It's Mollipop and Muffin (Again)

Just when we think we've got things under control. On Thursday, Rick came home to enough of Muffin's fur in the bedroom to make another cat. She and Molli must have gone at it and it was bad. There are no scratches on Muffin that I can see; I checked her out. So did the vet.

Muffin has been peeing and spraying in the house. It's been an on-again, off-again situation; whenever she and Mollipop go at it, Muffin gets stressed and starts peeing. I took her to the vet yesterday afternoon and she has cystitis....she was not blocked, but she definitely has an inflamed bladder. And the doctor says she is a stressed cat. She's on Clavamox and Methigel (sp) that we are to give her twice a day.

So Rick and I are moving things around back here in the computer room and I think Muffin is going to live back here for a while, at least while we're at work. The vet suggested that we cage Molli and I understand why (she's the bully), but Muffin is the one peeing everywhere. I walked into the bathroom this morning and stepped in a puddle right in front of the toilet. There was a puddle on the floor in the foyer and Rick stepped in that. I saw her last night and she is both peeing and spraying. Best to keep her confined while we're at work to try to calm her down a little bit anyway. If things get too bad (we saw Mollipop go after BooBoo on Friday morning), well, we still have the cage that we used for Jackie.....and, if I have to, I'll actually cage Mollipop.

Right after we got Jackie, things between the M & Ms had calmed down because they were worried about Jackie. Now that she's been here a while, we're back to whatever passes for normal around here.

After we brought Muffin into the house, I tried to find a good home for her. We figured we could try to work out the problems between Muffin and Molli. FWIW, Muffin was introduced properly; she was in the computer room for a good month or so. To no avail. Those two despised each other on sight.

So, Muffin will be in the computer room whenever we're not home. There's a litter box back here, I'll have a water dish for her and a snack dish. I know she will be lonely because she and Tabby get along very well. But I don't know what else to do. If it still gets worse, Molli will be caged, along with Muffin being in the computer room.

The vet has suggested 5 mg of "kitty prozac" for both of them. He did caution me, says it could take at least six weeks for any calming, and said they have to be weaned off; we can't just stop it. I'm not one for drugging my cats, but this has been going on now for well over 3 years. If confining them doesn't work, that may be my last approach. 

I'm sorry to bring this up (again). We just got things under control with The Beast and now I'm back with the M & Ms.

Do you have any Feliway diffusers?  I had a very rough introduction between a feral/stray cat I brought inside and my resident cat.  The feral/stray cat lived in a room of his own for one solid year.  The cats hated each other.  The feliway made a huge difference.  Yet I had to use 4 of them in my open floor plan home.  Just one or two made absolutely no difference.  I also could immediately tell when one was gone.  I also purchased Comfort Zone Spray to use in areas where I did not have an outlet. 

Another product that made a huge difference was Composure liquid max.  My resident kitty was a mess.  He was so afraid.  He too was having urinary issues caused by stress.  After clearing the infection, I started both cats on the composure.  It was easy to mix into their wet food 2x a day.  It helped to calm my resident cat and it also really calmed the aggressive cat.  He was much more chill.  It is not a sedating supplement just calming.  I decided to try this before moving onto prozac.  It took about 5 days to notice a difference.  I used the product on the more aggressive kitty for over 6 months each day.  My resident cat only needed it for about a month.  You can find it on Amazon or other online retailers.  They do sell it in treat formula, but it takes a lot of treats to get results.  The treats are large and very chewy.  Some cats don't like them.  I doubled the liquid dose each morning and then gave a regular dose at night. 

I can completely understand how you must be feeling.  Having my two at it for a year was so very very hard.  Yet keeping them separated was the best thing.  I kept up with site swappings as well as giving them time to see each other through a screen door.  I bought a cheap wooden screen door from Lowes and attached it to my door frame with tension rods.  I then put a baby gate in the door way for extra protection.  This allowed the cats to safely sniff and see each other.  It also allowed the cat in the room to still hear and see some of what was going on in the house.  I only used this set up when I was home to supervise.  I have a picture of the set up if you would like to see it. 

