Friction between 2 female cats

[marko]

Hey all....soooooo beeen a few weeks now and Twiggy (Female 12) really hasn't warmed up to her new sister (6)

Nuda wants to play but everytime she gets near...or almost Twiggy pulls a toothless hissy fit.... Once in a while they lie down not to far from each other.
Carmy and I have seen the occasional lick exchanged.

Nuda does like to corner her though and start whacking her (she was adopted with no claws so not too much threat there) Twiggy whacks a few back and starts an exaggerated screamfest... then we intervene...

We've tried the diffusing stuff in the past and we haven't seen any noticeable improvements... all suggestions appreciated..

thx!

[Winston]

Marko
A dab of vanilla under each of their chins or rub some baby powder in your hand and rub them both down.
The trick is they need to smell the same...I used to take either of my two to the vet and when I came back all hell would break loose because they smelled different. Vet told me these 2 tricks and they worked for me...
Cindy

[hazelrunpack]

How long will the exaggerated screamfest last if you just leave them? Does it escalate from there, or is there a chance the behavior would just extinguish over time? (Of course, if you have neighbors in earshot, maybe it's not the best option to explore. )

[Reg]

Hi Marko:

I've had similar issues with our 3. Yogi (10 male ), Mrg (9 female ) and BB (10 female ).

Yogi and Mrg pick on BB - used to be fairly frequently - and BB has a tendency when being picked on to scream blue murder and can be heard all over the house, and we come running.

BB also has anal fissures and I think scent of "wounded animal" might spark this problem. Although sometimes they occur when she's showing no signs of anal issues.

Somewhere around Christmas, I came across an article suggesting using Rescue Remedy - suggesting that mixing 10 to 12 drops in a small 30 cc dropper bottle of distilled water and giving 10 drops or 1/2 cc 3 times a day to the animals with meals.

I started this back n February and it seems to be working for me. It was very slow to start seeing any results. It could have taken about 3 weeks to a month. Things have settled down considerably and they seem to be getting along much better. However, BB is still leary of the other two.

When I give this mixture to the cats, I mix it into their meals which are wet food which makes it easier to administer. It can be dosed using an eye dropper if you are using dry food.

Hope this might be helpful to you.

[marko]

Thanks for all the info!!! vanilla or powder seems like an easy thing to try immediately... might try RR after that!!

How long will the exaggerated screamfest last if you just leave them? Does it escalate from there, or is there a chance the behavior would just extinguish over time? (Of course, if you have neighbors in earshot, maybe it's not the best option to explore. )

Nuda tends to corner Twiggy- and Twiggy starts a yellin' . But Nuda doesn't back down and still threatens Twiggy with her taller stance. We usually intervene because we are softies. Also Twiggy has zero teeth Nuda has a full set of teeth...she hasn't used them on Twiggy nor is she threatening to use them....but as softy parents... Twiggy's screams alert our attention everytime.

[hazelrunpack]

Does Nuda corner Twiggy in an effort to cow her, or is she just trying to get to know her? JD is trying to win Grace over to his side, but since he usually ends up trying to get her to play (you know--that whole mock attack thing...), she's pretty much cowed any time he approaches her, even if he's just trying to be a buddy.