Originally posted by Mrs. Masaki:
I think the problem started when we introduced the boys. Usually, the new cat would run away from Shadow but Ahi stood his ground which threw Shadow off and SHADOW ran away.
We had had another cat, Haupia, who suddenly passed away after we had had him for a year. He and Shadow got along really well. Ahi is actually Haupia's nephew but Ahi doesn't let Shadow groom him, another part of the problem.
Yup, I think this is it. When cats let other cats groom them, it's a sign that they're pretty closely bonded. Cats are very sensitive to the loss of housemates (other pets and more importantly humans) and this can sometimes cause anxiety. Throw in the fact that Ahi, a younger male cat, stood his ground to Shadow, and I think the source of the problem is pretty clear. It's all anxiety/loss of confidence. Are there any vets specializing in animal behavior near by? They can prescribe a feline dose of sertraline HCL (aka Zoloft) that does wonders on feline anxiety. Works on dogs' separation anxiety too. They really are little people, aren't they? :)
Random comment: pet health is one of the most profitable insurance and pharma products. Pfizer's cardio-vascular and CNS franchises are much balleyhooed but their animal health division is actually more profitable given the substantially lower R&D and SG&A...
