If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Adopted stray cat problems (continued)
This is an update on the stray cat saga told here over a month ago.
I've been living with three cats who are free to go in and out of the house at will, for nearly three years now. The older two were once confined, but the youngest one, nearly age two, has never been confined. To recap, a stray unneutered male created a big disruption by coming in the house at night, all through the winter. I shooed him away many times, but he became bolder, and I became less willing to deny him food and warmth. But then, not having done it for the first few months of sneaking in, he started 'marking his territory' this spring, and that caused two cats to stop coming in the house at all, and the youngest one to jump around from one piece of furniture to another, to avoid the marked places. He too started staying outside most of the time. So I decided to take the stray cat across the river and leave him to find a way to survive, hopefully. I did that, but went back and got him after an hour because I was overcome with guilt and remorse. The cat was where I had left him with food and milk, just sleeping. Not willing to take him to an animal shelter, where he would be killed eventually, I decided to have him neutered and hope that he would stop marking territory, though that result is not assured for an adult. So he was neutered and had a rabies shot and I gave him an Advantage flea treatment. For the next two weeks or so I was able to make him content by feeding him downstairs, and he did not come upstairs. He knew just to come in for food and sleep downstairs. But that didn't last. Luckily he -did- stop marking his territory, but he started acting like a kitten and following me everywhere, always wanting to be petted and wanting to snuggle up to me wherever I was. That was pretty much OK, except that the other cats kept their distance from him. It was difficult to arrange to have time with the other cats, but the situation gradually got better. Then the big trouble started. Though the other cats were gradually getting used to him, he started being aggressive toward the younger male, chasing him away. The older male never would get close enough to him to have a confrontation, and the older female is dominant over the stray, so there's no problem with her. Interestingly, if she is present when the stray and the younger male have a confrontation, she will intervene effectively. At other times I try to intervene, but not very effectively. I can stop the stray's aggression by yelling and clapping my hands, but I scare the other cat too, so he runs away. In any case the aggression by the stray toward the younger male continues to flare up. It's intolerable and horrible, and I don't seem to have any hope of stopping it. The stray cat is very docile with me, making me think he was not originally a stray. But he is not docile with the other male cats. As I write this, the younger cat was last seen running out into the rain after I made a situation worse by trying to prevent a confrontation. The stray is locked up in a bedroom with food, milk, and a litterbox and he will stay there until I am able to feel good about the other cats being dry and fed. Other than perpetually keeping the stray cat locked up, I see no way of solving this problem. I thought the primary flaw in my plan was that the neutering might not stop the cat from marking territory. I was very lucky on that account, but the aggression of the stray toward my youngest makes the overall problem worse now than ever. I suppose some will say that I have shown why it is not a good idea to allow cats to go in and out of the house at will. They may be right, but I'm still not willing to confine my three adopted cats. I'm only willing to confine the stray cat, if that is the only way to solvc the problem, but it's not a good permanent solution. Calvin Rice |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Prayers needed for a little stray | Helen Miles | Cat anecdotes | 64 | November 23rd 04 12:39 PM |
For Adopted Cats-Ever Wonder What Their Life Was Like Before You Adopted Them? | CajunPrincess | Cat anecdotes | 111 | May 31st 04 05:57 AM |
The Stray Kitty. (VERY LONG) | Flippy | Cat anecdotes | 24 | November 9th 03 09:48 PM |