OH NO! Not Again!

Last night, Cosmo and Ling were sitting by the back door as usual while I was doing the laundry.  All of a sudden, there was a horrifying YOWLLLLLL so I ran to see what was going on.  Cosmo was all puffed up and Ling ran off.  I looked out and saw a new stray cat (our back door leads directly to the back lane).  Cosmo was yowling at the stray cat.

Ling was rather agitated from this (she had gone upstairs) and hissed when I approached her.  She calmed down when I sat with her and everything seem better.  They even ate dinner together!

Later, Cosmo was playing with me on the bed when he suddenly stopped, and then started to puff up slowly while staring at the door.  When I looked, Ling was at the door, also puffing up.  Before I could stop them, all hell broke loose, yowling and screaming along with the pee fountain (this was at 3am!).

I managed to shut the door when Cosmo ran out while Ling stayed with me for the night.  There is no change in the aggression today.  I've had to keep them separated (one stays in the room with me while the other gets the rest of the house and after a few hours, they switch places).  I did bring Cosmo into the room to sit on my lap (the both of them are their normal self when alone with me) while Ling was on her scratching post and she was furious.  Although I made sure they did not stare at each other, Ling still got into a massive hissy fit and Cosmo who was quiet at the beginning, started to growl then hiss.

Cosmo : WHO GOES THERE!

GO AWAY!!!!!!!!



I'M AFRAID AND CONFUSED!  GO AWAY!  PLEASE, JUST GO AWAYYYY!!!!

Mummy : The pictures are not meant to show that Ling is the one being difficult.  The both of them hissed at each other but I only managed to capture Ling's pictures as I was on the way out with Cosmo.  She is probably very afraid as this surely brings back awful memories of the first episode

At the moment, Cosmo is sitting right outside the door, mewing to come in and does seem like he wants to make up but he reacts when Ling starts growling then hissing in addition to the staring (who can blame him!?).  I will keep them separated for the time being.  I've read quite a few articles on redirected aggression but was wondering if anyone has had any on hand experience with it?  And how you dealt with it?

Here's some information on feline redirected aggression.

Cosmo and Ling Update

There have been improvement in Cosmo and Ling's relationship.  I did not press them to make up but kept a close eye on their movements to make sure there's no more fighting.  That wasn't too difficult as Ling continued to stay close to me all day.

"I'm still upset with Cosmo for beating me up!  *SULK*"

Cosmo visited the laundry room in the afternoon and Ling followed him at a distance.  They are both very vocal when they get to the room.  Wonder what they are trying to tell me?

While they could be in the same place, they would keep a distance between them, not acknowledging the other.  It was all very strange to watch as they used to be so close!

::SULK::

"I'm NOT talking to Cosmo!"

Later in the evening, I watched as Ling walked slowly towards Cosmo and proceeded to sit, sphinx like, in front of him to groom him!  Cosmo responded by grooming her back!  What a relief!

Kiss and make up!

Then, just before dinner, the both of them went mad, chasing each other all over the house.  It was all done playfully with no sign of aggression.

My husband who witnessed the vicious fighting said it was really scary.  It took much clapping and shouting before Cosmo finally let Ling go.  This is really something we don't want happen again.

So, what was the trigger?  We still have no idea although it did dawn on me that it is the Hungry Ghost month now......*gulp*!

Cosmo and Ling :: Loving No More?

One of my biggest fear has come true.  Cosmo and Ling have turned on each other.

On Wednesday night, Cosmo and Ling were sitting at the back door, looking at the back alley as usual.  When my husband heard cats growling and hissing, he went to check it out and saw nothing.  Then he realised it was coming from our own cats.  Before he could do anything, they were rolling on the floor, fur was flying and urine everywhere!  As Cosmo is bigger and stronger, Ling was obviously at the losing end.

When he finally managed to separate them, Ling went upstairs and Cosmo went to hide in the laundry room.  When I found out what happened (I was in the shower), I went down and spoke softly to Cosmo, offering him some treats, which he took.  I carried him upstairs and put the both of them in the room with me.  The aggression was gone by then but they were still tensed, even after a game of "catch da bird!".

While they were willing to play and eat together, I noticed they still weren't grooming each other although Cosmo did try to but Ling walked away.

Later, as we were going to bed, we heard the growling AGAIN!  I managed to separate them before fur started to fly.  Ling spent the night under my blanket while Cosmo had the rest of the house after some cuddling time.  They were both VERY affectionate towards me after being separated.  Does this mean something?

I let Cosmo into the room this morning and they slept next to each other under my blanket.  The both of them seem okay with each other now but they haven't gone to the laundry room together yet.  So I'm not sure if the aggression is really over.

Here's Cosmo this morning.

It sure sounds like redirected aggression to me and I'm going to do more reading on this.  If anyone has any experience with this, I would love to hear from you.

Cosmo is now in the storeroom and Ling with me.  She was crying in the laundry room just before this.  I am going to keep the back door closed for now and give the laundry room a thorough cleaning.  Another thing I've noticed since the fighting is that Ling stays close to me and startles easily at any sudden noise (like dogs barking).

Poor Ling all stressed out when she heard dogs barking this morning (this is not normal for her).