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- May 24, 2005
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we have always had between 3 and 5 cats at any given time, males and females, all are always strays and come into the household at different ages. the oldest female has always been the dominant cat for as many years as i can remember. when she would pass away, the female just younger than her would then become dominant. many cats have entered our home elderly so the dominance change of guard happens relatively often.
when our last dominant female died 1 1/2 years ago we were left with 1 female, angel 5, and 2 boys orange dude 9 and jackson 13. angel was ferel when we found her at about 1 year old and tried to become dominant - the boys showed her absolutely no respect, no serious fights, they usually just pretended she wasn't even alive. the boys roles didn't change - neither appeared to become in charge, actually they are getting along better with age. the biggest change was angel became very nervous, tense, and even less social.
2 months later we ended up with a 3 month old kitten we named alani. jackson the oldest decided to become mom and taught her everything he knows. they developed a great relationship and still have it to this day. angel simply avoided the kitten as much as possible.
the problem - alani is now almost 2 and has been aggressively trying to be the dominant cat for the last 6 months. angel, the other female, generally seems to be relieved that it is no longer her problem = she has calmed down tremendously the older alani seems to get and has become herself again. alani does have a habit of doing things to make angel scream and showing her dominance such as smacking her in the head or tackling her. the problem is alani is a very large orange cat, very tall and at least 15 pounds, angel is a tiny siamese mix and a mere 5 pounds. it's obvious alani does hurt her sometimes, no blood, but it has to hurt when something at least 3 times your size is sitting on your head holding you down daily. she will stop doing it if i just say her name, gets off angel's head, then smacks her in the head and walks away. she's a big rough tough strong cat. alani is not agressive to jackson her male mom at all (she's about 5 pounds heavier and taller than him). she is aggressive towards our other boy orange dude who is now 11 or so. dude is also big and orange and the same size as her. she pounces on him then he beats her up. she will then lay on the floor on her back in front of him screaming then he walks away. she then waits until his back is turned then attacks him again. i've been letting them argue this out on their own but the older alani is getting the more aggressive she is becoming. it doesn't seem to be getting better at all. she is developing the opinon at this point that she is the god of all cats and all will submit and bow when she enters the room. the problem is whenever she enters the room she expects them all to physically submit each time. this has been going on for 6 months and it's not going over well
sorry its long but i figured background would help. any suggestions on how to get some sort of peace or understanding in the house? thank you~
when our last dominant female died 1 1/2 years ago we were left with 1 female, angel 5, and 2 boys orange dude 9 and jackson 13. angel was ferel when we found her at about 1 year old and tried to become dominant - the boys showed her absolutely no respect, no serious fights, they usually just pretended she wasn't even alive. the boys roles didn't change - neither appeared to become in charge, actually they are getting along better with age. the biggest change was angel became very nervous, tense, and even less social.
2 months later we ended up with a 3 month old kitten we named alani. jackson the oldest decided to become mom and taught her everything he knows. they developed a great relationship and still have it to this day. angel simply avoided the kitten as much as possible.
the problem - alani is now almost 2 and has been aggressively trying to be the dominant cat for the last 6 months. angel, the other female, generally seems to be relieved that it is no longer her problem = she has calmed down tremendously the older alani seems to get and has become herself again. alani does have a habit of doing things to make angel scream and showing her dominance such as smacking her in the head or tackling her. the problem is alani is a very large orange cat, very tall and at least 15 pounds, angel is a tiny siamese mix and a mere 5 pounds. it's obvious alani does hurt her sometimes, no blood, but it has to hurt when something at least 3 times your size is sitting on your head holding you down daily. she will stop doing it if i just say her name, gets off angel's head, then smacks her in the head and walks away. she's a big rough tough strong cat. alani is not agressive to jackson her male mom at all (she's about 5 pounds heavier and taller than him). she is aggressive towards our other boy orange dude who is now 11 or so. dude is also big and orange and the same size as her. she pounces on him then he beats her up. she will then lay on the floor on her back in front of him screaming then he walks away. she then waits until his back is turned then attacks him again. i've been letting them argue this out on their own but the older alani is getting the more aggressive she is becoming. it doesn't seem to be getting better at all. she is developing the opinon at this point that she is the god of all cats and all will submit and bow when she enters the room. the problem is whenever she enters the room she expects them all to physically submit each time. this has been going on for 6 months and it's not going over well
