Cutting a Deal

I think all parties have come to an agreement. We humans are just not going to mess with trying to get them together again  - for a long time. They have both adjusted to the new routines; there is only minimal howling about it, both cats seem happy, healthy, and content, and there is hardly any fighting at the door anymore. So why fix something that's taking care of itself?

They obviously don't want to hang out anymore and we have the space to respect their decision without having to give either one away.
So there you have it. A kitty divorce that could have been so much worse.

Solitay Confinement and Weight

Ever since Idi doesn't chase Flecki  through the house anymore, they've both put on some weight. It does Flecki really good because she was kind of bony before. Idi often wouldn't allow her to eat and chase her away from the food bowl. It's only now that we realize how much it impacted Flecki. :(
Idi on the other hand is looking more and more like a Rugby ball. We tried to encourage exercise (running the stairs up and down - she usually follows me wherever I go) but she looks like me like I have gone mad.
I guess it's time for some dietary changes. Flecki will continue to have access to food 24/7 and Idi will just have to put in some fasting time throughout the day and the whole night. Hopefully DH is going to add some play time again as well. I am no good at that stuff - they get bored with me.  
Both felines are otherwise content at this point - even though there is the occasional paw-and-scratch-episode under the door if I don't pay attention. I think they both just want to be single. Kitty divorce is what we're dealing with here!

Who will be Sleeping in the Basement?

 

For a while we kept one kitty locked away in the basement over night, mostly Idi. There is lots of room down there and much to explore so we thought we did her a favour.
But she didn't really like it very much. She was crying and scratching for hours.
So we decided to set up cat-shop in the master bedroom and ensuite. Less room but nice and comfy.
The first couple of nights there was still a bit crying - this time outside the door, but now they both got used to the new arrangement splendidly. We took turns to see how both cats would adjust and I can say that both are quite content. You don't find one sitting right at the door anymore like we used to. There is no meowing and scratching and they just go about their daily business as usual, only by themselves. Sometimes we have to search form them now, because they've found new and unusual hiding spots.
Things are looking good!

(We don't let them near each other, though. The grudge still seems to be unresolved. I am just not in the mood for another Lara Croft experience, thank you very much.)

Miss Goody Two Shoes

Well, turns out that Flecki is not the sole victim in this whole mess. Whenever she gets a chance and thinks about it, she sneaks up to the door where Idi is locked up to start a new round of Cat Fight.
I guess it's true what they say: it takes two to tango.

How it all Began

It was the summer of 2002 when we adopted Flecki and Idi. We had just moved into our first house and I really, really, REALLY finally wanted to surround myself with feline energy once again. Growing up I always had cats but once I left home I lived in smallish apartments that wouldn't allow pets. Plus I was just so busy, adopting a furry friend hadn't really occurred to me.
I was so eager to go pay the Humane Society in Toronto a visit to see what's what. I kept nagged and pushing DH because I had this feeling that we would miss out on the two cats that were meant to live with us. "Let's go, let's go, let's gooo already!!"
So we finally did.
Looking around in the cat section of the shelter was heartbreaking. So many friendly felines looking for a good home. Some kennels had short bios attached to them. I tried not to look too closely as I would have taken all of them home. Suddenly DH shouted - and I'll remember those few words forever - "there's two in that kennel!" Bulls eye! Those must be ours.We took a closer look. Aha. Uhum. Crystal and Patches. Crystal likes to be brushed. She (who is now Flecki) paced back and forth in the little space, saying hi to everybody, doing all the "marketing". Patches aka Idi was one level below, just sitting there with eyes closed. We asked the staff how they ended up here. They wouldn't say, only that they "came as friends".
Long story short, we took the two home.
Little did we know that Idi was severely sick. She started puking and drooling about 12 hours after we brought her home. She wouldn't eat or drink. I guess that's why the staff at the shelter asked us numerous times to take them to a vet straight away. They did not tell us that Idi was sick. Kind of not nice. But we wouldn't go and return her now. It turned out that she had a severe inflammation of the uterus, most likely because she had been fooling around with some stray cat-lover. We took her to the vet who said that she was in really bad shape. She had to stay at the animal hospital for about a week and the staff there was very worried that she wouldn't make it. One of the girls even went over to the clinic at night to check up on her. How sweet of her! But what a nightmare. $ 2000.00 and 7 days later we decided to take her home. She was clearly suffering at the hospital, locked away all by herself. She is such a social cat and the staff noted how gentle she is and even though she was so sick she would always say hi whenever somebody entered the room. When we went to see her, she literally had tears in her eyes. I've never seen such a thing on a cat. She was miserable, lonely, cold (damn air conditioning cranked up to the max) and she just had to get out of there immediately, no matter what would happen.
Since she wouldn't eat or drink, she needed infusions and had to be force fed. DH and I shared those duties. The force feeding really got to me after a while. I felt that it was wrong, that no one should be forced to eat. But we also couldn't just let her starve. DH had better nerves and took on feeding duty. We must have done it for about 10 days and finally she started eating on her own.
Hurrah! She'd made it! It was a close call and I still refer to her as our miracle cat today.