Another tip that really helped me was for me to stay calm.  I would get so upset.  My resident cat was a mess, the aggressive cat was a nightmare and I was stuck trying to fix it all.  I cried a lot and felt hopeless.  It was pointed out to me that I could be contributing to their behavior.  I was so worried that my nervous energy really affected them.  One weekend I had my DH and DS take over.  It was really hard, but they were much more easy going.  I was constantly watching the cats every move trying to prevent fights.  The cats did much better without my nervous energy.  When I came back I realized I had to stay calm too.  I felt as though I too needed a bottle of Composure! 

As I mentioned it took a year.  Actually a bit longer, but things did progress.  The boys now really like each other.  They play and groom each other as well as hanging out.  It also helps that my resident cat likes to be up high in his cat trees while the new cat is a bush dweller and likes it best on the ground. 

Pam, You have the composure treats for Jackie, why not try a half a treat for both cats?

I do not think there is much difference in formulation for cats.

I feel bad for you. First, what you have been going through with Jackie and now this. 

Seems as if Muffin is the aggressor..too bad.

At least you know they have come to accept Jackie as one of them...

I know you tried Feliway for Jackie...do you have any left? Maybe you could run it for all of them in the house?  Expensive, I know, but...It does take a while to get results out of anything.

(((hugs)))

We don't have the Composure treats; we're out of them and Jackie is so calmed down now that I didn't re-order them. 

No, Mollipop is the aggressor; Muffin is just so paranoid now that when any cat (or Jackie) comes into her personal space, she flips out. And I think that, really, they do it to each other. One can't leave the other one alone anymore; they both have to see where the other one is at. Muffin goes into the bathroom and Molli guards the doorway so she can't get out. Molli goes into the bathroom and Muffin guards the doorway so Molli can't get out.

The spraying and peeing is worse than we thought, esp in the bedroom around the Booda. The bedroom floor, not even two months old, is pretty well ruined at this point in that area. Rick had put a piece of old carpeting down there and, even though we clean the litter box itself, I was just vacuuming the piece of carpet. But she's peed there several times and there are marks on the new floor. (That's my fault.....I shouldn't have been so stupid and should have been checking. I know better than that.)

Muffin will go into the cage and into the computer room, starting now. The cage is already back here. We just need to get a piece of plywood that Rick can cut down to go onto the cage floor. Muffin will pretty much live there for a while. Otherwise she'll ruin the floor in the computer room, too.

We talked about a screen door to the computer room, but I think it's best for now that those two don't even freaking look at each other. If our basement remodeling was finished, I'd put one of them in the basement to live. Permanently. They'd still know the other was in the house, but they'd never have to see each other for the rest of their natural born days.

I did buy the liquid Composure Max at Amazon....thank you for the suggestion. I read that it is on the smelly side and, chances are, Muffin won't touch her food with it mixed in, so I can grab her and Rick can syringe it into her. Molli will probably take it in her food. Yes, both will get it. I bought the 8-ounce bottle. 

Enough is enough. I'm so tired of dealing with animals, I could spit. And our finances are taking one heck of a wallop with one thing right after another. It's been a bad year for animal expenses and it's only February.

Thank you.

So sorry this is happening. It must feel so relentless, with issues appearing as quickly as others are solved.

We have hard floors, and Cali had a dreadful habit of 'missing' the litterbox. Puppy pee pads in front of the box worked for us - they protected the floor and it was instantly obvious when clean up was needed. Provided you get unscented ones there shouldn't be a problem with Jackie getting confused - our dogs always ignored them.

Now that Pixie's having pee issues, we lay them out downstairs at night (if he does have an accident it's always the same spot). You might want to lay them out in Muffin's room to protect the floor until she relaxes and feels better.

:cross: that the Composure does the trick.

Sending you all lots of mega

Columbine said:

So sorry this is happening. It must feel so relentless, with issues appearing as quickly as others are solved.

