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- Mar 5, 2014
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Sorry this is a little long but the situation is complicated.
Midnight is a large (12#) male about 1-1/2 years old and has been with us since just after weening. At first he was the only cat in the house and started going outside last May. Last summer he'd only come inside at night and this winter he even started staying out at night, which had me worried more than once. For several months he has been coming in at dusk and dawn to eat, then he'll hang out with us for an hour or so, then want back outside.
Star we rescued from a park last October where he had been abandoned. He was barely weened when we found him and him & Midnight got along fine, playing, sharing space, and sleeping together. In December, Star started sniffing and "preening" (is the only word I can think of) Midnight when Midnight would come inside for his visits & feeding but still no real problems between them. Midnight would sometimes get tired of Star bugging him (sniffing and preening) and would "attack" but nothing serious at all - a little hiss and sometimes a bite on the neck but they have played together almost as hard. When this happens, Star (now almost 8#) will quickly submit and the disagreement will be over.
To complicate matters, our daughter moved in with us for awhile and brought her cat, Nibbin (a 2 yo spayed female) with her. Nibbin has a poor disposition, even growling at me the first time I took her out of her room to show her where the common food & water was. (I'd pet her many times before then with no growling at all.) Anyway, she was kept apart for about a week while letting Star into her room starting for an hour and slowly increasing that time until they were kind of used to each other. She started wondering the house at will about a month ago and she still growls at Star if he comes to close but that's all. Enter Midnight about a week ago. This was the first time Midnight had actually seen her though he must have been smelling her for weeks and vice versa. When he got close enough for her to growl he'd just walk on by (ignoring her) or lay down and watch her. Everything was fine for the next few days.
Two days ago Midnight came in for his morning visit & feeding only he decided to stay inside all day instead of going back outside. He's done this occasionally all winter so I wasn't surprised or worried. That night he stayed inside even though the weather was acceptable, which did surprised me. He seldom stays in for more than a few hours unless it's nasty out. Then yesterday, it seemed like he wanted to reaffirm his dominance in the house. He started attacking Star as he did when Star would bug him too much but he wouldn't let Star get up this time. Every time Midnight would look away Star would get up like he's always done but Midnight wouldn't let him walk away - he kept "attacking" and Star would submit immediately. (Like I've seen other cats do with a mouse.) This was off & on all day long and into the next morning. Meanwhile, Midnight and Nibbin (the spayed female) had words yesterday as well, which even resulted in hissing, screaming, and one quick chase through the house. I was 10 seconds late to the fight so they may have exchanged punches (so to speak) but nothing more.
This morning Midnight went outside for the first time in two days but he stayed on the porch and came back in after a couple of hours. He hasn't attacked Star since yesterday morning and they seem to be getting along like normal again. Midnight & Nibbin are staying away from each other with no fights, though she still growls when either of them gets too close. Midnight seems to be eating OK, though not quite as much as he had been but that may be because he's not running around outside in the cold weather. And he's healthy as far as I can tell, no sores or tender spots.
So, there are a couple of things that have me concerned:
1. WAS Midnight just re-establishing his dominance in the house with all his antics the past few days?
2. Since he's stayed inside so much and not ventured out into the neighborhood even when he was outside, is there maybe something wrong with him? Is this normal for some adult cats when the weather changes? Am I worried about nothing?
Midnight is a large (12#) male about 1-1/2 years old and has been with us since just after weening. At first he was the only cat in the house and started going outside last May. Last summer he'd only come inside at night and this winter he even started staying out at night, which had me worried more than once. For several months he has been coming in at dusk and dawn to eat, then he'll hang out with us for an hour or so, then want back outside.
Star we rescued from a park last October where he had been abandoned. He was barely weened when we found him and him & Midnight got along fine, playing, sharing space, and sleeping together. In December, Star started sniffing and "preening" (is the only word I can think of) Midnight when Midnight would come inside for his visits & feeding but still no real problems between them. Midnight would sometimes get tired of Star bugging him (sniffing and preening) and would "attack" but nothing serious at all - a little hiss and sometimes a bite on the neck but they have played together almost as hard. When this happens, Star (now almost 8#) will quickly submit and the disagreement will be over.
To complicate matters, our daughter moved in with us for awhile and brought her cat, Nibbin (a 2 yo spayed female) with her. Nibbin has a poor disposition, even growling at me the first time I took her out of her room to show her where the common food & water was. (I'd pet her many times before then with no growling at all.) Anyway, she was kept apart for about a week while letting Star into her room starting for an hour and slowly increasing that time until they were kind of used to each other. She started wondering the house at will about a month ago and she still growls at Star if he comes to close but that's all. Enter Midnight about a week ago. This was the first time Midnight had actually seen her though he must have been smelling her for weeks and vice versa. When he got close enough for her to growl he'd just walk on by (ignoring her) or lay down and watch her. Everything was fine for the next few days.
Two days ago Midnight came in for his morning visit & feeding only he decided to stay inside all day instead of going back outside. He's done this occasionally all winter so I wasn't surprised or worried. That night he stayed inside even though the weather was acceptable, which did surprised me. He seldom stays in for more than a few hours unless it's nasty out. Then yesterday, it seemed like he wanted to reaffirm his dominance in the house. He started attacking Star as he did when Star would bug him too much but he wouldn't let Star get up this time. Every time Midnight would look away Star would get up like he's always done but Midnight wouldn't let him walk away - he kept "attacking" and Star would submit immediately. (Like I've seen other cats do with a mouse.) This was off & on all day long and into the next morning. Meanwhile, Midnight and Nibbin (the spayed female) had words yesterday as well, which even resulted in hissing, screaming, and one quick chase through the house. I was 10 seconds late to the fight so they may have exchanged punches (so to speak) but nothing more.
This morning Midnight went outside for the first time in two days but he stayed on the porch and came back in after a couple of hours. He hasn't attacked Star since yesterday morning and they seem to be getting along like normal again. Midnight & Nibbin are staying away from each other with no fights, though she still growls when either of them gets too close. Midnight seems to be eating OK, though not quite as much as he had been but that may be because he's not running around outside in the cold weather. And he's healthy as far as I can tell, no sores or tender spots.
So, there are a couple of things that have me concerned:
1. WAS Midnight just re-establishing his dominance in the house with all his antics the past few days?
2. Since he's stayed inside so much and not ventured out into the neighborhood even when he was outside, is there maybe something wrong with him? Is this normal for some adult cats when the weather changes? Am I worried about nothing?
