I hope you can help us, my problem is a bit complicated to fix, I think, due to my lifestyle....
About Hope:
Hope is 5 years old, has been with me for three years. She was a feral kitty, was trapped pregnant, taken to the shelter and had a spay abortion. She was then pulled by a rescue where she lived for a little while. I was called in to foster her as she wasn't doing well - in fact, she was so shy with the other cats, she wasn't even getting to the food bowl.... She was 24x7 hiding under the couch.
She flourished in my house, and became a total lap cat - as long as she approaches me. As the typical shy/semi-feral, I still can't approach her standing up, do sudden movements towards her, and she startles very easily with any noise.
She does come to me if I am sitting down, or lying on bed.
She is also best buddies with Lucky, my other cat. Not so much with Bugsy (I have 3 cats).
The problem I am having now is that my lifestyle has changed quite a bit, and she is having a hard time adjusting to it.
My work requires me to travel 3 weeks out of the month – Monday-Thursday, weekends and the fourth weekend at home.
I do have a live-in pet sitter that is absolutely loving to them stay here while I am gone, so their routine is not broken as much as possible. Their feeding schedule (they eat raw 3 times a day) remains the same, and they have someone to play and to give them attention.
Hope has started to hide more and more since my work schedule changed. She also started to be bullied by Bugsy, an otherwise absolutely sweet and lovely to the “T” Ragdoll.
She has had a clean bill of health – senior panel done, urinalysis, the works – twice. Nothing wrong with her.
Bugsy usually bullies her during meal times (he is VERY food driven, and obese). They eat next to each other.
Hope comes out for all meals, and sometimes to play with Lucky, she does come to me at bed time, but more often than not she is hiding under the bed.
While I live in a small one bedroom apartment, I have tons of vertical space with cat trees, window sills, an entire wall of wall shelves, etc.
Things that are not an option for me are rehoming any of them, or changing my job – aside from that, what can I do to make her a bit more comfortable with this situation?
Oh, yes – I also have Feliway on the walls.
Thank you so much!!
EDIT: I should probably mention that Bugsy's bulling usually happens while I am preparing their meals, and not while they are actually eating - during meal times they are fine.... If he approaches, she hisses and he stands back. She holds her own.
About Hope:
Hope is 5 years old, has been with me for three years. She was a feral kitty, was trapped pregnant, taken to the shelter and had a spay abortion. She was then pulled by a rescue where she lived for a little while. I was called in to foster her as she wasn't doing well - in fact, she was so shy with the other cats, she wasn't even getting to the food bowl.... She was 24x7 hiding under the couch.
She flourished in my house, and became a total lap cat - as long as she approaches me. As the typical shy/semi-feral, I still can't approach her standing up, do sudden movements towards her, and she startles very easily with any noise.
She does come to me if I am sitting down, or lying on bed.
She is also best buddies with Lucky, my other cat. Not so much with Bugsy (I have 3 cats).
The problem I am having now is that my lifestyle has changed quite a bit, and she is having a hard time adjusting to it.
My work requires me to travel 3 weeks out of the month – Monday-Thursday, weekends and the fourth weekend at home.
I do have a live-in pet sitter that is absolutely loving to them stay here while I am gone, so their routine is not broken as much as possible. Their feeding schedule (they eat raw 3 times a day) remains the same, and they have someone to play and to give them attention.
Hope has started to hide more and more since my work schedule changed. She also started to be bullied by Bugsy, an otherwise absolutely sweet and lovely to the “T” Ragdoll.
She has had a clean bill of health – senior panel done, urinalysis, the works – twice. Nothing wrong with her.
Bugsy usually bullies her during meal times (he is VERY food driven, and obese). They eat next to each other.
Hope comes out for all meals, and sometimes to play with Lucky, she does come to me at bed time, but more often than not she is hiding under the bed.
While I live in a small one bedroom apartment, I have tons of vertical space with cat trees, window sills, an entire wall of wall shelves, etc.
Things that are not an option for me are rehoming any of them, or changing my job – aside from that, what can I do to make her a bit more comfortable with this situation?
Oh, yes – I also have Feliway on the walls.
Thank you so much!!
EDIT: I should probably mention that Bugsy's bulling usually happens while I am preparing their meals, and not while they are actually eating - during meal times they are fine.... If he approaches, she hisses and he stands back. She holds her own.
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) But, my point is, I really shouldn't be adding calories to his diet.... Can clicker training be done with ANYTHING but food? Freeze Dry Chicken is Calorie packed.... And he does need to lose another 1.5lb.... He has IBD, so other treats are out of the question. How many seesions does it need to be done a day, for how often? Is any clicker training better than none?
(Luckily, when I am not traveling, I work at home, which is a bonus :bigthumb
They have not had good experiences lately with the "sitter" (:wife: :stomp
I can't believe I finally realized this. Her screams and hisses always prompted me to rush in and rescue her - chase Wendall off. Now that I figured this out and allow Perla to manage Wendall the way she sees fit - things are going much better. I am not saying that is what is going on with Bugsy and Hope - but I think we get more concerned about these interactions than they do. I think with the new change in travel - Hope has become a bit confused - in turn this has also confused Bugsy. Bugsy wants to bring Hope our of her "shell" and this is his way of "trying" to do that. To you it may look like bullying - but to them it is "cat therapy" Just as kids have it out time to time - so do our cats in times of upheaval and confusion due to our lives changing. If you are home and this happens - I would try to make a sudden, sharp noise to distract and redirect the upcoming exchange. I use a bean bag for this 
But you could use anything that will change the mood. Toss it into a wall. That's it. Just something to startle and redirect Bugsy's frame of thinking - GET HOPE!!!! I honestly do not think that this will become an big issue between them, though. But at least you can stop the interaction with noise. Soon Bugsy will also relate that noise with going after Hope and will second guess his decision to do so. I found this to be true with Wendall. It really works.
Perla does this too. Hides under the bed. I just look under the bed and tell her I love her :heart3: I just accept that fact that this is what she needs right now - that is where she feels safe. Nothing wrong with that. Hope is a happy kitty - believe me. She is doing what makes her feel good and safe. You don't want to force the issue by trying too hard to get her to come out of hiding. Just make MORE hiding spots for her!!!! I have lots of tunnels, cubby cubes, tents, etc. But Perla still prefers under the bed. I would not take that away from her. There are days she is more outgoing than others and I just love those days. To you, it may seem that Hope is hiding... 
I will send vibes to Lucky so that she can have a "girl power" meeting with Hope :lovegrin: :nod: :lovegrin2: Hope needs to get some tips from Lucky on how to handle that "little goat" :lol3: I wish I had more to suggest for you little angel, Hope. Perla and Hope sound so much alike. 