We have hard floors, and Cali

had a dreadful habit of 'missing' the litterbox. Puppy pee pads in front of the box worked for us - they protected the floor and it was instantly obvious when clean up was needed. Provided you get unscented ones there shouldn't be a problem with Jackie getting confused - our dogs always ignored them.

Now that Pixie's having pee issues, we lay them out downstairs at night (if he does have an accident it's always the same spot). You might want to lay them out in Muffin's room to protect the floor until she relaxes and feels better.

that the Composure does the trick.

Sending you all lots of mega

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Instead of the puppy pee pads, you could look into the adult incontinence drapes.. the disposable ones..that may be a bit cheaper...

Or save your newspapers to put under the pads, or in-between..

I sincerely hope the composure helps..

You have been through so much animal issues recently..one keeps piling on top of the other. It is no wonder you are at the end of your rope..

If the Composure does not help.. I know it is pricey, but there are other drugs ....like zyklene (almost the same as computer, but the pills may be a bit stronger) or even prozac , for one of them........

Unfortunately, animal care is so, so expensive....

(((hugs)))

    

You are such a good person for taking all these animals, and provided an awesome home for them..It may take some time..again...sorry

I agree about the puppy pads/absorbent pads sold for humans. I have them under all my litterboxes. If you go to Sam's Club, they have both, I think it comes to 12 or 13 cents each on the puppy pads, and 19 cents each for the human pads, but they're a lot bigger too. I think Amazon has some good prices too.

Don't be afraid to use medication if necessary. Sometimes the results are practically a miracle and you wish you had done it sooner. It may take a bit of experimenting to find the right med, though. Not all cats respond to Prozac the same way.

Thanks for the puppy pads idea. 

Muffin has been living in the computer room since Saturday and she's doing fairly well. I've been home all weekend, so I have the computer room door shut for about 30 minutes or so, then I open that door and shut Mollipop up in the bedroom for a while, giving Muffin the run of the house (other than the bedroom). So it's pretty much on-again, off-again. Muffin is eating in the computer room and she's eating well again. When she was eating in the kitchen, as soon as Jackie would come around, she'd leave, Eating back here helps her, I think. I brought her dry food back and a big bowl of water. There's already a litter box back here and she IS using it....as well as the litterbox in the bathroom, the one with no lid. But the way she sniffs around when she's out of "her" room makes me think she'd spray in a heartbeat if I wasn't watching carefully. She's on her third day of the Clavamox and Methigel.

She and I played with Da Bird and she's also playing with one of the turbo ball thingies. I brought some toys back here. She hasn't played in a while, so it's good to watch her bat the ball around. 

She's sleeping in her stroller; I washed her blankies, so they're nice and clean for her and she seems to be doing well. She's really not been around Mollipop much the past couple of days....I am very careful. She is around Jackie; there's no place for Jackie to go. I'm trying to be careful there, too. 

But I miss her in bed at night. I really miss that girl. I'm so used to having both of the girls with me and when I roll over in bed toward Muffin in the night, she cuddles right up against me. I put my arm around her and she just purrs and purrs and purrs. I really miss that. It's breaking my heart. I know it's best for her to be in the computer room, but it's still breaking my heart.

The Composure Max liquid should be here on Tuesday. I got it with Prime, so I thought it's be here much sooner than that; evidently not. I plan on giving it to both Mollipop and Muffin.

All hell broke loose the past couple of days. Muffin has been spraying up against my bookcase in the computer room; we didn't see it before yesterday. When I opened the door I could smell it right away. Rick and I looked and looked and found it. There were five spots, including actual puddles that had run down the bookcase and puddled on the floor, and then it ran under the bookcase. We cleaned everything up as best we could with Bissell's Pet Cleaner, moved the bookcase (not an easy task in itself) and continued cleaning. The floor in the computer room is ruined; some of it from her upending her water bowl (a very heavy ceramic bowl), overflowing the food tray and ending up on the floor and now from the urine puddles. We Bona'ed the floor as best we could. Now not only is the two-month old flooring in the bedroom ruined, the flooring in the computer room is also ruined. And the bookcase doesn't look that great either. The bookcase is right next to the litter box.