Here a few photos of the two of them when Idi had just returned from the hospital. They hadn't seen each other for quite a while and sure had been through a lot of upheaval.

 Wow... they were so small and frail back then...

I almost forgot how affectionate they were with each other in the beginning. I still can't believe what's currently happening. Never, ever did I see this coming.

Cat Barn!

So I spoke to a friend about my predicament and she suggested the Cat Barn!
I didn't even know a thing like that existed. There seems to be a nice lady up north who takes in difficult cats. She has a large barn with lots of cages and a lot of room. First she tries to get them adopted but when that fails, the cat just stays at the barn.

Weeeell, thank you for the suggestion, but no one in my house is going to the cat barn. It's a nice threat to use on them, though! ;)

The Beaten Ones

We've never had wounds like this in our house. This is no fun, eh, Flecki?

 

EVERY DAY she has the Blues

Ever since one kitty has to stay in the basement any given time, our house has become much, much noisier. It goes almost 24/7  - with sleeping breaks in between.
They sound exactly like Chicca here - and we too feel very much reminded of Mr. B.B. King.

Fight Manual for Unusual Conditions

Some may wonder how two cats who are kept in separate rooms can still manage to break out into a vicious fight.
Well, it's rather easy! Let Idi demonstrate for you.
You get as close as you can to the door and go like this:

From the other side it looks something like this:

You then ask your opponent to do the same. Start fighting. Be nice and noisy with lots of squealing, hissing, and rumbling. The louder, the better!

Here's two samples of what you can accomplish in a matter of minutes:

This was extremely easy, especially since there were no additional barriers in place

This too was a breeze! The "barrier", if you want to call it that, was clearly unsuitable.

It doesn't take much practice either, it comes quite natural to you once you set your mind to it.

I’m Mad...and that’s a Fact!

I try and I try and I try - but they always seem to find ways to start another fight. This time they even included me, thank-you-very much!
Leave me out of this, YOU HEAR?

Reunion Attempts Tomb Raider Style

So a few nights ago I was alone at home and I thought to myself: why not give another reunion a try. Maybe they are not mad at each other anymore. Who's to know?
I made the necessary preparations which means filling up a spray bottle with water, and most importantly: having it handy!
I then carried Ida (which is her 'legal' name) while I ever so carefully opened the door to the room Flecki was in. Everything seemed to be going ok. No growling, no hissing, no signs of distress.
I gently and slowly let go of Idi who went straight for Flecki's food bowl. Flecki ran the other way, she seemed to want a bit of distance. I picked up the spray bottle,  just in case, and tracked Flecki down. Didn't want to leave her alone just then. Her body language conveyed nothing but fear which was quite unsettling to see. That was the moment Idi had finished eating. She spotted Flecki from across the hall way. I was standing between the two  - armed with the spray bottle.
I remember the scene that followed in slow motion: Idi got into position and started running. First slow. Then faster. Faster!!  Really, really fast!!! 
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god...", I prayed that the spray bottle wouldn't fail me. I took a good aim, exhaled and shot: *PSH! PSSH!! PSSSHHH!!!* 

It worked right away. Idi did a sharp left turn into my office. I ran to slam the door shut. Had to sit down for a minute and breathe heavily.

It was a lot like Hollywood.

In the House too long?

Since we've adopted them they've been indoor kitties. I've always felt a little bad about it. It seems unnatural.  Still, it surely beats having to scrape them off the road or finding half of them on the front lawn like we did the other cat a few years ago (cougars must have eaten the other half).

But does staying in all the time drive them insane? Are there well adjusted and truly happy indoor cats?

