Conference misery::feline

    I suggest spraying all your cats with a flea spray to make
    them all smell the same.
    Then, I'd be tempted to let them duke it out, while standing by, of
    course, in case it got too intense.  If the fight gets too intense,
    let the fighters have it with a good glass full of water.
    
    The stray cat at the door has rattled Jackie......this happens often,
    so don't blame the cats...

    I think it won't be long term.  I'd keep them separated for awhile and
    give them a lot of love and soothing talk, and then reintroduce them
    gradually.  Sort of like when a new cat is being introduced into the house.
    Making them smell alike is also a good idea.
    
    re: an important decision.  Tell your hubby you'd hate to see him leave,
    but :-)
    

    making them smell the same is a good idea, but I'd suggest a "grooming
    spray" (which smells like lanolin and is non-toxic) instead of flea
    spray.
    
    Deb

    Last notes, all good advice.  I am in the process of introducing a new
    stray into the household, not a new situation for the family.  Lots of
    love all round and hope your hands and arms hold up to all that
    stroking.  I try and give them individual treats, a couple of shrimps
    for one, being fed on the bed at night for another, drinking my warm
    milk--which wasn't planned but thank goodness I saw it before I took a
    sip. 
    
    If you live in New England, the time of year can be critical.  Right now
    it's very "sparky" and the air is dry and static filled.  We have had
    some very windy snow storms, which always unsettles my cats very much.
    Even though it may not seem possible now, peace will return in time.

    I don't know if this will help, but a friend of mine swears it works
    great.  If one of her cats is always being terrorized by another, she
    takes the offending party (the chaser) and puts them in a tokyo cage
    in the living room for a while so that all the other cats can come up
    and get a good sniff, but the cat in the cage can't get at them.  This
    sometimes helps to build the confidence of the cat who is being
    terrorized, and also helps to get the two of them accustomed to being
    near one other....  in other words, it can help to defuse a very tense
    situation.  
    
    I have something like that going on at my house now.  A feral cat who
    is so sweet and loving, but so timid of the the others in my house. 
    She will bolt under the bed at the first paw-slap from any of the
    others, even my smallest runt kitten.
    
    I hope to get a cage soon to start the introduction process.....
    
    Good luck,
    
    Nancy

   I have had a similiar experience, in fact it has happened twice that my
   male 4 year old cat Astro has terriorized his sister Tica.  The first 
   time when all my attempts at re-introduction failed I used Dr Marter on
   the advice of my vet.  She comes to the house meets the cats and assesses
   the situation.  In my case she prescribed valium for both cats and wrote
   up a plan.

   The idea was to keep the cats out of sight of one another except at meal
   time.  First give them half a pill, eait 30 minutes then with Tica in the
   kitchen,a baby gate in the doorway and Astro on a leash feed then.
   I put Astro's food just outside the babygate.  I started with Tica's food
   a good 10 feet from the gate and slowly moved it closer to the gate.
   When I got then on opposite side of the gate the next step was to remove
   the gate and move Tica's food back a few feet and repeat the process of
   moving closer.  It worked.

   The problem is the cause of Astro's getting upset has not been eliminated.
   I think it is a whole male looking in the window.  My cats are indoors
   only.  So the second time it happened, I repeated the process with out
   the medication and it worked.


    Good luck,
    Martha

    .0> Now, we have Jackie in the guest room with her own litter box, 
      > food and water with a child protection gate in the doorway to 
      > keep Tigress out.
    
    Does this work (the gate)?  When my daughter was a toddler, I put a
    gate in the bathroom doorway so she couldn't go fishing in the john,
    drink drano, etc., but my (9-year-old) cat had no problem sailing over
    the gate to get to her litter box.  I would think Tigress would see no
    barrier, unless she's a lazy pudge :-) or the gate is higher than I
    imagine!
    
    Leslie

    My brother just moved home with my parents for a time, and brought his
    two cats.  Mom and Dad already have three cats and a dog, so what they
    did was confine Bill's cats to a separate bedroom.  During the day when
    no one is home the door is left closed, but as soon as someone gets
    home from work they open the door and put up the gate.  This way, the
    cats can look out and get used to the dog/other cats/sounds, and still
    feel somewhat safe.  My parent's elderely cat, Tabitha, jumped the gate
    to mooch food, and there were no spats; however, the dog still
    frightens them (a small dog), since they have never been exposed to
    dogs.
    
    Now one of Bill's cats is beginning to jump the gate and explore
    the house.  We figure by the time his cats get used to the house, it
    will be time to move again!!
    
    -Roberta