Please help me. Cat stuck in room cause bullied by other cat. Sick and tired of it. :(

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BitterVoid
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Please help me. Cat stuck in room cause bullied by other cat. Sick and tired of it. :(

Post by BitterVoid »

My cat, bella, has lived in my room with me for as long as I remember. I just remember I wanted a cat of my own, so my mother let this one that she adopted be mine. Every morning and night I let her go to the kitty litter in the bathroom, and I bring her dry food and water to my room, and refill when needed. She won’t eat dryfood when it’s out of my room. She will eat wet food, even next to the other cats... but once that’s over and done with *any* other time without wet food, she’ll be attacked by one other cat named mouse, for no reason. Again and again and again she’ll go at her all the time. Bella never defending herself for some reason even though she’s bigger and could beat her and we all wish she would. I’ve tried putting them in the same room together with me, I’ve tried ignoring the cat that abuses her, I’ve tried giving her lots of attention when out of my room, I’ve tried brining her into my room with Bella (sometimes attacking Bella when she gets the chance, or feels like it, her eyes going evil), I’ve tried putting wet food outside the door and in my room, mouse and Romeo the other cat don’t eat it, and Bella does but mouse isn’t there. Or one time when I did see them both eat it there it didn’t do anything. I’ve tried spraying mouse with water when she attacks. I’ve tried ignoring her after attacks. I’ve tried taking a shower with them both in the bathroom, and they get along (in two different corners) cause they’re both stuck till I get out. I’ve tried everything and I can’t do it anymore.
I’m sick and tired of her being in my room all the time, living in it, eating and drinking in it, having to be taken to the kitty litter every morning and night, puking sometimes in it(rarely but it’s extremely unpleasant), waking me up with her eating when I’m randomly sleeping, waking me up period. The fact that I can’t just ever be alone or have some alone time in my own room... I don’t know what to do anymore. And it’s obviously also not fair my cat has to live her life in one room all the time. But I do have three boxes for her to hide in, play in, sleep in. One with a blanket inside. Then I also have toys for her. I just wish that evil cat mouse would just stop bullying her for no reason. why is she and how do I stop her?

:cry:
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Mollycat
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Re: Please help me. Cat stuck in room cause bullied by other cat. Sick and tired of it. :(

Post by Mollycat »

Well, it's difficult to know where to start, it sounds mega stressful for all concerned.

First off, which cat came first and which is the last one in?

Why was your cat confined to your room, was it because of constant attacks? Or was the plan for your cat to live in your room? What steps did you take as a family to introduce the cats when they first came into the house?

A cat should always have access to a litter box 24/7 and being let out twice a day is just not enough. She isn't able to go when she wants to go (which can lead to urinary stress) and on top of that she can only go at certain times and in another cat's territory. That also means the only time she is outside your room, from Mouse's point of view, is to mark territory in their litter tray and then disappear again - no wonder Mouse is unhappy!

Unfortunately forcing them into the same room, either by bringing other cats into Bella's room or forcing them both to be in the shower, is not going to help the situation. Cats can't be forced, they just get stressed and lash out. It would be a good idea to stop doing that.
Grinchy
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Re: Please help me. Cat stuck in room cause bullied by other cat. Sick and tired of it. :(

Post by Grinchy »

And breathe!

I can see how this is stressful for everyone in the home. It's not fair on Bella and Mouse and as a result - you are unhappy and stressed.

Have you done a proper introduction process between the two cats? Please search on this site on how to do it properly. It takes time - it took me 5 weeks to introduce two kittens to an adult cat. I also relied heavily on the the Jackson Galaxy method.

Here is a record of my journey:

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=9382&p=62978&hilit=kellen#p62978


So imagine your parents suddenly brought home an adopted sister for you to play with. You has no warning, no inkling. You had to share all your resources and space with the strange girl. How would you react? This is the same for cats. They need a gentle and patient introduction to each other.

Firstly, make sure Bella has her own litter box. It's unpleasant to have it in your room, but it is necessary until Bella can leave the room. Also ensure Mouse has his own box too.

Then try scent swapping. Rub socks and blankets on both cats and introduce the scents to each other. Do this everyday for about a week.

Then switch to the feeding either side of the closed door process. This is detailed on Jackson Galaxy's website and youtube videos. Do this for a week. Stop free feeding and have two set meal times a day. This way they will have to eat. Keep the bowls say two metres apart from either side of a closed door and then gradually bring them forward every meal time. If a cat refuses to eat, put their bowl back to where they last felt comfortable and carry on with that for a few days.

Try these two things above and let us know how you get on.

You can also let Bella around the house when Mouse is not around so she can leave her scent around and take in his scent.

I highly recommend Feliway Friends plug in too. Have one in Bella's room and one where Mouse spends a lot of his time.
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