Oh, the door. The wonderful, wonderful door.
The screen door has been installed at the top of the stairs for almost a full 48 hours now, and the improvement is noticeable. (Okay, so, aesthetically it's not an improvement at all ...) Since it's all screen with only some lightweight bracing at the bottom, we were a little concerned with how we would prevent kittehs from trying to climb the screen. After much discussion, we ended up pulling some 12 mil clear vinyl across the bottom and stapling it in place. So far, that half-assed solution seems to be working. ("Remember, this solution is only temporary - unless it works." --Red Green)
Our other concern was the roughly one-foot high gap between the top of the door/frame and the ceiling. However, so far nobody has seemed interested in scaling the screen door from either side. We're keeping our fingers crossed.
The Amazing Husbandini gets all the credit for managing the project and installing the door. I was next to no help at all. (I did carry the door through Lowe's, out into the parking lot and into the house, however. Just call me Schleppel.**)
Except for a couple of hours when I had to re-locate everyone while I was out of the house this morning, Little Grey Kitteh has been enjoying his increased territory and spending a lot of time sleeping on the foot of our bed. He seems considerably calmer as well. Big Yellow Hallway Monster has been very vocal in his confusion over why he can't let himself upstairs any more, but other than that, things have been going pretty well.
I have photos, but no USB cable for the camera. I think somebody ate it. As soon as I get my hands on another one, I'll share our newest home project.
**That's a Terry Pratchett/Discworld joke. If you're not a fan, you'll have to go look it up.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Ow.
We had another escape today. It was my fault ... Little Grey Kitty had been wandering around upstairs for a little while and hadn't tried to jump the gate, so I took my eyes off of him for about 4.5 seconds.
By the time I got downstairs, LGK and Electric Mayhem were in full fur-puff and exchanging war growls and Big Yellow Hallway Monster was heading in from the sunroom* to see what was going on. Against my better judgement, but with no real alternative, I scooped LGK up and tried to take him upstairs. There was much wiggling and yelling, but no real damage other than a minor scratch across one wrist. (Mine, that is.) The only problem was that BYHM was trying to back up the staircase in front of us, and I could tell he was getting more and more agitated, so I didn't think the odds were good for me getting LGK back into his room without some cat-vs.-cat action. So I reversed course and went to shut LGK in the downstairs bathroom for a minute until I could get the other two under control.
The next couple of minutes are a blur ... I did manage to get LGK into the bathroom, but at some point I also ended up with seven or eight scalpels embedded in my right leg. Okay, so it was four sets of claws and one set of teeth ... trust me, it all feels the same. Electric Mayhem decided that my leg looked like a good target for her frustration, so she really let me have it. Thank goodness for heavy denim, is all I can say. After LGK was in the bathroom and EM had disengaged from my flesh and was snarling at everyone from under the dining room table, then I had to defuse the agitation brewing between BYHM and EM before they decided to get into it. BYHM was ignoring the toy I waved in his face, so I grabbed the broom and shooed him into the basement and slammed the door on him. Then I lured EM (with difficulty) out into the sunroom for some treats and shut her out there. Finally, I managed to get LGK out of the bathroom and back upstairs to his room. (In case you're wondering, Big Acoustic Kitty was safely shut in the master bedroom during this whole adventure.)
Eventually everyone got calmed back down and EM and BYHM and I had an extended feather toy/kitty treat session ... long enough for me to feel like they had worked out their aggression and weren't going to start in on each other. LGK I just left alone for the rest of the day. I didn't hear him howling or jumping at the doorknob, so I think he needed that alone time. I did let BAK come down later in the afternoon, and nobody seemed any more interested in him then usual, so I think we're okay.
Suffice it to say, getting that screen door up is tomorrow's #1 priority.
I'd post a photo of my war wounds, but I don't think anyone's really interested in looking at my pasty white leg. But let me tell you, it's a really good thing that shorts weather is several months off. Not only do I have large, bloody holes in my leg (one might even have been a candidate for a couple of stitches, but I'm too cheap to pay the $150 emergency room co-pay, so screw it) but EM nailed me with enough force that I'm already forming some extremely impressive bruises.
