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- Oct 19, 2014
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I adopted two young cats three months ago, siblings but not from the same litter, so one is probably a year and the other closer to 18 mos., though the shelter said they were much closer in age. Anyway the brother is a little older and a fair amount bigger than the sister, though she is catching up in size. They love each other, and seek each other out for company. Like many young cat pairs they play rough, and little sister Flo usually hasn't minded. She has been able to escape to spots where brother Amos can't fit if she wants to get away. But she's bigger now and can't fit into as many "safe spots" as before. Add to this that the roughness of the play has escalated to the point where at least a couple times a day, maybe more I'm away from home all day, Flo tries to run and hide but Amos follows in hot pursuit and she ends up growling and hissing and even occasionally screaming. It gets pretty wild. He doesn't vocalize or show aggressive body language during these times so I'm not even sure if he knows the situation has progressed beyond play. He just has no clue about boundaries. He's also rough with me and bites/scratches if he's in one of "those moods" - which is often - though I have never encouraged this and try to walk away and ignore him when he does this. Sometimes it's impossible. His behaviors were already kind of in place when I got him. Like Flo, sometimes I am the one who is on the receiving end of his very rough play, if that's what it is. I haven't squirted him with water or put him in time out, until this morning when Flo was under a bookcase and screaming and he was still going after her, knocking stuff over in his wake. I put him in time out. Twice. He howled the whole time.
Not at all sure it was the right thing to do, though it seemed to calm him the second time. His sister actually didn't like it and was trying to open the door for him, after she came out of her hiding place. Definitely a head scratcher. He can be sweet but he is also a real devil!! Both are fixed. Any ideas?
Also, maybe for another time or place, vet told me to feed them each a certain amount of food twice a day. Problem is by the time they get fed they are usually really hungry. Amos often gobbles then pukes. I'm not home in the day to space out feedings, but have been warned against feeding them too much, as my dearly departed big cat Willis was heavy and I caught a lot of grief for free feeding. So any ideas there are also appreciated.
Not at all sure it was the right thing to do, though it seemed to calm him the second time. His sister actually didn't like it and was trying to open the door for him, after she came out of her hiding place. Definitely a head scratcher. He can be sweet but he is also a real devil!! Both are fixed. Any ideas?
Also, maybe for another time or place, vet told me to feed them each a certain amount of food twice a day. Problem is by the time they get fed they are usually really hungry. Amos often gobbles then pukes. I'm not home in the day to space out feedings, but have been warned against feeding them too much, as my dearly departed big cat Willis was heavy and I caught a lot of grief for free feeding. So any ideas there are also appreciated.
