took stray in updated, very sad news

[jojo]

Hi not been on the site for ages, but i'm back for abit of advice.  We've had charley for 5 yrs hes 6 in september, about a month we found a young female living in my shed did everything i could to find its owner to no avail so nothing else i could do but take her in. We've called her Lola, they sleep on my bed with about a foot between them, Charley will lick and clean her and he also lets her eat his food if shes not keen on hers.  But its the playing i'm not sure about i'm not sure if it is playing or fighting, lola hisses and makes some terrible noises so i end up distracting Charley just for it to stop, she does takes swipes at him when they are playing/fighting.
Any advice would be welcome or just someone letting me know this is normal, i don't leave them in the same room when i'm out just in case. Thanks in advance xx

[Tallulah]

It does sound like they are realtively content with each other's company if they are willing to sleep so close to each other. They are vulnerable when they are sleeping, and would not sleep so close if they really felt the other would attack while they are asleep.

Cats are naturally solitary creatures, so it does normally take a while for them to adapt to sharing their space. However, there clearly is still some conflict. I would say they are probably fighting and not playing, as kittens play-fight with each other in order to develop their skills, whereas an adult cat already has developed them. They tend to communicate their intentions through body language and yowling before fighting only as a last resort. All the noise does not necessarily suggest that it would result in a serious fight where they would harm each other. One of them may back down and slink off to leave the other in peace. This would not mean the submissive cat is unhappy or downtrodden, it's just their way of keeping the peace when living in a group. You probably need to see what happens if you do not intervene, that should tell you whether it would be safe to leave them together when you are out.

[Jemini]

Gizmo, my most recent stray, is a very timid cat and is constantly intimidated by Alfie who is much bigger. Candy just gets along with all of them but |Gypsy really seems to dislike Gizmo and she will hiss at him and run away. There doesn't seem to be any real reason for this and they will sleep on a bed together, not close but on the same bed. I just think, with mine anyway, that their just like humans with different personalities. Some they like and others they don't.
However if there is grooming going on I don't think you have too much to worry about. If your rescue was a stray she's had to fend for herself and maybe she's still a bit wary.

Well done for taking Lola in!!

[jojo]

Thanks for the replies, most of the time they are ok together but then again most of that time is spent sleeping, Charley is a big lad twice the size of  little lola. He's very laid back, theres a lot of cats in our area and they never seem to bother him when they come in our back garden he just usually watches them from his vantage point on the wall.

Its just for about an hour each evening they seem to have the runaround with a lot of noise, i'll just carry on keeping my eye on them xx

[kimthecat]

Well done for taking in Lola. It sounds like it's working out very well.

Its just for about an hour each evening they seem to have the runaround with a lot of noise, i'll just carry on keeping my eye on them xx

Cats do tend to get the crazies in the evening. I wouldn't worry but as you say , keep an eye on them in case Charley gets carried away.
 ali
 

[Tallulah]

If that evening hour or so is problematic, you might be able to distract them from going for each other by encouraging them to play separately with toys instead. It could cut down on any aggression toward each other and improve their relationship overall.

[Mustrum Ridcully]

Do they both still have both ears attached? If so, they are not that serious about fighting! 

[gabrielleinlondon]

I always thought the 'fringed ear' effect was indicative of a battling type cat!   My son's late cat, Big  Bobcat, had ears like that.   

[Alice]

Tilly makes a major racket at times when the others want to play and she doesnt -- they get on well but they have their squabbles all the time due to too many cats in not enough space, in my opinion. Personally if they are fine 90% of the time I wouldnt worry it is probably an over enthusiastic boy and a defensive girl.

[Jules in Wales]

I always thought the 'fringed ear' effect was indicative of a battling type cat!   My son's late cat, Big  Bobcat, had ears like that.   

Yes Jonah's ears have got various knicks and healed tears as a result of fights - many times he's come in with dried blood on his cut ears after a scrap

[ch134]

Hey there, how lucky was lola to find you!

We have 4 cats and they all have their moments, they generally get on great most of the time but just occasionally they will take a swipe at each other or hiss.  I think they just get fed up sometimes abit like us humans do.  Good luck with everything sounds like you are doing everything right x

[jojo]

Thanks for all your replies, they still have their moments but things don't seem as bad now, if i think things are getting ou of hand i jump in and try and distract them both.

We've had lola spayed and micro chipped now, so thets another thing off my mind.

There is one thing she does which i don't understand she goes to the toilet right outside the back door, i always thought cats didn't soil their own places or is she trying to cover charleys scent. Obviously i'm glad shes doing it outside and not inside.

Is there anything i could do to stop her doing it where shes doing it, i wouldn't mind so much if it was further up the yard. Any thoughts on this would be appreicated. thanks Jo x

[Tallulah]

A cat's territory is broken down into its "home range," where it rests, eats and feels comfortable. Its wider territory consists of all the places it roams. She may be going outside the back door as that marks the boundary of her home range. They are vulnerable to attack whilst going to the toilet, so they want to go in a place they feel safe.

To get her to go a bit further away, you need to offer her a better alternative, in order to overcome her anxiety of moving a little further away from the doorstep. A little pit with freshly turned over soil, or even filled with sand or cat litter might be appealing. You might need to scoop up some of her doings and drop it in, so she gets the message that it is a toilet.

[jojo]

Thanks for that, she is still a little nervous around the house, so i would think its the same outdoors. Shes a lovely little girl  i will get a picture up soon.

She did a funny thing the other day, she was sat in the living room window, we live in a terraced house with no garden at the front and there was a man stood across the road, looked like he was waiting for a lift, everytime he walked to the middle of the road to look for the car lola growled at him, when he got back to the pavement she stopped, it was very cute as though she was protecting the house. x

[Jemini]

Thanks for that, she is still a little nervous around the house, so i would think its the same outdoors. Shes a lovely little girl  i will get a picture up soon.

She did a funny thing the other day, she was sat in the living room window, we live in a terraced house with no garden at the front and there was a man stood across the road, looked like he was waiting for a lift, everytime he walked to the middle of the road to look for the car lola growled at him, when he got back to the pavement she stopped, it was very cute as though she was protecting the house. x

Alfie growls at our window cleaner. I didn't know what was going on when it first happened. I'd never heard a cat growl like that before. He doesn't do it so much now he's settled and I'm not sure whether it was the window cleaner or the noise of his ladder he didn't like.