The Fox And The Hound A Difficult Reunion
Hildegard Mccauley
Unfortunately, some in my neighborhood have been celebrating early. They have been shooting off fireworks the past two weeks on the weekends and driving my neighbors' dogs crazy. The dogs just go nuts over the noise until my neighbor can catch him and get ear protection on him. Winston ( the dog) is a Bassett hound, so it is difficult to get his ears covered.
Most events feature a variety of food such as barbecued chicken, hamburgers, brats, hot dogs and more as well as funnel cakes, ice creams, desserts, drinks and more. There will be a variety of games that have a charge to play, bingo, rides and end with fireworks display at dusk.
While you are celebrating, please take a moment to reflect why we celebrate this holiday. Originally called Independence Day, it commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, by the Second Continental Congress and freeing the original colonies from British rule.
If you believe in a supreme being, I would covet positive vibes as I am facing two surgeries in July. Neither are classified as major, but in my book any surgery is major when you have an anesthetic. Thank you.
We adopted siblings as kittens from a shelter and for the past three years, despite having polar-opposite personalities, they have been very affectionate and at times inseparable. In fact, originally the two were adopted along with a third sibling, but due to a freak accident, we had to put him down shortly after the adoption. A horrible situation and I only mention it because that loss brought our other two cats closer. Again, until recently.
After some research and talking with the shelter where we adopted them as kittens, we found that the cats may have had an experience that led to a misunderstanding. This was confirmed after talking with Dr. Marci Koski, certified feline behavior and training consultant.
After we separated the cats, we took them to see our veterinarian and got them checked out. I was convinced that the girl, Zsa Zsa, had a urinary issue, which I believed Rajah looked at as a weakness and thus created his aggressive behavior.
First, Dr. Koski recommends doing positive things with your cats at the same time but separated. Use high value treats, mild play, petting, brushing, clicker training, whatever your cats enjoy, on each side of a door and leave the door slightly ajar. The cats are able to see one another while focused on their positive thing but cannot necessarily get close to each other.
After several days of doing this, you may be ready to reintroduce the cats to one another. In our case (as previously shared), it's been more than a month and a half. You can always crack the door between the cats and just monitor the meeting. If it seems that each are curious and seem relaxed, try having them mingle without barriers.
Dr. Koski stresses that some situations figure themselves out in a week, and others could take months. Which was the case for us, but as I said at the beginning of this blog we may have finally turned a corner!
Just as important as what to do to get your cats comfortable with each other again is knowing what to avoid. There are many things that can make the situation worse or slow their progress. Certified feline behavior consultant, LeeAnna Buis, who works with Dr. Koski at Feline Behavior Solutions, shares her expertise:
So where are we at now? After weeks of keeping the two separated we finally re-introduced them slowly and we are really hopeful that life may go back to normal. Brief engagements of course, but after increasing their mental stimulation with cat toys while in the same room, we began to see a real difference in their behavior. So, what we believe happened after six weeks was the combination of several key factors in their turnaround.
First creating a calm home is always difficult with two young kids, but there seemed to be a marked improvement in their demeanor when we used pheromones (Comfort Zone Multi-Cat). We also had them separated in the house and switched them out twice a day (video above), so that they would experience the other's scent.
We also wanted to make sure there wasn't a health concern. So we had our veterinarian do a urinalysis on both and while Rajah's tests came back clean, Zsa Zsa had formed some urine crystals and was put on antibiotics for a suspected urinary tract infection.; Lastly, (and surprisingly) the most important step in eventually reuniting the siblings was the mental stimulation. I don't believe that boredom led to their misunderstanding, but I do think getting them new toys helped stimulate their physical and mental muscles and created a safe space for them to interact.
Check out a little bit of their reunion below. It's important that what works for some may not work for others. Time is your friend, and just when you want to give up, you might be surprised at the outcome.
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