6 Month Old New Kitty Boogie Plays Hard with 2 1/2 yo Purry

[Cat Grrl]

Hi All:

I am wondering if I could get some advice from you. My 2 1/2 yo kitty is a rescue from a golf course. I walk her daily on a harness and leash, but she always wants to be outside, something I’m not going to let her do on her own. We have had her 8 months.

A month ago I adopted Boogie who is 6 months old and full of kitten energy. I hoped for a peaceable kingdom with both cats getting along. Boogie is now bigger than Purry who is only 6 pounds. Boogie has recently been neutered. He wants to play all day long. He plays rough with Purry, leaping on her and smacking her to the floor, or furniture. Purry growls and sometimes yeowls in pain. Boogie is just playing, but Purry does not want this. This is very hard on all of us.

Two weeks ago my husband was walking Purry and let the leash go, as he did not think she would run away. Just at that moment a squirrel ran up a telephone pole. Purry followed and ended up 25 feet in the air! So scary. After a crowd gathered and I called the fire department, she decided to climb down head first. She is very athletic. She didn’t have a scratch on her. Husband is not allowed to walk her anymore.

I’m afraid Purry will run away. She has been climbing up on the window screens and is staying right near the outside doors when we go through them. She has intensified this behaviour since Boogie came to us. They both have microchips, but I don’t want this to happen.

Is there any hope that they will, at least, be able to live together in the future? I have to give Purry a time-out by closing her in a separate room when Boogie is really ramped-up. Any advice would help. Thanks

 

[Mamanyt1953]

It will take a while, but Boogie (so well-named) will slow down. The issue is keeping Purry from going bugnuts in the meantime. Make sure that she has good bolt-holes...little places where she can go, and Boogie would be hard-put to follow her. Separate them for a period of time each day. Choose a nice room for this, and let them take turns having a break in the room. That way, the scents of both cats will be strong in all of the rooms. Give Boogie plenty of outlets for that energy...laser pointers, wand toys, ANYTHING he can chase without it being Purry will work just fine! You might also want to think about leash training Boogie. Long walks might do wonders for him.

 

[Cat Grrl]

Hi. Thanks for the great info! I know you have a lot of experience and I appreciate it. I’m going to separate them in the same room. I was just giving Purry time in the room. Also I’m going to try to play Boogie out — by playing with him lots. I have hope.

 

[Cat Grrl]

Today I’m at my wit’s end. Boogie (6 mo) clawed Purry’s eyelid when they were playing. A trip to the vet and a $250 bill. I have to keep them in separate rooms. This is not tenable for them or for me. Passing from room to room is difficult with a cat wanting in/out at all times. Boogie is not aggressive in his playing. Though because of his weight difference (twice Purry’s size) he body slams her to the floor or against furniture. He is just very exuberant in his energy. I do my best to keep both of their claws trimmed. Boogie is ok in a harness. Will this work when they are together in the same room? I love Boogie. I slept on the couch for him the first night after his neutering, and got no sleep. He sleeps with me and licks my arm in a kiss every night. He is so loving. I feel I have to surrender him to the rescue organization for rehoming. This is heartbreaking for me. I installed some Felliway “Friends” yesterday. I don’t know what to do. Purry‘s personality has changed. She is very jumpy, and always growls at the sight of Boogie, and now “meows” a lot (never BB Before Boogie)

 

[Mamanyt1953]

A ArtNJ , do you have any good ideas here? A cat is in danger of rehoming. You're good with introductions!

 

[ArtNJ]

A ArtNJ , do you have any good ideas here? A cat is in danger of rehoming. You're good with introductions!

These things always look quite terrible, when one has a bigger over-active cat that won't take no or an answer. And sometimes the smaller cat is seriously stressed by it, hiding all day, not using the box, etc. So it can in fact be terrible. Other times the smaller cat isn't as stressed as all that, and its not as bad as it might look to the human. Did you have another thread describing this? My vague recollection from the other thread is that this one didn't seem to be a case of extreme stress, just the more normal, if optically terrible, situation. In this typical scenario, the smaller cat may be seriously stressed when actively being bothered, but won't hide all day, not use the box or have redirected aggression. So in that typical scenario, Mamanyt1953 is 100% right, the main solution is time. The bigger cat will calm down some, eventually, and the smaller cat will learn to deal with it better as well.

It sucks that there was a serious scratch injury, but unless there is a rolling around screaming fight, these kind of injuries are mostly just random bad luck. Cats with a comparatively mild degree of stress about each other give a "get away from me" style swat to each other a 1000 times a day if you add up all the threads on this forum, and scratch injuries are very rare. Now sometimes the "get away" swat can really look like something, with chain swatting while making a lot of noise, and maybe you even here the sounds of nails sticking in flesh, but nonetheless, if it wasn't a real fight, you got unlucky. So I'd probably give them more time to work this out, but without re-reading the prior thread I'm not too sure how bad things actually are. I know it *looks* bad, and is very concerning to you -- appropriately -- but am not sure its actually as bad as it seems.

 

[Cat Grrl]

Hi ArtNJ: Really appreciate the post. The smaller cat has a mild degree of stress. She is still using the box and not hiding all day, and not re-directing aggression. She is more desperate to go outside and looks for every opportunity to run out the door! I will not allow this. (I walk her outside 2x/day on a leash). She is not afraid of the bigger cat. They actually did have many WWF style fights with the smaller cat crying out in pain as she was body-slammed to the floor and into furniture. They were serious fights, so it does not surprise me she got scratched. I did not know how serious until the injury. I was just going by some advice from other friends, to “just let the cats work it out”. Boogie (larger cat) is only 6 months old and is fascinated by Purry, a “micro cat” (smaller 2 1/2yo cat). I have Boogie (larger) on a halter and leash and pull him away from her when he tries to approach. It is hard, however, to live in a small house with 2 cats locked away from eachother. I know Boogie will calm down. I hope my sanity will also stabilize.

 

[ArtNJ]

Those aren't real fights. You can tell if this is a serious problem by looking at how the smaller cat acts. If they act afraid all day, its serious. If they only run/hide/hiss/disengage in the middle of it, and come right back in a few minutes and act like nothing happened, you can just let them be. If they willingly play sometimes for a bit, even initiate sometimes, thats another powerful indicator its not a serious problem.

In short, this *looks* terrible, and the eye injury is terrible bad luck, but your friends really and truly were correct.

You can post a video if you want some additional, more informed opinions. Its easier to link to a video hosted elsewhere.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

The rule of thumb is, if there is no blood or pee on the floor, and no hunks of fur in the air, it is not a cat fight. I am inclined to think that the scratched eye was more an extreme accident. With a real "fight" fight, you would almost always see deep bites and tears in the skin. Sorry to be so graphic, but I know how scary "heated discussions" and over-enthusiastic play can look and sound. ALL play for a cat is practicing for hunting, after all, so it tends to be very intense.

 

[Cat Grrl]

Thanks. I love them both. I will ponder my next approach.