sharronpaul Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 Hi Guys, A little while ago we "inherited" a white male cat, with two different coloured eyes, and we named him "Snowballs" for obvious reasons . Real cool cat but deaf as a post. Anyhow, it and our existing cat have issues - our existing cat is a neutered ginger (Rufus) and every time they see each other there is much hissing and gnashing of teeth from Rufus . Snowballs however is very dignified throughout the whole process, if he even knows whats going on. This issue has now developed to the point where any person walking past Rufus when Snowballs is in sight risks being molested by a violent flying furball. Every family member has scratches somewhere and tonight my daughter went to pick up Rufus and got bitten on the arm for her trouble - not an ordinary cat scratch but with two puncutre wounds on each side of her arm. AFAIK Snowballs is non-fixed. We've had him for only a few weeks and have not yet had the opportunity to get it done yet though it is a definite must in any case. Does anyone have any ideas as to where to from here with Rufus - he has always been quite a highly strung creature but now it is beyond a joke and we are at our wits end Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilson Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 he could feel like he wil not get as much attention because of the new cat try patting him alot more and see how he is in a week or so JMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharronpaul Posted September 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 We've done the whole attention and affection thing... tried the big hugs, the special food, the "lets make Rufus feel like the king" treatment. Gave up after a couple of weeks cos we got scratched too much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 rufus probably feels threatened by the interloper not only new boy on the block but smelling like a man is new cat marking his territory and making old cat feel threatened in his home fixing newcomer may work but will take a while for his manly smell to settle down getting rid of newcomer will work rufus may be punishing you all for letting another cat in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 Shut them in a room together for a day or two, it will be sorted one way or another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 Possibly Snowballs isn't helping the situation by not responding to Rufus when he starts making a fuss. Being deaf, Snowballs wouldn't be able to pick up on some of the early auditory cues that Rufus is sending him before things get out of hand. I can't offer a solution to this... it sounds like Rufus might need a one-cat family for him to feel happy. Definitely try getting Snowballs fixed and see if that improves matters, but you might need to consider rehoming him if Rufus is too miserable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 i had the same thing. i inherited a deaf white male from my nana when she went to Aussie. Its was the other way round. He was huge & would get my smaller female into a corner & bash her until someone got involved. he would then meeoow like only a deaf cat could & was a general pain in the butt. we never did sort it out, fortunately Nan came back & took back the cat,all be it6 months later! oh & i forgot to mention, he only had 3 legs. he got hit by a car & had one amputated. :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 Keep your eye on the gumboot by the back door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharronpaul Posted September 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 Thanks everyone for your responses :-) rufus may be punishing you all for letting another cat in Definitely. In a biting, scratching, hissing angry cat way. Definitely try getting Snowballs fixed and see if that improves matters, but you might need to consider rehoming him if Rufus is too miserable. Is on the cards. The strange thing is, Rufus is getting progresively worse... no longer is he leaving scratches, theres now hardcore bloodletting that would make an emo sit up and take notice :lol: Family meeting tonight - I'm picking two out of four children will want Rufus gone which seems real extreme, cos he is a cool cat when Snowballs isn't around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 Its only been a couple of weeks right?? Sometimes it takes more time. How old are both cats? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 Simple. Get rid of snowball. I doubt it will get much better, cats aren't really um, schooling animals. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharronpaul Posted September 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 It's been around six or seven weeks. Rufus is around two, not sure of Snowballs. cats aren't really um, schooling animals. :lol: pmsl Snowballs isn't spraying or anything. How can we tell if he's been fixed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 I am actually in favour of getting rid of all cats. They are untrainable (not like a dog) are usually left to roam the neighbourhood at night behaving like serial killers, dig up my garden and leave extremely odoursome deposits, terrorise my pet birds and goldfish, make love on my back lawn in such a loud and obnoxious way that you or I would be arrested, carry all of the diseases they catch from rats and mice that they chase as well as a few of their own and are generally not nice critters. Ban them all I say. The only good thing about cats is that they produce top quality grapes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmchick Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 I am actually in favour of getting rid of all cats. They are untrainable (not like a dog) are usually left to roam the neighbourhood at night behaving like serial killers, dig up my garden and leave extremely odoursome deposits, terrorise my pet birds and goldfish, make love on my back lawn in such a loud and obnoxious way that you or I would be arrested, carry all of the diseases they catch from rats and mice that they chase as well as a few of their own abd are generally not nice critters. Ban them all I say. The only good thing about cats is that they produce top quality grapes. And that quality piece of advice, Im sure, will be appreciated on some forum somewhere, but probably not on this one, in this thread :roll: sharronpaul, ask your vet for clomacalm, its like a cat and dog valium tablet. My cat is a bully and lies in wait for any one of the other 3 cats. He got to the point where the other cats were afraid to go outside. He went on a course of clomacalm and is much better. He is still a bit of an ar$e but much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 It's been around six or seven weeks. Rufus is around two, not sure of Snowballs. Snowballs isn't spraying or anything. How can we tell if he's been fixed? Would you estimate Snowballs is older than Rufus? 