I posted a thread awhile ago on trying to get our two kitties to get along and since then, there just seem to be some odd behaviors that I can't figure out and it just so frustrating to see sometime good behavior followed by bad.
We've got a 1.5 yr old female calico (Fibby) that we began fostering about a month ago and she is much bigger, faster and aggressive than my Gibby who is a smaller 2 yr old lazy tabby who has been with us for about 3 months now. Both girls are supposedly spayed since we got them from reputable rescue shelters.
Early on we did the usual things regarding introducing Fibby to Gibby. Exchanging sleeping blankets, even food bowls and let them have supervised playtime in the same room although we played we them separately. At first, they were curious of each other and then they appeared to gradually know of each other presence/smell quite well. What we didn't realize was that while Gibby likes to play, she doesn't appear to like to play with other kitties and even with us it took her awhile to even give us cuddles so her indifference to new cat was not that all surprising - still, we thought she wanted a friend. On the other hand, Fibby is a very sociable cat to people, but she was apparently taken in not too long ago into the shelter so she had a lot of outdoor hunting instincts left in her. We figured her size and speed and fanatic playing is sign that she still has fresh hunting skills. And perhaps here lies the problem where Fi wants to play rough and Gi doesn't - in fact, Gi doesn't want anything to do with Fi. Ok, we now realize this. But still, we have them both and trying to make the best out of the current situation. What we originally planned for were two kitties playing with each other now turned into one bigger kitty Fi stalking and potentially pouncing the other quite often even though that maybe Fi's way of making friends??
The odd part of all of this is that Fi doesn't seem to bother Gi when we are not around or when Gi is sleeping or resting in her favorite spot completely with her back turned and vulnerable - Fi never attacks her when she is like that. Even more odd is that Fi always check where Gi is sleeping and will try to sleep next to her. Fi is noticeably upset when we put Gi in another room to sleep (to give her some peace) and close the door. Fi would literally sit by the door and cry until we open it and if Gi doesn't make a fuzz/growl, then Fi will slowly curl somewhere close to her and they sleep... it is like this almost every night.
We love both kitties, but it is very frustrating to go through a bunch of routines to keep them separated mainly for Gi's safety because we've seen the way Fi plays with small toys - she really goes after them. We are thinking jealousy issues and Fi's alpha nature might be something that causing tensions? Right now we separate the kitties at certain times of day and night when we know Fi is super aggressive but the whole purpose of getting Fi was to have a playmate for Gi - did we err in getting a playmate that is too big and too aggressive? but Fi is so lovable to us and way more affectionate to us than Gi... just can't figure this out - they sleep together fine, but other times Fi will stalk Gi endlessly and will pounce...will this ever change if one appears to be an aggressive alpha female?
We've got a 1.5 yr old female calico (Fibby) that we began fostering about a month ago and she is much bigger, faster and aggressive than my Gibby who is a smaller 2 yr old lazy tabby who has been with us for about 3 months now. Both girls are supposedly spayed since we got them from reputable rescue shelters.
Early on we did the usual things regarding introducing Fibby to Gibby. Exchanging sleeping blankets, even food bowls and let them have supervised playtime in the same room although we played we them separately. At first, they were curious of each other and then they appeared to gradually know of each other presence/smell quite well. What we didn't realize was that while Gibby likes to play, she doesn't appear to like to play with other kitties and even with us it took her awhile to even give us cuddles so her indifference to new cat was not that all surprising - still, we thought she wanted a friend. On the other hand, Fibby is a very sociable cat to people, but she was apparently taken in not too long ago into the shelter so she had a lot of outdoor hunting instincts left in her. We figured her size and speed and fanatic playing is sign that she still has fresh hunting skills. And perhaps here lies the problem where Fi wants to play rough and Gi doesn't - in fact, Gi doesn't want anything to do with Fi. Ok, we now realize this. But still, we have them both and trying to make the best out of the current situation. What we originally planned for were two kitties playing with each other now turned into one bigger kitty Fi stalking and potentially pouncing the other quite often even though that maybe Fi's way of making friends??
The odd part of all of this is that Fi doesn't seem to bother Gi when we are not around or when Gi is sleeping or resting in her favorite spot completely with her back turned and vulnerable - Fi never attacks her when she is like that. Even more odd is that Fi always check where Gi is sleeping and will try to sleep next to her. Fi is noticeably upset when we put Gi in another room to sleep (to give her some peace) and close the door. Fi would literally sit by the door and cry until we open it and if Gi doesn't make a fuzz/growl, then Fi will slowly curl somewhere close to her and they sleep... it is like this almost every night.
We love both kitties, but it is very frustrating to go through a bunch of routines to keep them separated mainly for Gi's safety because we've seen the way Fi plays with small toys - she really goes after them. We are thinking jealousy issues and Fi's alpha nature might be something that causing tensions? Right now we separate the kitties at certain times of day and night when we know Fi is super aggressive but the whole purpose of getting Fi was to have a playmate for Gi - did we err in getting a playmate that is too big and too aggressive? but Fi is so lovable to us and way more affectionate to us than Gi... just can't figure this out - they sleep together fine, but other times Fi will stalk Gi endlessly and will pounce...will this ever change if one appears to be an aggressive alpha female?
