I have two cats - Percival (1 yr old neutered male) and Phoebe (8 yr old spayed female)
We have had Phoebe since she was a year old, we got her from our local animal shelter. Last Sept we found Percival and his sister in our backyard. We searched for the mom, but no luck. WHen I took them to the vet, he said they were no more than 5 weeks old and to feed them soft food. They both took to it fine.
Eventually, my brother took the female kitten at 8 weeks. Since then Percival has had some behavorial issues. According to my brother, his cat has had very similar problems, although because she is an 'only pet' it isn't as much of an isssue.
Percival seems to have a basic lack of social skills. He will readily initaite play with both Phoebe and our dog (11 yr old minature schnauzer). However, the problem is that he doesn't know when to stop. He doesn't seems to understand what it means when Phoebe growls and hisses at him or when she simply tries to walk away. He will be submissive toward her (belly showing, tail out, ears not flattened) then try to play again. He almost never gets really agressive, but we have had to give him "time outs (5 min shut in a bedroom to calm down), sometimes it works, sometimes not. We also have to keep them separate when we aren't home due to their size difference (Percival=16 pounds / Phoebe=8 pounds). Because of his lack of boundries and understanding 'back off', we are afraid he could hurt her accidentally.
He also seems to be wanting to suckle when he drinks. He will knead his water bowl or the floor around his water bowl when he drinks. He also gets fixated on small bottles (like a water bottle, or a small soda bottle). He will try to grab it and will nuzzle the mouth of the bottle.
I have read in various articles, that when kittens are taken from their mother too early, they can exhibit a lack of social skills. I am wondering if there is anything I can do to help him.
We have even considered getting him a kitten bottle and feeding him water with that, then weaning him. I am also considering getting the Feliway Comfort Care Kit to calm him down.
I hate constantly having to keep them apart when not supervised. But we can't trust him. Sometimes they are great together, but he just doesn't have boundaries.
I would really like to help him through this.
Thanks so much!
We have had Phoebe since she was a year old, we got her from our local animal shelter. Last Sept we found Percival and his sister in our backyard. We searched for the mom, but no luck. WHen I took them to the vet, he said they were no more than 5 weeks old and to feed them soft food. They both took to it fine.
Eventually, my brother took the female kitten at 8 weeks. Since then Percival has had some behavorial issues. According to my brother, his cat has had very similar problems, although because she is an 'only pet' it isn't as much of an isssue.
Percival seems to have a basic lack of social skills. He will readily initaite play with both Phoebe and our dog (11 yr old minature schnauzer). However, the problem is that he doesn't know when to stop. He doesn't seems to understand what it means when Phoebe growls and hisses at him or when she simply tries to walk away. He will be submissive toward her (belly showing, tail out, ears not flattened) then try to play again. He almost never gets really agressive, but we have had to give him "time outs (5 min shut in a bedroom to calm down), sometimes it works, sometimes not. We also have to keep them separate when we aren't home due to their size difference (Percival=16 pounds / Phoebe=8 pounds). Because of his lack of boundries and understanding 'back off', we are afraid he could hurt her accidentally.
He also seems to be wanting to suckle when he drinks. He will knead his water bowl or the floor around his water bowl when he drinks. He also gets fixated on small bottles (like a water bottle, or a small soda bottle). He will try to grab it and will nuzzle the mouth of the bottle.
I have read in various articles, that when kittens are taken from their mother too early, they can exhibit a lack of social skills. I am wondering if there is anything I can do to help him.
We have even considered getting him a kitten bottle and feeding him water with that, then weaning him. I am also considering getting the Feliway Comfort Care Kit to calm him down.
I hate constantly having to keep them apart when not supervised. But we can't trust him. Sometimes they are great together, but he just doesn't have boundaries.
I would really like to help him through this.
Thanks so much!
