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My mother died and I inherited her ill-tempered cat HELP!

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Discussion starter · #41 ·
Sassy

We don't have a lot of other people in the house. But so far, when they are here, she just hangs out. She is definitely more brave when its just us in the house. But she doesn't freak out and run to hide like she used to when I was the stranger.

Another thing I have noticed is that she doesn't go completely nutzo when she is sitting by the window and sees another cat outside. She growls at them, but I used to think she was going to break out the glass to get out to them. I think we have had a calming effect on her overall.
 
Discussion starter · #42 ·
Six Month Update

Sassy is a completely different cat nowdays. She follows me around like a puppy and hasn't bitten or scratched or hissed in months. She loves to play and constantly seeks my attention. I would have never believed this would happen.

So just a note of encouragement to all you struggling with cat behavior problems I will simply offer the following advice:

Kindness - patience - but above all CONSISTENCY.

Though you may often be tempted to physically smack or strike your cat when it bites or scratches you DON"T EVER DO IT - they will only respond negatively. Simply protect yourself with gloves or clothing when you approach your pet and prove to it that you will never hurt it. IT WORKS!
 
#45 ·
That is such great encouragement and information for struggling cat owners who will be reading this. So glad you posted it. You are so kind for the patience and love youve shown your mom cat. Im sure your mom is smiling from heaven at how hard youve worked at this and her beloved kitty is well cared for and safe
 
#46 ·
Kindness - patience - but above all CONSISTENCY.

Though you may often be tempted to physically smack or strike your cat when it bites or scratches you DON"T EVER DO IT - they will only respond negatively. Simply protect yourself with gloves or clothing when you approach your pet and prove to it that you will never hurt it. IT WORKS!
Click to expand...
This should be in bold letters in a sticky at the top of every page!! :D
I am SO thrilled to hear how well Sassy is doing. It literally got me all teary eyed! She's a very lucky kitty that you took the time to work with her and I'm sure it was worth every second for you too. What a wonderful way to honor your Mother and bring more love into your life. I'm sure she knows.
Thank you so much for posting this and letting us know.
 
Discussion starter · #47 ·
The Latest Chapter in the Story of Sassy

Well, having consistency and patience is a lesson I will never forget. Sassy never ceases to amaze me with the incredible transformation from the evil cat from **** to the elegant miss manners she is today.

My partner has begged for us to get a puppy for three years. Ive always had a good reason not to get one. Still living in the house I also inherited from my mother, along with Sassy, the longest term resident of the house now, I did not want to complicate the situation and undo the progress we have made together. But it now appears we will still be here for a while and I saw no reason not to get a puppy other than the possibility that Sassy would regress. So I gave in and we started the hunt for a puppy a few weeks ago.

After considering many breeds we settled on Pembroke Welsh Corgis. My partner has experience with this breed and I have always liked the looks of the dog. Months of research seemed to indicate these dogs are extremely intelligent and good with other pets. So we looked around for a breeder in our area. This past week we located a breeder about two hours away. We gave her a call. She had two puppies left from a litter of six. So off we went to Somerset Pennsylvania.

When we arrived it was clear there were a lot of dogs in this household. Two terriers were running free in the house while a very large crate in the kitchen area housed a Schnauzer and another smaller "mop" dog. The breeder opened the crate and suddenly there were four dogs running around with us as we stepped out the back door. Out back were three kennels, two containing five adult Corgis and one containing the two puppies. As soon as the puppies' cage door was opened out they came and it was clear these puppies were used to being around a lot of other dogs as they romped joyously with the dogs that had accompanied us from inside the house. I watched carefully to see which of the puppies would be the first to respond to either my partner or I. One puppy was considerably smaller than the other even though they were brothers from the same litter. The smaller one seemed more mellow and calm while the larger one was more outgoing and boistrous. I wasn't sure which one I liked best. But clearly they were too busy playing with each other and the other dogs to notice me or my partner.

And then it struck me...how on earth could I possibly take a puppy out of this environment to go live with sassy and have no other dogs around? The though had never occurred to me to get two dogs. I thought to myself, I cant do that. Then I thought again...why not???? To my partners utter shock I turned and asked the breeder - "would you be able to cut us a break if we took both puppies?" I could see the relief in her face as she said "I was just about to offer..." SOLD-Two incredibly cute Corgis to the soft-hearted man.

On the way home it was clear I had made the right choice. The puppies were incredibly well behaved on the ride home...not a whimper. We stopped at a lakeside park on the way home for a pee and potty break. As we got closer to home I began to think "how is Sassy going to deal with not one, but TWO puppies?" I figured I'd just use the same strategy I used nearly a year ago - I'd let Sassy call the shots and I'd just do my best to make sure she didnt feel like we were going to neglect her or in any way give her less attention than she has become accustomed to having.

The first day I did my best to keep Sassy from seeing the puppies. But later in the afternoon I was caught by surprised when she appearred out of nowhere. I walked into the room where I had the puppies sleeping in a homemade crate made from commercial bread racks like the ones used for vendors to transport bread in and out of grocery stores. And there, to my utter amazement, sat Sassy, about ten feet away from the crate. Just calmly observing. She didn't appear to be anything more than mildly curious. I was expecting something much more dramatic....like when animals appear outside the double glass doors in our den....she usually growls and hisses, slaps at the glass as if she is about to break through at any second and chase away the unwelcome visitor. But not this time.

By day two Sassy was coming closer. At one point she came into the room while the puppies were out playing...and suddenly there they were, face to face. Sassy gave a warning hiss and slap at the floor and that was it. She didnt puff up or run away. She just let the puppies know that she was in charge.

