Cats (cattonic) wrote, @ 2009-07-02 00:25:00

Current mood:

pleased

We all survived (Kitty crisis, part 3)
Cats haven't been growling under doors at each other lately, so I decided to try an experiment when everyone was away but me (and the cats, of course.)

Puddin' had been out nearly all day and pretty hungry. Boo had been in my room and he was ready to see food as well. I filled their bowls with kibbles, opened my door, and waited for possible trouble.
Boo rumbled out. The cats saw each other but seemed more surprised than angry.
I quickly rattled their food in their bowls to distract them and handed out a treat to each cat. When I set down the bowls, both Puddin' and Boo started crunching.

Afterward, they wandered around the house, acting like everything was fine but sticking close to each other. Then Boo went off to find a trash bag so he could floss and Puddin' was there.

Their eyes locked. The staring began.


In cat language, staring is a challenge. Puddin's tail started fuzzing out. Boo began leaning forward.
Heh heh! Okay, guys, time for a break!
I put Boo back into my room to cool off.
I consider the experiment a success. It was tense but there was no carnage.

Similar Situation (Anonymous) 2009-07-06 23:12 (link)

I really hope that their reconciliation goes smoothly. One of my cats had something similar only I was the target, not the other cat. It was freaky, because it would only crop up randomly. I scared him one day (I have no idea if this is what set the whole thing off, by the way, but it's the best reason I could come up with--although with misdirected aggression I guess there doesn't have to be a logical reason) by chasing and tackling the other cat (who had something in his mouth he REALLY shouldn't eat) and dragging him out from under my bed to pry his mouth open and steal his misappropriated treasure. Starting about a week or two afterwards, at random moments, the cat that hadn't been tackled would freak out and try to claw my legs off, hissing and spitting and making these low "mrrroow" sounds of terror. Like I was (or at least my legs were) the scariest thing he had ever seen, and if he didn't defeat me quickly, I would reign down havoc and apocalyptic destruction upon the world. It happened less often as time went on (for a while there it was three or four times a day), but every now and then he would just lose it. Usually only when I was alone in the room, especially at night after I'd crawled into bed. He got chucked in the basement many nights, poor kitty. But we discovered that if mom laid down on my bed with me for a few minutes before we all went to sleep, the cat would seemingly accept my presence there and be okay for the rest of the night. He did this freak out thing for four school breaks (started at Christmas), but not during the last one. Heading home in a few days, so we'll see if he's really over it or not. Anyway, the point to me telling that story is that it's possible that your cats will be okay with each other if there's someone (like you or your mom) whom they trust there with them. And of course, good luck! ~Nicky (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Similar Situation cattonic 2009-07-08 22:44 (link)
	Thanks for your encouragement. Puddin' and Boo did seem to have an uneasy truce as long as someone was in the room. Being attacked by your cat sounds scary(!) and a little bit heartbreaking. It's amazing what crazy rituals we are willing to go through to keep peace with our pets. I hope kitty has forgiven and forgotten this time!! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Bad times. . . (Anonymous) 2009-07-07 00:21 (link)

One day our cat Zeke got stuck inside of a tube kite (think of windsock but. . . not). Phillip and I were happily sleeping (without kids at that point) when we heard all heck break loose out in the living room. Zeke was running madly everywhere with a huge kite pushing everything on the floor, breaking picture frames and glasses. Benny was trying to attack the kite then tried to attack Zeke - possibly thinking that maybe Zeke had started it. . . after locking Zeke in a closet and letting him settle down we finally managed to get him out of the kite but as soon as he walked into the living room Benny lunged and attacked him. He quickly ran back into the closet and was startled by the kite we had left in there - he ran back out - Benny attacked - he ran back in the kite attacked. Finally grabbing Benny we were able to slam the door to the closet. We kept them seperated for about a week and when Phillip finally got sick of having 2 litter boxes we let them back in together and it was blissful again. Have fun :-) (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Bad times. . . cattonic 2009-07-08 22:47 (link)
	Awesomely great to hear from you again! The fact that you've gotten through the same thing is a great encouragement. I can't wait until things are blissful again. I, too, am getting pretty tired of 2 litter boxes . . . (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)