My baby puss cat got it last night

Woke up this morning to the horrifying sight of Poppy with a badly swollen, weeping eye. Her inner lid completely covering the eye and the poor little mite crying every time she rubbed it. We`ve been to the vets and got drops, and she has made a remarkable recovery, the swelling had gone down and she is much better. I chopped a finger of my old gardening gloves and she is wearing a sock made of it to keep her claws away. So not too bad.


I know it was Toni and I have turned my back on her all day-even got my son to feed her instead of me. I will have to keep them apart but it just goes to show you.


What do I do? Ive never done this before and love them both but she has to learn that the kitten is my baby and under my protection-even from her. How do I go about this?

 

Im not sure if you should do anything, maybee give toni more atention so she doesnt feel left out.

Theyl sort themselves out, This is what happened with tuffty and my old cat.

 

cats will be cats. and be careful incase Toni seeks the help of a lawyer for false accusation mine scrap all the time and the kitten usually backs off but he tables are turning as she gets bigger...he he

 

I feel guilty-for not being there to protect the kitten and for bringing this kitten in and making Toni so unhappy-coz she is I can tell.

This is all new to me, I just sort of thought they would make friends and go out hunting mice together and pi88ing all over everyones gardens together, you know. It`s just not gonna happen is it?

Paul-whats the deal now with your two? Do they just keep clear of each other or is it still like watching Obiwan Kenobi and Darth Vader? And I just don`t know what the hell I would do if I didn`t let Toni outside-I don`t know how you mange Nut.

I`ll just have to keep my eye open a bit more and stuff, keep her away from Toni whilst her eye gets fully better. Maybe when Poppy is older a stranger cat will come in the garden and they can join forces and oust it-hopefully the adage-"the enemy of my enemy is my friend" will ring true then.

 

Lolli,

Muff died two years ago however for the two years the two cats were both togetnher they basicly had an unneasy truce and kept away from each other. The first three weeks were constant hissing and fights etc but after that they settled down.

When muffin was ill (kidney faliur) tufft groomed her and she was quite happy to let him so it proves that they didnt totally hate eachother.

 

Thanks Paul,

I suppose if I hope for the truce anything better will be a bonus. I do spend almost all my time with Toni-she is the one allowed out so she follows me round the garden or rather she follows the birds which follow me round the garden.
The kitten is just obsessed with her, and follows her everywhere she can-even now with a sore eye she is still trying to come up to her. The little thing wants to play with her but Toni just won`t have it. Its a real shame because she is such a soft sod. Oh well.

Thanks for your advice P and I`m sorry about how you lost your older cat.

 

I know it's upsetting lolli, but animals adjust to each other. Not necessarily (sp?) get on together but learn to live with each other. Toni is used to having your full attentionand and now there is a new kid on the block feels a little threatened. Dont worry to much they will come to an understanding. I think it is a little more awkward if they are the same sex, but dont feel to upset because you will see in a few months time when Toni dosn't feel as threatened because she isn't being pushed out, they will live in harmony with eachother. Toni is just letting little un know, I was here first so Im in charge, Just like starting a new job really. keep us up to date with their progress coz I'm sure all will work out well in the end. 02

 

Awww poor poppy, glad to hear she's on the mend now though. My oldest cat Smokey doesn't like the other cats apart from my female and then he tolerates her more than the others. He's top cat and he lets the other cats know when they've gone too far. The only problem I have now is every couple of months Squiggles who's probably the youngest cat (we don't know how old he is) vies for top cat position and Smokey has to bop him a couple of times. The cats will sort it out between themselves, it'll just take some time for them to get used to each other. The new cat being young will want to play more than the older cat, and I noticed when Scatty was a kitten she used to push the boundries with the other cats too much - although it was mainly noise and the cats smacking her with their claws in, if she went to far she'd have scratch marks on her. They'll work it between themselves after a while, even if it's a truce between them like with smokey and squiggles.

 

Lillywing nut, the baby had a spate of having to stay at the vets for a few days as she was poorly, each time she came back Chantall totally despised her. Its all a rebonding issue and of course Lillywingnut no longer smelled of Lillywing nut. Best advice I can give is for the best part leave em to it they have a way of sorting themselves out. Also cats are social groomers so you need to become part of the grooming set. Have them both in the room with you at the same time as much as possible and dont forget YOU are top dog. Toni is probably feeling threatened so reassure her and whatever shes into i.e. being brushed, having her tummy ticked then do it big time. Then only after Toni has had her time give the kitten the same quality time. Worse than having kids huh ? They will be fine just relax and enjoy them both. x

 

Wish I could offer some advice but I think you've had some good stuff on here. Hope Poppy is OK and RELAX, it's us that get more upset than them most of the time! Oh to be a cat, dog........

