First, my apologies for this going to be a long post to fully explain things.
Hello, I posted an introduction to myself and my 4 fur babies -- Tigger, Alice, Frisky, and Mandi -- some time ago. Brief recap: Tigger is 20+ yr old male w/ chronic renal failure but still hanging in there although getting frail; Alice is 7 yr old healthy spitfire; Frisky is her littermate and dominant alpha male of the four; Mandi is almost 8 yr old special needs rescue kitty with IBS that has finally been under control for some months. I've posted for advice on handling Mandi's IBS in the past and got excellent response from all of you here. Thank you for that.
Now I've got 2 additional issues I'd appreciate suggestions about, please.
First, any way I can make keeping miss Mandi's fur butt shaved down to avoid constant UTI's from nasty butt relatively easy and stress free for her nibs??? I live alone since Dad died 16 months ago and have to handle all care of the kitties on my own. I'm out of work and looking for a job so am trying to keep vet bills down when possible, which means doing my own shaving of Mandi's stern sheets rather than paying for grooming. So, how do I single handedly shave a cat's rear end with least hassle and stress for both cat and me?
Second, and very important, is a question about redirecting and/or retraining the alpaha cat's aggressive ambush bullying. Since Dad died, Frisky (who was very much Dad's cat) has become more and more aggressive with quite mean attacks on the other cats, especially Mandi (who has no claws, not even on her back feet courtesy of whoever had her previously to me). He especially loves to stalk and ambush her when she uses the litter tray which has made her afraid to use the tray. Combine that with her IBS and tendency to frequent UTI's (hence the need to keep her rear shaved and washed regularly) and she has been soiling extensively outside the litter trays.
Now I've got the soiling issue under control. I've provided a tray in the bathroom (the other four trays are in the basement) along with food and water there. Mandi has spent time confined there becoming re-aquainted with using a litter tray and has been being a good girl in recent days even though let loose most of the time. It is placed where she can see any other cats coming and doesn't require running the gauntlet of the stairway to and fron the basement. And I've not punished her, merely been using lots of positive reinforcement when she's good and providing her with the additional tray location. If need be, I'll even move another tray elsewhere upstairs.
However, Frisky is still stalking her a lot and has been also getting more and more aggressive with Alice, although she can fight him off well, and with Tigger who is elderly, frail and no longer able to clean the youngster's clock. I know this is normal pecking order behavior in a multi-cat situation, especially with one of the cats being old and another being medical special needs. They will always be the victims.
However, Frisky's aggression has gotten beyond normal and I've even had to take to scruffing him to remind him not to try being mean with me. Generally speaking he is a loving, affectionate, sweet natured boy; but his alpha routine is getting over the top.
My current efforts to curb this include the additional tray for Mandi, spending more time engaging Frisky in very active play to expend his high energy levels in exercise, and reinstating some bedtime attention ritual my Dad always gave him and that I had gotten away from doing.
What more can I do??? I don't expect to intervene in all pecking order behavior or that such behavior shouldn't occur. I merely want to keep it reasonable to that Mandi isn't terrorized and Tigger not injured as he gets more frail. How do I retrain Frisky into more appropriate levels of alpha behavior???
Thanks for putting up with this long post.
