The Great Welker Household Cat Debacle of 2019

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(Edited)

Oh lovely! It's another post from Isaria about her frickin cats!!!


5 years ago I moved from New York to Texas with one fat cat named George (Professor Chubbington).

Now I have 7.

This is all mostly due to The Shane's fault.
He found Peanut on the side of the road, got a Snibby cat for him to play with, rescued Jeffy from a dangerous home, and then got a Sophie to play with the Jeffy.

Recently, we just moved to East Texas with 5 happy cats.
It's not easy to get that many cats to like each other because cats have tiny, stupid brains and they can be viciously territorial if they feel threatened.

So, I made a post a couple of weeks ago about the new kitten Luna. Luna is kitty number 6 and we can't blame this one on The Shane. The poor, starving, pregnant kitten walked up to me outside and cried. So I had to save her.
The transition wasn't too bad. Snibby was the most upset by it, although Sophie and Luna do have some issues as well.

Side note: Yes, I realize that nobody actually gives a fuck about what I'm rambling about here, but I feel the need to get this out of my system.

It's been interesting to watch the feline colony social structure.
George is perceived by the other cats as the scary Alpha because he is frickin huge so all the cats just steer clear of him.
That's funny to me because George is 18 and an old man who can barely walk anymore, but the other cats are still scared of him.
Peanut is the actual Alpha though.
Snibby and Jeffy are next, and Sophie is the timid girl. So, the problems with Sophie are minimal because there is just a little hiss and then she runs away and hides.
The problem is with Snibby who hisses and growls and stands his ground ready to fight.

The other issue is that we never got Jeffy fixed. All the other cats were spayed/neutered but we kept putting it off with Jeffy which was stupid.

But, overall the issues with bringing in Luna were minimal and manageable.

However, shortly after rescuing Luna, I found another kitten hovering in the stairwell. Like Luna, this kitten was starving and is likely Luna's sister.
I brought the kitten some food and it just kept crying, breaking my heart. So, we rescued it. Again, I can't blame The Shane for this one.

Now the issues begin. I've pushed it too far. Cats do not like change. The anxiety of moving, a new place, a new kitten addition, and 2 weeks later another new kitten.
It was all too much.

This new cat, Jazzy, isn't pregnant like Luna was and it set off Jeffy's hormones.
The build-up of testosterone made him aggressive and he and Snibby got into a massive fight. Peanut tried to break it up being the Alpha. And Luna got involved too because she is a bad-ass street cat. Sophie and Jazzy ran away because they are Betas and George stayed exactly where he was on the floor because he doesn't give a fuck about anything.

We took Jeffy to the vet the next day to get him fixed and Jazzy has her appointment to get fixed tomorrow.
It will take a couple of weeks for the testosterone to leave Jeffy's system though.

So, at this point, Snibby and Jeffy are just hashing it out for the 2nd Alpha spot and I have to keep them separated.
If they get too close to one another Snibby hisses and instead of just walking away, Jeffy stands his ground and starts huffing and growling.
It's a mess.

Also, don't tell the other cats, but this is heartbreaking to me because Snibby and Jeffy are my 2 favorite cats.
They are both the sweetest and loving cats so to see them acting so aggressively toward each other breaks my heart.

We got some Feliway spray which is supposed calm cats down and we ordered the diffusers that can be plugged into the wall.
I'm hoping that Jazzy's spaying procedure will help the situation along with Jeffy's continual depletion of testosterone.

I don't know and I'm depressed.

When I don't have harmony and peace in my own home I become a very sad Isaria.

When I'm feeling better I'll write more about the Jazzy cat because she is so funny, sweet, and cute. This picture here is Jazzy sprawled out on the couch. She passed out after playing like a maniac.



