Zemeraire
Songster
So I have two cats of my own (Casper and Arya) and moved around 6 months ago into a house with my boyfriend, who has his own cat (Boi). (And then very soon got chickens!)
My cats always had their issues, but snuggled together and loved on each other all the time. My boyfriends cat was bottle fed and while not aggressive towards other cats, seems to just rub my cats the wrong way. His first action on seeing my cats was to try and play like an exited puppy with them, jumping all over them, which scared my cats. For the first couple months there was a lot of chaos any time the cats got near each other. Its calmed down now, and all three will occasionally play together and can generally be near each other.
There are of course still a few issues. The two big ones are that Casper is not a confident cat, and so will follow me around all day for security and has thus lost his prior claims on spots around the house. These include the cat tree I brought from my last place, the bed and the couch. All of which Boi has claimed. Casper and Arya have always had their preferred spots on these items, but would still sit on them together. But Casper is not confident enough to sit on an item already occupied by Boi. His lack of confidence has resulted in him having no spot that is his, and his anxiety is clearly getting worse because of this.
The second big issue is food. My Boyfriend did not know much about cat feeding and had Boi on cheap and nasty cat food before I moved in. He is now eating the same high quality grain free dry and wet food that my cats eat. But Casper won't eat in the same room as Boi, and Boi pushes others off food and stuffs himself silly. The good side is that Casper has lost weight, which he needed to, and Boi has gained lots of weight, which he REALLY needed to. But the bad side is also that Casper has lost too much weight now. I have tried various methods of feeding separately, but Casper's habit of eating only a mouthful at a time across hours is not helping. I am considering saving up to get a microchip activated feeder.
But over the last few days, I may have found a partial solution. I went out and purchased some cheap second hand pieces of furniture, and set them up next to my desk. My desk, in the office, is one of the few places where Boi tends not to go. The desk itself doesn't have the space to allow for both cat cuddles AND efficient computer use.
I arranged the new furniture under the window and close enough to where I sit that I can reach out and give pats without effort. Two smaller pieces are arranged on either side to prevent Casper or Arya cornering each other (or Boi if he comes in) on top. The main new piece of furniture is an old desk looking cabinet thing, with an opening that can serve as a desk surface. This surface I have made into Casper's private retreat.
There is a draw with enough space to be used to store treats, brushes, clippers and toys. The cabinet below has a pillow inside for snoozes. The top is the perfect height for viewing the back yard. The provided bed is non slip and Casper loves it. And a non slip bowl for Casper's small food portions through the day. Oh and a Catnip filled bunny which was brand new 2 days ago and now is slobber covered.
Its not a perfect solution, but I have already seen a huge change in his behaviour. Having a space that is mostly his (Arya has used it a couple times), in a room where I spend a lot of time and Boi rarely goes, and at a great height for him to watch me and the whole room, has made him act far less anxious. He is no longer jumping up immediately if I exit the room, and has not been crying at the back door as much when I'm with my chickens.
Does anyone else have a multi cat household? Have you had similar issues? And how did you solve them?
And as a cute bonus, I made this to put in my signature here but then realised I couldn't put it IN the signature.
Its the three cats in my house. Casper, Arya and Boi.
My cats always had their issues, but snuggled together and loved on each other all the time. My boyfriends cat was bottle fed and while not aggressive towards other cats, seems to just rub my cats the wrong way. His first action on seeing my cats was to try and play like an exited puppy with them, jumping all over them, which scared my cats. For the first couple months there was a lot of chaos any time the cats got near each other. Its calmed down now, and all three will occasionally play together and can generally be near each other.
There are of course still a few issues. The two big ones are that Casper is not a confident cat, and so will follow me around all day for security and has thus lost his prior claims on spots around the house. These include the cat tree I brought from my last place, the bed and the couch. All of which Boi has claimed. Casper and Arya have always had their preferred spots on these items, but would still sit on them together. But Casper is not confident enough to sit on an item already occupied by Boi. His lack of confidence has resulted in him having no spot that is his, and his anxiety is clearly getting worse because of this.
The second big issue is food. My Boyfriend did not know much about cat feeding and had Boi on cheap and nasty cat food before I moved in. He is now eating the same high quality grain free dry and wet food that my cats eat. But Casper won't eat in the same room as Boi, and Boi pushes others off food and stuffs himself silly. The good side is that Casper has lost weight, which he needed to, and Boi has gained lots of weight, which he REALLY needed to. But the bad side is also that Casper has lost too much weight now. I have tried various methods of feeding separately, but Casper's habit of eating only a mouthful at a time across hours is not helping. I am considering saving up to get a microchip activated feeder.
But over the last few days, I may have found a partial solution. I went out and purchased some cheap second hand pieces of furniture, and set them up next to my desk. My desk, in the office, is one of the few places where Boi tends not to go. The desk itself doesn't have the space to allow for both cat cuddles AND efficient computer use.
I arranged the new furniture under the window and close enough to where I sit that I can reach out and give pats without effort. Two smaller pieces are arranged on either side to prevent Casper or Arya cornering each other (or Boi if he comes in) on top. The main new piece of furniture is an old desk looking cabinet thing, with an opening that can serve as a desk surface. This surface I have made into Casper's private retreat.
There is a draw with enough space to be used to store treats, brushes, clippers and toys. The cabinet below has a pillow inside for snoozes. The top is the perfect height for viewing the back yard. The provided bed is non slip and Casper loves it. And a non slip bowl for Casper's small food portions through the day. Oh and a Catnip filled bunny which was brand new 2 days ago and now is slobber covered.
Its not a perfect solution, but I have already seen a huge change in his behaviour. Having a space that is mostly his (Arya has used it a couple times), in a room where I spend a lot of time and Boi rarely goes, and at a great height for him to watch me and the whole room, has made him act far less anxious. He is no longer jumping up immediately if I exit the room, and has not been crying at the back door as much when I'm with my chickens.
Does anyone else have a multi cat household? Have you had similar issues? And how did you solve them?
And as a cute bonus, I made this to put in my signature here but then realised I couldn't put it IN the signature.
Its the three cats in my house. Casper, Arya and Boi.
