Cat bedtime ritual

[mjknutson]

We adopted a stray kitten in over Thanksgiving and did the appropriate intros - most days are good here - my older cat is tolerating the new 6 month old, and there is some play although it can turn aggressive quickly if not moderated. Our older cat used to be very social, follow us around, talk to us constantly, love to be pet and picked up and most notably really enjoy coming up to the bed with us and camping out on his blanket for the night - he'd sometimes purr for 30 mins before he nodded off. After Lucy came into the house, he no longer wants to come upstairs - she has taken over the bed a bit and is so much quicker she beats him up the stairs if he attempts so he aborts the mission half way, or now doesn't come up at all. If we bring him up, he jumps down and leaves right away after smelling the blanket or the carpet. It started gradually, and now he won't stay in the room even during the day time. He sleeps downstairs by himself, and is generally a bit mopy, sad looking, no more talking except for sad cries and sleeps a good deal of the time now in the living room. My husband had an idea to take a week or two and bring them both into the bedroom at night with a closed door, with good and water and litter boxes to get them both used to being together in here at night, building a habit possibly, and better scent "dispersement" in the room with equal from both cats. I want my older cat Hobbes to feel good about being up here, his previous favorite place in the house, and I'm a bit sad about the whole darn thing.

Does anyone have an opinion about this idea? Any advice is appreciated.

 

[katluver4life]

Cats can take months to adjust to new changes in their environment. Be it a new cat, change in work hours, new person around. Don't think this will be forever. Once the 2 of them have firmly developed their "relationship" he'll return to his old ways. My female stayed away from my bed for months after I adopted my last boy. But now all 3 sleep on the bed.

I would encourage extra play sessions that include both of them. Something interactive such as with a wand toy. This will build your older cats confidence up and also allow them to interact in a fun way.

Good luck.

 

[tdonline]

My cats are currently being separated but when they were living together in harmony--they still adhered to certain cat codes.  Both slept on the bed, but very rarely together.  They would time-share it.  I would fall asleep with one cat and wake up with another.  The same applied to the sofa and to a lesser extent the giant cat tree.  I, too, would attempt to have them on the bed together and one would run off right away.  She would sleep only a few feet away in the hallway.  I didn't like it but there wasn't much I could do.

Now the cats are undergoing separation and reintroduction, I realize how little I noticed and understood the dynamics between my cats.  They were never best friends and I knew they had their little tiffs but they are sisters and generally we were a happy bunch. It never occurred to me they would ever fall out so badly.  Now I really appreciate how delicate is the balancing act of feline harmony in a household.

 

[katluver4life]

Yes, the dynamics between cats truely is a balancing act with time sharing being a common way cats divide territory. Just HOW they decide is very intriguing to me.

I do believe time is a big factor. It has been almost a year since I added our newest addition Jack. Though the interaction between the 2 males progressed very quickly, my female has taken this long to really accept the new guy. She allowed him to eat next to her, and be in the same room, but when he got too close she'd hiss and move away. Only recently has she stopped doing this, and only recently will be on the bed at the same time with him also. It saddens me at times, cause he really loves her. He frequently attempts to groom her, but if she awakens while he is doing it she jumps away. I think this too will stop in time.