"Elizabeth Blake" wrote in message
oups.com...
I brought Harriet back to work yesterday, since she had pooped 5 times
over the previous week.


It seems like the higher lactulose dose is working! ;-) The flavoring is
allowing her to receive the entire dose.


She was happy to be back and checked out all of
her usual spots.


Yup. She wants to make sure everything is exactly the way she left it.



Stinky, however, is NOT glad that Harriet is back. She was hissing at
her as soon as she saw Harriet. Stinky *never* hisses so it's very
odd.


Its not unusual for two cats that live together to hiss or even fight when
one has been away. Stinky is detecting the scents of your other cats that
Harriet picked up while in your home. Put a sock over your hand and rub
Stinky down real good- especially around the mouth and cheeks- those areas
are rich in sebaceous glands. Do the same with Harriet then rub down both
cats with other cat's sock. Some people put a little dab of vanilla extract
on the scruff of both cats so they smell the same to each other until they
reestablish their relationship.


Tuesday afternoon I was in the kitchen and heard someone yelling
and I heard lots of cat yowling. Stinky & Harriet came racing around
the corner and down the next aisle. Harriet was MAD as hell, all
puffed up. I thought maybe Stinky had jumped on her, as she likes to
do(to play, although it's obvious she's not in a playful mood now) but
my co-worker said that Harriet attacked her (co-worker) first, before
whatever happened between Stinky & Harriet. After that, Harriet tried
to kill everyone she saw. She leapt at another co-worker who just
sorta yelled something and that was it. But Harriet really went after
another kid, this time jumping up at him and not just sticking to the
ankles/feet. Once Harriet gets mad, she can stay mad for a long time.


This is probably redirected aggression. The best thing to do in this case
is leave her alone until she calms down-- could take a few minutes or a few
hours. If you have to get her off someone or Stinky, throw a thick jacket
or blanket over her otherwise a cat in this state could really hurt you. I
use bite-proof kevlar gloves with ferals but they cost $150, but you can get
a good pair of long welding or electrical gloves for about $15-$20 to keep
handy in case of an emergency that should provide enough protection. Just
don't use gloves unless its absolutely necessary- they can damage the
cat-human relationship if they're used too much.

http://www.maxshouse.com/instruments...cal_gloves.jpg


She spent most of the afternoon locked in my office or a co-workers.
At one point she got out of the other office and tried to attack again.
By 6:00pm she was calming down and I let her roam for awhile, but I
followed her around. I brought her back to my office for awhile but
she slipped out again when the door opened. Two of the people she had
attacked had already gone home so I let her free, and told the workers
upstairs to keep an eye on her. She was fine after that, and I left
about 10 minutes before the store closed at 8pm.

Today she seems normal, but Stinky is still hissing at her. Harriet
has not been hissing at Stinky, unless Stinky starts it first. Stinky
knows what my cats smell like, since their scent is all over me and I
pick Stinky up every day. I don't know why she's acting this way.
Harriet was in my apartment for 9 days, the longest she's been away.
When I had her for just 2-3 days at a time, Stinky didn't react that
way when Harriet was brought back.


Harriet was probably never gone for so long-- she's almost like a new cat.
You may have to reintroduce her like you would introduce a new cat -- which
is probably a good idea.


I hope Harriet can last until the end of the week at work, because my
two cats at home are enjoying being able to come in my bedroom whenever
they want. Harriet likes being able to roam around & explore here at
work.

Sure- the store is her turf. I really think you should keep them separated
for awhile and gradually reintroduce them- otherwise they could do permanent
damage to their relationship that could make living together in the store
impossible.

I'm glad she's finally pooping fairly regularly!

Phil