Forgetful cat??? Behavior issue

[Sorrel1]

My big cat, Mittens (5 yo), loves to go outside. So I took him out on the harness and leash for no more than 10 minutes into the yard this evening. He didn't roll around or anything to get another scent, just sat there, sniffed the air, and ate some grass. Brought him back in and my little cat, Mouse (4 yo) went nuts, acting like Mittens was a new cat, hissing at him, spitting, smacking, growling, all that. Just as if he had forgotten who Mittens was in that 10 minutes.

So, Mittens is confused, can't figure out why Mouse is attacking him, and it is starting to tick me off. This is not the first time Mouse has done this. When we lived on the farm Mittens LOVED to go out and get high off of the catnip that grew wild in the bushes and just be a cat. He always came in and it was the same thing. Mouse being ticked off.

Poor Mittens is just laying here on the floor and Mouse is acting all paranoid, stalking around and being just a brat. It is going to backfire though as Mittens outweighs Mouse by 2x and is just going to cream him if he gets mad.

Sooo, why is that stupid little cat acting like this? He is a flake as it is, recently he has decided that he needs to lay on my face at night. Good thing we don't have a young child as he would be out the door. He hates strangers, especially men, gets on the counter tops and into stuff after repeatedly being punished for it...what is up with him?

He has been a house cat WITH MITTENS since he was a kitten!! They are normally curled up together and get along fine. Now it is like introducing two new cats to each other...and has to be done every time I take Mittens out.
Any ideas???

[slvrwhispr]

It sounds like you've unintentionally created a very stressful environment for Mouse. You say you spend a lot of time reprimanding him. The bigger cat goes outdoors and still will have new smells on him, perhaps something that triggers a bad memory for Mouse. Never mind the confusion the poor guy gets from being a cat named Mouse! Some cats are naturally more skittish than others, and since you've chosen to bring Mouse into your home and your lives, you need to accept that this is the way he is. You have to make him feel calm and protected, not terrify him with yelling and bad experiences. I know you're not intentionally stressing the cat out, but try and view things from his perspective whenever he's exhibiting behavior that angers you. Please, don't "punish" the cat with physical force or with "time outs;" cats don't make the mental connection like dogs do, and they won't understand why the bad things are happening, simply that they are. They're more likely to learn to be afraid of you than they are to learn that the behavior is bad. If the cat is getting into something it shouldn't, give him something that you want him to get into -- a toy, a treat, playtime with you. Distraction and redirection is the way to train a cat. Yelling, hitting, and relocating won't get you anything other than a stressed-out cat.

Try giving Mouse a safe place where he can hide whenever he feels overwhelmed. Keep familiar things there so he has a sense of consistency. If Mittens absolutely must go outside, rub him down with a towel before he goes out. When he comes in, rub him with the same towel, then rub Mouse with the same one. That way, no matter what, they both have the same scents on them. See if this makes Mouse less skittish. Or, alternately, don't take Mittens outside if it upsets Mouse that badly.

Part of pet adoption is learning the quirks of the animal you've taken into your lives. You have to grow to understand them and work with their personalities. This might just be the way Mouse is. Hopefully you can learn to love him for it.

[Tina B and crew]

Can't say much more than silver already said, but I do know that cats pick up on your emotions and if you are frustrated with Mouse he will know it and possibly act out on it. Calling the cat "stupid" only confirms that you are not so fond of him. It sounds as if everything he does is a problem for you. Silver is right, cats have different personalities and when you adopt you learn to adapt to that.

As far as the behavior when Mittens goes outside, that is normal for many cats. Even if he doesn't roll in the grass he is still picking up smells from outside. I'm also curious as to why you would take Mittens out on a harness and not Mouse. Seems like a lot of favoritism going on here and I'm sure Mouse picks up on it.

[Sorrel1]

Thanks for your input. I pry shouldn't have called him "stupid", he just had me frustrated at the time. He is actually my baby, but he definitely lives up to his name, into everything! Mittens likes to go outside, but Mouse doesn't. It is sensory overload for him and he just doesn't enjoy it.

