people-cats who are use to having a run of the whole house. Also, from 8am till 5pm, usually no one is at the house, because we're at work.
I'm sorry if this is long and wordy. It's just one of those situations where every little thing seems to be a factor, but explaining it all can be confusing.
We're kind of at our wits end here, because we don't like seeing Cleo so isolated and harassed all the time.
Any and all advice would be great help. Thank you so much!
I've got a somewhat peculiar situation with my two cats that has been going on for months, so let me start from the beginning.
Back in December, we recently found a tiny kitten in our backyard, in the woods, abandoned in the snow. We adopted him into the household and named him Yukon Cornelius. He was barely two pounds at the time, but after a visit to the vet, he's given a clean-bill of health.
Now, we already have an older female cat, named Cleo, who is around 6-7yrs old. She's always been the only cat of the house. Cornelius, being a kitten, is playful and always full of energy. Cleo, surprisingly, chose to ignore him. She wasn't happy about him being there, but didn't really put up much of a fight.
The problems started when Cornelius got bigger. He is now a little over 9lbs. We've already neutered him, but his energy level is still that of a tiny kitten. He loves to play, and is extremely affectionate, but bullies Cleo. When ever she moves or goes anywhere around the house, Cornelius follows and loves to chase her. Cleo never puts up a fight.
We've set up separate food bowls, and started feeding Cleo separately because she's lost a lot of muscle and a little bit of weight, because she can't eat regularly and can't play because Cornelius is always there, chasing her. He guards the litterbox and her own separate food bowls.
Now, here's where our little issue on what to do to solve the problem comes in. Cornelius pretty much believes the entire house is "his" territory. He tolerates Cleo being there, but regularly guards and bullies her around the food bowls.
Cleo doesn't have a "safe-spot" in the house to call her own. If we put multiple litter boxes and food bowls out, Cornelius just guards them all.
I've read that separating the cats to different rooms helps, but at this point, it feels unfair because both cats are very affectionate people-cats who are use to having a run of the whole house. Also, from 8am till 5pm, usually no one is at the house, because we're at work.
I'm sorry if this is long and wordy. It's just one of those situations where every little thing seems to be a factor, but explaining it all can be confusing.
We're kind of at our wits end here, because we don't like seeing Cleo so isolated and harassed all the time.
Any and all advice would be great help. Thank you so much!
)
