Hi all, I'm new here, but I have a worrying problem with my two cats (Bodie and Ollie) that I desperately need help with.
Some brief backstory: my husband and I adopted our two cats, about three years ago. They were best buds in the foster home, and were so close that they couldn't cope with life without the other, so we ended up with two cats instead of one. Fast-forward three years, about a month ago, we moved to a new house, in a new city. The cats handled the move, remarkably well, I thought, but just recently, I've noticed a worrying trend in behaviour. It can best be summed up in the incident I witnessed last night.
The sliding door was open a crack to let in some fresh air, the boys were both sitting by it looking out (they're indoor-only cats, but they love their kitty TV). There was a thump against the screen door (I assume one of the neighbourhood cats, but didn't see anything), which startled my boys and they both ended up in that puffed up/freaked out state. Bodie was also doing that yowling/warbling thing that cats do when there's an interloper. At this point, Bodie turned around, saw Ollie, and in what I can only assume was a case of misplaced aggression, totally went for Ollie.
He didn't manage to actually hit Ollie, Ollie bolted under the dining table and hissed, quite vociferously (only time I've ever heard him hiss actually). Bodie calmed down within minutes, but poor Ollie took about half an hour to wind down, and during that time, wouldn't even let me near him, and was a bit twitchy for the rest of the night.
These boys used to be best friends. They spent part of every day playing, sleeping together, and grooming each other. Ollie quite clearly just wants to be friends again, he keeps going to Bodie and asking for grooming and snuggles and Bodie either ignores him, swats him away, or it turns into a fight (without any real intention to harm, but still a fight).
I am at a loss as to what I can do to help my boys be friends again! My current plans are thus:
1. Get some cardboard to block eye-line, hopefully if they can't see the outdoor cat, they won't react so strongly
2. Get cardboard to act as a barrier, so if Bodie flies off the handle again, he can't take it out on Ollie.
3. Purchase cat repellent to try and stop the neighbourhood cats from hanging around our place.
4. Get the Feliway diffuser specifically for multi-cat households where the cats don't get on. We already have the regular one in place, bought it about two weeks ago to help Bodie who wasn't coping with the move. I want to try this one to see if it works/helps.
However, those will have to be bought online and will take time to arrive... does anyone have any ideas or suggestions that might help in the meantime?
Stressed-Out-Kitty-Mamma
Some brief backstory: my husband and I adopted our two cats, about three years ago. They were best buds in the foster home, and were so close that they couldn't cope with life without the other, so we ended up with two cats instead of one. Fast-forward three years, about a month ago, we moved to a new house, in a new city. The cats handled the move, remarkably well, I thought, but just recently, I've noticed a worrying trend in behaviour. It can best be summed up in the incident I witnessed last night.
The sliding door was open a crack to let in some fresh air, the boys were both sitting by it looking out (they're indoor-only cats, but they love their kitty TV). There was a thump against the screen door (I assume one of the neighbourhood cats, but didn't see anything), which startled my boys and they both ended up in that puffed up/freaked out state. Bodie was also doing that yowling/warbling thing that cats do when there's an interloper. At this point, Bodie turned around, saw Ollie, and in what I can only assume was a case of misplaced aggression, totally went for Ollie.
He didn't manage to actually hit Ollie, Ollie bolted under the dining table and hissed, quite vociferously (only time I've ever heard him hiss actually). Bodie calmed down within minutes, but poor Ollie took about half an hour to wind down, and during that time, wouldn't even let me near him, and was a bit twitchy for the rest of the night.
These boys used to be best friends. They spent part of every day playing, sleeping together, and grooming each other. Ollie quite clearly just wants to be friends again, he keeps going to Bodie and asking for grooming and snuggles and Bodie either ignores him, swats him away, or it turns into a fight (without any real intention to harm, but still a fight).
I am at a loss as to what I can do to help my boys be friends again! My current plans are thus:
1. Get some cardboard to block eye-line, hopefully if they can't see the outdoor cat, they won't react so strongly
2. Get cardboard to act as a barrier, so if Bodie flies off the handle again, he can't take it out on Ollie.
3. Purchase cat repellent to try and stop the neighbourhood cats from hanging around our place.
4. Get the Feliway diffuser specifically for multi-cat households where the cats don't get on. We already have the regular one in place, bought it about two weeks ago to help Bodie who wasn't coping with the move. I want to try this one to see if it works/helps.
However, those will have to be bought online and will take time to arrive... does anyone have any ideas or suggestions that might help in the meantime?
Stressed-Out-Kitty-Mamma