*Oh, yes ... I think I've failed to mention that the sunroom (location of some of the earliest aggression incidents) is back to being a cat-friendly zone. I went with the white-trash option of painting the glass at kitty eye level so that any visiting kitties will go unseen by our bunch. It looks pretty tacky, but as far as the intended results - so far, so good. *Knock wood*
By the time I got downstairs, LGK and Electric Mayhem were in full fur-puff and exchanging war growls and Big Yellow Hallway Monster was heading in from the sunroom* to see what was going on. Against my better judgement, but with no real alternative, I scooped LGK up and tried to take him upstairs. There was much wiggling and yelling, but no real damage other than a minor scratch across one wrist. (Mine, that is.) The only problem was that BYHM was trying to back up the staircase in front of us, and I could tell he was getting more and more agitated, so I didn't think the odds were good for me getting LGK back into his room without some cat-vs.-cat action. So I reversed course and went to shut LGK in the downstairs bathroom for a minute until I could get the other two under control.
The next couple of minutes are a blur ... I did manage to get LGK into the bathroom, but at some point I also ended up with seven or eight scalpels embedded in my right leg. Okay, so it was four sets of claws and one set of teeth ... trust me, it all feels the same. Electric Mayhem decided that my leg looked like a good target for her frustration, so she really let me have it. Thank goodness for heavy denim, is all I can say. After LGK was in the bathroom and EM had disengaged from my flesh and was snarling at everyone from under the dining room table, then I had to defuse the agitation brewing between BYHM and EM before they decided to get into it. BYHM was ignoring the toy I waved in his face, so I grabbed the broom and shooed him into the basement and slammed the door on him. Then I lured EM (with difficulty) out into the sunroom for some treats and shut her out there. Finally, I managed to get LGK out of the bathroom and back upstairs to his room. (In case you're wondering, Big Acoustic Kitty was safely shut in the master bedroom during this whole adventure.)
Eventually everyone got calmed back down and EM and BYHM and I had an extended feather toy/kitty treat session ... long enough for me to feel like they had worked out their aggression and weren't going to start in on each other. LGK I just left alone for the rest of the day. I didn't hear him howling or jumping at the doorknob, so I think he needed that alone time. I did let BAK come down later in the afternoon, and nobody seemed any more interested in him then usual, so I think we're okay.
Suffice it to say, getting that screen door up is tomorrow's #1 priority.
I'd post a photo of my war wounds, but I don't think anyone's really interested in looking at my pasty white leg. But let me tell you, it's a really good thing that shorts weather is several months off. Not only do I have large, bloody holes in my leg (one might even have been a candidate for a couple of stitches, but I'm too cheap to pay the $150 emergency room co-pay, so screw it) but EM nailed me with enough force that I'm already forming some extremely impressive bruises.
*Oh, yes ... I think I've failed to mention that the sunroom (location of some of the earliest aggression incidents) is back to being a cat-friendly zone. I went with the white-trash option of painting the glass at kitty eye level so that any visiting kitties will go unseen by our bunch. It looks pretty tacky, but as far as the intended results - so far, so good. *Knock wood*
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Board
We have a new toy. It doesn't look like much, but it the mostest wonderfullest thing in the entire world!
Long story short, I spent my first full day of Thanksgiving break doing some long-overdue things around the house ... cleaning the kitchen, putting all my canning stuff away for the season, and cleaning the master closet. A previous owner had built his/her own shoe shelves out of some 1" x 8" boards covered with these truly lovely, olive green, cut pile carpet scraps - I'm guessing this was the original carpet in the house. These things were next to useless, so I yanked them out and propped them up at an angle against the bedroom wall while I dealt with the rest of the closet cleaning.
Little Grey Kitty, who had been lounging on the bed watching this whole operation, decided to come and investigate. First, a few sniffs ... then, a tentative stretch and a little clawing ... then some more serious claw sharpening ... then it was Woo-hoo, Katie bar the door!
He ran up the board!
He ran down the board!
He jumped from the board onto the bed!
And back again!
He levitated from the far side of the bed onto the very top of the board!
He climbed up the back side of the board and then swung himself around to the front!