By day three Sassy was just going about her business as usual, always keeping an eye on the puppies but not really appearring threatened in the slightest. At one point I was feeding Sassy treats with one hand and the puppies treats with the other. I was holding my breath waiting for the other shoe to drop...but everyone was happy. Sassy was purring away. Later that day I had the door to the deck open and the puppies were playing in the den. Sassy was sitting about three feet away from the door when suddenly the puppies in their joyous romp darted out the door, one after the other. And then, almost as if it was some reflex, Sassy too went flying out the door after them...to my utter amazement, not to attack - it was clear she wanted to play too. WHOA! Is my mothers spirit somehow manifest in this cat now? I wonder. Animals never cease to amaze me - and it just proves that when you show a living creature love, consistently, things you think are impossible can happen.

So it appears that Sassy does not question that she is still Queen of the House. And now she has two very cute little buddies to entertain her. Who would have thought????
 
#48 ·
I'm so glad Sassy is better, she must be much happier and glad to be a loved family member. And now she has friends to share her joy with, I'm glad you stuck through it all. you have done a great job, she integrated with the two dogs incredibly well!

Do be careful though, getting two puppies is never a good idea, I doubt the breeder's responsibility if she gave you two but I don't know anymore about her (showing, health screening, temperament tests she does etc.) so perhaps I'm wrong. Make sure they have separate time (a few hours) each day completely away from each other and alone time with you and your partner. They should be trained apart until they completely understand their commands and then you can work with them together. It's also recommended that they be apart when home alone until at least 6-8 months of age and be sure they have their own crates. Some pups raised together do fine, some end up becoming aggressive towards each other (that happens a lot at the dog rescue I volunteer with) and some end up too close, to the point where you are not important to them, they have each other. Some even end up with severe Separation Anxiety when separated from each other. I don't mean to upset you, it's just important that you take measures to prevent those things from happening, I know people who have had things from all three sections, I know two Chihuahuas who were fine, two Cavaliers who attacked each other daily and many dogs who have trouble bonding with owners or being apart from each other (that seems to be most common). So do take precautions.
Dogs are very important to me and I spend much of my time learning about them so I felt I need to step in and give some info. Please do not take it the wrong way.
 
#49 ·
Another wonderful chapter in this story! Thank you so much for sharing it with us and keeping us updated :D

Pictures would be a bonus. (hint, hint)
 
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#53 ·
It sure was fun reading about the cat from ****. At first, I thought, wholly smokes, you are really in for it with psycho cat. But I'm glad it worked out better than anyone can expected based on the history. I'm really surprised by the outcome. This would be an inspiration to anyone who ever has to deal with an overly aggressive cat, and feel like there is no end in sight. You've just shown that anything is possible.

Come to think of it, If I were left in a situation with a difficult cat, I truely wouldn't know how to handle the cat, except to stay away, and lock her up in the bathroom until she learns to behave. 8O
 
#55 ·
This is such a great story and gives hope to those that are dealing with bad behaving kitties!! Thanks for sharing this story. My sympathies to you on the loss of your mother. I am sure she is so proud of you & Sassy!

Oh, and by the way, we too went to get a new puppy and as we watched them play, decided why not get two! It is one of the best decisions we ever made. It went so well, when we decided to get another cat, we got two siblings! No regrets there either!
 
#56 ·
I'm interested in Siamese's comments above about having 2 puppies. The thing I don't understand is -- everyone seems to agree, almost to the point of being fanatic about it, that it's always best to have at least 2 cats so they can keep each other company. Dogs, on the other hand, are most often in homes as the only dog. But dogs are the pack animals, and cats aren't! How did we arrive at the point where it's considered practically inhumane to have one cat, but dangerous and ill-advised to have 2 dogs?
 
#58 ·
At one point we had three dogs in the family home. All lived very happily together. Only one remains, sadly, (the other two died) but I see no reason whatsoever in not having more than one dog.

Heres the proof

Image


And Toby seems more than happy being an only cat. Do people seriously think its 'almost unhumane' only to have one??

Oh - and just to get back on topic - we want pics of the lovely lady, Slider ;). It does my heart good reading about Sassys story :heart
 
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#59 ·
I did not mean that having two dogs was wrong, having too puppies of similar age is, who grow together. For example, getting a puppy and waiting six months or more and getting another is fine, adopting two adults or buying an adult when you already have one is fine, or adopting an adult and buying/adopting a puppy at the same time is fine but raising two puppies of similar age together is not for the reasons I listed. Having multiple dogs is fine or even very good depending on the dog.

Cats are different (it's good to get two kittens) because usually people looking for cats don't want one who will stick to you like glue as many dogs do. People are not saddened when they have a cat who would rather spend time with the other cat than with the owner, with dogs it is saddening. Plus with dogs there is the whole training aspect, most people want to train their dogs somewhat formally (train them to know the basic commands for safety and sanity) and with two pups, who both need a TON of training it can be difficult in the first place. It is pretty near impossible to actually train two dogs together (like side by side at the same time) so you want to separate for training, but when their attachment is thrown in their (because they were raised together and have never been apart) separating for training can make the dogs dislike training, be unable to focus, show signs of anxiety or even howl/bark/scratch at door because they want to be with the other dog so much.

So yeah, multiple dogs is great, raising pups together, not so much.
 
#60 ·
with dogs i have the opiste problem i have 4 but my 2 girls are 12 1/2 yrs and one will be 9yrs next month they have sepration problem. they love to cuddle but on the other hand they will fight every few month about who knows what. i got them both as puppys. so even getting them a few yrs apart can end up with the same problems.

but i will say i like have more than one cat i think it is way better.



back on topic how are things going with the new puppys and the kitty?
 
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camel24j
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