While we were cleaning that, Muffin went over to the bathroom and I caught her peeing on the bathroom rug, which is also right next to the open litter box.  She can poop in the blasted litter box, but she can't/won't pee in it. 

So now's she's staying in the bathroom. Everything in the bathroom is old, hasn't been remodeled, so whatever she ruins in there, she ruins. She's had all of the Clavamox now, so we will start on the Composure Liquid Max tonight (Mollipop had her first dose this morning, but Muffin still had the last of the Clavamox left). I will give that two weeks before we decide on our next step.

She's in the bathroom here. I moved two of the three litter boxes from the bathroom into other rooms. But she's never coming out of the bathroom because as soon as she does, she sprays somewhere (and I'm sure she'll be spraying in the bathroom somewhere, too; I'm thinking she'll be peeing in the bathtub). Between Mollipop and Jackie, Muffin is one stressed-out cat. Meanwhile, Muffin is living in the bathroom and Mollipop hangs around outside the bathroom door...I have no idea what she's waiting on. I did start Molli on the Composure this morning, so hopefully we'll see some kind of result in the next week or so. 

The Composure directions say 1/2 teaspoon once a day. In really bad cases, we can go 1/2 teaspoon twice a day. That's what I'll be doing, mixing it in with their canned food twice a day.

I dealt with Hydrox for 20 years and he peed constantly. Didn't matter how many litter boxes we had, didn't matter where they were in the house, didn't matter how clean they were. He peed. Everywhere. I am not dealing with it again.

If the Composure doesn't work, definitely consider something stronger, like Prozac or Clomicalm! Poor girl really doesn't like all those changes in her life .

Willowy said:

If the Composure, definitely consider something stronger, like Prozac or Clomicalm! Poor girl really doesn't like all those changes in her life

.

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Yes, I agree. I think this may be beyond Composure because it is happening all over the place..

poor baby...must be horrible to feel so stressed out.

Winchester said:

 
We don't have the Composure treats; we're out of them and Jackie is so calmed down now that I didn't re-order them. 

No, Mollipop is the aggressor; Muffin is just so paranoid now that when any cat (or Jackie) comes into her personal space, she flips out. And I think that, really, they do it to each other. One can't leave the other one alone anymore; they both have to see where the other one is at. Muffin goes into the bathroom and Molli guards the doorway so she can't get out. Molli goes into the bathroom and Muffin guards the doorway so Molli can't get out.

The spraying and peeing is worse than we thought, esp in the bedroom around the Booda. The bedroom floor, not even two months old, is pretty well ruined at this point in that area. Rick had put a piece of old carpeting down there and, even though we clean the litter box itself, I was just vacuuming the piece of carpet. But she's peed there several times and there are marks on the new floor. (That's my fault.....I shouldn't have been so stupid and should have been checking. I know better than that.)

Muffin will go into the cage and into the computer room, starting now. The cage is already back here. We just need to get a piece of plywood that Rick can cut down to go onto the cage floor. Muffin will pretty much live there for a while. Otherwise she'll ruin the floor in the computer room, too.

We talked about a screen door to the computer room, but I think it's best for now that those two don't even freaking look at each other. If our basement remodeling was finished, I'd put one of them in the basement to live. Permanently. They'd still know the other was in the house, but they'd never have to see each other for the rest of their natural born days.

I did buy the liquid Composure Max at Amazon....thank you for the suggestion. I read that it is on the smelly side and, chances are, Muffin won't touch her food with it mixed in, so I can grab her and Rick can syringe it into her. Molli will probably take it in her food. Yes, both will get it. I bought the 8-ounce bottle. 

Enough is enough. I'm so tired of dealing with animals, I could spit. And our finances are taking one heck of a wallop with one thing right after another. It's been a bad year for animal expenses and it's only February.

Thank you.

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This is a bummer. Jackie gets settled and the girls start back up again. 

I have a Feliway diffuser and 2 unopened refills that you can have if you need them. I bought them when Henry was in his safe room.  It did nothing for him. He just needed time to gain confidence. 

