Hello everyone, this is my first post on these forums!
Something is going on with my cats thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s got me a little worried and Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m not sure how to handle this situation. First, let me give you a little background on my kitties. Their names are Smokey and Bandit (both boys, brothers from the same litter), and both were feral when we got them. Their mother was a stray that died. Her kittens were round up by a family friend that had been feeding the stray for years, and we adopted two of them. It took a few months, but we managed to tame them, but they are still very skittish and do not like anyone but me, my mother, and my father. Weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve had them for about two years now, and other than the fact that they donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t like strangers, theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve been perfect little kitties. Both cats have been fixed and seem to be in great health.
Now, letâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s move on to the problem which just started the other day. My parents left early in the morning the other day to go on vacation. About an hour or two after they left the cats got in to a rather loud fight (woke me abruptly from a sound sleep). Ever since the fight, one cat (Bandit) has been hiding under a bed and wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t come out unless coaxed, and when the other cat (Smokey) comes around Bandit starts to growl and hiss. Each night since the first theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve gotten in to a little tiff or two, but nothing as bad as the first one. In the two years weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve had them nothing like this has ever happened. My parents go on extended trips all the time, so them leaving is nothing new for the cats. I do think the cats know what it means when they see the suitcases come out, though.
Both cats, when separate, act pretty much like normal. I can pet them and they purr and act very happy, but when they get together the trouble starts up again. Bandit is usually a very vocal cat, but since the fight he has only meowed at me a couple of times, and not nearly as loud as usual. Smokey has the run of the house now, and Bandit is trapped upstairs under a bed. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m not sure if heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s even coming out to eat or use the litter box, but the room does not smell like cat “wasteâ€, so he may be. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve brought food up to him, and he eats when I do, but heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s always on the lookout for Smokey. I managed to get him to come to the stairs this morning, and while I was at the bottom trying to coax him down, Smokey came over and Bandit started hissing and growling again. Smokey usually just backs off, but this time he took off up the stairs and chased Bandit under the bed again. A small fight broke out, but when I got down and looked under the bed Smokey came right out.
I have to work M-F, so I have no choice but to leave them alone for 9 or so hours a day. Theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re used to having people home all day as my parents are retired, but like I said before, my parents go on trips all the time and leave me with the cats, and itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s always been fine. I sit here at work dreading what may be going on at home, praying I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t come home to more trouble.
My spirits were lifted for a brief 15 or so minutes last night when Bandit actually came downstairs. I was making dinner, Smokey was rubbing on my legs and meowing at me, I heard a noise, turned around, and there Bandit was just sitting on the counter. The cats looked right at each other, no hissing or growling. I was so elated that I decided to give them a little treat (deli sliced turkey breast). I gave Bandit his on the counter and Smokey his by his food (where they normally get treats, I just didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want to push Bandit). They both gobbled up all their turkey, and when Smokey jumped up to the counter to see if Bandit had any left, Bandit didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t react at all. I told Smokey “no, thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s Banditâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s foodâ€, and he jumped down. After that, Bandit jumped down to the floor and ate some of his cat food, and I thought everything was going to be ok. No more than 10 minutes later Smokey re-enters the room and Bandit starts hissing and growling again. Not too long after that Bandit was back under the bed, but he went on his own, Smokey did not chase him.
I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t tell if Smokey is being aggressive or if heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s lonely and trying to make up to his brother, but either way Bandit wants nothing to do with him. These two cats were like pees in a pod. They slept together, ate together, and played together all the time.
Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m very distraught by this and if they donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t make up soon I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know what Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m going to do. If the worst case scenario was that one cat had to go, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m not sure how that would work as neither cat trusts anyone but us. Please help. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Wow, this post turned out much longer than I thought it would. I was going to post a picture of them, but the image I have is way too big and causes the browser to scroll both horizontally and vertically.
Something is going on with my cats thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s got me a little worried and Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m not sure how to handle this situation. First, let me give you a little background on my kitties. Their names are Smokey and Bandit (both boys, brothers from the same litter), and both were feral when we got them. Their mother was a stray that died. Her kittens were round up by a family friend that had been feeding the stray for years, and we adopted two of them. It took a few months, but we managed to tame them, but they are still very skittish and do not like anyone but me, my mother, and my father. Weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve had them for about two years now, and other than the fact that they donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t like strangers, theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve been perfect little kitties. Both cats have been fixed and seem to be in great health.
Now, letâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s move on to the problem which just started the other day. My parents left early in the morning the other day to go on vacation. About an hour or two after they left the cats got in to a rather loud fight (woke me abruptly from a sound sleep). Ever since the fight, one cat (Bandit) has been hiding under a bed and wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t come out unless coaxed, and when the other cat (Smokey) comes around Bandit starts to growl and hiss. Each night since the first theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve gotten in to a little tiff or two, but nothing as bad as the first one. In the two years weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve had them nothing like this has ever happened. My parents go on extended trips all the time, so them leaving is nothing new for the cats. I do think the cats know what it means when they see the suitcases come out, though.
Both cats, when separate, act pretty much like normal. I can pet them and they purr and act very happy, but when they get together the trouble starts up again. Bandit is usually a very vocal cat, but since the fight he has only meowed at me a couple of times, and not nearly as loud as usual. Smokey has the run of the house now, and Bandit is trapped upstairs under a bed. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m not sure if heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s even coming out to eat or use the litter box, but the room does not smell like cat “wasteâ€, so he may be. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve brought food up to him, and he eats when I do, but heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s always on the lookout for Smokey. I managed to get him to come to the stairs this morning, and while I was at the bottom trying to coax him down, Smokey came over and Bandit started hissing and growling again. Smokey usually just backs off, but this time he took off up the stairs and chased Bandit under the bed again. A small fight broke out, but when I got down and looked under the bed Smokey came right out.
I have to work M-F, so I have no choice but to leave them alone for 9 or so hours a day. Theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re used to having people home all day as my parents are retired, but like I said before, my parents go on trips all the time and leave me with the cats, and itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s always been fine. I sit here at work dreading what may be going on at home, praying I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t come home to more trouble.
My spirits were lifted for a brief 15 or so minutes last night when Bandit actually came downstairs. I was making dinner, Smokey was rubbing on my legs and meowing at me, I heard a noise, turned around, and there Bandit was just sitting on the counter. The cats looked right at each other, no hissing or growling. I was so elated that I decided to give them a little treat (deli sliced turkey breast). I gave Bandit his on the counter and Smokey his by his food (where they normally get treats, I just didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want to push Bandit). They both gobbled up all their turkey, and when Smokey jumped up to the counter to see if Bandit had any left, Bandit didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t react at all. I told Smokey “no, thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s Banditâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s foodâ€, and he jumped down. After that, Bandit jumped down to the floor and ate some of his cat food, and I thought everything was going to be ok. No more than 10 minutes later Smokey re-enters the room and Bandit starts hissing and growling again. Not too long after that Bandit was back under the bed, but he went on his own, Smokey did not chase him.
I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t tell if Smokey is being aggressive or if heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s lonely and trying to make up to his brother, but either way Bandit wants nothing to do with him. These two cats were like pees in a pod. They slept together, ate together, and played together all the time.
Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m very distraught by this and if they donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t make up soon I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know what Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m going to do. If the worst case scenario was that one cat had to go, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m not sure how that would work as neither cat trusts anyone but us. Please help. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Wow, this post turned out much longer than I thought it would. I was going to post a picture of them, but the image I have is way too big and causes the browser to scroll both horizontally and vertically.