We’re changing our approach with Rossie. The condensed version of what we have been doing is corraling Lady and Daphne each night and putting them to bed in a large cage complete with litter box, water, scratching box, toys, carrier to hide in or sleep on top of. Then we let them out in the morning. This gives our reclusive Rossie who has had trouble socializing with them an opportunity to roam the house freely, get attention from Mr. L, and Mr. L’s sleep is not disturbed by fighting cats.

This has not been working. Rossie (we think we’ve confirmed this with the game camera but only with circumstantial evidence, because the camera shoots in 3 shot bursts then delays for 15 seconds, so some action is missing) has been marking her territory on the bed after Lady or Daphne sleep there by urinating near the spot where they rested. She also has a spot in the hallway where Tarzan likes to rest that she has marked several times.  Most people, including us, find this unacceptable.

Rossie went to the vet today to make sure she doesn’t have a urinary tract infection. A bladder ultrasound did not reveal any obvious problems. Mary, our skilled vet tech sent me home with special litter beads and a syringe to draw in urine to bring in for testing on Monday. We’re reasonably sure Rossie has no medical problems she’s trying to tell us about.

Our change in protocol is to keep Rossie in the cage and leave the rest of the cats to go about their business. If no other urinary problems surface, we’ll be confident we’ve identified one problem. While Rossie is in the cage, nobody can harm her or attempt to harm her (she’s never been harmed in the altercations with the other cats, but fur has flown). The cats engaged in several stare downs for the first hour she was in the cage, but they are mostly ignoring her now.

By being in the cage, she’s in a part of the house where Mr. L and I spend our time, so she’ll get more socialized with us. We can close the parlor doors and bring her out for attention and to give her some freedom. This is not a punishment for Rossie. We are trying to find a way to help her. We did this for Lady when we were trying to find a way for her to not attack Rossie until we compromised on the night time schedule and the daytime co-existence. Lady and Daphne don’t consider the cage a punishment. In fact, they come down and wait to be invited in at bedtime. Until Rossie went in today, the cage has been open during the day and at various times, most of the cats have been found in there of their own accord.

Rossie isn’t fond of the cage, but in her younger years, she was more visible in the house than she’s been for the last year and a half. We’d like to see that again. As I type this, she’s relaxing in the carrier (simulated cave), sprawled out and not hunched up like she has been so much of the time when we’ve seen her recently. We hope this safe haven will allow this stressed cat to relax more.