My feral (mostly semi feral now) Shadow has been with me now almost 3 years. I can pet him, pick him up, he comes for visits in the house, uses a litter box when inside and just recently will sit on my lap for short bits! He has come a long way. Yet, he loves to be outside. He lives on my deck and has a wonderful set up with shelter, feeding stations and plenty of places to lounge and stretch out. He had a companion stray, Patches who comes and goes, but has been MIA for almost 6 weeks now. In December another stray found his way to my yard. He was starving and so very skittish. I had minimal contact with him during the winter, but provided food/water each day. Shadow was very scared of this new cat and would hide under the love seat most of the time. Shadow also loves to sniff (almost dog like!). He would sniff Patches head to toe when he would return after being gone for a few days and Patches didn't mind at all. During the winter, he tried sniffing the new cat ( oh, his name is Orange kitty). Orange kitty, did not like this at all. He postured and gave Shadow warning, but Shadow continued. A fight broke out on the deck which I had to break up. No one was hurt, but feathers were ruffled. Shortly after this incident, I was able to trap Orange kitty and have him neutered. I had hoped it would help. The cats mostly ignore each other and Orange kitty would come to eat, then stay for a bit and go on his way. He did appear a few times during the night, but just to check to see if I left out any food. Last week I began to spend some time outside so I could start to get to know Orange kitty. The weather was warming so it wasn't so cold to sit out. He was curious and used to my voice, but still would run if I sat down. By the end of the week, he was coming closer and would eat with me outside. Then Saturday night when I took his food out, he didn't leave and came right up to me. He rubbed against me and wanted to be pet. I was shocked. He could not get enough. Shadow appeared and hid for awhile and then came out. I was petting them both and I could tell Orange kitty gave a stare and Shadow hissed and ran. He did come back and ended up in my lap, but hissed and ran again. Next time, he was in my lap again, stiff as a board, but didn't hiss. This has been the same issue since Saturday night. Last night, Shadow didn't even want to come out from under the loveseat when Orange kitty appeared. Eventually he came out, but hissed and then ran to his shelter. Orange kitty has decided to spend most of his nights on the deck. He sleeps on a chair pad on the deck and isn't leaving. Now Shadow is restricted of his movement since Orange kitty is blocking a section of the deck. Shadow is too afraid to venture over there. Shadow left the deck for bit last night and when he came back, he went under the loveseat. Orange kitty got up and went over to Shadow. I could tell it wasn't good. Orange kitty then tried to get under the love seat to go after Shadow. Shadow must have hissed and spat as Orange kitty retreated and all seemed ok the rest of the night. I have surveillance cameras on my deck so I can see some of what the cats do during the night.
Shadow has always been a scardey cat. He is not brave and is often bullied. He was also attacked for by another cat (who is unknown) in February. He was a mess. I have been treating him with some flower essences, but emotionally he is a mess. Any suggestions on how to get these two to coexist? Do they just need to work it out? The deck area was Shadow's first. I do not want Orange kitty taking over. I just want peace and coexistence. They are both males. Shadow was neutered years ago and Orange kitty about 7 weeks ago. They are both about 3-4 years old.
I can see that I might have another issue on my hand if Patches ever returns. I assume it is territorial issues as well as personality as well as fighting for me. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Shadow has always been a scardey cat. He is not brave and is often bullied. He was also attacked for by another cat (who is unknown) in February. He was a mess. I have been treating him with some flower essences, but emotionally he is a mess. Any suggestions on how to get these two to coexist? Do they just need to work it out? The deck area was Shadow's first. I do not want Orange kitty taking over. I just want peace and coexistence. They are both males. Shadow was neutered years ago and Orange kitty about 7 weeks ago. They are both about 3-4 years old.
I can see that I might have another issue on my hand if Patches ever returns. I assume it is territorial issues as well as personality as well as fighting for me. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.