19 April 2009, 5:00 pm
While Valium can have a side effect of improving “friendliness” you’ll need to check with the veterinarian for a thorough exam and recommendation. There are also behavior drugs available that may help boost the confidence of Whiskers. But pills rarely help all by themselves. Drugs can help cats more easily learn new ways to behave when modification and counter-conditioning techniques are implemented. Increase the hiding spots and perching places, and add some cat tunnels, so that Whiskers can better move around the house without Hunter seeing. Adding more resources makes it less important for the cats to argue over such things. I suspect that Hunter has figured out how to push your buttons—and has “trained” you to give him the attention he craves. Even bad attention (pushing him away, scolding) is better than being ignored. So when he gets in your face, and you pet him, feed him, talk to him etc., you’ve rewarded him. Ignoring the pushy behavior will eventually make it go away, but it will get worse for a while before it improves. What to do? Well, cats also thrive on routine. So establish a schedule for paying attention to each/all cats so they know when to expect special playtimes, petting sessions, meals, and so forth. During the other cats’ attention time, you may indeed need to confine Hunter in another room—perhaps you could feed Hunter by himself, while you play and pay attention with Whiskers, and then switch them out (or vice versa). ... Read More »
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