- Joined
- Feb 10, 2017
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Hi all, I look forward to any advice you can give me!
About 2 1/2 months ago, I found a cat by my work. She was starving, coated in fleas--clearly a stray/abandoned. I searched for an owner, and was unsuccessful. I decided to keep her. The vet said she's about 5 years old, and fixed. She's clearly been a housecat before; she knows the sound of cans opening, not to jump on counters (although not the table!!), and just generally is a cat. I named her Tangent
Now, I have another cat that I raised from a kitten, named Garnet. He's EXTREMELY inbred, and as such has some...issues. He can't run, jump, meow, and he doesn't know how to use his claws. Basically, he's a fuzzy goldfish with a very sweet temperament.
I kept Tangent and Garnet separated for a LONG time; nearly a month went by before I even let them see each other. I have 2 floors in my house; I kept Tangent upstairs and Garnet on the lower level. He never goes up there anyway, so she wasn't invading his space. He was very curious about her; sniffing my hands, or the blankets when I traded them to get them used to each other's scent. She never seemed to notice.
After a month, I started letting them sniff through a baby gate, etc. Basically followed protocol advised by all vets/forums/experts. A few weeks of this, and I start letting them both hang out as they saw fit as long as I was home. Tangent hisses at Garnet a lot; he just sits down and deliberately looks away.
For the past two weeks, I've let them hang out all the time, even when I'm not at home. I started with short departures, then gradually worked up to my 8 hour shifts. I've never seen any evidence of a fight, thankfully!!
However, Tangent still hisses at Garnet a lot, and sometimes lunges at him too (when his back is to her), then immediately hops away. She's done this multiple times, and never once has she actually attacked. Is this an attempt at aggression, or something else? Should I be worried?? Today she literally hopped about 3 feet up in the air, landed by him, and skipped away. It was funny--but of course I worry. She also flipped on her back and rolled around by him, and when he looked at her she jumped up and hissed.
I'm sure it doesn't help that Garnet's fascinated by her; whenever she's not hissing, he's watching her. When she runs away, he kind of plods after. When she hisses, he sits down, tucks his tail around his body, and very deliberately looks away. He doesn't hiss, just watches. Oh, and tries to eat her treats if she doesn't eat them fast enough.
He never goes upstairs; that whole floor's her territory and it's clear she feels safer there. She doesn't eat his food, and he never even sees hers (since it's upstairs). They have their own litterboxes, water/food dishes and areas, and just generally live the high life. I just want to make sure that Tangent's not building up her courage to try to kill/attack Garnet--because if she does, he's essentially helpless.
Also, any advice to help reduce her anxiety? I've tried the Feliway plugin for the past month; it doesn't seem to be doing anything.
Thank you!!
About 2 1/2 months ago, I found a cat by my work. She was starving, coated in fleas--clearly a stray/abandoned. I searched for an owner, and was unsuccessful. I decided to keep her. The vet said she's about 5 years old, and fixed. She's clearly been a housecat before; she knows the sound of cans opening, not to jump on counters (although not the table!!), and just generally is a cat. I named her Tangent
Now, I have another cat that I raised from a kitten, named Garnet. He's EXTREMELY inbred, and as such has some...issues. He can't run, jump, meow, and he doesn't know how to use his claws. Basically, he's a fuzzy goldfish with a very sweet temperament.
I kept Tangent and Garnet separated for a LONG time; nearly a month went by before I even let them see each other. I have 2 floors in my house; I kept Tangent upstairs and Garnet on the lower level. He never goes up there anyway, so she wasn't invading his space. He was very curious about her; sniffing my hands, or the blankets when I traded them to get them used to each other's scent. She never seemed to notice.
After a month, I started letting them sniff through a baby gate, etc. Basically followed protocol advised by all vets/forums/experts. A few weeks of this, and I start letting them both hang out as they saw fit as long as I was home. Tangent hisses at Garnet a lot; he just sits down and deliberately looks away.
For the past two weeks, I've let them hang out all the time, even when I'm not at home. I started with short departures, then gradually worked up to my 8 hour shifts. I've never seen any evidence of a fight, thankfully!!
However, Tangent still hisses at Garnet a lot, and sometimes lunges at him too (when his back is to her), then immediately hops away. She's done this multiple times, and never once has she actually attacked. Is this an attempt at aggression, or something else? Should I be worried?? Today she literally hopped about 3 feet up in the air, landed by him, and skipped away. It was funny--but of course I worry. She also flipped on her back and rolled around by him, and when he looked at her she jumped up and hissed.
I'm sure it doesn't help that Garnet's fascinated by her; whenever she's not hissing, he's watching her. When she runs away, he kind of plods after. When she hisses, he sits down, tucks his tail around his body, and very deliberately looks away. He doesn't hiss, just watches. Oh, and tries to eat her treats if she doesn't eat them fast enough.
He never goes upstairs; that whole floor's her territory and it's clear she feels safer there. She doesn't eat his food, and he never even sees hers (since it's upstairs). They have their own litterboxes, water/food dishes and areas, and just generally live the high life. I just want to make sure that Tangent's not building up her courage to try to kill/attack Garnet--because if she does, he's essentially helpless.
Also, any advice to help reduce her anxiety? I've tried the Feliway plugin for the past month; it doesn't seem to be doing anything.
Thank you!!