Testimonials come once in a while that really warm my heart. These are reports back from folks who have come to me to help them with their cats (cat whispering) and then tell me that things worked out well. This one is from Lacey, who owns Joker and Phoebe.
The story: Phoebe, the dominant, had a medical emergency and went to the vet. She came home to Joker who suddenly didn't recognize her. It took a few training tricks and some peppermint extract, but here is the report back:
I wanted to write to let you know that peace has more or less returned to our home. These days, Joker and Phoebe say a lot more with eye contact, blinking, and body language than with snarls or hisses. Most of the time when they encounter one another now, one of them decides to take a different route and life goes on rather quietly. They're returning to most of their behaviors from before the upset; Phoebe is dominant again, so Joker waits on the couch while I feed Phoebe after I get home. But the moment Phoebe is in the closet with her dinner, Joker rushes up with her tail high in the air ready to cuddle and "chat." They've both explored objects of curiosity without one chasing the other away, and when Joker does feel "driven off," she simply returns to investigate later. I think they're also trying to play together again, although the games of chase quickly develop into hide and seek, as Joker hides to avoid a fight.
But I no longer have to keep on constant alert to see where each of them are; Phoebe and Joker hardly ever go to their "safe zones" to get away from each other; and I don't have to worry about Phoebe "guarding" the litterboxes. Best of all, they're sleeping with me peacefully again. I always make sure Phoebe gets her spot first. Then about half an hour later, Joker will jump into bed and Phoebe doesn't seem to mind, even when Joker inches closer and closer to her as the night wears on.
There's still an occasional "I'm still the boss," hiss from Phoebe, but that's down to once or twice a day and very short-lived. The turning point really seems to have happened "overnight," as they were still at each other over the weekend, so that I was stunned that suddenly they'd worked it out and the house was quiet Monday night! But getting in touch with you was such a turning point for us, and I now have a lot of good strategies if something upsets the balance again.
