Hi everyone! I was very happy to find this site as everyone seems to have a lot of knowledge about cats.I hope you can help us with our kitty problem. It's kind of long, but I'm just trying to give enough background info as possible.
My husband and I have had 2 beautiful siamese sisters named Mocha (seal point) and Lila (lilac point) for the past 5 years. Mocha has bonded with my husband and is very intelligent (she opens drawers, plays fetch, etc.), playful, and affectionate. Lila is my cat and is more laid back, but loves to play and cuddle. They are affectionate when the feel like it, which is fine by us. They are spayed. Since they grew up together, they get along very well. They are very well behaved and we never had any major issues with their behaviour.
Sounds idyllic, right?
It was until my husband and I decided to adopt a rescue kitten we named Lucky (about 8 mths old). After the initial hissing and growling when we brought him home, Lucky has turned into the most affectionate of the lot. He is intelligent, playful,and adorable (he's a Tuxedo cat).
We brought Lucky home in the cat carrier and he hissed at Lila, who hissed right back at him. That was that. Since then they understand each other. Mocha has been terrified of the carrier since she had an operation as a kitten (associates it with going to the vet), so she split the scene as soon as she saw it. She never saw Lucky in the carrier. Does this matter?
Next we put Lucky in a spare bedroom with his own litter box, water & food dish. It took about 3-4 days before we could pet him, but after that he has been super cuddly.
After about 1-1/2 weeks of the cats sniffing under the door, we let Lucky out although his stuff was still in 'his' room. He starting sleeping in our bedroom under the bed. The girls left him alone in the day pretty much and I never heard much activity (except him playing under the bed).
At nighttime, however, I noticed Mocha stalking him whenever he went to eat or use the litter box. She would also go under the bed and creep up on him. He would hiss and growl at her and we would yell for her to stop and she would most of the time. Over time, I moved his litterbox, food, water under the bed so he could avoid her and wouldn't use the girls' things because they were closer.
The territorial aggression and defensive aggression escalated to the point where she would chase him into other rooms. The worst for me was when he defecated himself out of fear (when Mocha & Lila were both around him). I think he felt outnumbered and terrified. After the 2nd time in as many days, I thought it best to keep him in a separate room.
When we took him back to the vet for booster shots, she mentioned that he had several bites (poor baby!).
Since then we've kept them separated with him getting his run of the house twice a day (I'm home at the moment recovering from early stage breast cancer so I have the time) for about 2 hours each time. We have a screen in the door to his room that allows them to see each other with no physical contact. I have been putting treats on either side of the door so that they will eat together, but this rarely happens. Mocha still stalks and chases him and he still runs away from her. We also try to get them together in the same room under supervision with me or my husband sitting next to him.
Lila has been an angel throughout this and has been staying out of it. We think Lila is the alpha cat of the family. She and Lucky are at the nose sniffing stage. He has stopped hissing & growling at her (trusts her).
I've tried everything I could find online so far: Feliway spray, Rescue Remedy (plus Vine fo Mocha, Remulus for Lucky), vanilla, play therapy, and food therapy.
Mocha is now taking Amitryptiline (1 week) and Lucky is on buspirone (2 weeks). I am hoping that Mocha's medication will help her to leave him alone/ignore him. We only want to use the medication in the short term. I understand that we will need to continue behaviour modification with both of them.
This has been going on since September and I'm nearing the end of my rope. We do not want to rehome the little guy. We love him to bits!!! My husband says that in 3 months after we've tried everything else, he will let them just go at it (I hate the idea, but I understand).
We stopped giving Mocha her medication as she was becoming zombie-like.
Any and all advice, prayers, whatever will be appreciated!!!
Thank you very very much!
Lisa
My husband and I have had 2 beautiful siamese sisters named Mocha (seal point) and Lila (lilac point) for the past 5 years. Mocha has bonded with my husband and is very intelligent (she opens drawers, plays fetch, etc.), playful, and affectionate. Lila is my cat and is more laid back, but loves to play and cuddle. They are affectionate when the feel like it, which is fine by us. They are spayed. Since they grew up together, they get along very well. They are very well behaved and we never had any major issues with their behaviour.
Sounds idyllic, right?
It was until my husband and I decided to adopt a rescue kitten we named Lucky (about 8 mths old). After the initial hissing and growling when we brought him home, Lucky has turned into the most affectionate of the lot. He is intelligent, playful,and adorable (he's a Tuxedo cat).
We brought Lucky home in the cat carrier and he hissed at Lila, who hissed right back at him. That was that. Since then they understand each other. Mocha has been terrified of the carrier since she had an operation as a kitten (associates it with going to the vet), so she split the scene as soon as she saw it. She never saw Lucky in the carrier. Does this matter?
Next we put Lucky in a spare bedroom with his own litter box, water & food dish. It took about 3-4 days before we could pet him, but after that he has been super cuddly.
After about 1-1/2 weeks of the cats sniffing under the door, we let Lucky out although his stuff was still in 'his' room. He starting sleeping in our bedroom under the bed. The girls left him alone in the day pretty much and I never heard much activity (except him playing under the bed).
At nighttime, however, I noticed Mocha stalking him whenever he went to eat or use the litter box. She would also go under the bed and creep up on him. He would hiss and growl at her and we would yell for her to stop and she would most of the time. Over time, I moved his litterbox, food, water under the bed so he could avoid her and wouldn't use the girls' things because they were closer.
The territorial aggression and defensive aggression escalated to the point where she would chase him into other rooms. The worst for me was when he defecated himself out of fear (when Mocha & Lila were both around him). I think he felt outnumbered and terrified. After the 2nd time in as many days, I thought it best to keep him in a separate room.
When we took him back to the vet for booster shots, she mentioned that he had several bites (poor baby!).
Since then we've kept them separated with him getting his run of the house twice a day (I'm home at the moment recovering from early stage breast cancer so I have the time) for about 2 hours each time. We have a screen in the door to his room that allows them to see each other with no physical contact. I have been putting treats on either side of the door so that they will eat together, but this rarely happens. Mocha still stalks and chases him and he still runs away from her. We also try to get them together in the same room under supervision with me or my husband sitting next to him.
Lila has been an angel throughout this and has been staying out of it. We think Lila is the alpha cat of the family. She and Lucky are at the nose sniffing stage. He has stopped hissing & growling at her (trusts her).
I've tried everything I could find online so far: Feliway spray, Rescue Remedy (plus Vine fo Mocha, Remulus for Lucky), vanilla, play therapy, and food therapy.
Mocha is now taking Amitryptiline (1 week) and Lucky is on buspirone (2 weeks). I am hoping that Mocha's medication will help her to leave him alone/ignore him. We only want to use the medication in the short term. I understand that we will need to continue behaviour modification with both of them.
This has been going on since September and I'm nearing the end of my rope. We do not want to rehome the little guy. We love him to bits!!! My husband says that in 3 months after we've tried everything else, he will let them just go at it (I hate the idea, but I understand).
We stopped giving Mocha her medication as she was becoming zombie-like.
Any and all advice, prayers, whatever will be appreciated!!!
Thank you very very much!
Lisa
