Need some more help with my Deaf cat and resident cat fighting. :(

[xkappax]

Hi,
I joined here several months ago asking for some advice with my two cats, Ghost and Shady.

I'm back with an update, and I desperately need some more advice.

I need to preface this with the face that Shady is 6 years old and was declawed when we got him. Ghost is 1 year old and is not declawed. Ghost is also deaf.

I did all the scent swapping and stuff that everyone suggested. I've gotten it to the point where they'll eat right next to one another. The moment that Ghost is done with his meal, he thinks it's absolutely hilarious to run at shady. Shady runs away, and ghost's chase instinct kicks in. There's a chase up into my room where Ghost will patrol around the bed, keeping shady trapped under there. Sometimes Ghost will even go under the bed and start terrorizing him under there.

An important note: Ghost can not hear Shady's angry cries and doesn't seem to be able to read his body language, or he just doesn't care. He will not leave him alone.

I really need help. Is this a lost cause? Should I, quite literally, give up the Ghost? All ghost wants to do is play, but shady wants none of it. Shady growls horribly and if they come into too close contact, fur flies and there is hissing and horrible screaming (coming from Shady, not ghost).

They've been kept separate for nearly 4 months. It'll be five months in January. I have no idea what to do.

I do have one of those feliway diffusers, and that seems to have helped, but nothing else is working.

Thanks in advance, everyone.

 

[stephanietx]

Actually, it sounds quite normal to me. Sounds like they're trying to work out the pecking order among the two. Also, you have to remember that a 1 yr old cat has A LOT more energy and rambunctiousness than a 6 year old cat!

Honestly, sometimes it just takes time and lots of patience and running interference.

It took my 2 girls about 2 full years to feel totally comfortable around each other and for my older girl who was about 11 at the time to realize that the new younger kitty, about 7 mos old at the time, wasn't going to kill her. Some of the things I did to help them was to play referee when the playing got too rough. If my younger girl (Hannah w/claws) was tormenting my older girl (resident cat, Callie, declawed prior to owning me), I'd either use a towel to redirect her away from Callie, distract her with a toy, or physically remove her to another room and play with her. I also made sure to give my Callie girl lots of love and attention to reassure her of my love for her. We used Feliway and it really helped, too.

Be sure to play with Ghost by himself and wear him out. Part of the problem is he wants to play ALL THE TIME, which for his age, is perfectly normal. Get some interactive toys if you don't already have them. DaBird is awesome and it has several different attachments, a sparkly thing, a fur looking thing, a bird, and now a mouse. Be sure to hide the thing when you're not playing with it or it'll probably be destroyed. Play near Shady and invite her to play if she wants, but let her watch. Also, if you can, play with her when Ghost is out of the room. When he's cornered her on the bed, redirect him with a towel. Drape it in front of him and use it to "herd" him out of the room and into a different place in the house. Then play with him.

Try feeding Ghost in a separate room so that Shady can eat in peace and not feel threatened. Or, you might stand near them and "protect" Shady while eating. If Ghost attempts to get near Shady, redirect him with a towel. As he gets older and you've done it enough, he'll learn that pouncing on Shady is unacceptable.

I'm not sure why you still have them separated; this might be compounding the problem. It might help if they're together so they can work everything out between themselves. (with your supervision of course)

Lastly, I'll tell you that in the past 6 months or so in my house, my resident cat, Callie, has been a total terror to Hannah and all Callie wants to do is play! Callie jumps on Hannah and stalks her. She tackles her and wrestles with her. Sometimes Hannah doesn't want to play, but Callie won't relent. It's kinda like the tables are turned. It's such a great thing for me to see because I was so worried about my Callie girl for many months after we adopted Hannah. Be patient. Continue to shower love and separate play times on both of them. Don't stress because they'll pick up on it. Give it time and I think they'll become good buds.

 

[xkappax]

Thank you very much for your reply. ^_^ It makes me feel better that things might actually work out.

