One week later - the girls still don't get along

[Susan and the girls]

Well, it was a week ago today that I got home to discover that Scarlett & Belle were no longer friends.

I think things have improved a little - but not much.

Last night, I gathered them all into the small (full) bathroom upstairs - probably 6X8, and we had a family discussion. They tolerated being in the same room for quite some time, and even ate "treat treats" nose to nose without any fuss. It wasn't until I stopped the "treat treats" that they (Scarlett & Belle) began giving each other the evil eyes and grumbling. There wasn't any outright fussing, so I decided to make them spend some "quality time" together there for about 30 minutes. Daisy, who has just been terribly distraught by the whole ordeal even though she's not directly involved, even butted heads with Belle, who licked her on the head. Belle wouldn't do the same for Scarlett, though.

When I opened the door to go back in later, Daisy sneaked out, but I left Belle & Scarlett there a few more minutes. At that time they were about 1 1/2 feet apart just looking at each other, not glaring or acting upset.

I let them out a little while later, and they immediately got paranoid of each other again. Scarlett would look at Belle wrong, and she'd hiss.

Like I said before, I really think Scarlett would make up if Belle would let her, but Belle isn't wanting to let the past go.

The fussing has decreased in intensity, which is good. The hissing rarely results in any actual "paws on" (smacking) fighting like before - which is even better - but I still don't want to leave them alone. I usually leave them separated during the day, and we open the house up to all of them when we're at home. Sometimes at night, I let them roam free, but it never fails that they wake us at 3:30 am hissing like there's no tomorrow - under the bed, no less. (Of course, the night before last, I awoke with Belle in her usual spot right beside my head, and Scarlett curled in a ball right under my arm. Less than a foot apart, and they didn't even realize it. Crazy cats.)

Traci - I know you said I should let them come together on their own and on their own timetable, but will it do any more damage (than is already there) for me to force them to be together? They do get along when they're in a small room together (but that's not to say they're thrilled with each other's presence). Does that mean we're making progress?

I'm determined to make these cats get along. They've gotten their corn starch dusting every day or so, and they get time outs when they hiss or make a scene. They usually get scolded (and at least separated) for hissing, too. (Maybe that's overkill, but they now know that when they're sneaking around the corner to get a good "glaring at each other" stance and we say their names loudly they're supposed to stop. They also recognize the fly swatter. They rarely get a real swat, but a smack to the floor in front of them for noise effect makes a big difference when they're grumbling at each other.)

Any further advice would be appreciated!

[Auntie Debbie]

Sorry they're still not getting along. Wish I had some good advice to offer and hope you can resolve this soon. Too bad you don't even know for sure what started it!