I have to go to the Post Office on Saturday anyway. if you want them, I can send them out. You deserve a peaceful house. They are sitting in a cabinet taking up space here. 

Thank you, Kat. I really appreciate the offer. We tried Feliway before when we first brought Muffin into the house and Molli would go after her. It really didn't do much to diffuse anything between them. We had them plugged into the bedroom and in two receptacles in the living room.

Thank you, anyway.

Winchester said:

 
Thank you, Kat. I really appreciate the offer. We tried Feliway before when we first brought Muffin into the house and Molli would go after her. It really didn't do much to diffuse anything between them. We had them plugged into the bedroom and in two receptacles in the living room.

Thank you, anyway.

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You're quite welcome. 

The Feliway had no effect on Henry at all. I put the diffuser in his safe room the night he came home because he was so scared. I have a big rolltop desk in the room that belonged to DH and I figured that it would be OK to leave it there since it's way too big and heavy for me to move myself and what kind of trouble could he possibly cause with it there? He certainly showed me what kind. 

He figured out how to get behind it. I couldn't find him. I looked everywhere. I started to think that he managed to sneak out of the room when I was filling his fountain or something. I searched the whole house. Finally, in desperation, I brought the dog into the room. It took her about 10 seconds to sniff him out. I climbed up on the desk and looked behind it. He was back there all right and NOT happy that he had been found. The dog was escorted out of the room and given a treat. 

I have a bunch of cardboard boxes that DH kept in case we decided to move. I had to take the broken down boxes and completely fill the area behind the desk and the wall. He was NOT happy with that. He still managed to go up on the desk and jump down so he was sitting on top of the boxes. I got him out of there and filled it up even more. That's when he decided to use the cardboard box that I set up for him with a plush bed in it. Instead of sleeping IN the bed, he hid behind it. Those were fun times. 

I guess it works for some cats and not others.   

Geez, I'm sorry your going through all of this Pam. I had a similar problem when we had Jade. Athena used to attack her when  Jade used the litter box.

Jade got so paranoid she would pee in different places. Actually ruined some of the laminate flooring in the living room. We ended up putting up a pet

gate in the upstairs bedroom and keep Jade up there for the rest of her life. It is a large room. We hated doing that but it was the only solution. I had

to put her littler box right on the inside of the gate. Only since she has passed were we able to get rid of the gate as we only have Athena and Jasmine

left and they get along with each other.

You might just have to keep her on the drugs, period. I know sucks. I hope things get better for you......  

Pam. I don't have anything to suggest. Just know you're all in my thoughts. I really hope the girls calm down and settle soon, even if it takes medication. Hang in there

Thanks guys. Both Muffin and Molli are on the Composure, 1/2 teaspoon twice a day. I don't see any change whatsoever. 

Muffin is pretty much living in the bathroom. When Molli is napping in the bedroom I'll shut the bedroom and the computer room doors and let her in the hallway. I sit in the hallway on the floor and read. We play with Da Bird. She sits on my lap. She is using the litter boxes, but not that often for peeing, although she is pooping in the box. Still, there's no spraying or peeing anywhere on the bathroom floor, walls, etc. She's not peeing in the tub. When Molli awakens from her nap, Muffin goes back in the bathroom and Molli comes out.

Sunday morning around 3:00 or so, it hit the fan. Rick forgot to shut the bathroom door. Muffin came out of the bathroom and that was all Molli needed. She went after Muffin; I heard the screaming and I went after Molli. I got Muffin and got her back in the bathroom and then spent an hour looking for any spots where she might have peed or sprayed....as far as I can tell, there was nothing.

Last night, Molli was napping in the bedroom, so I brought Muffin out to the couch with us. She jumped up on the back of the couch and laid there for a good hour or so, just watching and napping a little. I was right there and never left the couch. When Molli woke up, Rick let her out of the bedroom, she came out to the living room, saw Muffin and her eyes narrowed right up. She tried to jump on the back of the couch at the other end, but Rick got her. Muffin ignored her and we stayed like that for about 30 minutes or so, before I put Muffin back into the bathroom. 

