HOLD ON FOLKS....THIS IS A LONG ONE.
I have 2 male ginger/orange tabby cats (brothers). They will be 2 in July. They have both gone through tremendous change over this past year which I feel has resulted in their present behaviour - which I need to change!
My boys and I lived in Ontario up until August of 2003 when we moved to BC. While in Ontario, the 2 cats were the best of friends. They slept, played and did everything together.
When we moved to BC, we stayed for about a month with a friend, who actually had the mother and brother of my 2 (they had recently moved out from Ontario too). This was quite an adjustment for my boys...not only did my friends have 2 other cats, but they also had a large, obnoxious german shepard who would always chase the cats. I knew this was a temporary arrangement until I could find something on my own. During this time, one of the boys got lost - I finally found him at the local animal shelter - someone had picked him up and brought him there.
Soon after, I moved into a new place only to discover that it was NOT the best area for cats as it was on a main road. My cats loved to be outside, and since it was so dangerous, I had to keep them inside. So, I decided to keep the 2 boys at my friends place (didn't want to keep moving them around) while I once AGAIN looked for a better place to live. During this time, the same cat wandered off and was lost for 5 days! When I finally found him, I brought him to MY place and kept him inside for a month until I moved. I didn't trust keeping him in my friend's place because he had wandered off 2 times now (and with 3 cats and a dog, I knew they couldn't guarantee that he would stay inside). During the time he was with me, he HATED the fact that he couldn't go outside. He climbed the blinds, tore up the carpet etc.
At this point, one cat was at my friends and I had the other. When I found a great place to live, and moved them back in together, all hell broke loose. Now, the cats won't even be in the same room together. One will hiss, growl and swat at the other. One is super affectionate and is almost like he's trying to suck up more when the other is around...just to piss him off!!! Because of this, the other won't even come in and eat. When I open the door and they both come running in, the more dominant one hisses, runs in quicker and starts eating while the other is left sitting back.
I am really worried. The past 3 nights, the less dominant one wouldn't even come in at night (and there are racoons and cougars around). He rarely comes in to eat or sleep. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get my 2 boys liking each other again??
I have 2 male ginger/orange tabby cats (brothers). They will be 2 in July. They have both gone through tremendous change over this past year which I feel has resulted in their present behaviour - which I need to change!
My boys and I lived in Ontario up until August of 2003 when we moved to BC. While in Ontario, the 2 cats were the best of friends. They slept, played and did everything together.
When we moved to BC, we stayed for about a month with a friend, who actually had the mother and brother of my 2 (they had recently moved out from Ontario too). This was quite an adjustment for my boys...not only did my friends have 2 other cats, but they also had a large, obnoxious german shepard who would always chase the cats. I knew this was a temporary arrangement until I could find something on my own. During this time, one of the boys got lost - I finally found him at the local animal shelter - someone had picked him up and brought him there.
Soon after, I moved into a new place only to discover that it was NOT the best area for cats as it was on a main road. My cats loved to be outside, and since it was so dangerous, I had to keep them inside. So, I decided to keep the 2 boys at my friends place (didn't want to keep moving them around) while I once AGAIN looked for a better place to live. During this time, the same cat wandered off and was lost for 5 days! When I finally found him, I brought him to MY place and kept him inside for a month until I moved. I didn't trust keeping him in my friend's place because he had wandered off 2 times now (and with 3 cats and a dog, I knew they couldn't guarantee that he would stay inside). During the time he was with me, he HATED the fact that he couldn't go outside. He climbed the blinds, tore up the carpet etc.
At this point, one cat was at my friends and I had the other. When I found a great place to live, and moved them back in together, all hell broke loose. Now, the cats won't even be in the same room together. One will hiss, growl and swat at the other. One is super affectionate and is almost like he's trying to suck up more when the other is around...just to piss him off!!! Because of this, the other won't even come in and eat. When I open the door and they both come running in, the more dominant one hisses, runs in quicker and starts eating while the other is left sitting back.
I am really worried. The past 3 nights, the less dominant one wouldn't even come in at night (and there are racoons and cougars around). He rarely comes in to eat or sleep. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get my 2 boys liking each other again??