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My Cat Exacts Revenge Like He is a Human

horace Oct 28, 2003 07:58 PM

Help. I have two cats--13 years old. For years the black one has been obese whilst the gray one has remained thin. Upon working from home, I was able to observe the reason why: The black one ignores his food bowl when fed and instead pushes his way into the thin cat's bowl. If he can't get at the bowl, he'll whack the bowl with his paw until food flies out and onto the floor. The net result is that he gets half of the thin cat's portion and ALL of his own portion as he returns to his bowl after he's done pilfering from the thin cat.

For half a year, I've taken to feeding them in separate rooms. The thin one in the kitchen, the obese one in the bedroom. That worked great for awhile and the obese one came down to normal weight.

Now, the hoarding cat has grown angry sitting in the bedroom with the door closed while the thin cat finishes his food. So he's taken to defacating on my bed, even if he's only in there 10 minutes total. As a result, I sequestered the hoarding cat in the bathroom while he eats, so if he relieves himself out of spite, it will just be on tile. NOW, the hoarding, sequestered cat, when let out of the bathroom, bides his time and then goes into my bedroom and not only defacates on the bed, but urinates as well.

Is my cat both evil and cunning, in which case I'm scared, or is there something else going on? I apologize for the long story, but I don't want a lot of "diabetes" diagnoses, since I'm nearly certain it's behavioral. Or is defacating also a part of diabetes? But then, why on my bed and not on the bathroom floor or elsewhere? I really feel like it's pure spite. And malice. Honestly, that cat always has to have the last "word."

Oh, and what should I do if it is just pure malevolence?

Replies (4)

PHMadameAlto Oct 28, 2003 09:52 PM

Your cat is acting out behavior-wise, but it's not hatred or revenge on you. He is marking his territory probably out of frustration because he can't get at the food he thinks of as "his".

Anyhow you probably still should have the cat evaluated just in case it is medical, however here are some behavior ideas to help you out:

Keep the cat confined for a longer period of time and see if he will use a litterbox in the bathroom. Meanwhile use some enzyme deodorizer like Nature's Miracle on your bedding. Then put a little Feliway on the spot. This may discourage the cat.

If all else fails, talk to your vet about putting your cat on Buspar or Prozac. Usually these medications help "unlearn" bad behaviors, and then they can be gradually withdrawn.
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

JaimeMarie Oct 29, 2003 07:43 PM

Could you switch so the obese cat eats in the normal place and the thin cats eats in the bedroom or the bathroom? Maybe he just doesn't like having to eat in a new place.
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Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker

horace Nov 01, 2003 06:18 AM

Thank you for the two suggestions. I was going to switch the thin cat into the bedroom, but first decided to go back to feeding them together to see what happens. So far the glutton hasn't tried to encroach on the thin cat's bowl yet.

However, several days went by and all was good until tonight, when the heavier one defacated AGAIN on my bed. At least this time there was no urine. So there's been 4 times altogether, one time with urination.

I'm just going to take him to the vet. This is very abnormal behavior for him. Thanks for your help.

JaimeMarie Nov 02, 2003 08:59 AM

Will you let us know how it goes?
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Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker

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