Hi All, I am new to this forum and have an urgent request for help. My mom died a few months ago and I promised to take her cat and care for her. Katie, my mom's cat is 10 years old and was raised with her dog, Buffy, until Buffy died of old age this past November. My mom died in May and I brought Katie home with me (New Mexico to Michigan, 1 adult mom, no visitors almost to 2 adults, 4 children and LOTS of activity). My cat, Cheetah, is 3 years old, and has been raised since a kitten with my kids. She's a scrapper, and holds her own with all the activity, but definitely is not a cuddle kitty, and has a bit of an attitude, her nickname is teenage kitty ^&*(%. But she's a great cat, and we all just know when she's being difficult to let her cool her jets in one of the bedrooms. I have had cats all my life, and even have some animal behavior experience with canids, so I did everything that I've seen suggested on this forum (happy kitty pheromones, slow, gentle introductions, lots of love for both, separate litter boxes, food dishes, etc), all while trying to settle both my mom's and brother's estates and deal with my kids and business. I have done introductions with cats before, but always with a kitten to an adult.
My problem is complex, or not, depending on how you look at it: my mom's cat, amazingly, is WONDERFUL with the kids (poor thing must feel so displaced). She has bitten a couple of times, but only when she's trying to get to my other kitty, Cheetah. However, Katie, mom's cat who weights 20 lbs by the way, HATES Cheetah, resident cat who only weights 4 lbs. It is to the point where we can not let the 2 cats together because Katie has attacked Cheetah, and only pulling Katie off Cheetah have we stopped the fight. I was hoping they would reach detente, but Katie is bound and determined to rid herself of Cheetah. Cheetah is terrified of Katie and spends most of her time under a bed or hissing at everyone. She's miserable. We are now keeping the cats separated by floors (one in basement, one on ground floor), but its getting harder and harder to keep the cats apart. To add insult to inury, my husband, who is NOT a cat person, is getting more and more agitated and angry that the cats seem to be running our lives right now. Katie has started going poop outside her litter box, and Cheetah has started peeing on our bathroom floor because she doesn't want to leave our bedroom.
I promised to watch over my mom's cat, and I love her dearly, but I can't let one cat injure the other severely or the kids. And I don't have to be faced with which cat to relocate to a new home. I am out of ideas, anything to try at this point would be very much appreciated! Thanks!
My problem is complex, or not, depending on how you look at it: my mom's cat, amazingly, is WONDERFUL with the kids (poor thing must feel so displaced). She has bitten a couple of times, but only when she's trying to get to my other kitty, Cheetah. However, Katie, mom's cat who weights 20 lbs by the way, HATES Cheetah, resident cat who only weights 4 lbs. It is to the point where we can not let the 2 cats together because Katie has attacked Cheetah, and only pulling Katie off Cheetah have we stopped the fight. I was hoping they would reach detente, but Katie is bound and determined to rid herself of Cheetah. Cheetah is terrified of Katie and spends most of her time under a bed or hissing at everyone. She's miserable. We are now keeping the cats separated by floors (one in basement, one on ground floor), but its getting harder and harder to keep the cats apart. To add insult to inury, my husband, who is NOT a cat person, is getting more and more agitated and angry that the cats seem to be running our lives right now. Katie has started going poop outside her litter box, and Cheetah has started peeing on our bathroom floor because she doesn't want to leave our bedroom.
I promised to watch over my mom's cat, and I love her dearly, but I can't let one cat injure the other severely or the kids. And I don't have to be faced with which cat to relocate to a new home. I am out of ideas, anything to try at this point would be very much appreciated! Thanks!