Lather, rinse, repeat!
"Mom, Mom! Look at meeeeee!"
So now, of course, we must find a spot for these two boards and their hideous carpeting somewhere upstairs where the fun can continue. Tomorrow, I will be cleaning out the studio closet so that we can figure out some sort of permanent configuration in what promises to be a rather impressive kitty jungle gym by the time we're finished.
Photos to come.
Long story short, I spent my first full day of Thanksgiving break doing some long-overdue things around the house ... cleaning the kitchen, putting all my canning stuff away for the season, and cleaning the master closet. A previous owner had built his/her own shoe shelves out of some 1" x 8" boards covered with these truly lovely, olive green, cut pile carpet scraps - I'm guessing this was the original carpet in the house. These things were next to useless, so I yanked them out and propped them up at an angle against the bedroom wall while I dealt with the rest of the closet cleaning.
Little Grey Kitty, who had been lounging on the bed watching this whole operation, decided to come and investigate. First, a few sniffs ... then, a tentative stretch and a little clawing ... then some more serious claw sharpening ... then it was Woo-hoo, Katie bar the door!
He ran up the board!
He ran down the board!
He jumped from the board onto the bed!
And back again!
He levitated from the far side of the bed onto the very top of the board!
He climbed up the back side of the board and then swung himself around to the front!
Lather, rinse, repeat!
"Mom, Mom! Look at meeeeee!"
So now, of course, we must find a spot for these two boards and their hideous carpeting somewhere upstairs where the fun can continue. Tomorrow, I will be cleaning out the studio closet so that we can figure out some sort of permanent configuration in what promises to be a rather impressive kitty jungle gym by the time we're finished.
Photos to come.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
A New Wrinkle
Remember the baby gate I've mentioned? And how it worked well for keeping Electric Mayhem and Big Acoustic Kitty apart back in the day, but how Big Yellow Hallway Monster hurdles it quite nicely? Well, now Little Grey Kitty can hurdle it quite nicely, too.
For the longest time, LGK would go tearing through the house and just come to a screeching halt when he hit the gate. We think he did try to jump it once, way back when, but he came down wrong and injured one of his legs. Until recently, he hadn't tried it again. But lately he's been getting more and more frustrated with his space limitations and he apparently decided it was worth trying to hurdle the gate one more time. We've had 3 successful escapes in the past two days.
One the one hand ... Oy! This, I do not need. On the other hand, while there has been hissing and growling and much puffing of tails and back fur, there has been no actual contact between cats or bloodshed. Not that we're willing to just let LGK roam around down there and let the chips fall where they may, but at least he's not instantly attacking the first cat he sees.
Did I mention the screen door previously? And how the plan is to use it as a replacement for the baby gate? Originally it was so that BYHM would stop invading the upstairs, but now it will be just as much so that LGK won't invade the downstairs.
Frustrating.
For the longest time, LGK would go tearing through the house and just come to a screeching halt when he hit the gate. We think he did try to jump it once, way back when, but he came down wrong and injured one of his legs. Until recently, he hadn't tried it again. But lately he's been getting more and more frustrated with his space limitations and he apparently decided it was worth trying to hurdle the gate one more time. We've had 3 successful escapes in the past two days.
One the one hand ... Oy! This, I do not need. On the other hand, while there has been hissing and growling and much puffing of tails and back fur, there has been no actual contact between cats or bloodshed. Not that we're willing to just let LGK roam around down there and let the chips fall where they may, but at least he's not instantly attacking the first cat he sees.
Did I mention the screen door previously? And how the plan is to use it as a replacement for the baby gate? Originally it was so that BYHM would stop invading the upstairs, but now it will be just as much so that LGK won't invade the downstairs.
Frustrating.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
The Problem(s) & The Players
Even though I've mentioned the problems we're having in other posts, I've had it on my to-do list to write up a post specifically about said problems, so here it is. And I may as well combine the problems with some gratuitous kitty photos as well.