Keep us upto date.

cheers

 

The relax part is probably the piece of advice I will find the hardest to follow. But her eye is okay so I will take a deep breathand try really hard

Thanks

 

Some tips, lolli

1. animals are not human and don't think like humans. Toni will not figure out that you are cross with her and it's because she (might) have caught the kitten with her claw. To quote Caesar Millan, animals live 'in the moment'. To them there IS no cause and effect. Besides which, if Toni was responsible, to her it was probably just part of the hurly burly of being a cat! Bit like if we bite our cheek or tongue - we don't go into a blue funk trying to figure out why, we just say ouch and get on with things.

2. DO NOT show favor to one cat over another. What you have said, in effect, is that Toni can no longer trust you as you have a new darling to play with and fuss over. She WILL work this one out, however, that the arrival of the new boy has ousted her and it will likely put her nose out of joint! Cats DO get jealous and unhappy. You must restore her to your favour double quick but apply it evenly between the two.

3. Tip I got from an animal behaviourist - when trying to settle a new cat in, it's important you get the pack smell going in order to get the pack mentality. In order to do this, get two clean cloths or small towels. Dusters will do fine so long as they don't smell of polish or anything. Label each with a cat's name. Then take the cloth of one and rub it all over their coat, paying special attention to around the base of their ears, their mouth corners and between their toes as this is where the scent glands are. Then rub this cloth all other the other cat. Then reverse the process with the other cloth. Do this 2-3 times a day or even more if you have time. Pretty soon the cats will share each other's smell and start getting used to one another.

4. Make sure you feed them together. Separate feeding only prolongs the situation.

5. If you make a fuss of one, make sure you make an equal fuss of the other.

6. Let them know who's boss. Read some of the tips on Ceasar Millan's site and try to put them into use. "Calm Assertive" is his mantra. In other words "Don't panic"!!! Most animals will read your attitude - if you are calm, they will be calm, if you are flustered and anxious, they will be too.

When you get to that point, peace will reign! There is a chance it may never get to that and all you'll have is an uneasy truce. But that's livable with as well.

Look at these two - you wouldn't believe that 2 years ago they couldn't bear to be in the same room together without one making a dive at the other! I used all the above tips on them.

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7. Kittens are like little boys - they get into scrapes and injure themselves from time to time. Expect it. Sometimes they irritate the adults and get a clip round the ear. This is normal pack behaviour and you shouldn't interfere with it until it gets to the point of actual bodily harm! They have to go through this in order to get their status sorted. It's perfectly natural. Mostly cats who are having a territorial or status dispute will fight but it rarely comes to blows. Mostly it's a lot of posturing and cat-a-walling until one decides the other has a louder, more threatening voice and gives in. However, this is usually the case with adult cats. And adult is highly unlikely to take such an attitude with a kitten, it's a built-in thing.

8. Had you also considered that this was actually an eye infection he had? Especially since it seems to have cleared up so quickly. Of he may have run into something on his own. I had a cat did that once - she ran into a wicker basket and a sliver of the cane, thin as a darning needle, penetrated her eye. My sister happened to be in the room and saw it happen, else we'd never have know why she was suddenly so shocked and collapsed with the pain. After that, she always had this visible scar right through her eye. Yuk!

 

Great advice Daisees.

The scenting advice in particular. This is something my neibour recently did with her cats albeit using a grooming brush rather than a cloth. Id forgotten about it until you mentioned it but she rekoned it worked really quickly.

Thankfully my tuffty and muffin setled quite quickly and as sutch I didnt do anything, just left them to it.

 

Hi All,


I have had a quick look at that site-Cesar Millan but can`t find anything about cats and stuff I will read about the dog stuff anyway.


They seem to be reasonably okay, and were pretending to be asleep together on the couch earlier on so Toni can`t totally despise her. She has been getting a lot of attention off me anyway and the kitten will not stop trailing around after her so she can`t be petrified. I think she might have done it or not, but either way she can`t have been seriously intent on damage and suspect she was probably just trying to teach the kitten some manners. Its only when the kitten tries to jump up that there seems to be a response-as long as she slowly approaches Toni she allows her to get within a cats length to her and then just gives her a freeze stare. I think she knows what she is doing and will leave her to it an donly interfere if there is a risk of serious trouble-after all I am the top cat in the house. Thanks and will keep everyone updated.

 

Top cat yes - but the rest of the pack has a pecking order too so this they need to sort out between themselves.

Actually, Millano does only deal with dogs but much of what he says is partially applicable to all animals. You already noticed one bit - Toni checks the kitten just with eye contact. See? Calm assertive! Works every time!