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Post by cheryl on Apr 6, 2010 22:16:31 GMT
over the past few months I've noticed Lexi and Molly just don't seem to like Martha at all Martha in turn does not like those 2 either. There's been no major fights and no injuries, but I'm worried that Martha is being bullied a little by the other 2. I don't see any 1 of the cats as being dominant over the other 2. If Martha comes into a room one of the other 2 will often growl at her or chase her out, so Martha seems to spend a lot of time asking to go out or she hides upstairs to keep away from Molly and Lexi. Molly and Lexi are fine together. it's such a shame as when Lexi and Martha were kittens they used to snuggle up together on the sofa. It's getting now where i seriously think of trying to re home her, but my daughters get very upset, especially my youngest(10) . I have had 1 offer but she has a young tom now and also a staffie dog, the dog is soppy and would not touch Martha but twice she's been attacked by dogs and is obviously terrified of them now. i can't think what else to do, i don't want her feeling she has to go out or hide out of the way from the other 2 cats any advice is welcome.
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Post by Chris - Cats Protection on Apr 7, 2010 18:22:46 GMT
difficult one Cheryl..
Some cats on reaching full adulthood, do turn on their littermates, and we will never truly know why..
I had a brother and sister, who played with one another all the time, and then at the age of 2 years, it was ALL STOP ! after that point, the battles began.
I didnt interfere, but after all the others turned on the sister too, then I had little choice but to rehome her.
It turned out that the female had an illness that showed up almost a year later, which often makes me wonder if the others could detect the onset of that.
In the wild, the group will disassociate themselves with any animal that is weaker.
I am not saying that Martha is ill, not by any means, I dont know enough about it to say that, Im just relating what happened to me under similar circumstances.
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Post by cheryl on Apr 8, 2010 1:22:21 GMT
she's showing no signs of illness at all, and it's been going on for quite a while now. I saw an advert for feliway, i wonder if that might help the situation? More so to stop the other two being against her. i feel its the other 2 with a "problem" as such not Martha but if it did come to it rehoming 1 cat is easier than rehoming 2. It's just not fair on Martha though.
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Post by Chris - Cats Protection on Apr 10, 2010 9:23:18 GMT
Feliway works on feramones, (cant spell that word)..
I have never had any success with it, nor have I known anyone else to.
If you have two dominant cats who have joined forces against the more nervous one, then a calming infusion isnt really going to do anything.
As I said, I have only experienced that once. Even when I had 19 cats here, they formed their own ranks within their colony. And all was harmonious.
Maybe, thats what happened here, three is enough to start a colony, and maybe the top two, have decided that Martha is subservient to them, and therefore have given her a role which she accepts.
It's hard knowing exactly what the right thing is to do. Rehoming her into a single cat household, could well be the only answer, but its a shame to have to do that.
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Post by cheryl on Apr 10, 2010 18:04:56 GMT
maybe i will try to find her a new home, i don't want to and it will break my little girls heart. She adores Martha, she loves all the cats but Martha is her favorite. Trying to tell her it's maybe best for Martha though is so hard. IF i do she'll need a home with young girls i think,(older kids though, little ones will have trouble picking her up, she a big girl) Martha simply adores my daughters..she loves to cuddle up on the sofa with them. she'd sleep with them if i allowed her too . the past couple of days the other 2 have left her alone, but she's been keeping out of their way. sitting here with 2 cats spread out on the sofa and poor Martha upstairs i just hope it does not come to her needing a new home though
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Post by cheryl on Apr 12, 2010 11:11:13 GMT
i'm taking Martha to the vets tomorrow, i think she has a water infection, hubby said she had a wee on the wood floor this morning not in her tray, she was crying before she done it. he sais the wee seemed dark and sort of "thick", also she was sitting on my daughters lap earlier and when she jumped down she wet a little bit, not actually meaning to wee on her more just some came out. i'm just hoping this is what it's been, the other 2 have sort of sensed she's not well. oh and does anyone know a vet where they don't expect you to pay upfront when claiming on pet insurance(petplan) i'm not expecting a huge bill tomorrow where i need to use the insurance but when i did ask if i needed it i was told i have to pay them upfront then claim back from petplan, the thing is if i ever did get a huge bill i can't afford to pay upfront if it's £100's. that was the whole idea of making sure i was covered with insurance. i've been paying pet insurance for 6/7yrs never needed to claim, i'll be annoyed if when i do need them i can't afford to stump up the full bill upfront
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Post by cheryl on Apr 20, 2010 22:33:34 GMT
fingers crossed but things seem to be improving. The other 2 cats are still a bit "mean" at times to Martha but it's not as often now. Martha still hides upstairs but not so much. I've taken to sitting up there with her a few times per day just petting and talking to her, sometimes she will follow me back downstairs and come into the front room for a cuddle. i also give her her medication away from the other 2 cats so it's all nice and calm for her, she's good taking it because she enjoys the fuss. she's coming into the front room a bit more even when the other 2 are there, sometimes one will take a swipe at her but she just looks at them and plonks herself in the middle of the room, (i swear she gives them a finger up too : i can't see us ever getting back the Martha and Lexi that cuddle up together but hopefully they can live in almost perfect harmony. for now any talk of Martha needing a new home is stopped, I just hope it stays that way. Thankfully the house is big enough so when she wants time alone Martha can have it but she's still wanting family time as well. My poor 10yr old has been so upset by the thought Martha may have needed a new home
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Post by fyona on Apr 22, 2010 14:10:04 GMT
Its a bit similar here Cheryl, Molly and Harriet used to cuddle up all the time when they were younger, but now Harriet wont have anything to do with Molly, all the cats get along, but I cant see my two ever cuddling up again.
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Post by cheryl on Apr 22, 2010 16:56:51 GMT
i miss seeing Lexi and Martha cuddled up. they looked so sweet and it was hard to tell where 1 kitty started and the other one ended with them both being tortis ;D
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Post by Chris - Cats Protection on Apr 25, 2010 9:41:45 GMT
Did you take Martha to the Vets, or did it improve on its own?
It sounds like a Cysticis type of infection, which could be caused by the stress of being picked on, or it could have been the reason she was picked on.
Please keep us informed, cat behaviour is always interesting, and we learn so much from it.
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Post by cheryl on Apr 28, 2010 23:52:22 GMT
i took her to the vet, she was overdue her boosters so i decided best get everything sorted. She's far more socialble now and while the other 2 are still a bit off with her at times she's not letting it bother her, she'll swipe back at them or flick her tail and ignore them, she's not hiding away so much. thankfully it's still not got to a full blown fight and Lexi actaully sniffed Martha the other day and did not snipe at her. she's still spending a lot of time upstairs alone but it's getting less where she's alone. she does like her own space though, she likes to sleep outside the girls room, where Molly likes to sleep downstairs (on the rocking horse) lexi likes to hide in the cubby hole on their scratching post. she's a much happier cat though. she even enjoyed the fuss off having her anti biotics
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Post by cheryl on Aug 1, 2010 17:36:40 GMT
things have calmed right down here. The girls still have a few tiffs, but no ganging up on Martha. The neighbours cat was hissing at Martha yesterday and Molly chased it out of the garden. Just now all 3 cats are in the room with me Martha next to me on 1 sofa, lexi hogging the other and Molly sitting on the arm of the sofa. And Martha has decided she's got a new bed. My daughters were getting rid of some toys and they have a quite big Snow white cottage, it was destined for the bin, but that was full, so it was put in the hallway till the bin was emptied. well Martha has now claimed it and looks so sweet asleep in it, so it looks like it's hers now. i've wanted that house gone for ages, they finally agree then the cat claims it.
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