Me again!

Thank you all for your advice on my previous post about Malcolm and Dany.
To recap since my post 10 days ago or so:

Both have been kept in the house and not gone out at all in the enclosure since the original blow up -no incidents at all and behaviour back to"normal" (mutual grooming, cuddling up to each other, eating/ toileting etc) All of this reinforced to us that Sherry's original hypothesis was correct and something (another animal most likely) had scared Malcolm whilst out in the enclosure at night triggering his aggressive reaction to Dany.

They have been increasingly attempting to get out through the cat flap that accesses their enclosure and so we did try them back in there under tight supervision today. We had completely cleaned the enclosure and I had put some potted plants outside the enclosure to make it feel more "enclosed" by limiting the view of the rest of the garden with the hope that would make feel safer for them.

Initially ok -both were wary but curious but then, at a certain spot where the enclosure meets the rest of the garden Malcolm started sniffing the area and then turned and hissed at Dany again. We immediately separated them again for 30 mins or so until we judged he had relaxed enough and then reintroduced them again in the house without a problem (again they cried continuously for each other when separated)

Dany (who is more confident) was happy to stay in the enclosure on her own for a while and I was curious to see what she did so stayed with her. She too paid a lot of attention to the same spot suggested some animal has marked it

We would like them to feel confident to be back using the enclosure again as they have used it a lot over the past 18 months and Dany prefers to use a soil filled container outside rather than an indoor tray but obviously do not want to keep stressing both of them (particularly Malcolm)

Any advice on approaches we could take and any recommendations for reducing the scent of another animal?

Enclosure is timber framed with double layer cat netting mesh across frame. As we have a courtyard garden 3 sides are stone walls with only the end "open" so to speak and it is at this opening end that the scent would seem to be. This would make sense as the rest of the open part of the garden continues on from that point and so another animal would be able to to reach that area from the other side.

many thanks

Probably an expensive option but did see Jackson Galaxy use a motion sensor water spray to deter unwanted visitors who were stressing the resident cat and causing urination and marking issues. In the long run though, peace and harmony does not really have a price!!! JG also used an air spray canister in couple of episodes which with motion sensor but only saw that indoors so guess water one would be outdoor option. Good luck.

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Melissa

UK
Oscar - Rescue (Rascal!!!) Bengal

Hi

Thanks for those suggestions - I wasn't aware of those options so definitely worth a look if I am able to get them happily out there again. I'm not optomistic that I will though right now. It's taken a couple of hours of intensive supervision, cuddles and play therapy to get Malcolm settled again today and I'm concerned to minimise his anxiety. Of course it maybe that we can't find a successful return back to them using it again but I do want to consider every option before we totally rule out a return!

thanks again

Obviously, there is an animal coming around and Malcolm is highly sensitive to the smell of this creature. It is probably a cat. If that area does not get any rain to wash the scent away, put some water mixed with vinegar on it. You may have to do this several times. If this other animal is returning, you can purchase motion-activated water sprayers or air canisters (probably through Amazon). They aren't really cheap and understand that anyone walking in your yard (children, meter readers, etc.) will get the blast of water or air, as well. You can also get a trail cam (infrared camera) and point it toward the area you suspect and see if something is coming by there at night. Many owners are stunned at what they see when they review the memory card.

Trying to block the "sight" area is a good thing, but the smell of the other creature will remain, so getting rid of that creature is what you need to do. I've heard cats are highly sensitive to citrus and putting out orange or lemon or lime peels will keep them away. It didn't work for a cat that was bothering ours ... but it may work for you. I don't know the layout of your yard and enclosure, but you might want to see about putting a barrier to keep any animals far away from the enclosure.

You're been very patient in working with your two kitties. Males are quite territorial which is why I think Malcolm is having such a problem and takes it out on Dany. I feel fortunate that this other can't didn't stress out Raiden to the point of changing his behavior. He was the same cat once we came back in the house and the other cat left. We still see cats on our daily walks and Raiden will sniff around the outside of his enclosure as if a cat has been there, but he has no anxiety. I can see how Malcolm would.

Continue to try to solve the situation and give the kitties more time and, hopefully, they will fine safety in their enclosure once again.

Thanks Sherry ..we will try the repeated washings with the vinegar mix in that area ..we were thinking along the same lines re blocking access as the newly positioned plants do that as well as providing a bit of a screen so that will help I hope. We've got visitors this weekend so will keep them indoors until the following weekend when we will try again as we need to be around to monitor/ support as necessary!!

