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Old September 17th, 2019, 10:58 AM
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hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
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JD appears to be a bit of a bully--what to do?

We're still having a bit of trouble trying to get JD and Dusty integrated into the same area. She did manage to take the tour of the basement area that belongs to JD (his Kitty Palace) the other day with no altercations, but when they're together for a longer time, JD starts running commando raids on her.

He doesn't seem to want to hurt her, but her preferred strategy of 'ignore him and he'll go away' doesn't seem to be working. He waits till she's busy with a toy and/or has her back turned, and then JD will pounce.

Initially, her reaction was to screech and try to get away. I've noticed that lately, if he manages to get her into a head lock, she's a little quieter and she just squirms away. I've only had to separate them once and neither of them was in a foul enough mood from the encounter to bite or scratch at me. I've seen no blood or fur pulled loose... Also, no overt signs of stress when they're away from each other--they use their respective litter boxes, have good appetites, aren't overgrooming, etc.

So what do we try next? Back it up to the point where they're never loose in the room together? Try Feliway?

Oh...and here are some pictures. The first shows JD moving to block Dusty off in front of the door; the second is the escalation; the third is Dusty about to take a swipe and run off:

Name:  The start 9-11-19 pets.jpg
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Name:  Escalation 9-11-19 pets.jpg
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Name:  Dusty about to take a swipe and run away 9-11-19 pets.jpg
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Old September 17th, 2019, 11:06 AM
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hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
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Occasionally, Dusty tells him off:

Back off, Buster!

Name:  Hold it right there, buster! 9-11-19 pets.jpg
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And finally, a shot of a tackle and pin. Dusty squirmed out and ducked under the Kuranda bed, batting at JD from the safety of her shelter.

Name:  A tackle and wrestle 9-13-19 pets.jpg
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The funny thing is, neither of them seems to hold much of a grudge. It's over and done and then they go back to being oblivious of each other

Cats. They're inscrutable. *sigh*

Anyway, any suggestions for what we should do next?
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Old September 18th, 2019, 11:44 AM
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We have the same situation from time to time with Yogi. You'd almost get the impression that it's a game of "preditor and prey", Yogi being the preditor and BB or Mrg ending up being the prey.

This goes over as play for a few moments especially with Mrg, but not with BB.
When the prey gets fed up then the hissing and the swatting starts. Then for some reason or other, they seem to just non-chalantly walk away from each other and go about their individual business and forget about it.
There are times that it gets just a bit rough and one of us will just and it stops and Yogi looks at us as if to say "what's your problem?"


Just keep an eye on things and don't let it get out of hand/paw.
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Old September 18th, 2019, 04:11 PM
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There's always one in every crowd, I s'pose...

Yesterday, after I posted, they were better (of course, cuz I posted), but now this afternoon, they were really chasing. Sometimes she chased him, but usually, he was the instigator. They seemed to be enjoying themselves for a while, but then I noticed Dusty was starting to 'play' with claws out and ears back, although JD was still ears forward and claws sheathed.

Even if they get to know each other's ways, do you think we'll ever be able to have them free, unsupervised, in the same space?

ETA the picture from this afternoon

Name:  His idea of fun--Dusty has different thoughts 9-18-19.jpg
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Last edited by hazelrunpack; September 18th, 2019 at 06:16 PM.
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Old September 18th, 2019, 07:25 PM
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That picture looks a lot like what goes on around here. It appears as though things are coming together but it will take time. You have to give them space.......everything will work out fine.

Forgot to ask you if you trim the cat's claws? This will help to keep punctures down on you as well as them, if they get into a rough swatting match. We trim our 3 about every 3 weeks being very careful not to cut into the quick. If they give you a hastle just cut one or two at a time. When they get used to the procedure you will be able to trim more and eventually all 8 paws.

Does it appear to you to be any tension or is it just a sort of "fun play"?

As much as we don't really like it, perhaps a water sprayer might be something to keep handy for when you think things are getting really bad. Saves sticking your hand into the kerfuffle.

We just had a "to do" on the stairs with BB and Yogi, and Yogi looked at Reg as if to ask "what's wrong with you?" Of course BB screamed.

They are fun you know..........never a dull moment, unless they are sleeping.

PS.........you were asking about Feliway.......I have used it and had some success.........when you are at the doctor's office on Friday, speak to the Vet Tech or Doctor about it...... Their Feliway is a better quality than what you get a pet food stores.....it's stronger.
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Last edited by Reg; September 18th, 2019 at 10:39 PM. Reason: Answering a question
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Old September 19th, 2019, 07:57 AM
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hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
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Thanks, Ev! So I won't throw in the towel soon, then

Yep, I clip their claws every 10 days to 2 weeks. Dusty isn't as tolerant of it as JD is, but she still lets me do it if I get hubby to hold her. She just squirms, so no scratching or biting. Easy peasy. She even lets me brush her teeth nearly as well as JD does. Somehow, we managed to collect two very tolerant strays.

There is definitely tension on her part, at least during the commission of the mugging, but afterward, she just goes about her business. Eventually, maybe JD will learn her limits and knock off the shenanigans? Or is that another pipe dream?

I ordered some regular strength Feliway from Chewy, just to try it out before possibly going to the stronger stuff sold by the vet. It's supposed to arrive today. We'll see if we notice any changes.
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