I adopted 4 year old Kiernan 2 years ago. She's curious, playful, silly, HIGHLY mercurial, and finds people fascinating. Basically the type of cat who loves head rubs, but will signal she's done by nipping. She is very clear with her boundaries, and with her increasingly escalating warnings. She is also very anxious and pretends to act tough when she's scared. She's a social cat who pretends very unsuccessfully to appear aloof. She's a little stinker and an absolute joy!
I adopted 9 month old Ezra Jose (EJ) 2 months ago. He is affectionate, energetic, and has to be in the middle of everything. He's excited about EVERYTHING, and reminds me of Tigger from Winnie the Pooh. He's a hilarious goofball and is still definitely just a kid.
EJ and Kiernan are getting along so much better than I thought. EJ really, really, adores Kiernan and wants to be involved in everything she's doing. Kiernan, although she'd never admit it, quite often really likes having EJ around. They engage in genuine play, taking turns chasing each other, pouncing on each other, and wrestling. I'll often find them hanging out on my bed or the couch with less than a foot of space between them. They'll sniff each other's faces and butts with friendly body language. EJ still gets a lot of hisses, growls, and swats, but he deserves probably 90% of it. He's a typical annoying little brother who doesn't always respect Kiernan's warnings.
So with that background, I need some advice on a few issues. Kiernan is the type who will stalk a toy forever before pouncing. When she's given any food, she sniffs it and thinks about it before eating it. EJ, on the other hand, is just the opposite. He does nothing with subtlety. Microchip feeders have helped the food situation a lot, but Kiernan is growing increasingly anxious and defensive when it comes to EJ taking the few treats she gets. She growls, hisses and smacks, but EJ is mostly unfazed. Should I remove treats altogether, or continue as usual to let Kiernan continue asserting her boundaries?
EJ's tendency to dive for a toy without hesitation is frustrating for Kiernan who gets anxious and retreats from playing. Because of this I try to shut EJ in the bedroom and play with Kiernan without him taking over the game. However, EJ starts meowing mournfully, and Kiernan's focus is all on investigating what's going on with EJ. Kiernan plays a lot with EJ, but is left out of wand chasing and and other games which she loves. I have no idea how to give her playtime!
Ms. Mercurial often goes from hissing and growling at EJ one moment, to gleefully playing 'sneak up on the cat in the box' the next. She's definitely become more growly and hissy in the past week. I don't know if that's because she's becoming more anxious, or she's becoming more assertive in her communication with EJ. Any ideas?
I adopted 9 month old Ezra Jose (EJ) 2 months ago. He is affectionate, energetic, and has to be in the middle of everything. He's excited about EVERYTHING, and reminds me of Tigger from Winnie the Pooh. He's a hilarious goofball and is still definitely just a kid.
EJ and Kiernan are getting along so much better than I thought. EJ really, really, adores Kiernan and wants to be involved in everything she's doing. Kiernan, although she'd never admit it, quite often really likes having EJ around. They engage in genuine play, taking turns chasing each other, pouncing on each other, and wrestling. I'll often find them hanging out on my bed or the couch with less than a foot of space between them. They'll sniff each other's faces and butts with friendly body language. EJ still gets a lot of hisses, growls, and swats, but he deserves probably 90% of it. He's a typical annoying little brother who doesn't always respect Kiernan's warnings.
So with that background, I need some advice on a few issues. Kiernan is the type who will stalk a toy forever before pouncing. When she's given any food, she sniffs it and thinks about it before eating it. EJ, on the other hand, is just the opposite. He does nothing with subtlety. Microchip feeders have helped the food situation a lot, but Kiernan is growing increasingly anxious and defensive when it comes to EJ taking the few treats she gets. She growls, hisses and smacks, but EJ is mostly unfazed. Should I remove treats altogether, or continue as usual to let Kiernan continue asserting her boundaries?
EJ's tendency to dive for a toy without hesitation is frustrating for Kiernan who gets anxious and retreats from playing. Because of this I try to shut EJ in the bedroom and play with Kiernan without him taking over the game. However, EJ starts meowing mournfully, and Kiernan's focus is all on investigating what's going on with EJ. Kiernan plays a lot with EJ, but is left out of wand chasing and and other games which she loves. I have no idea how to give her playtime!
Ms. Mercurial often goes from hissing and growling at EJ one moment, to gleefully playing 'sneak up on the cat in the box' the next. She's definitely become more growly and hissy in the past week. I don't know if that's because she's becoming more anxious, or she's becoming more assertive in her communication with EJ. Any ideas?