It's so distressing to see him react like that and we would like to see them back out there again but our priority is to have happy and settled cats :-)

Thanks again

Could you post a picture of the enclosure? I'm curious about size and how it is set up etc.

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The little monsters 3

Hi having problems uploading pic as says file too big !

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The little monsters 3

Hopefully this works - this is and old one from inside the dinning room looking our. The walls either side are high stone and the the only constructed bit is the end you can see in which there is a door. This leads onto the rest of the garden and it is the bottom right area ( as you look at it on this photo) where the interesting smell seems to be and where Malcolm reacts

There are less plants in there now and more cat climbing towers ! There is also a catflap bottom right in french doors

This looks like cat paradise. They must love having the trees and vegetation out there. The only green stuff I have in my backyard enclosure are weeds when I am too lazy to pull them out. My girls would live on the patio if I let them. It turns into a circus when I need to put them in the house. They chase lizards and anything that moves all day. Plus they are fascinated watching the ducks, squirrels, birds and heron on the lake in front of the enclosure. Sometimes they come in late at night all wound up and wild and chase each other around the house before settling down for bed. There are some neighborhood cats that wander around back there so I think that is the attraction at night.

That is an awesome enclosure. It's plenty large for your kitties. I'm guessing you need to cat proof your garden. I know cats can jump over fences, etc. I also know there are plants that seem to deter cats, however, if they are placed near the enclosure, your cats may get a whiff of it. I'm sure you've inspected the area in question very closely to see if there is or has been something coming around. If another cat has just walked there, Malcolm can tell. Another cat marking there is even worse. Malcolm simply does not want any other creature in his territory and he needs to feel safe in the enclosure. I do believe you could go with an air canister at that corner location in the enclosure that would scare away any other animal. At some point, you hope the creature learns not to come around.

Thank you both ..we were really pleased with it when it was built and they have really enjoyed being in there so we would like to explore everything we can to try to address the current issues.

We're going to try the washing down with vinegar mix daily for the next few days and then try it again next weekend ..fingers crossed !

My thought is that they had a bad experience out there. Maybe it was a loud noise, or an unfriendly animal, or maybe there was some mis-directed aggression between each other. But anyway, to get them back out there again, you might have to create a new positive association with the place. I would probably start trying to feed them meals down there, or maybe treats. And if they don't go for it, then at least move their meals closer and closer to the place and see if they can adjust to it gradually. You might also make the da-bird start in the house, and then go out that door into the enclosure to see if that can tempt them out there. Picking them up and placing them out there is definitely counter-productive though. Then it becomes "the punishment".

Also, the reason why I was curious to see the picture, was to know if it was really set up so that multiple cats could enjoy it without competing for the "good spots" in there. You mentioned that this picture was outdated and that there was some other stuff out there now. But you might want to just take a critical look at it and see if each cat is able to have their own "space" out there and if there is any forced competition between them to sort out boundaries and such. If so, then you might need to make some adjustments.

[edit] just one other thought... you mention that there is a spot out there that they seem to sniff and react to. You might want to also do a quick inventory and see what plants are near that spot. Some plants do have smells that will be a turnoff for cats.

Oh, and if you want to know whether another animal marked it outside, take a black light out there.

It looks nice though, you've obviously put a lot of effort and expense into that, so I understand why you are disappointed that your cats no longer favor the place.

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The little monsters 3

Thanks brianj. I agree most likely cause is some negative experience in the enclosure as his behaviour is so location specific. I did rejig things a little to give more defined separate space/ climbing options but will take another look. I hadn't considered plants scents so that's an interesting take but no plants in the area he seems to be focused on.

Thanks again all for your tips/ comments. I'll keep you posted about any developments when we try again in a week!

Earlier this week I had my hedges and trees trimmed. A truck drove up on the lawn to reach the tall ones and there must have been a lot of noise. My cats were in the house when this happened but that evening when I came home, one of my cats didn't want to go out on the patio for the first time ever. The next day she went out briefly but came right back in. Now that it's several days later, she is right back out there on lizard patrol. They don't always understand what's going on in our world. Maybe your kitty will forget whatever happened out there and venture back out. I always think of Grace as being fearless, but she has some fears, like the sound of the vacuum cleaner, clattering dishes or a hair dryer.