Tabbycats

@riley702, I think it depends on the medication. My cat Pumpkin has hyperthyroidism and his meds are in the form of a transdermal gel. I just rub the dose in his ears (the fur-less part). It's more expensive than the pill form for Methimazole but Pumpkin doesn't do well with pills. His thyroid levels are where they should be so it does work, but I think some medicines are not as effective in gel or lotion form. It wouldn't hurt to check with the vet.

@bilgistic, Your cats are gorgeous. The other day I found my cat Cookie looking outside the patio door at something intently. Her tail was swishing back and forth but she wasn't chattering, so I figured it wasn't a bird. Once I got closer, I saw there was a chipmunk on the patio, watching Cookie as she was watching it. Fortunately for the chipmunk, the patio door was closed; however, the intensity Cookie showed gives me hope that, should a rodent get inside our home, she will take care of the problem quickly. (My other cat Pumpkin is more of a lover than a fighter in his older years).

Both cats were in the basement a little bit ago without hissing or growling at the other. They each got some treat for their good behavior. Cookie then headed back upstairs. Baby steps. @Tanichka: Is your cat scratching the chair legs or chair seat? Would horizontal scratch pads work?

@bilgistic: I guess you could it's been one paw forward and two paws back with Pumpkin and Cookie. Pumpkin still won't come out of the basement; he started to come up this past Wednesday and then turned around and went back down. I hate to force him out because the basement has always been his safe place during thunder storms or when I've had people in doing home repairs. I feel torn between doing tough love on him and letting him come upstairs when he's ready and more comfortable. The basement is finished and it's heated. He has two litter boxes down there that he's been using properly. I've been bringing him his food and water and he's been eating and drinking normally. I withheld a couple meals from him Monday night and Tuesday morning thinking that would get him to come up on his own when I got home from work Tuesday but he just stayed down there. Unfortunately there is only one small window rather high up so he doesn't have much natural light. Cookie has been downstairs when I've been downstairs and there wasn't any problems between the two of them for most of last week. Thursday she went downstairs and I brought her food bowl down and they were both able to eat with the other one in sight (they were about ten feet apart but both remained focused on food). Friday though, there was an actual physical fight: most of it my fault. Cookie went to basement and seemed pretty active, so I followed with a toy she likes (laser beam toy). She was getting a close so I thought I would redirect her with play. Well, Pumpkin saw her pouncing on that beam and must have thought she was coming towards him so he pounced on her and a fight ensued: claws out, lots of yowling, fur flying. I clapped my hands and stomped and then they stopped; the only injury I could find was a scratch on Pumpkin's ear with a few drops of blood. I had Cookie go upstairs and kept them separated the rest of the evening and overnight. Yesterday, my sister visited and we let Cookie downstairs. Pumpkin just growled some but no physical contact by either of them; I gave them both some treat which they both ate. I'm going to try some more supervised contact today. I ordered the liquid remedies from Jackson Galaxy and Bach and they came Friday. I put some in their water starting yesterday so I'll see how those go. I had bought another brand at a local pet store but when I got home I saw on the bottle that it was twenty percent alcohol, so I wasn't sure about using that. I also have some different calming chews that I'm trying as well. Hopefully, this week, Pumpkin makes a little more progress. Cookie is a character. She's been enjoying some of the toys I bought her, although right now she's just chilling out on my bed. She also seems to be recognizing "Cookie" as her name. When I adopted her, she didn't have a name. Her previous owner had died and whoever took her to the shelter must not have known her name. I don't think she ever wore a collar because when I first put one on her, she acted like I had put some torture device on her.

Thank you for the reply and advice. I bought the diffusers this past Tuesday but will definitely try out the spray formula. I'll also get some more play in with Cookie as well. She was downstairs after my original post. She was watching Pumpkin and then got distracted by a ball and started playing with it. She's got a lot of play in her to be released.

Hello. I'm a longtime lurker who needs some help/advice/constructive criticisim on cat behavior issues. I have two cats: a 10 1/2 year old orange tabby male named Pumpkin who I've had since he was 10 weeks old and and a 3 year old tuxedo female named Cookie who I've had for over two weeks. Both cats are neutered/spayed. Pumpkin's littermate Pepper (female) had been with us until May 2017 when she passed away unexpectedly. Since Pumpkin had always had a feline companion and seemed a bit lonely without one (and I also enjoyed having two cats in the home) I decided to adopt another cat. I had waited until January due to some health issues for myself and wanted the timing to be better. When I went to the shelter there were a few cats I was interested in but specified that I needed a cat that got along with other cats as well as one who was an adult, because I wasn't sure if Pumpkin would tolerate an active kitten at his age. Cookie met those requirements. When I brought her home, I kept her in my second bedroom for the first nine days. I spent time with both of them separately and would rub their scent on socks and let each cat smell the others scent. There was some initial hissing but then nothing more. On their first introduction, there was hissing and growling, primarily on Pumpkin's part, but then he just walked away and they remained separated. The next day of introductions, Pumpkin came up to her, they sniffed noses, he hissed and then left. Their third interaction was in my living room: there was hissing and growling but no swatting or physical signs of distress or aggression. The following morning they were in the living room together again; Pumpkin hissed and proceeded to walk away to the kitchen. Cookie then chased after him and pounced. I made a loud noise and they each walked away. Pumpkin then went to go upstairs where the litterboxes are and Cookie chased after him again and pounced on him. When I got upstairs they were in cat fight posture; I didn't want things to escalate so I gave each of them a spray with a water bottle and then put Cookie back in the second bedroom since I had to go to work. I didn't want them unsupervised at that point. Things improved the next couple of visits and since Wednesday I've left them unsupervised while I was at work. However, since Friday evening things seem to be deteriorating. I have three levels of home {first floor, second floor, and basement). There are litterboxes on each floor. Cookie had blocked Pumpkin while he was in the litter box on the first floor. Then, yesterday and today, I was gone for the morning and afternoon visiting my sister. When I got home Saturday, Pumpkin was at the top of the basement stairs and Cookie was at the basement door. The basement door was opened but he wouldn't walk past her to get to me. He always greets me at the door when I come home (he knows the sound of the garage door means I'm home). I got her food for her and then actually carried him upstairs. He stayed in the living room all evening. They would watch each other but I don't believe he hissed any. Their posture both appeared normal and non-aggressive. Today when I got home, Cookie was on the first floor, and Pumpkin was again downstairs in the basement, not even on the stairs just in the basement. I brought his food down to him and he started to eat. He seemed like he was ready to go upstairs and I tried to coax him back upstairs with his food, but once he saw Cookie upstairs he went right back down. She then followed and I heard some more hissing and then he proceed to hide in this small space under the basement stairwell. I haven't seen any physical fights or seen any signs of fighting, but it's like she's bullying him or he's just plain scared and doesn't want to be around her. Back when Pepper was alive, they would fight some; Pumpkin would want to play but then he would take to far and Pepper would start growling and hissing. They would chase each other; she would even swat him and couple times and knicked his ear, but then the fight would be over. She was never scared to walk through her own home and neither was he. I don't know want to do. If he hides in the basement all the time, I can make sure his food and water is downstairs with him (again, there 's already a box for him to use) and I can shut the basement door while I'm at work if necessary. But, I hate to do that him. I'm getting to really enjoy Cookie but Pumpkin is my heart; I just love the little guy so much. Plus, he has medication for hyperthroidism that he needs to take twice per day and ibd medicine once per day. If he's hiding the stairwell, I can't get to him to give him his meds. I don't want even think about this not working out and having to return Cookie but I'm not sure how to resolve things. If you made it though this long post and have some suggestions I'd appreciate it.