Hercules and Ritz, sitting in a (cat) tree, k ....

ritz

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Bottom line question: is there a way I can convince Ritz that Hercules isn't really guarding the kitchen entrance, prepared to pounce?

Background: Hercules, male, neutered; Ritz, female, spayed. Roughly same age (six). Ritz rescued when she was around four to six months old; Hercules dumped sometime, perhaps as long as three years ago. I TNRd him in May 2012, always super friendly. Based on weight and professional sutured wound (not be me!), he had several caretakers while living on the streets. Very laid back compared to Ritz. Ritz has always been an only child and is skittish by nature: Ritz hides when it storms; Hercules stays next to me on the sofa.
I removed Hercules from the colony in mid February 2015 when it was bitter cold, put up "is this your cat" signs. No response. Integration proceeded as anticipated--Hercules fine, Ritz a little scared. We are now at the stage where I leave them unsupervised when I am at work, Ritz will occasionally lick Hercules face and Hercules may be moving towards licking Ritz' face. I continue to feed them separately; Hercules is very food driven and can be aggressive (in a colony setting).
Ritz will very reluctantly (if at all) sit on my lap when Hercules is laying beside me on the sofa. Sometimes Hercules will stare at Ritz and then charge her for no discernible (to me) reason. And sometimes Hercules will just pick a boxing battle, nothing serious, but comes without provocation. Ritz sometimes defends herself, but usually not.
The issue I'm mainly asking for advice is this: Hercules will sometimes lay in front or side of the kitchen entrance, and Ritz perceives this as a threat, even though most of the time Hercules is just hanging out. She also doesn't like to walk by Hercules, she sometimes goes around or runs.
Any advice how I can get Ritz to relax a bit more?
Thanks for reading.
 

shadowsrescue

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Good to see hear from you Ritz.  Hope all is going well!!

I had the exact same issue when working with Jake and Marvin.  Jake was my resident cat and Marvin was the aggressive feral/stray I brought into my home.  Jake was very freaked out by Marvin and intros took so very long.  When they got to the stage where I could leave them home alone unsupervised, there was still much trepidation when they wanted to walk past one another.  Jake would almost walk on tip toes and would constantly be looking over his shoulder.  It just took lots of time and reassurance that Marvin would not pounce on him.  He just had to get used to it and learn to trust that he wouldn't be attacked.

I don't know if you have tried Composure calming supplements, but it helped both Jake and Marvin.  I used Composure liquid Max and mixed into food 2x a day.  It helped Jake to relax more and feel more confident around Marvin.  It helped Marvin to get a grip and learn to control his body.  I also used an Animal Communicator to help speak with them both. 

I had to feed them separately and still do 2 years later.  Marvin was used to eating outside and hurrying to eat everything in sight.  It just works best to keep them separated for meals. 

Hercules looks so relaxed in that picture.  He has always reminded me of my Patches who never returned after TNR.  He had similar markings and the large tom cat head.
 

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I apologise for stating the obvious, but Feliway would be the first thing I'd try. Next would be flower essences - either a Bach's Flower remedies custom blend (this page has info on the individual remedies http://bachflowerpets.com/bachflowerremedies/petchart.html ) or one of the Spirit Essences range. If that wasn't enough, I might try Composure or Zylkene.

Specifically with the kitchen doorway - can you engineer a 'ladder' up and down for Ritz, so she can get in and out without getting too close to Hercules? It sounds like she'll always be highly strung and a little nervy, but you should be able to help her chill a little more :)
 
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ritz

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Thanks for your reassurance and suggestions.
Yeah, I suspected it would take a long time, though actually, them co-existing without supervision took quicker than I thought.
Tried Feliway, including the relatively new version for a multi-cat household, Bach's Rescue Remedy and Jackson's Rescue Remedy, didn't help at all. I tried l-theanine shortly after Ritz recovered from a stress-induced UTI; I may try that again.
I have used an animal communicator with Ritz several years ago and more recently with Ritz and Hercules; I was given some contradictory information so am somewhat reluctant to try that route again.
Good point about Hercules eating everything in sight--he does if I'd let him and didn't keep treats behind closed doors!

I am taking Hercules to the holistic vet who did his wellness check a few months ago. (Hercules gait when running is weird.) I'll see if she has any suggestions for Ritz.

@colum can you elaborate a bit more on the ladder suggestion?

Thanks again for all your help.
 

Columbine

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I don't know what your layout is, but if you're able to set up a series of shelves (or even put a compact but reasonable height cat tree) by the kitchen doorway so that Ritz can get up and around Hercules without feeling threatened then that could really help. I saw a ceiling height cat tree used this way in an episode of My Cat From Hell (I can't post the video from the uk :rolleyes: but I think it was Chompy and Bitten, series 3 episode 10).

If you look at the second pic in this thread you'll see a much more elaborate example of what I mean. http://www.thecatsite.com/t/297074/snick-and-jaspers-new-cat-wall-furniture I'm thinking of something compact, with shelves smaller and closer together (I'm thinking of pathways rather than hanging out space), but it gives you a bit of a visual.

I know you say rescue remedy formulas didn't work, but a different blend of essences might. For Ritz, I'd suggest these Bach Flower Remedies: Aspen, Beech, Water Violet, Mimulus. None of these are in the Rescue Remedy blend. Just a thought :)
 

shadowsrescue

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Definitely trying different remedies.  I used quite a few on Marvin before I hit on the right combination. 
 
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ritz

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Thanks, what a neat set up! I have a really good handyman (who also has a cat), so may show him these pictures and see if he can build/something like this. I've been wanting to repaint the kitchen, too.
 
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