#1 - The Big Yellow Hallway Monster - a.k.a. BYHM, Monster, Poldark:
This boy is a problem all by himself. About 4 years old, 16.5+ lbs., neutered male, FIV-positive, the sorta-kinda alpha cat in the house. He is a big, friendly mess of a cat, but he does have some issues with his inter-cat relationships. He is (IMO) a fairly "weak" alpha, and this is (also IMO) part of the problem. He has to make sure - repeatedly - that all the other cats know that he is the one in charge. He guards the food and water, he guards the litter boxes ... it's like he's constantly worried that one of the other cats will usurp him. And, he has hard-core redirected aggression issues. Any sign of a strange cat outside and he will attack any and all of his companion cats. He also seems to have (and I haven't found a good term for it yet) problems with that line between playing and fighting with the other cats. There have been times when I would swear he's just trying to play (and maybe do a little bit of his alpha act at the same time), and if the other cat doesn't behave in the way he seems to think they should, then it turns into an attack situation.
(Edited to add: However, having taken him to the vet last week for very extensive dental work, I will say that some of his attitude problems might have been attributed to multiple toothaches ... he's recovering from having 7 rotten teeth pulled and while he hasn't turned into an angel, there are signs that he's a bit happier kitty in general now.)
Let me make one thing perfectly, abundantly clear: BYHM is a total and complete lovebug - when it comes to people. There has never, ever, ever been any aggression towards me or the Amazing Husbandini, even when BYHM has really been torqued hard about something. His aggression issues are exclusively limited to the other cats in the house. If he were in a single-cat household, he would morph into the world's largest feline couch potato. The problem is ... he's only 25% of our total feline biomass.
#2 - The Electric Mayhem - a.k.a. EM, Princess, Evil, Beelzekitty (you get the idea):
She's Papa's Little Girl. (And she knows it!) She is about 11 years old, spayed female, dilute calico, formerly the alpha-by-default when it was just her and Big Acoustic Kitty, now much, much further down on the status ladder.
One good thing about EM is that she's mellowed quite a bit with age. If she were still in her younger years, this house would be a bloody battle zone. But, she's accepted her fall in status, and she's good at not drawing attention to herself - and as long as she is left alone, she manages pretty well. She and BYHM probably have the best relationship, in that they tend to ignore one another, or, she scuttles off in avoidance whenever BYHM starts getting bossy. And since what he wants is to vanquish all potential opponents, that works out pretty well.
On her own, EM is not much of a problem. She's mellowed enough that I think she and BAK could probably co-exist pretty well if it were just the two of them again.
Over the ten years that we've had EM, Amazing Husbandini and I have repeatedly wondered if part of her problem (aside from being a calico - you know what they say about them) is that she was taken away from her mama and siblings too early. She would have been an absolutely stunning kitten, so it's very possibly that she went off to a new home too soon. She has a lot of socialization problems that could easily be chalked up to not spending enough of her kitten days with a mama to tell her what's what and siblings to teach her how to behave around other cats. She has no idea at all how to play with other cats ... but, after living with Ziggy and now BYHM, it looks for all the world like she's trying to figure it out.
#3 - Little Grey Kitteh - a.k.a. LGK:
Right about 2 years old, 8.5 lbs, neutered male, grey shorthair, adopted just over a year ago along with BYHM. In addition to "redirected aggression", the other feline behavioral term we've learned in all this is "social maturity". While I think LGK has a bit of a redirected aggression issue, I don't think his is as big as BYHM's. However, I do think that we tripped over the social maturity issue with LGK. Social maturity (as I understand it) is a little like a human's teen years. There can be some shuffling around of the feline social ladder and cats who were previously lower in status can suddenly start jostling for a better position. I have no idea exactly what happened or what happened in what order, but I think that LGK started coming into his own, started to assert himself over EM and then either started to assert himself with BYHM or just was in the wrong frame of mind to have BYHM start getting aggressive with him.
LGK has been living in a room by himself for about 3 months now, after things came to head as described in one of the "Background" posts. We come and spend time with him and have been trying to re-introduce him to the other cats (admittedly, it's been kind of haphazard). Some days the relationships seem to be okay (or at least not hostile) and some days they don't. I suspect LGK was just completely overwhelmed by the problems when he was still downstairs, and now that he's got a place of his own, it's going to take a whole lot of very strong persuasion to convince him that other kitties can be okay.