Muffin just wants to be left alone; that's all she ever wanted, ever since I brought her here from Mom's place. She just wants to be left alone. 

I may have to put Molli on Prozac....she refuses to leave Muffin alone at all. As long as Muffin is left alone, she's fairly happy. She and Tabby play and things are fine.

Failing that, I think that if we do have to rehome one of them, it may have to be Mollipop. I'm afraid that Muffin would be considered a "problem" cat because of the urinating/peeing thing she's got going. Molli doesn't spray and she also still has her claws, whereas Muffin is declawed. It's simply an awful situation to be in....I adore Molli, but I also think she would stand a better chance of finding another home than Muffin would. I'm really trying to figure out what's best for these two. After well over three years of this, the situation has not gotten any better.

Geez,sorry your going through this. I hope the drugs kick in and she settles down.

I know this is super obvious, but I thought I'd ask anyway. Does Muffin have 2 litter boxes in the bathroom with her? Some cats are so weird and won't pee where they poop. I'm sure you've thought of this, I just thought I'd check. 

Cats peeing/spraying is nasty business. I've been there and in some cases, it just never stops. It's like once they've formed a habit, there's no way to break it sometimes. I've had to re-home a cat because of that. It's always the last resort, but sometimes necessary. You've had WAY more patience than most would have. Crossing my fingers that something changes for you! 

And Muffin might have a good chance of getting re-homed if you specify that she HAS to be the only cat, or maybe only with an older cat that will leave her alone. I've noticed declawed cats go pretty quickly at rescues near me. 

Winchester said:

 
Thanks guys. Both Muffin and Molli are on the Composure, 1/2 teaspoon twice a day. I don't see any change whatsoever. 

Muffin is pretty much living in the bathroom. When Molli is napping in the bedroom I'll shut the bedroom and the computer room doors and let her in the hallway. I sit in the hallway on the floor and read. We play with Da Bird. She sits on my lap. She is using the litter boxes, but not that often for peeing, although she is pooping in the box. Still, there's no spraying or peeing anywhere on the bathroom floor, walls, etc. She's not peeing in the tub. When Molli awakens from her nap, Muffin goes back in the bathroom and Molli comes out.

Sunday morning around 3:00 or so, it hit the fan. Rick forgot to shut the bathroom door. Muffin came out of the bathroom and that was all Molli needed. She went after Muffin; I heard the screaming and I went after Molli. I got Muffin and got her back in the bathroom and then spent an hour looking for any spots where she might have peed or sprayed....as far as I can tell, there was nothing.

Last night, Molli was napping in the bedroom, so I brought Muffin out to the couch with us. She jumped up on the back of the couch and laid there for a good hour or so, just watching and napping a little. I was right there and never left the couch. When Molli woke up, Rick let her out of the bedroom, she came out to the living room, saw Muffin and her eyes narrowed right up. She tried to jump on the back of the couch at the other end, but Rick got her. Muffin ignored her and we stayed like that for about 30 minutes or so, before I put Muffin back into the bathroom. 

Muffin just wants to be left alone; that's all she ever wanted, ever since I brought her here from Mom's place. She just wants to be left alone. 

I may have to put Molli on Prozac....she refuses to leave Muffin alone at all. As long as Muffin is left alone, she's fairly happy. She and Tabby play and things are fine.

Failing that, I think that if we do have to rehome one of them, it may have to be Mollipop. I'm afraid that Muffin would be considered a "problem" cat because of the urinating/peeing thing she's got going. Molli doesn't spray and she also still has her claws, whereas Muffin is declawed. It's simply an awful situation to be in....I adore Molli, but I also think she would stand a better chance of finding another home than Muffin would. I'm really trying to figure out what's best for these two. After well over three years of this, the situation has not gotten any better.

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Weren't they co existing better when Jackie was getting settled in?? Rehoming Molli would be awful. I know how much you and she love each other. I'd do the Prozac before I rehomed but wouldn't be happy about it.  I don't know if I could let anyone go. I hope it can be worked out so everyone can stay.   

ETA- If anyone needs to celebrate margarita day, you do!