Howdy everyone! I'm new to this forum, but I hope to become a part of the community in the future and make some friends here, as well as learn a thing or two I hadn't known before about our feline friends. :]
My name is Lana and I recently moved from Texas to Indiana. I moved in with my boyfriend at the end of summer last year. We gave it a few months, then once we realized things were working out, we decided to make it permanent and began searching for a larger place. We really lucked out and things just seemed to fall into place for us, because a guy Matt (my boyfriend) was friends with at work happened to be just about to put a house back up for rent. And it just happened to be in the exact area we wanted (but had given up on).
I went back to Texas once things became official to get my two boys (Alex: 7yo, Seal-point Himalayan; Bocifus: 15yo, tuxedo), and put as much stuff as would fit into my little VW Beetle. Let me tell you, a straight, overnight drive from Fort Worth to the Chicago/NW Indiana area never, ever ends. With two screaming cats pretty much the whole way? I don't care to repeat that, nope!
After a night at the old apartment, we then moved them to the new house. At this point, Matt's cats-- a boy, (Rzane; 8yo, grey tabby) and a girl (Jasmine; 8-ish, calico)-- had been at the house for about two days, but had remain hidden in the guest room. So, at this point it was still neutral ground. I knew how to introduce cats, and since we were lucky to have two bedrooms, I put my two in the other. Each night I let one group explore the house, then traded off.
The boys quickly began getting along pretty swimmingly. Rzane is a very, very mellow cat, and my boys are usually, too, so I didn't foresee too much issue. Jasmine is a different story. The background I've got on her is that she came from a farm, and her mother was a feral barncat, so that seems to explain a lot. She is quite the stereotypical diva cat who strives for almost pure independence.
At first, she would not, under and circumstances, be okay with being in the same room or within eye's view of either of my boys. Babysteps got her into the same room. I've tried to associate my cats with food and treats, but she doesn't seem to care too much for treats (I've tried several different kinds.) And when my cats hear the crinkle of any bag, they bull their way over and tick her off, which totally counteracts any of my attempts. At this point she can pass them in the hall or doorways without too much gruffing, as long as no one tries to sniff or approach her.
Bocifus seems to be the prime instigator. Usually he'll approach her if she's in this particular spot most of the cats like to hang out around. (Under the window, on a shelf by the kitty condo.) She'll start growling when she notices his intentions of approaching her. He'll roll onto his back and begin doing his wriggling, rolling, "hey, look at me! I'm so cute and fluffy and disarming!" move that he does with me when he tries to get my attention sometimes. Jasmine is never impressed, and continues to growl her disinterest. Eventually he'll just jump to his feet and trot straight at her. That's when she SCREAMS. I mean, SCREEEEAMS. I was in another room when I first heard this sound, and I seriously thought she'd been mauled and was dying. It's an ear-splitting scream of utter KITTY FURY DOOM. She'll start pummeling him with swats while he half heartedly returns fire. Eventually, she'll run off. In the beginning, he'd pursue her like a hound dog, cornering her to continue the fight. Now he just flops on his side after a minute and starts grooming. We separated them in the beginning with blankets, but now the fights go so quickly and harmlessly that they are over before we can grab anything. Neither have claws, and they never bite. Jasmine just screams like a dying banshee. Also, when we used to separate them, Bocifus would get so frustrated that he'd immediately go attack poor, ignorant and confused Rzane. Rzane has his claws, but he's such a push over and a wuss that he doesn't ever use them in violence (and I keep them trimmed). Can anyone shed some light on what Bo is doing? The humanistic side of me sees Bo trying to be friendly with her, then getting frustrated that she's denying him, so he takes out that frustration by saying, "Fine! Be a butthead. I smack you with my paw!" But sometimes he just seems to push it, too.
Alex seems to get annoyed with her, too. At first he was terrified of her. Actually, it took Alex a long time to acclimate to the new surroundings. He and Bo had never known anything but the house in Texas their entire life. Bo took straight to it right away, but Alex hid a lot. He was terrified of everyone, especially Matt. I don't think he was used to men. But after I came back from two weeks in Texas for a funeral, it was as if he'd always lived here, and he and Matt were perfect buddies. He quickly found with Jasmine that she was pretty much all bark and no bite. He stopped being scared of her, and then started doing something I never foresaw: My sweet little runt who used to be the bullied became the bully, and he started chasing her. If she runs, he'll chase her into the bedroom and under the bed, and he'll audibly stomp and scratch the floor at the edge of the bed as though he were victoriously saying, "Yeah, that's right! You better hide! I'm big and bad now that my brother isn't around anymore to beat up on me!" His littermate Loki, who was the original head of the household (even over Bo) still lives with my mom in Texas.
