Hey all, I need some advice:
The background: We rescued a mama kitty and her babies 8 years ago from the woods. They have lived with us ever since. We also have to other cats, a 14 year old male cat and a 13 year old female Persian. Since rescuing the mama (named Sparrow) and her two boys, they have lived in our furnished basement, while our other two cats live in the main part of the house.
The problem: Sparrow refuses to play nice, especially with our 14 year old cat. We like to let Sparrow and her boys up with us in the evenings when we are home to monitor them, but inevitably Sparrow will be good for 15 minutes, then lose her mind and chase our 14 year old, who is too old to be treated in such a fashion. She knows she is being bad, because when I run up to break up the ruckus, she hides from me under our bed so I can't reach her. Then she "puts herself back in the basement" when I give up the pursuit. On Friday she was being so good, then laid her eyes on Boy (the 14 year old) and snapped. She took off after him, chasing him upstairs. He was so panicked that he jumped from our upstairs loft back into the living room. It's a wonder he didn't break a bone. The reason she chases Boy and not our Persian is because Boy reacts to her and the Persian just goes catatonic (sorry for the pun). The most frustrating part is that Sparrow knows she is being bad, and I have no idea how to correct her behavior. We've tried the spray bottle with water, we've "punished" her by not allowing her upstairs for periods of time...nothing seems to curtail her behavior.
Any ideas? After Friday I told her that she is now an exile to the basement permanantly, but I feel bad. I want her to be a happy part of our "blended" family, but she always succombs to that devil on her shoulder.
Thanks for any advice you have to offer!
The background: We rescued a mama kitty and her babies 8 years ago from the woods. They have lived with us ever since. We also have to other cats, a 14 year old male cat and a 13 year old female Persian. Since rescuing the mama (named Sparrow) and her two boys, they have lived in our furnished basement, while our other two cats live in the main part of the house.
The problem: Sparrow refuses to play nice, especially with our 14 year old cat. We like to let Sparrow and her boys up with us in the evenings when we are home to monitor them, but inevitably Sparrow will be good for 15 minutes, then lose her mind and chase our 14 year old, who is too old to be treated in such a fashion. She knows she is being bad, because when I run up to break up the ruckus, she hides from me under our bed so I can't reach her. Then she "puts herself back in the basement" when I give up the pursuit. On Friday she was being so good, then laid her eyes on Boy (the 14 year old) and snapped. She took off after him, chasing him upstairs. He was so panicked that he jumped from our upstairs loft back into the living room. It's a wonder he didn't break a bone. The reason she chases Boy and not our Persian is because Boy reacts to her and the Persian just goes catatonic (sorry for the pun). The most frustrating part is that Sparrow knows she is being bad, and I have no idea how to correct her behavior. We've tried the spray bottle with water, we've "punished" her by not allowing her upstairs for periods of time...nothing seems to curtail her behavior.
Any ideas? After Friday I told her that she is now an exile to the basement permanantly, but I feel bad. I want her to be a happy part of our "blended" family, but she always succombs to that devil on her shoulder.
Thanks for any advice you have to offer!