When they eat close together, I do stand there and protect shady. when I see ghost is going to pounce, I close the bi-fold doors.

Do you really think I should have them together? I have to keep them separated during the day because my husband and I are at work, but I could probably put them together at night. My only problem with that is that as soon as they're together, shady wont' even come downstairs and becomes the invisible cat. I'm afraid he'll stop eating and be terrified to come downstairs. I want him to feel comfortable in his own home.

Part of the problem, I'm sure, is that ghost is deaf. He really cannot hear how much shady hates him. When shady retreats, ghost feels that it's important to follow him and keep at him, even though shady is obviously terrified. That's why I"m afraid to have them together. Shady has no place he can be safe.

anyway, thanks again.

 

[stephanietx]

I've never known a deaf cat, but I'm thinking that less of the problem is related to that and more is related to the fact that Ghost is just a youngster and wants to play. Hannah was just like Ghost, except she can hear! Callie's howls, hisses, and warning sounds went unheeded. That's why I had to get involved.

I would start off with them together in the evenings and overnight and build up to leaving them together during the day. Chances are that during the day Ghost will spend most of the time sleeping. As for Shady retreating to a safer spot, that's fine. Once he becomes more comfy with Ghost, he'll come around. Don't force him and allow them time to just "be". Callie was scared and depressed for about 6 months. I had to give her lots of cuddles and loves. It was very heartbreaking for me to watch her, but I gave her safe places to escape the little terror (Hannah), encouraged her to play, and let her come out of her shell with Hannah on her own time.

It's a possibility that Ghost never learned proper behavior from his mom and siblings, depending on his background. He's having to learn it now and part of it comes from you and part of it comes from Shady. That's why you'll need to divert his attention, redirect his energy, and wear him out playing.

 

[darlili]

One suggestion that worked when I was introducing my two adult cats to each other was every single time I was around and they were 'nice' to each other, I made sure they both got a treat and equal love from me. And, I kept some sort of toy at hand when I was home - if anyone starting 'staring' at each other, I diverted the starer with the toy.

I'd say keep the faith for a while yet - it really sounds like fairly normal behavior to me.

 

[xkappax]

Ghost was dumped on the side of the road taped up in a fruit box and left for dead by his owners with 16 other cats, so I'm pretty sure you're right. I don't think the people who had him before me did too good of a job of raising him.

I'm pretty sure the monsters who owned him just let him attack the 16 other cats and never disciplined him. At the shelter, the cats he was brought in with didn't seem to like him very much, either. He's such a friendly cat, though, and seems like he really likes shady and wants to be his friend, but he also wants to play. All the time.

He's good with everything else. He doesn't even touch our christmas trees. He just likes to jump on shady's head.

I think my biggest problem is how heartbreaking it is to see Shady sad. He's such a big fat baby. I think he's going to have to suck it up and realize that ghost is here to stay, though.

My husband has all of next week and the week after off, pretty much, so we can probably start leaving them together supervised during the day. Shady can always retreat to my closet if he needs to, as ghost doesn't understand that my closet exists. He thinks Shady has disappeared. lol.

it's comforting to hear that it's probably not because he's deaf, but because he's just got some "kitten" in him. Thanks!

edit: it's also comforting that this seems like normal behavior. I thought that it was extremely abnormal and that I was going to have to get rid of ghost.

 

[darlili]

If you had a chance, there's a book out called "Homer's Odyssey" regarding a woman who adopted a blind kitten - let's put it this way, that kitten figured out ways to play with the two older resident cats pretty darn soon - although there were times it seemed sad when he couldn't figure out where they went - but he soon was the lively one of the trio.

As long as there's somewhere for Shady to hide out when he wants, that'll work. And, I know it may sound silly, but I'd keep telling Shady how he's your number 1, your true love, that the kitten is really there for him. Always always feed Shady first, if there's a choice, play with him first, and tell him he's always number 1 in your heart.