When Jasmine tries to play with Rzane (they still get along fine), and Bocifus is in the room, he'll leap from his perch and intervene, as if saying, "Hey, what's going on here?! Break it up!"
When food is involved, everyone gets along in close quarters. Jasmine will sometimes hang back, but eventually she'll come around. Matt used to feed her separate on top of the kitchen table, but I put an end to that, because I felt it was doing more harm than good. Plus, Jasmine has a nasty habit of eating too fast and vomiting (They've had this checked out in the past and could find no issue; no obstruction or anything. Plus, she's healthy as a horse and the fattest of all the cats. I don't know how she stays so fat with as much as she throws up. Kitty bulimia?!) Really, at this point, the only time Jasmine gets upset is if anyone tries to approach her. She and Bocifus can stand side by side during feeding time as long as he doesn't make eye contact with her and remind her he's there. When that happens, she'll snap at his face. Never actually make contact, and she doesn't always move or growl, she just seems to be saying, "Hey. I'm only sitting next to you because I know food is on the way. I still don't like you. Just an FYI."
We are considering 'trading' Jasmine if things don't improve. We can trade her for Matt's brother's cat, Sophie. Jasmine used to live with Matt's brother before Matt took her last year. This way she'd be in a single cat household, and Sophie could get all the attention she craves. Sophie is effectively ignored due to Matt's brother and his fiance being too busy working and chasing after two young kids (the only issue with the trade off-- not sure how Jasmine would do with two grabby kids. Then again, she stays clear of everyone anyway, so I don't think they'd get much chance to get a hold of her). Sophie is highly social and always begging for attention, which the fiance doesn't like (she's more of a dog person, she says, and prefers antisocial cats. A match?!).
Does anyone have any advice? We're hoping to open up the basement in the future to the cats, once we get it all cleaned up down there. That will give them even more space from one another. I have a feeling we would never see Jasmine outside of food time when that happens, but that may be the best thing for her if she's to stay here. We could trade for Sophie, but that may just be a whole 'nother issue since she's used to being a single cat. No one knows how she'll react (Matt's brother says she'll probably hide forever. I'm more optimistic!). I'm hoping we could introduce her more slowly and correctly, something we didn't get too much of a chance to do before, and maybe that will help. It isn't Jasmine's fault, it's just her nature.
Thanks in advance for suggestions and shedding some light on these behaviors, and sorry about the long post!
-- Lana
My name is Lana and I recently moved from Texas to Indiana. I moved in with my boyfriend at the end of summer last year. We gave it a few months, then once we realized things were working out, we decided to make it permanent and began searching for a larger place. We really lucked out and things just seemed to fall into place for us, because a guy Matt (my boyfriend) was friends with at work happened to be just about to put a house back up for rent. And it just happened to be in the exact area we wanted (but had given up on).
I went back to Texas once things became official to get my two boys (Alex: 7yo, Seal-point Himalayan; Bocifus: 15yo, tuxedo), and put as much stuff as would fit into my little VW Beetle. Let me tell you, a straight, overnight drive from Fort Worth to the Chicago/NW Indiana area never, ever ends. With two screaming cats pretty much the whole way? I don't care to repeat that, nope!
After a night at the old apartment, we then moved them to the new house. At this point, Matt's cats-- a boy, (Rzane; 8yo, grey tabby) and a girl (Jasmine; 8-ish, calico)-- had been at the house for about two days, but had remain hidden in the guest room. So, at this point it was still neutral ground. I knew how to introduce cats, and since we were lucky to have two bedrooms, I put my two in the other. Each night I let one group explore the house, then traded off.
The boys quickly began getting along pretty swimmingly. Rzane is a very, very mellow cat, and my boys are usually, too, so I didn't foresee too much issue. Jasmine is a different story. The background I've got on her is that she came from a farm, and her mother was a feral barncat, so that seems to explain a lot. She is quite the stereotypical diva cat who strives for almost pure independence.
At first, she would not, under and circumstances, be okay with being in the same room or within eye's view of either of my boys. Babysteps got her into the same room. I've tried to associate my cats with food and treats, but she doesn't seem to care too much for treats (I've tried several different kinds.) And when my cats hear the crinkle of any bag, they bull their way over and tick her off, which totally counteracts any of my attempts. At this point she can pass them in the hall or doorways without too much gruffing, as long as no one tries to sniff or approach her.
