Week 12: An Update
08/05/2010 06:04 PM
Mercedes and Orlando now spend the entire day with access to the same space, which means anywhere in the house they want to go. For Orlando, that means the entire house. For Mercedes, it generally means just the upstairs. She rarely dares to initiate a trip down the steps because Orlando invariably sees this as an invasion of his territory. He responds by aggressively chasing her back up the steps where a fierce battle ensues with Mercedes growling and yowling in distress.
We separate them with squirts from a water bottle, always aimed at Orlando the aggressor. He flees for a moment or two, returns and resumes peaceful behavior. Mercedes, meantime, lives unhappily with his constant intimidating presence.
When possible we try to arrange times of separation. Mercedes is an indoor/outdoor cat. Now that warm weather has come, she is eager to go outside and we allow it as much as possible. Orlando has become fond of the sunporch and we let him go out there, shutting the door behind him, giving Mercedes a breather when she’s in the house.
Mercedes’ peaceful home has been invaded by a very unwelcome yellow presence. She surely realizes that Orlando is no longer a visitor but a resident. A despised resident.
So conflict interrupts times of relative peace. Conflict is more the exception than the rule, but we think this is the way things are going to be for the rest of their days. We want to be more intentional about giving them separate spaces for as many hours per day as possible, but we gave up on installing barriers within the house or locking one of them in a room.
It does not appear that two grown cats can learn to appreciate each other. The feline instincts to territorialism are just too strong. When Orlando walks past Mercedes without incident, it is almost invariable because she stands her ground, not growling or moving. But just let her move and the chase is on. But she has a right to free movement within her own house. But Orlando will not extend to her the very thing he takes for granted.
We continue to learn just how self-absorbed cats can be.
We separate them with squirts from a water bottle, always aimed at Orlando the aggressor. He flees for a moment or two, returns and resumes peaceful behavior. Mercedes, meantime, lives unhappily with his constant intimidating presence.
When possible we try to arrange times of separation. Mercedes is an indoor/outdoor cat. Now that warm weather has come, she is eager to go outside and we allow it as much as possible. Orlando has become fond of the sunporch and we let him go out there, shutting the door behind him, giving Mercedes a breather when she’s in the house.
Mercedes’ peaceful home has been invaded by a very unwelcome yellow presence. She surely realizes that Orlando is no longer a visitor but a resident. A despised resident.
So conflict interrupts times of relative peace. Conflict is more the exception than the rule, but we think this is the way things are going to be for the rest of their days. We want to be more intentional about giving them separate spaces for as many hours per day as possible, but we gave up on installing barriers within the house or locking one of them in a room.
It does not appear that two grown cats can learn to appreciate each other. The feline instincts to territorialism are just too strong. When Orlando walks past Mercedes without incident, it is almost invariable because she stands her ground, not growling or moving. But just let her move and the chase is on. But she has a right to free movement within her own house. But Orlando will not extend to her the very thing he takes for granted.
We continue to learn just how self-absorbed cats can be.
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