We have had a cat for 4 years and she has been fine mostly. The last year, however, an "outside at night" cat has been coming in the yard specifically to harass her. He yeets himself at the door, scaring the bejesus out of her several times a week. Our condo board wont approve of any measures being put up to deter the cat from entering the yard (long story.) so we mostly just chase him off and give her love till she feels better. This has worked out pretty well so far.
Then the baby came.
My roommate found a 10 month old kitten on the streets and we couldn't just leave her out there. Boundaries were set, introductions were made properly, and kitten has been successfully brought into the family. Her energy is a little much for the older cat but she still tries to groom the kitten so we know she doesn't hate her. Just doesn't appreciate being pinned to the floor by a nippy child and really who can blame her?
This has been the way of life for a month now. Mild spats when kitten gets too rough, a couple hard slaps and growls, then they go stare out a window together or bap at each other through a curtain like it's no big. No toileting issues, food is being eaten in peace, no hiding... they show all the signs of a tentative truce. The fact that the older cat doesnt hide from the baby and in fact keeps interacting with her tells us that she is accepting of the little monster as best she can be and we are so proud of her patience.
However, the jerk neighbor cat returned last week and since then, the older cat has gotten way way more anxious so very fast. She suddenly has diarrhea out of nowhere and will cry if you remove her from the window. She is on a constant vigil every waking moment, watching for that prick. Kittens play attempts irritate her more than usual and she wont even eat unless she can stare into the yard while doing it. The combined stress of the new baby and the bully outside the window seems to have pushed her over the edge and we are at a loss.
What can we do to help her relax? We play out the baby to prevent her from bothering the older cat too much but theres nothing we can do about the invader! I worry her health will start to suffer with how high strung she is.
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/jgluk9/cat_stress_issues/
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