2 is still a reasonably young cat. I find the younger the cat, the easier it is to introduce new cats. There are always exceptions to this however. As for being able to tell if he's fixed or not.. it should be reasonably obvious if he's still got his.. "snowballs" in tact or not. Simple. Get rid of snowball. I doubt it will get much better, cats aren't really um, schooling animals. Don't give up just yet, sounds like you and your family like snowball, even though you say its been 6-7 weeks, it still could just take a while for them to get to know each other. I have 5 cats all introduced at different times, theres a gap of about 1-2 years between each. They all get on pretty well. They do scrap but its only play fighting. alanmin4304 wrote: I am actually in favour of getting rid of all cats. They are untrainable (not like a dog) are usually left to roam the neighbourhood at night behaving like serial killers, dig up my garden and leave extremely odoursome deposits, terrorise my pet birds and goldfish, make love on my back lawn in such a loud and obnoxious way that you or I would be arrested, carry all of the diseases they catch from rats and mice that they chase as well as a few of their own abd are generally not nice critters. Ban them all I say. The only good thing about cats is that they produce top quality grapes. Funny, the same could be said for some humans... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janelle Posted September 5, 2008 Report Share Posted September 5, 2008 Cats are trainable, people are stupid. Problems will be territorial issues and the best introduction can take several months. They may have been introduced too soon. Do they have their own areas in the house? There are plug-in products (one called Feliway, but may not be easily available in NZ) which release pheromones to calm cats, but might just have to accept they will not get along with each other. I have introduced my cat to other cats and it seems to depend on the personality of both cats as to how they adjust. Some cats will click instantly, some will get no better than tolerating other cats, others just require to be an only cat all their lives. Fixing can help a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaffen Posted September 5, 2008 Report Share Posted September 5, 2008 What an excellent contribution to this thread. Thanks for sharing your wisdom, unbidden. We all care so much what you think. I am actually in favour of getting rid of all cats. They are untrainable (not like a dog) are usually left to roam the neighbourhood at night behaving like serial killers, dig up my garden and leave extremely odoursome deposits, terrorise my pet birds and goldfish, make love on my back lawn in such a loud and obnoxious way that you or I would be arrested, carry all of the diseases they catch from rats and mice that they chase as well as a few of their own and are generally not nice critters. Ban them all I say. The only good thing about cats is that they produce top quality grapes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharronpaul Posted September 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2008 Niiiiiice! Seriously, though, thanks everybody for their helpful advice. We've looked at snowballs's snowballs and they are definitely larger than Rufus's..... The sorting out of that might help. The kitty tranquilisers are a good idea, and might help the settling-in process. Wish we'd known about them earlier. I don't really want to rehome either cat. Snowballs is a couch cat, that keeps your lap warm, and if we had a guard dog he'd dig holes all over the place... so we have Rufus! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharronpaul Posted September 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2008 Okay, so today, Rufus the killer attack cat leapt onto me and left four neat incisor holes in my arm and claw marks everywhere. Unprovoked! Not happy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted September 6, 2008 Report Share Posted September 6, 2008 Kitty tranquillisers, stat! Do you think it was genuinely vicious? Or did he just get spooked by someting? Sometimes my cats jump on me and hurt me, accidentally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janelle Posted September 6, 2008 Report Share Posted September 6, 2008 Is he seriously deaf in both ears? Might have to research some care for deaf cats? They can get nervous because everything spooks them and the instinct is for claws to be out! Good luck with everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharronpaul Posted September 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2008 Do you think it was genuinely vicious? Or did he just get spooked by someting? Sometimes my cats jump on me and hurt me, accidentally. It felt vicious to me :-(..... We've had a think about it and occasionally when the two cats are in the same room rufus for some reason gets upset or tense, yet there are times when we will come home and find the two of them sleeping on the same bed or couch. It's just weird. Is he seriously deaf in both ears? Might have to research some care for deaf cats? They can get nervous because everything spooks them and the instinct is for claws to be out! Yep, 100% deaf. Only indication of any hearing at all was when I was hammer drilling today (vibrates the ground) and I got a raised eyebrow - as if to day.... things are vibrating! Snowballs the deaf cat is as placid as can be... I've never heard him hiss or spit but he has a bloody loud meow. Rufus the killer attack cat is the one who is unstable and leaves puncture wounds on arms. Traquilisers? Great idea. It's either Rufus mellows or one of them has to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefish Posted September 7, 2008 Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 In the last few months my two cats (who are brothers) seem to be getting jealous of each other. They seem to be wanting me and my mum to only have 1 cat each and not pat the other one.. but its not aggressive yet. Maybe if you tried (as hard as it is) to ignore snowballs while Rufus is in the room and give rufus lots of attention, he might think he's the top cat and not feel left out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted September 7, 2008 Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 And that quality piece of advice, Im sure, will be appreciated on some forum somewhere, but probably not on this one, in this thread :roll: After having a $6000+ new greenhouse roof almost-ruined (leaking like a sieve anyway) in a matter of weeks because of roaming cats dancing on it I agree with Alan. Roaming cats are vermin, plain and simple. And who ever said you could say the same about people is alro right, roaming teenagers are just as annoying... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted September 7, 2008 Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 My beloved Puffball was harmless except a little rough with claws when playing. However one day in the wintertime (thank goodness for gloves) I went to take him the house because of a stray that was around. Anyway, just as I picked him up the other cat come around the corner of the car and Puffball bit my finger, right through my glove. He never bit before! Territorial indeed! Perhaps you could keep Snowballs in a different room (with all kitty needs of course) and then gradually reintroduce the 2 over time and after Snowballs is fixed....just a suggestion. Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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