Conference misery::feline_v1

    There are some comments in note 106 about personality changes in
    cats; don't know if they deal with your situation, but they might
    help.
    
    My two experiences in such things are widely different. Abigail,
    my tailless black-and-white longhair, has always been a hyper cat,
    and when she was younger she would react to stress - moving to a
    new apartment, for example - by urinating all over the place (except
    in her box) and generally being on edge. The vet recommended a short
    course of tranquilizers, which seemed to work fine; they straightened
    her out, and I haven't needed such drastic (for me) measures since
    then. Maybe she would have calmed down on her own, but maybe not.
    
    The other case sounds more like yours. My parents' black half-Siamese,
    at about the age of eight, suddenly began to grow combative and
    would fight with the other cats, despite the fact that she had grown
    up with them and thought one of them was her mother. She eventually
    got so hard to live with that she was put to sleep. (I was away
    at college at the time, so I never knew the details.)
    
    I hope there's some middle ground in your case. It sounds as if
    the addition of the dog and kitten to the family pushed Goldie over
    the line, but since she hasn't grown used to it and seems to be
    getting worse, I think you should have your vet check her out.
    
    Good luck,
    -b
    
    p.s. Is Goldie spayed? If not, you should consider having it done.
    (Gee, do cats go through menopause?)

    I don't have quite a situation like yours, either, but I do have
    a cat, Deborah, who really prefers being an "only" cat.  Unfortunately
    for her, I have three other cats.  Deborah when alone is playful,
    loving, and a LOT of fun.  The difference is remarkable, since
    when she is with "the boys" she is angry, vindictive, and complains
    whenever any attention is paid to her by us humans.  She is the
    smallest of the group, several pounds lighter than the others, so
    does not inflict any real harm.  She also does not attack people.
    However, since she hisses at or attacks the other cats whenever
    they are in her vicinity, she provokes the boys to attack HER.
    I never claimed she was smart.
    
    Anyway, she does all right in that neither she nor anyone else gets
    hurt, but she would prefer it if we would get rid of the others.
    Some cats are just like that.  If you could consider it, you might
    want to look for another home for yours (where she would be an only
    cat), if only for a test period.
    
    Good luck.  I hope you can keep them all.
    
                  Carol

         Some cats take time to get used to "new friends" (other cats
       or dogs) and some never seem to be able to get over the changes
       that come with additional pets in the house.
    
         My older cat, Woofie, was a bit testy when we got Tweetie
       (he was 3 years old and NOT "fixed" yet.)  After a few days,
       he realized how cute and little she was, and he took over the
       job of "raising" her for us.  He herded her around the house
       and at meal time, he would watch her eat and not touch a bite
       until she was totally finished (he would even help her clean
       up afterward.)  They started curling up together to sleep (he
       would make an "outer curve" surrounding her.
    
         When she was about a year old, we got a 3rd kitten.  Tweetie
       had just been spayed (Woofie was fixed by that time, too) --
       she was understandably grouchy from it.  She refused to accept
       the kitten.  Woofie tried to "raise" that kitten, too, so
       Tweetie was mad at HIM, too (and EVERYONE ELSE in the house!)
       She would growl if anyone went near her.  We found a good "new
       home" for the kitten when it was obvious that Tweetie wasn't
       going to back down.
    
         When Tweetie was 5 years old, we thought the time was finally
       ripe for a new kitten.  Again, Woofie was the friendly one who
       got so attached to the new kitten that she started trying to
       NURSE from him (thought he was her new Mommy!)  Woofie found
       it a very strange experience to have a kitten rooting around
       the fur on his stomach looking for teats, but didn't say much.
       Tweetie never liked this newest kitten either.  She eventually
       half-way "tolerated" the kitten (and I once saw her even clean
       Puff) but the bottom line was that she just didn't feel that
       another cat was needed after she herself had come on the scene.
    
         Again, we had no choice but to find a good home for Puff (who
       now lives with another DECie and we still get to see her.)
    
         No more kittens for us in Tweetie's lifetime.  She is the
       sweetest cat I've ever known (in terms of loving her human
       friends and loving Woofie) -- she lives to cuddle!!  She's
       like a "baby" to us (even at 6 years old.)  Woofie is outgoing
       and comical -- he is pure black with a white chin and collar
       in front (and white feet) -- he looks like he's wearing a
       TUXEDO!!  He entertains us non-stop -- but Tweetie is quiet
       and on the side, and she just LOVES the people and the cat
       she knows.  She can't accept a new addition -- so we're going
       to accept her decision and just enjoy Tweetie and Woofie for
       as long as they live (and hope they live a long time!!)
    
         One suggestion about introducing new cats:  I've found that
       it helps to keep them in the same house, but seperated by a
       door (or something) so they know the "unfamiliar" cat is there
       (and can smell it) but can't fight with it.  After a couple of
       days, they are used to the smell of the other animal (so they
       may not automatically fight the other cat) -- the attitude
       seems to be, "OK, I know that other cat is there.  I won't
       fight with him -- I just want to MEET him -- OK???????"  This
       has worked with Woofie (with both kittens AND visiting older
       cats.)  He ended up in each case being very "buddy buddy" with
       the new animals (even the older male types!)  Tweetie, of course,
       "tolerated" some and generally stayed out of it.
    
                                                    Good luck with
                                                      this problem!
    
                                                          Suzanne...
    
    

	One of our cats, Uggie, has suddenly gotten quite aggressive. It all 
looks like play, jumping on the other cats and what-not, but Pookie (our 
biggest/oldest cat) doesn't take it so lightly. I mean it's almost a real cat 
fight at times and I end up breaking it up. Uggie is about 10 months old and 
neutered, what's up ??? We just recently (about 4 weeks ago) got a kitten, 
could this have anything to do with it??? Uggie has no favorites (we have 3 
other cats), he'll attack any of them (even the kitten !!!). They rassle for 
awhile, sometimes it gets very "energetic" and the other cat/kitten makes a 
dash for safety somewhere. What would bring this aggressive behaviour suddenly 
out ???

/harry

    	Yes, definately the new kitten can cause aggressive behavior
    in cats.  And no the behavior doesn't have to be aimed at the cause.
    (You should see what a lovely chain reaction you can get going with
    6 cats when one of them is upset!!)                            
    
    	I believe I put a note in 106(?) about how we tranquilized Pippin
    for a few hours to snap him out of a snit.  I don't approve of drugs
    when other things will work but after other things have been tried,
    sometime you just need a few hours for everyone to calm down and
    quit aggravating each other.  
    
    	If you can at all help it, DON'T break up the fights between
    your cats.  (Of course break in if it looks like someone is really
    getting hurt, but otherwise...) What's probably happening is that
    the addition of the kitten is causing a "dominance scramble"  they
    are trying to sort out the new pecking order.  If you interfere,
    it will not solve the dominance issues between the cats and just
    might drag thing out longer.
    
    	(For those who think that the kitten would automatically be
    the bottom man on the totem pole, think again.  When we added Nazzie
    at 4 1/2 weeks, he became top cat in DAYS, even though he weighed
    about a pound and we had a 20 pounder and a vet shredder.  The great
    thing was that all the cats KNEW he was the boss.  They had themselves
    straightened out in short order.  They addition of Nazzie solved
    a dominance issue between Pippin and Gandalf, by the way.  They both
    knew Naz was the boss so there was no reason to fight it out for
    second place.)                                               
    
    tlh