Your words are always soothing, Jcatbird! Thank you. I am so pleased that they were able to de-escalate tonight. Finn joined me up on the bed for story time - when I go check your thread and look at your pics. Charlie is now laying on his back on the floor beside us. Finn did jump down to check him out, and Charlie swatted him a couple times and jumped up. Finn chose to join me again on the bed instead of responding to the swats - that's a success.
Also, I love the way he will tuck his little paw into the crook of my hand any time he can. The pic looks contrived, but this is what he does - he just likes to make contact with my hand with his paw. I love it.
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I know the photo was Finn’s idea. He’s so adorable. Do you ever think that they know how to work us? Lol I know mine do. I wuv you Mom! Am I your favorite? Mom, I really NEED some of your chicken. I feel weak from hunger. How about the pic of Banjo? The smell was sooo bad I’m gonna faint! I’ll
pearl99
Banjo had a cat bum stuck in her face and it isn’t her favorite cat! She made a face, acted ill and immediately laid back as though faint. Like I’m going to fall for that! They may not think just like a human but they certainly understand how to get us to react. Banjo is the top Drama Queen here and she knows how to get a reaction out of me. They all do. 
Buffster7
You asked about the 1,2 and 3 above. Probably all three to some extent. Sometimes we do need to intervene. It can be hard to tell. From that video of them in the chair, I would have let it continue further. It’s a wait and see kind of thing. I can’t say it would not have gotten worse but I do think you are going to have to watch and see at some point. Charlie in the litter box? It may be a form of withdrawal. I see kitties do this when they want to stay invisible, They can also do it just because they enjoy playing in the litter. They also do it during urination problems. My guess would be he was dodging Finn. If he is urinating okay then probably just hanging there in the peace. My best suggestion , if they fight over a chair, no favoritism. If you put one down, put both down, settle them both in place or ignore it and let them settle it. I know it’s hard when you have seen fur fly but you’ll never know unless you see it through further. Does any of this help?
I bet you are right - guarding against Finn. I had heard he got kicked out of his original home for being a bully and guarding food dishes and litter boxes.
Poor guy, so conflicted. He wants a friend, but then...the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. 
Jcatbird
I had just typed the above when your response posted and gave me pause. Dodging Finn..Hmmmm. Finn has been really pouncy for a couple days. It is SO HARD to understand these two..which one is the instigator, which one is being victimized - things are not always what they seem! And right now as I'm typing this, feeling sorry for Charlie, he comes tearing out of my room with his tail trying to keep up, very obviously trying to engage Finn. So I guess he's not feeling too victimized.
Neutral party.
So you guys,. I wuv you Mom! Am I your favorite? Mom, I really NEED some of your chicken. I feel weak from hunger. How about the pic of Banjo? The smell was sooo bad I’m gonna faint! I’ll
Post it here for
Jcatbird
and
Buffster7
, here is a picture of Moo after she was falling asleep watching Gracie then went over to the chair. Talk about them knowing how to get us to react, I felt sooo bad. "Mom, don't you love me anymore? Make her go away."
pearl99
The looks they can give us! They can break our hearts one minute and have us laughing hysterically the next. Who says cats can’t talk? Their expressions speak volumes!!
Makes me want to go bury my face in his flank and comfort
Oh okay, I thought guarding meant guarding the litterbox from Finn. But you meant guarding himself from Finn. I had recalled that a neighbor told me he got kicked out of his original home for bullying their cats and guarding (blocking) the litter boxes and food dishes. He used to do that to my dog, too - he would stretch across the front of her food and water dishes and prevent her from accessing them. She was terrified of him, so she would go without if I didn't catch it. I assumed he was guarding the litter box, but with the way they had been sparring, he may very well have been hiding out there.Dodging or guarding against is sort of the same. Avoiding him. Lol Neither is really a victim. It’s a combination of play and position. President and Vice President. You can’t vote.
I'm glad my girls are not fighting! I've backed off the intro some since Waffles acted much differently after the uplanned meeting. Giving him time to reboot and regain some comfort. Waffs had gotten to putting his paws on the shelf and standing on back legs when Gracie was in the cubby quiet to kind of say hi cautiously, not now! Everybody taking a break.Oh my word, that FACE!myselfhim. Awwww Mooooooo!!
Boy does she remind me of Finn! I still can't get over how benign their interactions are. And here I thought females were supposed to be more territorial than males.
Glad Charlie has a chair. Sometimes they do switch things around when one claims the other's space. Moo has mostly taken Waffles pineapple cave, but Waffles has other options. A change from Waffles claiming almost everything!
Agree, send to vet if able- call to see if Charlie needs to be seen.
My thought was it could be from a respiratory infection, bronchitis...or it could be nothing but an isolated coughing spell, but I don't know, just would be safe and check with the vet.
I sure hope it's nothing but a coughing spell. What can the vet do other than an x-ray I wonder? I don't really want to shell out money for an x-ray if it's just a coughing fit, but also don't want to delay treatment if there's something going on.
As always, calming words. Thanks, Jcatbird. I have always used that litter. It says low dust, but I know when I had Finn's litter box in the guest bedroom next to an armoire, I couldn't believe how much dust collected on that armoire - easy to see with the dark wood. And when I clean the litter box that's in front of a French door with sunlight shining in, there's always a cloud of dust that arises when I scoop. I have to say that when I used that large Omega covered litterbox, Charlie didn't spend nearly as much time in there; he got in, did his business, and hopped out. Now with this larger, open one, he likes to scratch around and play like it's his sandbox. Still, I prefer the open box due to size and the cats not being in an enclosed box with that dust.
Sounds good. I just usually say "check with vet" cuz I'd hate to be wrong and have it be something bad. Glad to hear he's acting normal!