#4 - Big Acoustic Kitty - a.k.a. BAK, Mr. Boo, Cranky Kitty, Super Explorer Cat:
Our cranky old man kitty. Somewhere in the 15 - 18 years old range, neutered male, blind, arthritic, diabetic (in remission until recently, now back in full force - along with all the inappropriate peeing that comes with uncontrolled diabetes), about 9 lbs., orange tuxedo Maine Coon Mix, polydactyl. BAK has been with us for 12 years next month, and he is our senior cat in not only age but in seniority. He's become more and more feeble as time has gone by, and we suspect he will be the next one we have to say goodbye to. However, he has a special place in our hearts (if not in the hearts of the other kitties) and we're pretty focused on making sure he has it as easy as possible in his twilight years.
But don't let any of that fool you ... for all we adore him, he's also a pushy, demanding, pain-in-the-ass of a cat. He also doesn't really approve of us bringing home all these other cats. On good days, he will ignore them, but on bad days he hisses and waves his paw around at them (somewhat ineffectually ... he is blind, after all) and runs away from them (kinda ... arthritis, blind.) So managing his relationships with the other cats can be very problematic, especially since he can't really defend himself if one of the others decides to go after him (usually BYHM or LGK, since EM has mellowed enough that she doesn't do that any more.) For many years, we divided our living space in half - BAK lived upstairs and EM lived downstairs with a tall baby gate playing the role of the Berlin Wall. However, in the new house, not only does BYHM jump the gate with very little effort, but LGK is closeted upstairs and BAK himself has recently decided that he can go downstairs after all. And trust me, when he is standing at the top of the stairs, bitching to be let out in that horrid rusty-gate sounding howl of his, we rush to do his bidding. So he's made his own contributions to the weird territory issues that we have around here.
I think that about sums it up for the "problem overview" and introductions. The only other ones I could include photos of would be me and Amazing Husbandini, but that's not going to happen. :-)
#1 - The Big Yellow Hallway Monster - a.k.a. BYHM, Monster, Poldark:
This boy is a problem all by himself. About 4 years old, 16.5+ lbs., neutered male, FIV-positive, the sorta-kinda alpha cat in the house. He is a big, friendly mess of a cat, but he does have some issues with his inter-cat relationships. He is (IMO) a fairly "weak" alpha, and this is (also IMO) part of the problem. He has to make sure - repeatedly - that all the other cats know that he is the one in charge. He guards the food and water, he guards the litter boxes ... it's like he's constantly worried that one of the other cats will usurp him. And, he has hard-core redirected aggression issues. Any sign of a strange cat outside and he will attack any and all of his companion cats. He also seems to have (and I haven't found a good term for it yet) problems with that line between playing and fighting with the other cats. There have been times when I would swear he's just trying to play (and maybe do a little bit of his alpha act at the same time), and if the other cat doesn't behave in the way he seems to think they should, then it turns into an attack situation.
(Edited to add: However, having taken him to the vet last week for very extensive dental work, I will say that some of his attitude problems might have been attributed to multiple toothaches ... he's recovering from having 7 rotten teeth pulled and while he hasn't turned into an angel, there are signs that he's a bit happier kitty in general now.)
Let me make one thing perfectly, abundantly clear: BYHM is a total and complete lovebug - when it comes to people. There has never, ever, ever been any aggression towards me or the Amazing Husbandini, even when BYHM has really been torqued hard about something. His aggression issues are exclusively limited to the other cats in the house. If he were in a single-cat household, he would morph into the world's largest feline couch potato. The problem is ... he's only 25% of our total feline biomass.
#2 - The Electric Mayhem - a.k.a. EM, Princess, Evil, Beelzekitty (you get the idea):
She's Papa's Little Girl. (And she knows it!) She is about 11 years old, spayed female, dilute calico, formerly the alpha-by-default when it was just her and Big Acoustic Kitty, now much, much further down on the status ladder.
