they refuse to get along!
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| Mon, 06-21-2004 - 5:53pm |
I'm new to this board, i usually chat up the relationship boards, but now that mine has gone downhill, i'm left with nothing but my 2 cats! :)
anyway, I have a 13 year old cat (had him since he was 6 wks old), male, neutured. and 2 months ago i got a year old female, spayed. Now, my other cat (raughja... named after the tiger in aladdin), has no problems getting along with other cats. As he used to be an outdoor cat (hasnt been for many years now), and he was just fine, except for the many cat fights other toms would bring to him. Now, I have the new one (smudge), and when i adopted her, they weren't sure if she got along with other cats or not. So, being the understanding and loving pet owner i am, and having worked in an animal shelter for a year, I relize it takes time for them to accept each other, and they may never get to the point. but it's been about 2 months, and the smudge refuses to even look at raughja..and obviously raughja is stressed out, and he's started hissing and swatting at her from under the doors. I put them together in the same room after about a month of keeping them separate and letting them notice the new smells, etc. and they were ok, until raughja tried to walk away from her. she chased after him and nailed him pretty good in the back. so that could explain why he's now taken up the hissing and spitting. so since then, i've kept them separate. sometimes allowing them to eat close to each other through the door, and occasionally opening it a bit so they can see one another. Still not working. they'll stick their paws under the door and fight. Of course, its keeping me up all night, but thats fine.
Just wondering if there are any more suugestions i can try? I refuse to give smudge back to the shelter.. i'm not that kind of pet owner, i'll do whatever it takes to keep her. And of course, i'm not getting rid of raughja, he's my baby. But i'm fresh out of ideas. they MUST eventually learn to tolerate each other, no? you'd think after a few months they'll come to the relization that niether of them are going anywhere. help!

Hi Cosmogoober.
Welcome to the board Cosmogoober. I am sorry they are still not getting along, but like Leslie said, it may take a bit longer, especially when one is older. You can try having play sessions with both of them at the same time, each with their own fishing pole type toy. This way they will see that the other one can be fun.
Please let us know how it goes. I am very happy to hear that you aren't willing to give either one of them up and are willing to work with them, bless your heart.
Tami Cl-Royalkitties
Tami Cl-Royalkitties