I'll try the towel idea, if that doesn't work Mittens will just have to stay inside. They are doing fine now so Mouse must have gotten over it sometime during the night.

Story as to how Mouse got his name:
When he was a kitten we brought him in from the barn to be a housecat. He is mouse grey and just a little thing, only about 8 lbs. Anyway, we were trying to figure out a name for him, just calling him the "Kitten". Well, hubby went to feed the cats one night, reached in, and felt fur. He immediately thought a rat and freaked. Here it was that crazy kitten in the catfood bag. Hubby wanted to call him Rat, I said no, we can call him Mouse. And he has lived up to that name.

[slvrwhispr]

LOL, that's a great story! I know what it's like to be frustrated by the cat. I think we all do!

Just try and make sure Mouse has someplace safe to go when he's stressing, and hopefully he'll calm down. He's just a high strung little guy, sounds like. If you've got pictures, you should share them with us on Debbie's Cloud. We love pics!

[Tina B and crew]

That's too funny about his name. And believe me I understand frustration with cat behavior at times....sometimes what we type comes across a little harsh I think. I think you may have hit the nail on the head when you said sensory overload. That is probably why he acts this way when Mittens comes in, the scents are sensory overload. Actually, cats are safer inside than out anyway, so it wouldn't be a bad thing for Mittens to have to stay in. One thing I have found is it is always important for the human in the situation to stay calm and try not to get frustrated. Just like with kids, if we get frustrated the cats will pick that up and their behavior may reflect it. Some cats just don't deal with change well...any change...

And yes, we'd love to see photos!

[Traci]

Another thing you have to remember. When one of the cats is allowed outdoors, the indoor-only cat will be more fearful, and the cat allowed outdoors will have a tendency to have heightened instincts of agression. It truly would be better for Mittens to be kept indoors only, and this will give both cats a better chance of fair treatment between them. Just because Mittens is bigger than Mouse doesn't mean he can't be "trained" to respect Mouse. I don't mean reprimanding him either, I mean by giving both cats equal loving attention and care, and involving them both in shared playtime and activty, with your direct involvement. By allowing Mittens outdoors, you are actually encouraging him to have a more agressive nature with Mouse, disregardless of the size difference between them.

And, Slvrwhispr has it correct, you have to respect your cats, and keep your frustrations in check. They are not dogs, and they are not little children, they are cats, and you have to make concerted efforts to understand them and their behaviors and personalities.

Your following statement concerns me:

Good thing we don't have a young child as he would be out the door. He hates strangers, especially men, gets on the counter tops and into stuff after repeatedly being punished for it...what is up with him?

Why would you say something like that? IF you had children, you would take steps to ensure the cats' safety and secure environment (since a new baby IS a stressful event for all cats, and is in their view, an invasion of their territory/environment), would teach the cats to respect a newborn (by not allowing them access to the baby or the baby's room), and would take appropriate steps to introduce the cats to the baby, so that no harm could be caused. Cats are often wrongfully dismissed or abandoned or given up when owners have babies, and this is not fair to the cats you've adopted for life and they are totally dependent upon you to provide for them for a lifetime, regardless of changes in the home/family. You would owe just as much to them by helping them through a transition like that. Besides the obvious, you would NOT allow the cats to sit on nor sleep near the baby, as BOTH could be injured, even if neither intended to.

As for jumping on the counters and getting into things, this is your responsibility to teach him, not the cat's. Reprimanding doesn't solve anything, and with repeated behavior like this on YOUR part, your kitty is not going to learn what is acceptable or not. You also have to be gentle, forgiving, and committed to the cat in a meaninful, gentle way, as cats respond favorably to this as opposed to repeated reprimands, yelling, etc. On the other hand, most of us cat-lovers here have already resigned to having our cats on the counters from time to time. While not a good practice to allow, sometimes it is unavoidable depending on the cat in particular and his/her behavior or personality, etc. Of course you do not want cats on the counter when you are preparing meals, nor when you have food and other dangerous things on the counter, but he isn't doing this to spite you, he's doing it because it has been a learned behavior and you did not correct it properly in the beginning. Please understand I'm not intentionally jumping on you, but you do have to learn more patience, forgiveness and understanding of your cats.