In need of cat-type advice
Oct. 10th, 2005 09:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fenchurchThe integration of Polly and Zoe is not going well... on Polly's part.
Zoe is wonderful, sweet, loving and playful. Polly absolutely cannot stand her. She freaks out completely whenever Zoe is around, and Zoe seems totally perplexed by this... she wants to *play*, and Polly seems to think she's constantly under attack. Polly has been living in the garage for the past week for this very reason... we bring her in the house and she runs from "secure location" to "secure location" looking for all the world like a soldier on an active battlefield, expecting to be ambushed at any moment (which is really silly, because Zoe never initiates contact... just hangs around hoping for a playmate).
The worst part about it is that Polly gets so freaked out she loses sphincter control. She pees and poops all over herself (and whatever surface she happens to be on) hence the now living in the garage, where life is considerably less stressful for her. I really don't want to leave her out there for the rest of her life, because it doesn't seem fair to her and I miss having her around in the house. But I also don't plan on giving up Zoe, who is an absolute delight to have around and loves us both equally.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rackham has always gotten the short end of the stick with our pets, as Cymry and Polly would generally only approach him if I wasn't available, and Polly has been avoiding him more and more as she's gotten older (to the point of not eating food if he's the one to give it to her), so this is a very nice change.
I don't know what to do... I'd just assumed that time and gradual exposure would eventually do the trick, but it really doesn't seem to be working. Anyone have any suggestions? Even if it's just for a place to look for a possible solution.
Zoe is wonderful, sweet, loving and playful. Polly absolutely cannot stand her. She freaks out completely whenever Zoe is around, and Zoe seems totally perplexed by this... she wants to *play*, and Polly seems to think she's constantly under attack. Polly has been living in the garage for the past week for this very reason... we bring her in the house and she runs from "secure location" to "secure location" looking for all the world like a soldier on an active battlefield, expecting to be ambushed at any moment (which is really silly, because Zoe never initiates contact... just hangs around hoping for a playmate).
The worst part about it is that Polly gets so freaked out she loses sphincter control. She pees and poops all over herself (and whatever surface she happens to be on) hence the now living in the garage, where life is considerably less stressful for her. I really don't want to leave her out there for the rest of her life, because it doesn't seem fair to her and I miss having her around in the house. But I also don't plan on giving up Zoe, who is an absolute delight to have around and loves us both equally.
rackham has always gotten the short end of the stick with our pets, as Cymry and Polly would generally only approach him if I wasn't available, and Polly has been avoiding him more and more as she's gotten older (to the point of not eating food if he's the one to give it to her), so this is a very nice change.I don't know what to do... I'd just assumed that time and gradual exposure would eventually do the trick, but it really doesn't seem to be working. Anyone have any suggestions? Even if it's just for a place to look for a possible solution.
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Date: 2005-10-11 05:02 am (UTC)First the scent thing. If scent swaping doesn't work, try rubbing them both with baby powder. This is suppose to nutralize their scents to each other... On more long range, we are going to get this to work darn it, lines...
1st you need to calm Polly down when Cymry is around. First let's put about 1 cup of potting soil in Polly's litter box. Yes, I mean it. I have no idea if it works, but it is suppose to help cats center and calm down. My trainer swears by it, although he can't tell me why. I figure it's worth a try. Then take things that have been around Cymry. Like a towl he slept on, his hair from grooming, even used litter. Then, only feen Polly next to, or on something with his scent on it. The idea is to expose her to his scent along with a positive reinforcement. Do this in little steps. Adding things one at a time, and looking for her to respond just a little. Then work with that until she isn't freaking out at it. Then expose her to a little more. When she is used to his scent, try putting her in a travel crate, and in a room with Cymry. Give her positive reinforcement, and ignore Cymry until she doesn't freak out. If she makes a mess she at least will be in a controled area. Clean it up, and put her back in it again. As she figures out that he isn't going to hurt her, hopefully she will calm down.
Ok, that was a really long winded concept. It is at least the beginning of what I would atempt to do. You can get my e-mail off the list if you want to write and ask me questions.
Rox
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Date: 2005-10-11 05:15 am (UTC)Definitely going to try the soil thing, because if nothing else, it can't hurt! Will work a bit more with the scent idea. And on the plus side, our garage is well insulated, so it isn't getting too cold in
there... and Polly doesn't seem unhappy to live there for the moment. Just isolated.
The crate idea sounds wonderful, and something to try after doing the scent thing for awhile... but I think you're right, and it sounds like it would be a great way to get Polly to relax around Zoe, by knowing that she's safe from her.