Bocifus seems to be the prime instigator. Usually he'll approach her if she's in this particular spot most of the cats like to hang out around. (Under the window, on a shelf by the kitty condo.) She'll start growling when she notices his intentions of approaching her. He'll roll onto his back and begin doing his wriggling, rolling, "hey, look at me! I'm so cute and fluffy and disarming!" move that he does with me when he tries to get my attention sometimes. Jasmine is never impressed, and continues to growl her disinterest. Eventually he'll just jump to his feet and trot straight at her. That's when she SCREAMS. I mean, SCREEEEAMS. I was in another room when I first heard this sound, and I seriously thought she'd been mauled and was dying. It's an ear-splitting scream of utter KITTY FURY DOOM. She'll start pummeling him with swats while he half heartedly returns fire. Eventually, she'll run off. In the beginning, he'd pursue her like a hound dog, cornering her to continue the fight. Now he just flops on his side after a minute and starts grooming. We separated them in the beginning with blankets, but now the fights go so quickly and harmlessly that they are over before we can grab anything. Neither have claws, and they never bite. Jasmine just screams like a dying banshee. Also, when we used to separate them, Bocifus would get so frustrated that he'd immediately go attack poor, ignorant and confused Rzane. Rzane has his claws, but he's such a push over and a wuss that he doesn't ever use them in violence (and I keep them trimmed). Can anyone shed some light on what Bo is doing? The humanistic side of me sees Bo trying to be friendly with her, then getting frustrated that she's denying him, so he takes out that frustration by saying, "Fine! Be a butthead. I smack you with my paw!" But sometimes he just seems to push it, too.
Alex seems to get annoyed with her, too. At first he was terrified of her. Actually, it took Alex a long time to acclimate to the new surroundings. He and Bo had never known anything but the house in Texas their entire life. Bo took straight to it right away, but Alex hid a lot. He was terrified of everyone, especially Matt. I don't think he was used to men. But after I came back from two weeks in Texas for a funeral, it was as if he'd always lived here, and he and Matt were perfect buddies. He quickly found with Jasmine that she was pretty much all bark and no bite. He stopped being scared of her, and then started doing something I never foresaw: My sweet little runt who used to be the bullied became the bully, and he started chasing her. If she runs, he'll chase her into the bedroom and under the bed, and he'll audibly stomp and scratch the floor at the edge of the bed as though he were victoriously saying, "Yeah, that's right! You better hide! I'm big and bad now that my brother isn't around anymore to beat up on me!" His littermate Loki, who was the original head of the household (even over Bo) still lives with my mom in Texas.
When Jasmine tries to play with Rzane (they still get along fine), and Bocifus is in the room, he'll leap from his perch and intervene, as if saying, "Hey, what's going on here?! Break it up!"
When food is involved, everyone gets along in close quarters. Jasmine will sometimes hang back, but eventually she'll come around. Matt used to feed her separate on top of the kitchen table, but I put an end to that, because I felt it was doing more harm than good. Plus, Jasmine has a nasty habit of eating too fast and vomiting (They've had this checked out in the past and could find no issue; no obstruction or anything. Plus, she's healthy as a horse and the fattest of all the cats. I don't know how she stays so fat with as much as she throws up. Kitty bulimia?!) Really, at this point, the only time Jasmine gets upset is if anyone tries to approach her. She and Bocifus can stand side by side during feeding time as long as he doesn't make eye contact with her and remind her he's there. When that happens, she'll snap at his face. Never actually make contact, and she doesn't always move or growl, she just seems to be saying, "Hey. I'm only sitting next to you because I know food is on the way. I still don't like you. Just an FYI."
We are considering 'trading' Jasmine if things don't improve. We can trade her for Matt's brother's cat, Sophie. Jasmine used to live with Matt's brother before Matt took her last year. This way she'd be in a single cat household, and Sophie could get all the attention she craves. Sophie is effectively ignored due to Matt's brother and his fiance being too busy working and chasing after two young kids (the only issue with the trade off-- not sure how Jasmine would do with two grabby kids. Then again, she stays clear of everyone anyway, so I don't think they'd get much chance to get a hold of her). Sophie is highly social and always begging for attention, which the fiance doesn't like (she's more of a dog person, she says, and prefers antisocial cats. A match?!).
Does anyone have any advice? We're hoping to open up the basement in the future to the cats, once we get it all cleaned up down there. That will give them even more space from one another. I have a feeling we would never see Jasmine outside of food time when that happens, but that may be the best thing for her if she's to stay here. We could trade for Sophie, but that may just be a whole 'nother issue since she's used to being a single cat. No one knows how she'll react (Matt's brother says she'll probably hide forever. I'm more optimistic!). I'm hoping we could introduce her more slowly and correctly, something we didn't get too much of a chance to do before, and maybe that will help. It isn't Jasmine's fault, it's just her nature.
Thanks in advance for suggestions and shedding some light on these behaviors, and sorry about the long post!
-- Lana
