(Sorry so long!! Just wanted to get all the info in here.)
My mother's cats are about 9 years old, born in 2000. They were kept together because as kittens, they were inseparable. They were fixed together and my mother had them declawed together (
).
Apollo, the pale orange tabby, is a moose! He's 21 pounds and won't stop eating so he only gets fed canned food twice a day in small portions.
Fae, the dainty tortois-shell is skinny as a rail and has a delicate stomach so she gets extra food twice a day (since she can't be free-fed or her brother will eat it).
They are both large cats structurally but one is much too fat while the other looks sickly skinny.
We've tried just about everything to resolve this issue but Apollo is so bull-headed it's hard to keep him from doing whatever he wants. He has been bullying his sister, Fae for years. They've both been checked regularly by vets and were in very recently for shots and check-ups. The vets have all sworn that Apollo is perfectly healthy just that he needs to lose weight and the same goes for Fae as long as she gains weight.
Apollo can't seem to stand the sight of his sister getting anything she wants. If you pet her, he tries to muscle in and shove her out just by sheer mass (no agression just pushing her out)... Although I suspect he just wants you to feed him. That's usually the case. Fae is SO delicate and sensitive, she just walks away without a fight. Same goes for food. He will NOT let her eat. I feed them every morning and every evening and I have to shut him in the laundry room with his food while Fae eats. Fae eats VERY slowly! Like she can't handle solid food or has been starved for so long her poor stomach isn't used to being full and threatens to upset on her and cause her to cough it all back up again. Apollo on the other hand, can inhale his food in about 2.4 seconds flat and be up on Fae's perch eating her food just as fast (and he will eat it all while Fae watches). Also, Apollo likes to beat up on Fae periodically though I never see it.
His new trick is to whine and howl in the laundry room until someone lets him out even though he hasn't touched HIS food. (Which he normally snarfs down.) He then bee-lines for Fae and tries to get to her food unless I hover over her and keep him at bay. Even when Apollo is safely tucked away in the laundry room, Fae is a jumpy eater. Every little noise makes her stop eating and duck back away from her food, looking for the source of the noise and only resumes eating, no matter how hungry she is, when I pet her and reasure her that her brother isn't around. Sometimes she will sit by the bowl staring at her food for half an hour waiting for her tummy to feel good enough for her to finish her dinner. I believe that's because my family (I've been away for several years) has been so lax in making sure that she eats that her body is used to surviving on virtually nothing; on little nibbles and nothing more. Suddenly she's getting all the food she needs and it's taking some getting used to.
Second problem, Apollo is REALLY annoyed that his sister is getting fed properly and/or that he's shut in the bathroom and can't get at the extra food she gets, so he beats up on her even harder! She has little scabs all over her neck and head from him but I never manage to catch him doing anything but lounging innocently on a table top or shelf.
They are still buddies to some extent, like when they were little, but he's been getting more and more pushy with her. It all centers around food and attention too. She's allowed to sit where she pleases, go where she wants and they often cuddle together. I don't think it's territorial. As long as food or attention aren't at stake, he leaves her alone. He will even tollerate her getting a little attention but not for long, he eventually muscles in, jumps into the face of the person petting Fae and she automatically surrenders her spot as if trying to avoid a scuffle. (Fae is a total doll-baby most of the time.)
These two don't often respond to toys. I don't remember if catnip gets them or not and my mother doesn't have any right now. And to top it off, we're all adjusting to a new puppy who is only about 15 weeks old. She's learning not to bother the cats but they tend to do "drive-by" swats at her. (I printed out the bit on teaching puppies not to chase cats from one of the other posts here so it's under controll.) However, I can't blame the dog for this because it's been going on for far longer than she's been around. And because my parents moved, the cats aren't allowed in the upstairs so despite the basement being large and finished and fairly active throughout the day, Fae has no where to get away from her bully brother.
*Sigh* I don't know if this can be fixed or if one of them just needs a new home. I've hunted over this site for hours but all the other accounts of agressive cats is to either people or new cats entering a household. These two were from the same litter and the only biting they do to people is a love bite.
So do I just separate them? Or does anyone have ideas on getting him otherwise entertained? They're very smart so they don't really go into that play frenzy like some cats do and entertain themselves. Apollo used to play fetch but now he's so fat all he wants is to lay about. Fae on the other hand, is so tired from being so skinny she can't be bothered to do more than batt, half-heartedly, at something and then try to climb onto your shoulder to sleep. *sigh*
Help? Ideas, anyone? I have no idea what's causing Apollo to be so.... mean, or whatever he's doing.
