- Joined
- Jun 20, 2021
- Messages
- 3
- Purraise
- 4
Hello fellow cat lovers,
I joined this forum in hopes that I can gain some advice on my current situation with my cat Oscar. Oscar was a stray cat that I took indoors about 3 years ago because he had very bad breathing issues, malnourished, etc. Before I did so, I made sure I took him to the vet to run tests and get his shots. I wanted to help this cat because I felt like if I didn't he would have not survived the winter outside and died. Oscar had very aggressive behavior in the beginning, which was to be expected because he had to learn how to fend for himself outdoors, and in some ways he has calmed down a lot since then. He is very affectionate with adults, but not so much so with kids and other cats. That's the problem I've been dealing with for 3 years, Oscar does not get along with my other 2 cats who are brother and sister(Lou and Zoey). Lou and Zoey have been house cats since they were little and are very mellow, lovable and easy going cats. When I first brought Oscar into my house, I did separate him from my other cats. He lived mainly in my finished basement so he had his own space. I tried to slowly introduce them using Jackson Galaxy's methods, as well as using multi-cat diffusers, treats, etc. All of this effort without much success as Oscar escaped the basement on a few occasions immediately chasing and starting fights with my other 2 cats. These were not just ordinary scuffles, they were full blown fights with hair flying everywhere. Oscar has to be constantly supervised and kept away from my other cats. I have run out of ideas, and have considered the option of surrendering him to a local no kill shelter in town thinking he might stand a chance of getting rehomed with someone who has no other animals. I feel bad because I have never had to consider surrendering an animal before. I LOVE cats and even grew up around a bunch of dogs. I just don't know what else to do. My questions are: Do you think rehoming Oscar is what is best for him? Have any of you been in similar situations and considered prozac or other medicines to help calm the behavior? Do those meds really work well with cat aggression? Is there any other advice you can offer that you feel would help me with doing what is right for Oscar? Oh by the way, yes, Oscar is fixed. Thank you for reading.
Brian
I joined this forum in hopes that I can gain some advice on my current situation with my cat Oscar. Oscar was a stray cat that I took indoors about 3 years ago because he had very bad breathing issues, malnourished, etc. Before I did so, I made sure I took him to the vet to run tests and get his shots. I wanted to help this cat because I felt like if I didn't he would have not survived the winter outside and died. Oscar had very aggressive behavior in the beginning, which was to be expected because he had to learn how to fend for himself outdoors, and in some ways he has calmed down a lot since then. He is very affectionate with adults, but not so much so with kids and other cats. That's the problem I've been dealing with for 3 years, Oscar does not get along with my other 2 cats who are brother and sister(Lou and Zoey). Lou and Zoey have been house cats since they were little and are very mellow, lovable and easy going cats. When I first brought Oscar into my house, I did separate him from my other cats. He lived mainly in my finished basement so he had his own space. I tried to slowly introduce them using Jackson Galaxy's methods, as well as using multi-cat diffusers, treats, etc. All of this effort without much success as Oscar escaped the basement on a few occasions immediately chasing and starting fights with my other 2 cats. These were not just ordinary scuffles, they were full blown fights with hair flying everywhere. Oscar has to be constantly supervised and kept away from my other cats. I have run out of ideas, and have considered the option of surrendering him to a local no kill shelter in town thinking he might stand a chance of getting rehomed with someone who has no other animals. I feel bad because I have never had to consider surrendering an animal before. I LOVE cats and even grew up around a bunch of dogs. I just don't know what else to do. My questions are: Do you think rehoming Oscar is what is best for him? Have any of you been in similar situations and considered prozac or other medicines to help calm the behavior? Do those meds really work well with cat aggression? Is there any other advice you can offer that you feel would help me with doing what is right for Oscar? Oh by the way, yes, Oscar is fixed. Thank you for reading.
Brian