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January 11, 2006
Lexacor & Cats Update
Olga's utility belt
Ah yes, a cat update.
All is not sound in the Lexacor household. Our little Olive, kabuki kitten extraordinaire, has transformed into a screaming gargoyle, content only when alone on one of our laps, claws extended. When picked up without requesting transport (which is most of the time), Olive lets out the most woeful of wails, whines, and warbles, twisting her little body around as though she is possessed and eventually emitting a foul breathed hiss. Her pleasantries are further extended to the wee hours of morning, whereupon she sits on my nightstand like a statue, glaring down until I open one eye and let her under the covers—at which point she usually yowls and smacks me in the face. Stupid woman! Don’t you know that I am busy hating you?
Irving, on the other hand, has successfully licked any evidence of fur off his lower abdomen and anal area. When we are not shooing Olive off the refrigerator and avoiding her wrath, we spend our spare time yelling at the orange cat to stop licking his ass.
The only feline that does not appear to be harboring an issue right now is Frieda, which is funny because she was voted “Most Likely to Have a Nervous Breakdown” prior to the merger. Her normalcy is most likely attributed to the fact that she spends 85% of the day hiding between the duvet and its cover.
One might say that we have been spending an inordinate amount of time staring at our cats lately, however given that we are in the midst of the Great Fiscal Crisis of 05/06 ™ (otherwise known as paying rent and mortgage while waiting to close on an apartment sale), there’s not much else that we can do. I suppose that we will repeat this process when we have children; luckily, that will be slightly more socially acceptable.
Posted by callalillie at January 11, 2006 3:34 AM | Feline Musings
I had a cat who just whigged out over a dog addition to the household...though the dog was not remotely interested in the cat. Cat spent all time under or on top of things. Cat was obviously unhappy for months. Finally, i decided to relocate her with some friends who wanted to give a cat a good home. As an only animal, she immediately was well adjusted and pleasant. That was about 8 years ago and when i visit her, i swear she thanks me every time.
Posted by: xath at January 11, 2006 7:54 AM
I think that Olive will come around at some point. The cats are co-existing-- it's just the personality changes that are amazing. I should note that all four cats were extremely odd to begin with (Olive always yowled, though not so ournfully, Irving has always licked pieces of his body off, and Frieda has always hid from the world).
Posted by: corie at January 11, 2006 9:16 AM
you sure that utility belt isn't cutting off circulation?
and i think ass hair is like a delicacy to cats.
maybe you can make some money by selling that trademark to nyc, ny state, or the mta. i'm sure they'll all need it at some point.
Posted by: tien at January 11, 2006 9:36 AM
Irving isn't displaying compulsive behavior--he's constipated. When that happened with my cat I bought suppositories at the paharmacy, whittled them down to cat size, and inserted!
Did the trick.
Consult a vet about Olive, or have a separate cat box for the two little families. I can tell you this behavior will never go away unless there is intervention.Cats are total creatures of habit and won't change back on their own.
Posted by: Jane at January 11, 2006 9:50 AM
Olga looks like a cat suicide bomber in this photo.
Seriously - Run don't walk to the store and get some Rescue Remedy. Put a drop on each of their tounges (it is reccomended that you put it in their water - but the concentrate approach is alot faster) then liberally sprinkle each cat with cat-nip. Repeat as needed.
Not to get to psychological on you - but the cats are looking to establish an Alpha. So when we merged our cat houses we found that we either dealt with them figuring out who the most dominant was on their own (hiss, scream, fight) - or inserting ourselves as the dominant, "cat." Take that as you will.
Also our cat Kitty has feline alopecia (same as Irving)
http://www.flippyscatpage.com/health.html#behavgrooming
Posted by: Tiya at January 11, 2006 10:09 AM
We thought she looked like a suicide catnip bomber, too :)
I do think we're going to try out the rescue remedy. The alpha is definitely Olga-- she charges Olive daily. We've gotten quite used to jumping inbetween them. Luckily, they don't actually fight.
Posted by: corie at January 11, 2006 10:49 AM
I hope your cats can adapt to each other, and at least reduce the howling, hiding, and hiney-licking. Madame Olga's belt did make me giggle. How long did she keep it on?
Posted by: Divaah46 at January 11, 2006 11:12 AM
Posted by: Alyssa at January 11, 2006 1:07 PM
things will get better eventually. even mr bones has been getting along with my cats (all three have been sleeping on my bed with little incident). also there's been this stray cat who keeps walking by the window, to which mr bones was going all insane-aggro. but the cat keeps coming by every day and when he strolled by last night, mr bones watched him but didn't bother gettng riled up. if he can get used to alien cats, olive should be fine soon. but in the meantime, yes, dose them animals with whatever will distract them!
Posted by: ChrisG at January 11, 2006 1:48 PM
Your poor cats sound stressed!
We had some trouble introducing new cats and have used phemerones to calm them down (we used something called Feliway but I'm in the UK so I don't know what the US equivalent is). It mimics the scent that cats rub off when they rub their necks on things. We had a spray which we sprayed on the furniture and a diffuser unit which plugged into the wall and gave out a scent (we couldn't smell it but the vet said that it would make my hubby feel frisky). The cats did seem to calm down a bit after using it for a while.
Alternatively, you could try separating them and reintroducing them in short supervised periods. Start off with doing it through a slightly opened door so they can smell each other. Gradually build up the time you do this and then let them go in the same room.
Hope it goes ok for you - it isn't nice to see them unhappy :(
Posted by: mrspao at January 11, 2006 2:34 PM
I got a dog in August, and Cleo the Cat has still not adjusted. They don't fight, but Cleo is constantly growling. At least she has safe spaces that the dog can't access.
Posted by: lesterhead at January 11, 2006 5:04 PM
My husband and I had eventual success with merging my two female cats with his male cat. We survived explosive cat fights under the bed at 3 am, cats stalking each other, wailing and hissing. We used rescue remedy and lots of attention. Feliway definiately helps too. Now his male and one of my females are completely in love and are inseparable. Our other female is content to be a people person.
Good Luck!
Posted by: mary at January 12, 2006 2:42 PM
You know those ubiquitous movies a la the Brady Bunch where two single parents meet, fall in love, and suddenly everyone has a whole lot of new siblings? I'd say you're approaching that pivotal plot moment when the kids/cats start to work together, albeit begrudgingly, in order to break up the marriage...
Posted by: ms. frizzle at January 12, 2006 7:09 PM
