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- May 13, 2021
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Good evening everyone! Hope you all are doing well x
So my family and I recently adopted two on-the-verge feral kittens, Lucy and Linus, who are both 11 months old. As background, when we first got them, we did have an issue with protection and dominance, where Linus would hide behind Lucy. The shelter never gave Linus attention because of this, labeling him as the “shy” one, so to give you a gist of their differences in socialization, she hopped up at the first sight of a toy and he didn’t even know how to play. We’ve worked a lot with this, and we have gotten them to the point of being mostly independent of each other now, but Linus still struggles in many aspects.
Because Linus was not socialized very well at the shelter after them being rescued, Lucy has a tendency to get jealous. When he started coming out of his shell, she didn’t like that, and he’s growing habits of old patterns again. It does not help that the rest of my family misunderstands him, and because he’s not as social as her (understandably based on his past), they say he’s the “rude” one and have started to give her all the attention, feeding this dominance system even more. I am the one in the house who spends most time with both kittens and am the only one who has bonded with Linus, so with my bond to both cats, it’s even harder b/c she’s even more jealous regarding me. A lot of times, she will push him out of the way when I’m petting him or take over during play time. And while I refuse her and try to teach her boundaries, it’s difficult when he already submits. By then, he doesn’t want to play anymore and he doesn’t want pets anymore, walking away to sit by himself where he then wants to be left alone. I can really sense that he feels left out, and he’s struggling to put himself out there because of everything.
Sorry for the long explanation! This just has a lot of history behind it and I wanted you guys to understand the patterns and habits I’m working with based on the past and their current environment. I’m not sure how to divide my time, unless I either lock one in a room while I play with another or close the door to my room while I cuddle with one, but I wasn’t sure if this was a good method. I just want Linus to feel comfortable and I want him to be able to be as confident as Lucy without him feeling as if she’s going to come in and take the spotlight, at very least with me if not with everyone else. I also love her though, so I don’t want to not give her attention, too.
Any advice would be super helpful on how to work with this, and thank you so much to whoever takes the time to read this!! Much appreciation x
So my family and I recently adopted two on-the-verge feral kittens, Lucy and Linus, who are both 11 months old. As background, when we first got them, we did have an issue with protection and dominance, where Linus would hide behind Lucy. The shelter never gave Linus attention because of this, labeling him as the “shy” one, so to give you a gist of their differences in socialization, she hopped up at the first sight of a toy and he didn’t even know how to play. We’ve worked a lot with this, and we have gotten them to the point of being mostly independent of each other now, but Linus still struggles in many aspects.
Because Linus was not socialized very well at the shelter after them being rescued, Lucy has a tendency to get jealous. When he started coming out of his shell, she didn’t like that, and he’s growing habits of old patterns again. It does not help that the rest of my family misunderstands him, and because he’s not as social as her (understandably based on his past), they say he’s the “rude” one and have started to give her all the attention, feeding this dominance system even more. I am the one in the house who spends most time with both kittens and am the only one who has bonded with Linus, so with my bond to both cats, it’s even harder b/c she’s even more jealous regarding me. A lot of times, she will push him out of the way when I’m petting him or take over during play time. And while I refuse her and try to teach her boundaries, it’s difficult when he already submits. By then, he doesn’t want to play anymore and he doesn’t want pets anymore, walking away to sit by himself where he then wants to be left alone. I can really sense that he feels left out, and he’s struggling to put himself out there because of everything.
Sorry for the long explanation! This just has a lot of history behind it and I wanted you guys to understand the patterns and habits I’m working with based on the past and their current environment. I’m not sure how to divide my time, unless I either lock one in a room while I play with another or close the door to my room while I cuddle with one, but I wasn’t sure if this was a good method. I just want Linus to feel comfortable and I want him to be able to be as confident as Lucy without him feeling as if she’s going to come in and take the spotlight, at very least with me if not with everyone else. I also love her though, so I don’t want to not give her attention, too.
Any advice would be super helpful on how to work with this, and thank you so much to whoever takes the time to read this!! Much appreciation x