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For the record, I give a fuck. I also understand the disappointment. And I think you're a freaking saint for rescuing all of them. I've had a foster puppy for all of one week and it's too much. An unrelated trip to the ER last night confirmed that I am unable to take care of kids, puppy, and still meet my needs. Also, my cat has been displaced because he usually sleeps on me and the dog has been sleeping in my room with the door shut. Tomorrow, puppy is going back to rescue mama's house where I picked her up. She has some applications in for adoption, so I'm sure she'll be fine and have a wonderful home soon. But I'm trying not to beat myself up or feel like a failure. I tried. I'm hoping to do some fundraising for the rescue so I can still contribute, but dammit I wanted a sweet cuddly doggy in my life and I just can't. I need to sleep. I need to be able to go to the hospital to get my kid's head patched up without worrying about a dog (everyone is fine). So yeah. Life is humbling.

I hope you get that harmony back and the kitties all get along, and somehow realize how lucky they are that you and The Shane saved them.

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Awww thank you for caring Katrina!
I know it is hard, but try not to beat yourself up. You did try and you helped that little doggy! There's only so much we can do. I know it hurts though so big hugs to you.❤️ Also, glad everything is ok.

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I hope for peace in your cat family...

Cheer up these things are not upsetting to the cats, it is more troubling to the humans.

Animals are built for fighting for peaking order.

All is well and you are working on solutions. :)

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i have a solution. get another cat. eight is a power number. if you pretend you are a cat, you can make a catven (coven of cats). then you can just spell everyone to serve your needs.

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lol I think this is the solution thank you!

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Maybe if you teach them yoga they stop fighting.
I'm depressed too but in spanish :( so I write about it.

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Denny! Yes, cat yoga is the answer! Hope you aren't as depressed as me.

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ok so, i had an issue when i move in with the baby daddy where my very shy and afraid of everything 7 years old Cat daughter went from never seen another cat in her life and never ever leaving our apartment (ok maybe just leaving it to go to the vet) to taking a 12 hours road trip to a new home, to live with new people and 3 other cats! imagine the shock she was under! also even tho she was fix before the move, the 3 new brothers she now had were not, they were curious about her and keep chasing her around and well she didnt like it at all (she really was afraid of everything) she hiss at them and some fights were started by her cause they wouldnt leave her alone, i discover that giving her enough room for her to escape to safety and making sure she had a place only for her to hide was really good to avoid the fighting, now 2 years later, she still hates her brothers (really i dont blame her they really were annoying with her at the beginning) but they all live very peacefully, they dont fight anymore, she even learn to love the huge backyard we have and stopped using the littler box and started going to the bathroom outside the house.

All i did was give her space, making sure she had a room for her to feel safe and just waited out, it took almost 1 year for us to get to the place where they can actually eat near each other and dont start a fight, i never thought it would be possible, so just give them time they will calm down and will be happy kittens all over again! also it wouldnt hurt to provide them with kitty trees so they can feel like Kings of the house watching all from above i have hear that helps!.

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It makes me happy to hear that your story had a happy ending......gives me hope! Thank you!

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Cats are all quite interesting creatures. Each one an individual, but the same sort of overall behaviors.
We only have 4 cats right now, and I'm ok with that. We've had as many as 10 at one time, but 5 of them were kittens. That year is known as the summer of 10 cats...we still have 2 of those kittens, but they're 9 years old now.

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I can't wait till we can get our own house with a yard

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I'm dithering over getting ms hobo a companion and you're dealing with 7 cats... just imagine if they were actual 2 legged kids... and be glad they are cats.

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lol true...I just wish I could reason with their tiny little brains

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It is of course, the law of unintended consequences and the fact that no good deed goes unpunished.

Here in Yuma we actually have an alternative for the feral cat population. Some are captured, sterilized and returned to where they were picked up. Some are taken to 'cat haven'. A 2.5 acre place that provides sterilization, food and shelter (and nothing else) to feral cats. It's an interesting place. There are like 100 small packs, but astoundingly, most of the feral cats want to be alone.

I 'saved' a couple over the years, and cared for a couple of more here. Now I have a doggy that doesn't like cats so the problem is solved from my personal point of view.

You've done good by the rescues. We all know that. The question is 'can you live with all your goodness?' It's gotta be tough. Good luck with this project.

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Thank you so much for your comment. One day I would love to have my own cat haven!

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