One good thing about EM is that she's mellowed quite a bit with age. If she were still in her younger years, this house would be a bloody battle zone. But, she's accepted her fall in status, and she's good at not drawing attention to herself - and as long as she is left alone, she manages pretty well. She and BYHM probably have the best relationship, in that they tend to ignore one another, or, she scuttles off in avoidance whenever BYHM starts getting bossy. And since what he wants is to vanquish all potential opponents, that works out pretty well.
On her own, EM is not much of a problem. She's mellowed enough that I think she and BAK could probably co-exist pretty well if it were just the two of them again.
Over the ten years that we've had EM, Amazing Husbandini and I have repeatedly wondered if part of her problem (aside from being a calico - you know what they say about them) is that she was taken away from her mama and siblings too early. She would have been an absolutely stunning kitten, so it's very possibly that she went off to a new home too soon. She has a lot of socialization problems that could easily be chalked up to not spending enough of her kitten days with a mama to tell her what's what and siblings to teach her how to behave around other cats. She has no idea at all how to play with other cats ... but, after living with Ziggy and now BYHM, it looks for all the world like she's trying to figure it out.
#3 - Little Grey Kitteh - a.k.a. LGK:
Right about 2 years old, 8.5 lbs, neutered male, grey shorthair, adopted just over a year ago along with BYHM. In addition to "redirected aggression", the other feline behavioral term we've learned in all this is "social maturity". While I think LGK has a bit of a redirected aggression issue, I don't think his is as big as BYHM's. However, I do think that we tripped over the social maturity issue with LGK. Social maturity (as I understand it) is a little like a human's teen years. There can be some shuffling around of the feline social ladder and cats who were previously lower in status can suddenly start jostling for a better position. I have no idea exactly what happened or what happened in what order, but I think that LGK started coming into his own, started to assert himself over EM and then either started to assert himself with BYHM or just was in the wrong frame of mind to have BYHM start getting aggressive with him.
LGK has been living in a room by himself for about 3 months now, after things came to head as described in one of the "Background" posts. We come and spend time with him and have been trying to re-introduce him to the other cats (admittedly, it's been kind of haphazard). Some days the relationships seem to be okay (or at least not hostile) and some days they don't. I suspect LGK was just completely overwhelmed by the problems when he was still downstairs, and now that he's got a place of his own, it's going to take a whole lot of very strong persuasion to convince him that other kitties can be okay.
#4 - Big Acoustic Kitty - a.k.a. BAK, Mr. Boo, Cranky Kitty, Super Explorer Cat:
Our cranky old man kitty. Somewhere in the 15 - 18 years old range, neutered male, blind, arthritic, diabetic (in remission until recently, now back in full force - along with all the inappropriate peeing that comes with uncontrolled diabetes), about 9 lbs., orange tuxedo Maine Coon Mix, polydactyl. BAK has been with us for 12 years next month, and he is our senior cat in not only age but in seniority. He's become more and more feeble as time has gone by, and we suspect he will be the next one we have to say goodbye to. However, he has a special place in our hearts (if not in the hearts of the other kitties) and we're pretty focused on making sure he has it as easy as possible in his twilight years.
But don't let any of that fool you ... for all we adore him, he's also a pushy, demanding, pain-in-the-ass of a cat. He also doesn't really approve of us bringing home all these other cats. On good days, he will ignore them, but on bad days he hisses and waves his paw around at them (somewhat ineffectually ... he is blind, after all) and runs away from them (kinda ... arthritis, blind.) So managing his relationships with the other cats can be very problematic, especially since he can't really defend himself if one of the others decides to go after him (usually BYHM or LGK, since EM has mellowed enough that she doesn't do that any more.) For many years, we divided our living space in half - BAK lived upstairs and EM lived downstairs with a tall baby gate playing the role of the Berlin Wall. However, in the new house, not only does BYHM jump the gate with very little effort, but LGK is closeted upstairs and BAK himself has recently decided that he can go downstairs after all. And trust me, when he is standing at the top of the stairs, bitching to be let out in that horrid rusty-gate sounding howl of his, we rush to do his bidding. So he's made his own contributions to the weird territory issues that we have around here.
I think that about sums it up for the "problem overview" and introductions. The only other ones I could include photos of would be me and Amazing Husbandini, but that's not going to happen. :-)
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