Cat Health & Behaviour > For Disabled Cats

3 weeks in and I need some advice

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princesskasren:
Well I just bought a cat frenzy toy so she will def be tired out! What you said about his gaze makes TOTAL sense as when he walks towards teh mesh screen and she's on the other side he is looking right at her and just sits and stares at her so she must see this as him trying to dominate her! She prob thought at first when she met him taht al she needs to do is LOOK at him to scare him away but of course taht's not working.

On the positive side Oscar is much more settled in...I think he recognizes his name more now and today he came down stairs and explored then went back up by himself to sleep in his bed in the sun...the whole time Jez was oblivious up at the window...lol

sheilarose:
It's usually the rule of thumb that it's the aggressor that gets removed. In this case it would be Jez.

I think her "brat" behaviour is likely to be fuelled by fear and confusion. She may not realise Oscar is totally blind and may be interpreting his faraway gaze as staring, which would be a form of passive assertion in sighted cats. Also his body language will be strange to her, she's going to need loads of reassurance and extra cuddles from you during these times of transition.

She may also be worried by his scent - I think we established he was neutered only fairly recently? If he still has whiff of TomBoy about him she's likely to be excited or nervous about this too.

In all he's a mystery to her and she's edging her bets by letting him know she's the boss.

Take it easy, let them become familar with one another's smells and sounds, swap bedding around between them, and toys, and when you do allow them to be together be ready to pick Jez out of the way if she reacts negatively the first few times. Eventually she'll grow used to him and when she realises he's no threat might even grow to love him too.  :hug:

Lots of extra play will help - if she's exhausted she'll be more inclined to leave him alone rather than picking fights, so plenty of da-bird play for Jez. She'll appreciate the time you spend on this too because she knows she's still your special girl when you play together.

princesskasren:
Ok so it;s been 3 weeks and here is where we are. At the beginning of the week I opened Oscar's door but kept the mesh screen up. Jez seemed fine with this. Just curious. Then starting yesterday she has begun to act like a teenager. Standing outside Oscar's room miaowing at him and when he gets close to the mesh hissing and flattening her ears.
Now I assume this is maybe her finally realizing that the interloper isn't going anywhere and she's just being a brat. What I would like the advice on is how do I react? I am always there to supervise when the door is open and the mesh is still up. I would def not leave them alone at this point even with the mesh but should I just leave them to it completely and not reacat at all? Di O go out into the hall and pick Jez up and move her away...move Oscar to the other side of his room?
Oscar thru it all is calm ane I don't want Jezabel's bratty behaviour to start scaring him then he will withdraw and we will be back to square one...and though Jezabel is not really a very vocal cat these miaows are loud and mean.

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