Thanks in advance!
My mother's cats are about 9 years old, born in 2000. They were kept together because as kittens, they were inseparable. They were fixed together and my mother had them declawed together (
Apollo, the pale orange tabby, is a moose! He's 21 pounds and won't stop eating so he only gets fed canned food twice a day in small portions.
Fae, the dainty tortois-shell is skinny as a rail and has a delicate stomach so she gets extra food twice a day (since she can't be free-fed or her brother will eat it).
They are both large cats structurally but one is much too fat while the other looks sickly skinny.
We've tried just about everything to resolve this issue but Apollo is so bull-headed it's hard to keep him from doing whatever he wants. He has been bullying his sister, Fae for years. They've both been checked regularly by vets and were in very recently for shots and check-ups. The vets have all sworn that Apollo is perfectly healthy just that he needs to lose weight and the same goes for Fae as long as she gains weight.
Apollo can't seem to stand the sight of his sister getting anything she wants. If you pet her, he tries to muscle in and shove her out just by sheer mass (no agression just pushing her out)... Although I suspect he just wants you to feed him. That's usually the case. Fae is SO delicate and sensitive, she just walks away without a fight. Same goes for food. He will NOT let her eat. I feed them every morning and every evening and I have to shut him in the laundry room with his food while Fae eats. Fae eats VERY slowly! Like she can't handle solid food or has been starved for so long her poor stomach isn't used to being full and threatens to upset on her and cause her to cough it all back up again. Apollo on the other hand, can inhale his food in about 2.4 seconds flat and be up on Fae's perch eating her food just as fast (and he will eat it all while Fae watches). Also, Apollo likes to beat up on Fae periodically though I never see it.
His new trick is to whine and howl in the laundry room until someone lets him out even though he hasn't touched HIS food. (Which he normally snarfs down.) He then bee-lines for Fae and tries to get to her food unless I hover over her and keep him at bay. Even when Apollo is safely tucked away in the laundry room, Fae is a jumpy eater. Every little noise makes her stop eating and duck back away from her food, looking for the source of the noise and only resumes eating, no matter how hungry she is, when I pet her and reasure her that her brother isn't around. Sometimes she will sit by the bowl staring at her food for half an hour waiting for her tummy to feel good enough for her to finish her dinner. I believe that's because my family (I've been away for several years) has been so lax in making sure that she eats that her body is used to surviving on virtually nothing; on little nibbles and nothing more. Suddenly she's getting all the food she needs and it's taking some getting used to.
Second problem, Apollo is REALLY annoyed that his sister is getting fed properly and/or that he's shut in the bathroom and can't get at the extra food she gets, so he beats up on her even harder! She has little scabs all over her neck and head from him but I never manage to catch him doing anything but lounging innocently on a table top or shelf.
They are still buddies to some extent, like when they were little, but he's been getting more and more pushy with her. It all centers around food and attention too. She's allowed to sit where she pleases, go where she wants and they often cuddle together. I don't think it's territorial. As long as food or attention aren't at stake, he leaves her alone. He will even tollerate her getting a little attention but not for long, he eventually muscles in, jumps into the face of the person petting Fae and she automatically surrenders her spot as if trying to avoid a scuffle. (Fae is a total doll-baby most of the time.)
These two don't often respond to toys. I don't remember if catnip gets them or not and my mother doesn't have any right now. And to top it off, we're all adjusting to a new puppy who is only about 15 weeks old. She's learning not to bother the cats but they tend to do "drive-by" swats at her. (I printed out the bit on teaching puppies not to chase cats from one of the other posts here so it's under controll.) However, I can't blame the dog for this because it's been going on for far longer than she's been around. And because my parents moved, the cats aren't allowed in the upstairs so despite the basement being large and finished and fairly active throughout the day, Fae has no where to get away from her bully brother.
*Sigh* I don't know if this can be fixed or if one of them just needs a new home. I've hunted over this site for hours but all the other accounts of agressive cats is to either people or new cats entering a household. These two were from the same litter and the only biting they do to people is a love bite.
So do I just separate them? Or does anyone have ideas on getting him otherwise entertained? They're very smart so they don't really go into that play frenzy like some cats do and entertain themselves. Apollo used to play fetch but now he's so fat all he wants is to lay about. Fae on the other hand, is so tired from being so skinny she can't be bothered to do more than batt, half-heartedly, at something and then try to climb onto your shoulder to sleep. *sigh*
Help? Ideas, anyone? I have no idea what's causing Apollo to be so.... mean, or whatever he's doing.
Thanks in advance!
