Damn

[days_unfolding]

Random tried to attack Nima last night.

She's okay. I don't think that he ever caught her. What happened was that Random jumped the gate when I was feeding and taking care of Nima. (Usually I have three gates stacked across the door, but I take two of them down when I need to get in.) I was really nervous when he came in and wondered what I would do if he tried to attack her. I kicked myself for not having a squirt bottle within reach.

He did. When he saw her, he growled and yowled and then went after her. Nima (sensibly) ran like a maniac and jumped on the couch. I was yelling and knocking stuff over in an attempt to distract him. (My neighbors must love me; it was about 2 AM.) When Nima jumped on the couch, he turned around and jumped back out of the room.

I don't know what to do. I took down the gates and closed the door, and Random seems calmer. However, that's not a long-term solution. Given that Harlee might knock down the gates, I'll be able to put up the gates only when I can supervise them. I read about feline aggression in one of my cat books, but it didn't offer any useful suggestions other than removing whatever is inspiring the aggression. I'm going to write the shelter and let them know what's going on.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to pay extra attention to Nima to give her some stimulation, and we're bonding like crazy. She's such a sweet little cat. I've thought about letting Harlee in to stay with her, but it doesn't seem fair to Harlee to coop her up. I also don't know how I'd get Harlee out of the room without letting Random in.

Here's a couple of pics of Nima.

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Comments

[rillifane.livejournal.com]

Could it be that Random is jealous of extra attention being given to Nima?

[days-unfolding.livejournal.com]

It's possible. I'm paying a lot more attention to Nima than I did to Harlee when I first got her (because Harlee was hiding). I'm now making a fuss over Random whenever I leave the room that Nima's in.

On the other hand, Random hisses at Nima even when I'm far away from them. I think that some of his aggression might be displaced aggression towards Harlee. For some reason, he doesn't bother or challenge Harlee at all.

[bandicoot.livejournal.com]

When you think Nima is comfortable with you, go ahead and introduce Harley.

Actually, my own approach was to just throw them all together to confuse them ;) So far, the kids have been around Twit and around Littleone (the neighbor's cat) - neither of whom are used to other cats - and aside from some hissing and growling, things have settled down pretty well to the occassional hiss. I suspect play isn't too far off.

Meredith was really worried that Littleone would hurt the kids, but that hasn't been the case at all, and apparently Littleone has even been more affectionate to Meredith. I know Twit has been that way with me, too, when I'd expected her to be grumpy.

[days-unfolding.livejournal.com]

Nima and Harlee have been introduced--mostly through the gate, but they were in the same room once. I think that they'll get along very well. I was just wondering if I should move Harlee in with Nima to keep her company while she's cooped up in the room. Nima's already starting to try to get out.

What Random was doing was far more aggressive than anything that I've seen him or any other cat do. I really believe that he could hurt Nima.

Twin

[lilywolf.livejournal.com]

This beautiful soul could be the twin to my Bro. Bro is now about 14 years old. Still kind of a baby.

We tend to leave it up to the cats to settle things between them. Somehow it works out...usually. They are not always friends, but there is an uneasy peace after a while.

Good luck.

Re: Twin

[days-unfolding.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'm trying to re-introduce them slowly, and am hoping it will all work out.