Secret Weapon Vanilla

So we did some research about fighting cats. One site suggested to rub a bit of vanilla extract on the back of their necks (where they can't clean it off), assuming the cats can't stand each others' smell and to cover it up. DH thought it was a great idea and worth a try: "Where's the vanilla in this house?"

I wasn't so sure myself as I think this only applies to felines who have recently met and just feel that the other one stinks. But sure, go ahead. Try it. Why not.
Here the result:

At least we have some lovely smelling cats now. The scent lasts for days!
Hmmm... cookie cats...

Shifting Cats Around

You really have to think now before you make a move or disaster strikes instantly. The other night I took a chance because dark kitty was sleepy and content on the sofa (plus I had a beer and got a bit careless). I thought I could just sneak into light kitty's room to get the litter box for the night. She slipped right out the door. I yelled to DH: "The cat's out, the cat's out, THE CAT'S OOUUUT!!!"
But, alas, she immediately got the beating of a lifetime...

What we are now doing  reminds me of this old riddle: crossing the river with a wolf, goat and cabbage.
There is a more fun version out there on the Net. I keep playing it to stay focused.
You should try it some time!

Could it be the new Male in the Neighbourhood?

We do have this new cat in the neighbourhood who likes to drop by for a visit on our deck and impress the two ladies with what his momma gave him.
Only through the window, though - the Missuses are indoor only (we have bears and coyotes in our town). They didn't seem very impressed or interested, though. Especially Flecki couldn't care less while Idi just gets kinda pissed, I think.

Was it the Brushing, maybe?

I asked myself the same questions Ronda, my first follower (Yay by the way :D) asked. What exactly had changed? Or was it a desaster long in the making?
Now, taking a good look at the situation I think it's fair to say that their relationship has deteriorated in the last few years. There have been issues of jealousy, fighting over territory and food, and competing for attention. Flecki was getting smacked around quite a bit in the process as she's smaller, more "sane", and younger.

I myself may have triggered this whole catastrophe. The evening proceeding the meltdown, I gave Idi a brushing. I usually never do this as Idi hates being brushed and Flecki, who loves it, gets soo jealous. Flecki feels that the brush is hers and hers only. So when she heard the familiar sound of the bristles rubbing against my thumb, she got super-excited as I've been so busy lately and haven't had a chance to treat her that way in a while.
How upset she must have been when she saw that it was Idi's turn!! She who doesn't even get it? She who was kind of trying to get away from it all. So I locked Idi in my room and tried it again as I was convinced that every feline simply must love being brushed.
That's when the fighting at the door began. They always stick their little paws underneath the crack and try to whack each other. This time it was accompanied by some serious growling and - oh my - even hissing!! :-o They were both extremely upset at what was going down.
I finally got it. Idi really, really doesn't like being brushed and Flecki wants some. So I did the right thing at last, gave Flecki a good brushing and left Idi alone.

The next day Idi started harassing Flecki in this unacceptable way. I think they both held a grudge against each other. I was just checking out some YouTube videos to demonstrate how bad it was. But there were really no two felines getting at it the way these two did. Most of them were kind of equally matched so it was a somewhat fair competition. Not here at my house. The closest resemblance is the following, I guess. Even though one's a snake. Especially the scene where the snake is throwing the kitty up in the air.  Just picture her being one ferocious feline. Flecki clearly did not win, though. And nobody was as calm as red cat or Jackie at the end of the match here at my place.

The Night that changed Everything

It seemed like just another mild spring evening. It had been a sunny yet very busy day.
The cats were getting on in the usual manner. Until the I've heard the commotion that came from the basement. There was squealing and hissing, things broke, there was rumbling and the sound of objects falling. What was going on?! 
I ran downstairs to find Flecki and Idi locked in a bitter fight. It was a ferocious one but I managed to separate the 2. I locked them both up to give them a little breather. That's when I noticed that Flecki's peed in the tool box! She's never done anything like that before. When I checked up on her she smelled like on of those European small town train stations where there are no bathrooms. Peeeuw!!  She'd peed herself as well.

Idi just wasn't herself at all that night. This gentle, loving cat I've known for 8 years now hissed and growled at me when I got near her. That was the first time I've heard her hissing in all these years!

What was happening to my cats? Was Idi losing her mind scaring Flecki sooo badly?